Cruise wifi got more expensive in 2026. Several major lines quietly raised their internet prices in late 2025 and early this year. Some did it without telling anyone first.
Here is where things actually stand. On Carnival, plans now run roughly twenty dollars to twenty five dollars per person per day, and the four device premium option starts around ninety dollars a day. On Royal Caribbean, the main Surf and Stream package sits around a twenty dollar median per night, but the range runs from about eighteen dollars all the way up to nearly forty depending on your ship and sailing date.
Notice the important part. It is per person, per day. A family of four on a seven night cruise is not buying one wifi package. Without planning, they are buying four, and the total gets ugly fast.
There are a few things worth knowing before you pay full price. Buying before you board is almost always cheaper than buying onboard. Carnival gives you a discount for prepaying, and Royal Caribbean regularly marks packages down in the Cruise Planner ahead of the sailing. A package that costs thirty eight dollars a day onboard can drop closer to twenty nine when you buy it early.
You also may not need it for everyone. Most cruise line apps let you message the people in your own party for free, no wifi package required. If the whole point is coordinating where to meet for dinner, the app already handles that. If only one person truly needs to stay reachable for work, buy one plan for that person instead of four for the family.
The other honest question is whether you need wifi at all. Starlink has made cruise internet fast enough to stream and take video calls, which is genuinely new. That also means you can absolutely stay connected for a week at sea if you want to. You can also stare at the ocean and answer no emails. One of those is a vacation.
Here is what I tell clients. Download your shows before you leave home, plan on the free in app chat for staying in touch onboard, and buy one prepaid package for the person who actually needs it. That covers most families for a fraction of the sticker price.
If you want help sorting out what your specific sailing charges and whether a package is worth it, that is literally what we do.
Fair winds and following seas,
Captain Steve
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