You can use your phone on the ship for everything without getting a WiFi Package, but you will be charged International Roaming Price via Wireless Maritime Services which can be incredibly expensive. You will be billed by your home service provider. Contact your service provider for rates. Your regular service provider will not work on board, it will automatically be switched to Wireless Maritime Services and charged accordingly. The same rates apply if you try to use your phone as a hotspot. The best option is to get an Internet/WiFi plan through your ship. The ship’s Internet/WiFi will not work when you are off the ship in port – you will be charged International Roaming Rates in port. Most service providers offer a temporary International Roaming Plan – contact your service provider for rates. You can get 1 plan per group, but only 1 device can be used at a time, so you would have to log out of current device and log in on the new one. You can make phone calls and send/receive text messages with any plan.
DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT CHOOSING TO NOT GET AN INTERNET PLAN THROUGH CARNIVAL
- Most Major Carriers offer both an At-Sea and and International Package. It’s important to understand the various options.
- 1 – Your Existing Plan. Your existing plan will work at sea. It will also be crazy expensive, with costs up to $8.00 per minute of talk a $1.00 per text (Data will be even more). This should be emergency use only. A rule to follow – when the ship is not tied to a US Pier your phone should be off or in airplane mode unless you buy an At-Sea Plan.
- 2 – At-Sea Plans. Often called a Cruise Plan. First, verify the plan even works on your ship. Not all do. Is so, and you ONLY need to talk and text, this may be an option. However, make sure you know how to turn off ALL Data Usage. Example – AT&T offers unlimited talk and text, which is great, but only 1 GB of Data. For reference, 1 GB is about 15 minutes of HD (Highest Quality) You Tube Video. If you forget and leave App Updates on, plus sync a few emails with photos, you could easily use 400 – 500 MB a day. If you did that for a 7 Day Cruise – you would easily be billed an extra $350 for Data.
- 3 – In-Port Plans. These plans typically are on a per day per use per device model. If you activate the phone in a Foreign Country, you are charged a fixed amount and then your usual plan rules (or reasonable limits) apply. For Example – using AT&T, it’s $10 per day for the first device, $5 for each additional for International Roaming. This is a very reasonable option. THIS PLAN DOES NOT WORK AT SEA.
- 4 – Wi-Fi Calling – if you purchase the Cruise Line Internet Package, you may be able to use Wi-Fi Calling if your Device and Carrier Supports it. This means your phone operates as normal while connected to the internet, and you can make and receive calls and texts. Unfortunately, there are variances between ships so there is no way to pre-guarantee it will work. Keep your phone in Airplane Mode at all times while on the ship to avoid switching to At-Sea Service if the Wi-Fi Fails.
- 5 – Facebook Messenger/What’s App/Etc. – If you purchase Internet or can find free Wi-Fi in Ports, this is the easiest way to keep in touch.
- 6 – E-Sims and Google Voice – Another option for land use, especially for longer cruises, is e-sim, which are often available for an entire region. (Saily and Airalo are good options to locate e-sims). However, e-sims only provide data in most cases, which means you may need a VOIP number. Google voice, which is free for basic calling, can work over both E-Sim and Ship Wi-Fi, but as stated above, is not guaranteed to work on any specific ship. Ship based E-Sims are slowly becoming available.
CARNIVAL INTERNET/WIFI PLANS
If you choose not to get an Internet Plan through Carnival, click here for Cellular Phone Service Information.
Save 15% When Booked Prior to Sailing versus onboard pricing. Cut-off for pre-purchase is 11:59PM EST the day before embarkation.
Carnival offers daily Wi-Fi Plans for Purchase. The daily rate for the Value Plan (As of October 2024) is $25.00 per 24 hours and the Premium Plan was $35 for 24 Hours.
1. SOCIAL PLAN – Starting at $15.30 per person/per day. Access the most popular social websites and applications. Includes Facebook Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, SnapChat and the most popular airline sites. Does not include access to most other websites or apps.
2. VALUE PLAN – Starting at $19.55 per person/per day. Surf all your favorite sites, including e-mail, news, sports, weather, banking and finance. Note: Does not support Skype calling or music/video streaming (such as Spotify or Netflix).
3. PREMIUM PLAN – Starting at $21.25 per person/per day. From e-mail to video calls, the Premium plan promises the fastest possible connection, at speeds up to 3 times faster than the Value Plan. Supports Skype, Zoom and Teams video calling, were coverage allows.
4. PREMIUM MULTI-DEVICE – Starting at $75.00 per day – same features as the Premium Plan, but can be used by up to 4 Devices at the same time.
*Please note – with the Social, Value and Premium Plans, only one device can be used at a time. To use another device, you will have to log out of the current device, and log in to the new device. You can share this with other people.
