Carnival Corporation, one of the world’s largest travel companies that owns multiple global cruise lines, will install SpaceX Starlink hardware to its cruise ship fleet. The company operates nearly 100 ships in over 700 ports worldwide. It began equipping ships with Starlink antennas in December 2022. The first ships that received Starlink hardware are operated by Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises ships. Carnival Corporation has plans to expand Starlink to its other other world-class cruise brands, including: Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard. “[...] Starlink greatly advances Carnival Corporation's focus on providing the best available Wi-Fi experience for its guests to stay connected while on vacation, including sharing photos and videos, streaming movies and live sporting events, and enjoying other content onboard with a reliable connection at even faster speeds,” stated company representatives on January 18.
“High-speed, low-latency broadband internet is critical in our modern age, and we're excited to provide Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA's guests an internet experience that makes their travel even more enjoyable,” said Jonathan Hofeller, the vice president of Starlink sales for SpaceX. “In even the most remote waters, guests onboard Carnival Corporation ships will be able to share real-time updates with friends and family.”
“For many of our guests, it has become more and more important to maintain the type of connectivity at sea that they've become accustomed to at home, and of course to share the unforgettable experiences of their cruise with friends and family,” said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation. “We are in the business of delivering happiness, and Starlink makes it as easy as possible for our guests to share all their great moments and memories, giving them even more joy out of their cruise vacation.”
“The added bandwidth will give the brands the capabilities and flexibility to introduce new guest services and features, as well as help boost operational functions like onboard equipment monitoring and real-time communications between ship and shore teams,” said Weinstein, “And importantly, adding Starlink's innovative technology to the company's existing connectivity platform will also help our amazing crew stay in touch with friends and loved ones.”
SpaceX also signed agreements to provide maritime Starlink internet connectivity to Royal Caribbean, American Cruise Lines, and SeaDream Yacht Club. The Starlink network is powered by a constellation of approximately 3,374 satellites operating in Low Earth Orbit. The company aims to launch at least 7,500 more upgraded Starlink satellites over the next couple of years to increase the network’s capabilities. SpaceX recently shared that it already has over 1 million Starlink subscribers globally. Learn more at SpaceX’s official website Starlink.com.
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Featured Image Source: Princess Cruises / Carnival Corporation
About the Author
Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
