Cruise Ship Wi-Fi Steams Ahead

Wi-Fi connectivity is a consumer expectation throughout the travel industry. There are any number of reasons for needing to be connected online on a cruise ship. Staying in touch with people back home directly (messaging, video calls) and sharing the experience via social media are a given. Staying up on things—sports, news—seemingly antithetical to the spirit of taking a cruise, is certainly welcome as well, including access to one’s on-shore streaming habits. Key takeaways on cruise ship connectivity:

• iPhones prevail: Over 60 percent of cruise passengers carry iPhones compared to 25 percent with Samsung Galaxy, based on Speedtest samples. This iPhone share, similar to that in the United States, reflects a relative mass-market, financially comfortable cruise line customer.
• Older Wi-Fi limits customer experience: With 12.6 percent of access points on Wi-Fi 4, there is an instant opportunity to improve the quality of connectivity for passengers and crew by upgrading to a newer Wi-Fi generation.
• Starlink is the provider of choice: Most cruise lines have equipped their ships’ connectivity with Starlink to take advantage of the speed and latency performance of low-Earth orbit satellites.