Royal Caribbean internet packages make at-sea internet faster, more affordable, and more reliable than ever.
Royal Caribbean advertises its onboard WiFi as the “fastest internet at sea.” But is it really the fastest?
Voom offers two different levels of service. The cheaper Surf package for general web surfing and the more expensive Surf & Stream for video chatting, streaming, and more.
Thanks to Starlink internet service, Voom WiFi provides breakneck internet speeds.
If you’re considering your options for staying connected on your Royal Caribbean cruise, we’ll give you a first-hand experience of what you can expect.
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Royal Caribbean Internet Packages
Royal Caribbean offers two internet packages. So, which internet package is right for you?
Voom Surf Voyage Package
The Voom Surf Voyage Package is the base internet package. The basic WiFi package offers web browsing, email, and social media.
The Voom Surf Voyage Package includes:
- 24-hour internet access
- Internet browsing
- Send and receive emails
- Chat on messenger apps (e.x. Whatsapp, Signal)
Royal Caribbean throttles the Surf Voyage package to keep speeds lower. The package works great for basic web browsing, but if you need access to more bandwidth-demanding applications, you should upgrade to Voom Surf & Stream.
Voom Surf & Stream Voyage Package
The Voom Surf & Stream WiFi package is advertised as the full internet experience.
Surf & Stream has faster internet speeds, allowing passengers to access audio and video streaming onboard.
The Voom Surf & Stream Voyage Package includes:
- 24-hour internet access
- Browse the web
- Send and receive emails
- Chat on messenger apps (e.x. Whatsapp, Signal)
- Video chat live
- Stream movies, music, videos, TV shows, and more
- Live Stream and post on social media
Surf & Stream costs more than the basic Surf package but comes with faster speeds and the ability to stream music, movies, audio, and more.
Pricing
Rates for Royal Caribbean’s Voom internet services are constantly changing.
The price for the basic Surf package is typically around $12.99-$15.99 per device per day, while Surf & Stream is usually around $17.99-$19.99 per device per day.
The above rates are based on buying the internet service for the entire length of your cruise.
If you don’t need internet access for the entire cruise, you can purchase a 24-hour pass at a higher price. On my last sailing, a 24-hour internet pass cost $25.99 for the Surf package and $32.99 for the Surf & Stream service.
The above rates are the standard prices we’ve found when purchasing internet service on the ship. But that’s not the best way to do it!
How Fast is Voom?
Thanks to Royal Caribbean’s partnership with Starlink, Voom Internet is the fastest internet at sea.
We purchased the Surf & Stream package on our 2023 Symphony of the Seas Meditteranean cruise and recorded download speeds of 83 Mbps and upload speeds of 17 Mbps.
We conducted several speed tests throughout the sailing at different times during the day.
We found some dips in internet speeds depending on the number of satellites overhead, but the overall internet speeds were consistent. We wouldn’t have noticed a difference if we weren’t actively monitoring the internet speeds.
The WiFi speeds are slower in the cabin and in some areas of the ship’s interior where the WiFi signal is weaker. But even in the cabin, we could stream movies and video chat without problems.
Discounts on Voom Internet
Royal Caribbean offers significant discounts if you purchase the internet package before your cruise – which we always recommend to save money.
The internet packages are cheaper when you buy before sailing to encourage more purchases. So, if you need internet access on your cruise, you’ll definitely want to pre-purchase the internet package.
After you embark on your Royal Caribbean cruise, you’ll find higher prices for internet access.
To pre-purchase internet service, simply log into Royal Caribbean’s Cruise Planner and navigate to Internet & More to order the Voom internet service.
You also receive a discount when you purchase internet service for more than one device or bundle the WiFi package with a Royal Caribbean drink package.
The price of the cruise ship WiFi package fluctuates throughout the year. So check back often to see if there is a price drop. If the price drops below what you paid, you can call the cruise line and ask for a discount. Or cancel and re-buy the package.
On our Symphony of the Seas sailing, we purchased the Voom Surf & Stream package for $19.99. The lower-priced Surf package was on sale for $14.99.
Diamond Discount
Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor Society members who are Diamond or above also get a special discount.
You can’t use your Crown & Anchor discount before sailing. You’ll have to wait until you’re onboard the ship to purchase the Voom internet package.
The discount for Diamond and higher Society members varies between 9.6% to 28.8% depending on the duration of the cruise:
- 4-night itineraries: 28.8%
- 5-night itineraries: 23%
- 6-night itineraries: 19.2%
- 7-night itineraries: 16.4%
- 8-night itineraries: 14.4%
- 9-night itineraries: 12.8%
- 10-night itineraries: 11.5%
- 11-night itineraries: 10.5%
- 12-night itineraries: 9.6%
Voom Internet and Starlink
Traditionally, internet speeds on ships are far slower than what you are used to on land.
While sailing, there aren’t any high-speed internet cable lines or line-of-sight transmitters with which the ship can connect. As a result, cruise ships use a costly and complex satellite system designed to connect with cruise ships traveling at speeds of 20 knots through bouncing waves.
While most ships rely on older medium or high-earth orbit satellites, Royal Caribbean has partnered with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to use Starlink internet on its cruise ships.
In June 2022, Royal Caribbean filed a request with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expedite approval for cruise lines to use SpaceX’s satellite internet system, Starlink.
Starlink provides high-speed satellite internet through a constellation of low-earth orbit satellites. With a shorter distance than traditional satellite providers and better technology, Starlink promises internet their service rivals land-based internet speeds.
A few weeks after the announcement, eagle-eyed cruisers noticed Starlink internet dishes onboard Freedom of the Seas.
After much excitement and waiting, Royal Caribbean announced on August 30, 2022, that they would add Starlink internet across the entire fleet.
Every cruise ship in Royal Caribbean’s fleet has Starlink internet service, providing the fastest internet speeds at sea.
Which Internet Plan Should You Buy?
Regardless of internet use, I recommend everyone purchase the Surf & Stream Package.
The Surf & Stream package is much faster than the throttled-down Surf package, making for a better experience overall. The speedier internet package means quicker load times even if you aren’t streaming.
And for the minimal price difference, you can’t go wrong.
How to Access Internet on Royal Caribbean
Connecting your device to the Voom internet package is relatively simple. First, enable the WiFi on your device and select the ship’s internet service from the list.
When your device connects to the ship’s internet, your device will open a new web browser. If your device doesn’t automatically open the browser, you can open it yourself.
At this point, you should see the login prompt. If not, visit “Login.com,” where you can sign in using the provided password.
You should have an internet connection throughout the ship, but if you lose the connection, check that your WiFi is turned on, then visit “Login.com” again to sign in.
It’s important to note that the internet might not be available throughout the ship. If you have issues with your internet connection, visit the help desk.
FAQ
Can I Stream With VOOM?
Yes, you can stream with the Surf & Stream Voyage Package. According to Netflix, the minimum internet speed to access the service is 0.5Mbps, with 3Mbps recommended for standard definition streaming and 5Mbps recommended for HD streaming.
The Surf & Stream package has speeds between 34 and 113 Mbps in our tests. It’s more than enough for streaming HD movies. In our experience, TV shows and Movies take a little longer to load, but you can still watch movies in high definition.
We also successfully streamed on YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu.
Can I Use Voom For Video Chat Services Like Facetime?
Yes, you can use Voom for video calls back home. We’ve used Facetime, Whatsapp, and Facebook Messenger while on Royal Caribbean. The call quality can be choppy here and there, but nothing that interfered too much.
Overall, the Voom internet makes connecting with friends and family back home easy.
Can I Use Voom to Message and Make Calls on My Phone via WiFi?
Yes, you can use the Voom internet with messaging apps to make calls and send messages via WiFi. We’ve tested WhatsApp, Signal, and Facebook Messenger with no issues. The messaging worked flawlessly, and the voice calls were crystal clear.
Other messaging apps should work just as well. While connected, Royal Caribbean recommends keeping your device on airplane mode to avoid roaming charges on a cruise ship. While in roaming mode, you might have issues sending a regular text message. However, messaging apps still work great.
Can I Use One Account for Multiple Devices?
Perhaps the biggest drawback of the service is that you can only connect one device. So, you must pay for two devices if you want to connect your laptop while your spouse wants to connect their phone.
There is a workaround. If you don’t need full-time internet connectivity, you can use multiple devices with only one device connected at a time.
For example, once you finish browsing the web on your laptop, you can connect a phone to the WiFi. The login screen will notify you that you have reached your device limit and ask if you want to connect to the new device. After you accept, the new device will be connected while the old one is kicked off the WiFi.
Which Royal Caribbean Ships Have Starlink Internet?
Every cruise ship in Royal Caribbean’s fleet uses Starlink internet service so that you can guarantee fast internet speeds.
Are all Messengers are working with Voom?
Such as WhatApp, Line, Wechat, Telegram, Facebook Messenger etc?
Yes. You might need to upgrade to the surf + stream package to use video chatting features. But all of the messaging apps you mentioned should work with Voom internet.
If I was to purchase the voom for 2 devices, it sounds like I could only access the internet using one device at a time, is that correct? Is it managed with a password?
My husband I and would both like to utilize this, but we are not heavy users, so if it was shared this would be ideal (his tablet/my phone). What if you have four devices? Can you still utilize all four, just only one active one at a time?
Yes, that is correct. The internet access is managed with a password and can be used on multiple devices – but only one device at a time.
Victoria and I use this trick all the time when we cruise. It’s a great way to save money on the internet plan if you don’t need a constant internet connection.
Hi… thanks for all the information. I was wondering ATT has a cruise package. Would this be better than Voom?
Thanks
Hi Karen,
If you will need traditional calling and texting you will be better off choosing AT&T, as you won’t get that with the cruise line. Otherwise, it depends on how much internet you will be using. Currently, AT&T offers 200 MB for $100. On a five-night cruise or less, Royal Caribbean’s VOOM internet is cheaper. But on six-night sailings or longer AT&T is cheaper, if you are using less than 200 MB.