DO I REALLY NEED A WI-FI PACKAGE?

Do you really need internet on a cruise ship? That depends. Before departure, you will need to put your phone and other devices that use data (iPad, etc) on airplane mode. If you fail to do this, your next bill will be outrageous! You are going into international waters and the rates are crazy high. To avoid complete shock when your phone bill arrives, put your phone on airplane mode and do not take it off until your cruise comes to an end!

If you want to stay connected to family and friends at home, you need a Wi-Fi package. If you want to keep up with social media or post anything, you need a Wi-Fi package. If you need to keep up on your bank account, favorite websites, sports scores, etc, you need a Wi-Fi package. During our cruises, my husband put his phone on airplane mode and shut it off. I, however, purchased Wi-Fi packages to stay connected to our kids and grandbabies back home.

We have sailed with Royal Caribbean and Carnival and their Wi-Fi packages are different. Let's take a look at what they offer and what the differences are.

Royal Caribbean offers two Wi-Fi options. VOOM Surf Voyage allows you to browse the web, send and receive emails, and chat on messenger apps (Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, etc). VOOM Surf Voyage runs $12.99-$15.99 per device, per day.

Then you have the VOOM Surf + Stream Voyage allows you to browse the web, send and receive emails, chat on messenger apps (Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, etc), video chat live, post on social media, and stream movies, music, videos, and TV shows. VOOM Surf + Stream Voyage runs $17.99-$19.99 per device, per day. With VOOM Surf + Stream Voyage, I had full access to everything on my phone; FaceTime, texting, internet, and all of my apps. The only thing I didn't do was make regular calls. It was fast internet and I never had any problems!

Through the Royal app, you can chat for free with those in your party. So my husband could have kept his phone on -while on airplane mode- and chatted with me through the Royal app for no charge.

Carnival offers three different internet packages. Social Wi-Fi gives access to social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. The cost is $12.75 per device, per day. The Value Wi-Fi plan gives access to social media apps plus email, banking, weather, sports, and news sites. Value Wi-Fi is $17.00 per device, per day. Then you have the Premium Wi-Fi plan. This offers all of the above plus video calling like Zoom, Skype, and Teams. The cost runs $18.75 per device, per day. My daughter had the Value plan and was not able to get on TikTok or Spotify. I had the Premium plan and could get TikTok, but I never tried Spotify. Both plans kept having issues of losing connection and needing to re-sign in. It was quite a headache.

Carnival also has a chat feature on the Carnival Hub app. However, it costs $5 per person/device. You can do this whether you have a Wi-Fi package or  not.

Being on vacation is wonderful. Sometimes you just want to completely unplug. Yet, sometimes you need to be reachable. So actually needing a Wi-Fi package depends on you.

Both cruise lines do have an emergency number in case your family needs to contact you for an emergency while you are onboard. Whether you get a Wi-Fi package or not, it is wise to make sure your family has the emergency number. But please know, it could take a little time for the cruise line to get in touch with you.