Royal Caribbean cruise ships will use SpaceX's Starlink for internet
Royal Caribbean is known for its ultra-luxurious Celebrity and Silversea cruises. Despite all the luxury on offer, Royal Caribbean, like others, lacks when it comes to high-speed Wi-Fi on board. Well, not anymore. The company has announced that its fleet of cruises will adorn SpaceX's Starlink internet service. It will be officially launched on a ship called 'Celebrity Beyond' on September 5.
Why does this story matter?
Royal Caribbean's decision to deploy Starlink Maritime service across its fleet is a testament to the current state of maritime internet. Starlink Maritime, for all its credibility and quality, is still the new kid on the block. If the existing providers don't up their game, we'll soon see Starlink aboard almost all cruises. This partnership will certainly enhance Starlink's reputation in maritime circles.
Royal Caribbean will fully deploy Starlink by Q1 of 2023
Royal Caribbean's decision to outfit its fleet with Starlink came after it deployed the service on a trial basis in one of its ships called 'Freedom of the Seas.' The company said that it "received tremendous positive feedback" from the trial run. It expects the service to be fully deployed across its fleet by the first quarter of 2023.
Starlink Maritime service will cost $5,000/month
For the Starlink Maritime service, Royal Caribbean will have to pay $5,000 monthly and at least a $10,000 upfront hardware fee for special terminals. The company is yet to say anything about how many Starlink dishes each ship would use or how much bandwidth will be split between the passengers. It, however, promises improvement in high-bandwidth activities like video streaming and video calls.
How did Royal Caribbean provide internet on ships until now?
Until now, Royal Caribbean provided its customers with in-house VOOM internet. People on board the ships were allowed to purchase the service for $19.99/day. The company calls it the "fastest internet at sea." As per the Cruise Critic forum, the service provides a speed of up to 24Mbps. With the deployment of Starlink, it is unclear what will happen to VOOM.
Starlink Maritime service was launched in July this year
SpaceX launched the Starlink Maritime in July this year. At the moment, it is only available in the coastal waters in parts of North and South America (including the Caribbean), Europe, and around Australia and New Zealand. The Elon Musk-owned company, however, plans to cover most of the northern hemisphere by the end of this year and the southern hemisphere by early 2023.
Starlink Maritime has a download speed of 100-350Mbps
Users of Starlink Maritime can expect better internet speed than any other Wi-Fi on ships. It has speeds of 100-350Mbps down and 20-40Mbps up. The speed is a result of dual terminals.
