Monday, April 1, 2024

Disney Cruise WiFi: Packages and Prices

disney cruise wifi price

The conspiracy theory part of my personality assumed that Disney was prioritizing Premium traffic, and when I managed to get web pages to load, I was getting lucky with my timing. I’d recommend this package for the person that just wants to check in at work once or twice while cruising. Not to download a bunch of stuff, but to periodically make sure the ship back home is still sailing. These are some of the larger providers that may have arrangements for Cellular at Sea service. In the past, the WiFi was billed by the usage but it’s since changed over to this new system. I prefer paying by the day because it was always difficult to know how many MBs I would use.

How to Connect to WiFi

We didn’t have to purchase an internet package, yet I could still text my family and best friend. Speaking of texting, anyone with an iPhone can use iMessage to chat with anyone else that has an iPhone, whether onboard the ship or not. DCL-Guest is the network name for the Disney Cruise Line internet.

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The “Stay Connected” package permits most social media use, but does not support access to email, online surfing, or streaming games or videos, even short-form videos. All other guests in the stateroom will pay the applicable pricing for their own internet package. If any other guests in the stateroom wish to purchase an internet package they will pay full price for whichever level they want. The Premium Surf plan does not support long-form video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu. The Basic Surf plan does not support long-form video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu. The Disney Cruise Line website still states Pearl members can “select port arrival times and complete online check-in 40 days prior to sailing” (other tiers can select between 33 and 38 days prior).

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Especially with that many people trying to utilize it at all times. But you should know what to expect – you’re not going to be video-calling friends or coworkers. You may not even be able to check email reliably or audio call at all. If the safety net of potentially being able to connect is worth the $30-$36/day for you, then go for it. Otherwise, you may be better off skipping the hassle completely. Could even get Instagram or Twitter (or LinkedIn for that matter) to load at all.

There are reports from the Disney Magic Mediterranean Cruise that DCL has updated their internet service offering. The new service offers plans based on a daily usage fee versus metered packages based on data used. In order to stay connected for work, (which, to be clear, was not a goal of this cruise. I cruise to avoid work. But science!) I needed to access Outlook, Teams, and Slack. On the Premium Surf plan, Outlook loaded about 50% of the time, and timed out the other 50%. Teams connectivity had a slightly better success rate, because it refreshed appropriately about 75% of the time. And Slack almost always kept itself updated, but really struggled with marking things as “read”.

Disney Cruise WiFi: Packages and Prices

Guests aboard the Disney Magic in Europe are currently offered a new set of Internet options starting at $10/day (a 24 hour period). The Disney Wonder currently does not have the time-based internet packages, it expected to transition to the internet packages after the dry dock this fall. Guests can select this package to access social media for either $18 per day, purchased by the day, or $16 per day for the length of the cruise. This is an increase of 50-60% based on last year’s pricing of $12 per day, or $10 per day for the length of the cruise.

Can You Share an Internet Plan On a Disney Cruise?

If any of these apply to you, you may have special access to discounted Disney cruise prices. Guest in Family Concierge Staterooms will have the Stay Connected internet package included for 2 guests in the stateroom. The new internet packages are now available on all five of the Disney Cruise Ships. If you decide to upgrade to a Voyage plan mid-voyage you will only be charged for the remaining days.

Disney's fleet of cruise ships

And the constant griping overheard any time we walked past the Guest Services desk seems to corroborate my feelings. Once that data is used up, though, you will be asked to select a plan. I’ve grabbed as much information about which Connect@Sea package you should get depending on what your usage might be. So, if you’re ready to learn how to get on the internet while on a Disney Cruise, let’s get started. Except for the uses mentioned above, free WiFi isn’t available. You’ll need to purchase a package to use the ship’s satellite WiFi.

disney cruise wifi price

Where Can I Get Help With the Internet on a Disney Cruise?

If you choose to enable roaming and attempt to use your cell phone’s network at sea, your network should kick in when the cruise ship is at least a dozen miles or so away from the shore. With this internet plan, you will get the fastest connection speed. If you want to be able to watch YouTube videos, which require faster connection speeds, go with Premium. Hold onto your Mickey ears because navigating the digital waters is as much a part of the Disney Cruise experience as spotting Captain Mickey. Read to the end because we have a great money-saving Wi-Fi tip for you while in ports during your Disney Cruise from our experience sailing with them and traveling all over the world, accessing Wi-Fi.

When you send messages to another iPhone, you should not (in theory) be charged for internet usage. What you can do is use iMessage on an Apple device to send and receive BLUE messages. Those are only the messages that go between two Apple products. This is reported to be because iMessage is a backdoor that Apple uses that acts as push notifications on both ends, keeping Disney from being able to charge for the Wi-Fi usage. However, all guests receive 50MB of data free on the first day of the Disney Cruise.

Plenty of cards have this feature, but two fairly decent ones are the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Both cards will allow you to redeem your points toward purchases at a rate of 1 cent per point. Disney is notable in that it also allows you to bring your own alcohol on board. Each guest older than 21 can bring up to two bottles of wine or six cans of beer when they first board and at every port of call. Considering that alcohol on the ship can be pretty expensive, this is a good way to save money. This first option seems obvious, but you’ll want to specifically search for discounted sailings.

While the internet speed on cruise ships has improved drastically over the years, it’s slower than the web surfing you’re used to at home. You can share one internet plan on multiple devices if you only use one at a time and log out of each device when you’re done using it. Even better, these redemptions can be stacked with other discounts, allowing you to drop your costs even more. For example, a member of the U.S. military can redeem 116,400 Capital One Miles to pay for their entire cruise, an excellent double dip that saves money and miles.

Just remember you can only use it at a port (in a participating country) and not when at sea. Your cell phone provider can let you know which countries are part of this program. You’ll need to have it activated on your phone before using it. In my experience, it’s somewhat reliable, but not as fast as you’d expect for a land connection, and sometimes drops off. If you require more bandwidth, it’s a good idea to purchase the Premium Package. The price per day of the WiFi packages ranges from $16 for one day of Stay Connected when purchasing the full voyage to $42 per day for the Premium Package when only buying one day.

However, you do need to be aware that you will be charged for a complete day no matter what time on that day you choose the Per Voyage package. Notably missing is the Disney Wonder, which according to Sanders, should be updated to the new internet plans during an upcoming dry dock. Basic Surf includes social media and access to the web and email for $28 a day, purchased by the day, or $24 per day for the length of the cruise. This is an increase of 16-20% based on last year’s pricing of $24 per day, or $20 per day for the length of the cruise. This would be the optimal choice for someone that still wants to stay connected by checking email every so often. As of November 2019, wifi on the pay-as-you-go package is 25 cents per megabyte.

Unlike other ports of call that have free wifi, Castaway Cay does not. You need to use the internet package you purchased or the wave phones provided (see below). Plus, each Disney cruise ship has a Connect at Sea helpdesk. Stop by and pick up a brochure for current data rates or for any help you need connecting to the internet.

Internet packages can be purchased through the Disney Cruise Navigator app once onboard and connected to the ship’s WiFi. You’ll then be prompted to review the plan and check out. If you have trouble connecting to the internet, the onboard internet help desk can troubleshoot internet and cell phone access onboard.

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