Recommendations for Internet on a Carnival Cruise

Muddled dead on 07/07/2026 - 10:23
Last edited 07/07/2026 - 10:23

We are going on a 7 day cruise with Carnival departing from Brisbane and traveling to New Caledonia and Vanuatu and trying to work out best deal for onboard internet.

The internet will be primarily for my son (18) to stay in contact with his close friends to help him to self-regulate. I'm sure he will be too busy enjoying himself with cruise activities but want to make his experience as stress free as possible and for us too.

I'm aware that Carnival offer expensive wifi packages and to use for longer calls/internet I will need to look at the premium package but just wondering if there are other options available. I've seen the Red Bull Esim as an option but wondering if anyone has used this and can provide feedback on their experience with it.

I know someone else asked a similar question back in 2024 but seeing if there have been any changes in the last 2 years.

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  • brendanm on 07/07/2026 - 11:50

    You don't need internet on a cruise. You will live for the 7 days without it.

    • 21
    • JIMB0 on 07/07/2026 - 14:02

      In the year 2026 a week without internet can apparently cause one to lose the ability to self regulate.

      • 20
  • theHMASfriendship on 07/07/2026 - 11:01

    Carnival departing from Brisbane and traveling to New Caledonia and Vanuatu

    I didn't realise Kias were seaworthy! 😲

    • 16
    • ricadam on 08/07/2026 - 09:12

      JV? This your alt account?

      • 9
    • Muppet Detector on 13/07/2026 - 08:49

      Submarine division.

      • 0
  • Mjk698 on 07/07/2026 - 13:08

    Jesus Christ tell the kid to put his phone away for a week and actually meet real people in real Life.. if he is a little anxious he can just play games on his phone … On the other hand why can't an 18 year old stay home and take care of himself lol I had a job and left home by 16 years old

    • 16
    • jv on 07/07/2026 - 22:40

      Jesus Christ tell the kid to put his phone away

      Do you have Jesus's number?

      • 8
      • Guybrush57 on 08/07/2026 - 01:49

        Jesus'

        There, I corrected your spelling.

        • 1
        • MS Paint on 08/07/2026 - 06:27

          That was bold.

          • 3
        • jv on 08/07/2026 - 09:42

          Jesii

          • 3
        • Daabido on 09/07/2026 - 21:09

          Actually both are acceptable, although the Australian Government Style Manual (AGSM) does suggest Jesus'.

          There are many differences between countries, organisations and even religious groups for both spelling and pronunciation.

          Many on here wouldn't have even heard of the AGSM or the Macquarie Dictionary. They are probably one step ahead of actually capitalising sentences and using punctuation correctly, which is generally woeful here.

          It is woeful in schools too. Capital letters aren't good enough to write your name on the test? Go back and bring it back when you've shown yourself some respect; damn preps years 4-7!

          • 2
          • SteveBuscemi on 11/07/2026 - 09:55

            @Daabido:

            the Australian Government Style Manual (AGSM) does suggest Jesus'.

            It literally says the opposite which is in line with modern use of proper nouns/singular vs plural for possessives. eg. Bridget Jones's Diary vs The Girls' Guide to Growing Up.

            Proper names ending in letter ‘s - Add an apostrophe and another ‘s’, even if you don’t pronounce that final ‘s’

            Burns’s report
            James’s profession
            Laos’s population
            Louis’s supervisor
            Jesus’s disciples

            • 0
        • Cheap Gamer on 10/07/2026 - 20:21

          You dare correct jv and Grammarly? Woah dude.

          Many on here wouldn't have even heard of the AGSM or the Macquarie Dictionary.

          I was throwing the Macquarie Dictionary at nerds before you were born sonny.

          • 1
        • Muppet Detector on 13/07/2026 - 09:23

          What a shame that your correction wasn't correct though.

          • 1
      • Muppet Detector on 13/07/2026 - 09:16

        Do you have Jenny's number?

        8675309

        • 0
        • jv on 13/07/2026 - 09:32

          Do you have Jacinta's number?

          54432144

          • 0
    • tenpercent on 07/07/2026 - 15:00

      Back in my day we were kicked out by 16 years old and then we had to buy a bungalow over 30 minutes from the CBD of a capital city paying for it outright with both our spare buttons and a spool of thread.

      /s

      • 4
      • ERIKS on 07/07/2026 - 20:16

        You were lucky, back in my day, ship had no engine. We had to take turns rowing ore. When we weren't rowing ore, we had to lick deck clean with tongue.

        • 15
        • Guybrush57 on 08/07/2026 - 01:48

          We had to take turns rowing ore

          That must've been tough propelling the ship forward by wading rocks in water.

          • 2
          • ERIKS on 08/07/2026 - 02:50

            @Guybrush57: Really tough, others either disregarded us or were in awe of the use heavy oars made of ore.

            • 2
        • Daabido on 09/07/2026 - 20:39

          Luxury.

          • 0
      • Muppet Detector on 13/07/2026 - 09:13

        And you had to use your own bootstraps.

        • 0
        • ssfps on 08/07/2026 - 02:40

          ok boomer

          • 0
  • c64 on 07/07/2026 - 11:14

    internet will come in handy when you are in your cabin bound all trip recovering from gastro

    • 15
    • Muddled dead on 07/07/2026 - 11:26

      Hahaha hopefully not!!!!

      • 1
    • kaleidoscope on 09/07/2026 - 08:30

      That’s for bowel regulation, op wants self regulation

      • 0
      • skillet on 11/07/2026 - 09:28

        That's bowel training.

        • 0
      • c64 on 11/07/2026 - 13:34

        op wants self regulation

        legend has it that too much self-regulation will make you go blind

        • 0
  • tenpercent on 07/07/2026 - 11:05

    help him to self-regulate

    What does that mean?

    • 11
    • c64 on 07/07/2026 - 11:20

      watching videos from certain sites

      • 30
      • salmon123 on 07/07/2026 - 15:17

        Imagine being on a boat full of other like minded people that might need some regulation too.

        Heck there's probably a few milfs/dilfs on that boat that could help him regulate too.

        • 8
    • Freitag on 08/07/2026 - 17:12

      The ability to manage your emotions yourself, without the aid of someone or something else.
      Self-regulating shouldn't be dependant on the internet. That sounds like escapism or addiction.

      • 7
      • Mjk698 on 08/07/2026 - 17:15

        Probably the new trend of everything is AUTISM

        • 7
    • Oztx on 10/07/2026 - 21:46

      Starts with master and ends with bating.

      • 1
    • Hardlyworkin on 07/07/2026 - 21:41

      Something easier to do in recent times when you can verify you're 18 or older

      • 0
    • Muppet Detector on 13/07/2026 - 09:10

      Self-regulate means to be able to manage your own emotions, thoughts, energy levels, impulsivity and other behaviours.

      Like a little tool box of things to do if you find yourself feeling anxious, afraid or experiencing a panic attack etc.

      • 0
    • Muddled dead on 07/07/2026 - 11:32

      Being in a new environment surrounded by people he doesn't know. Help to provide grounding to his normal everyday life.

      • -2
      • arkie0 on 07/07/2026 - 15:23

        So…. normal everyday life

        • 23
      • Phoenixzeus on 09/07/2026 - 10:23

        How is he going to survive adult life?

        • 9
  • try2bhelpful on 07/07/2026 - 12:15

    https://travel.onesimcard.com/the-cruise-ship-connectivity-m…?

    This is an interesting article.

    I would look at how many sea days vs how many onshore days. Get him a travel SIM that will work in ports of call and give him enough time to upload his pictures and communicate with his mates then. When at sea make sure the SIM isn't trying to roam.

    Before heading out upload a bunch of music, movies, stand alone games, ebooks etc to keep him going during the at sea days. Maybe sit down and see if there is anything he would like to do “offline” like photo editing etc. At sea days can be great for trying something you’ve never had time to do.

    My little brother has been a teacher for decades and he said this current lot are the most anxious kids he has ever seen. Maybe reducing the “always on” from social media might give him some respite.

    Hope everyone has a great time.

    • 10
    • Muddled dead on 07/07/2026 - 13:01

      Thanks for sharing and providing some good insights! He isn't on social media often it's more about just talking crap with his mates while he plays games. Im hoping he really just gets into the cruise activities and has a great time.

      • 3
      • try2bhelpful on 07/07/2026 - 13:16

        I would just consider this a “lead a horse to water” exercise. Hopefully as long as he has sometime to muck around with his mates in the ports from the ship he will get into the other stuff as well. Maybe recon what activities the ship offers. They usually have some gym facilities and a spa.

        Not sure if it helps but my nephew was a tad like this at about that age. Didn’t want to go on the family overseas trip and, quite frankly, was a tad painful to deal with. Fast forward seven years, and one University degree, and he has matured into a terrific young man.

        • 1
  • JIMB0 on 07/07/2026 - 10:49

    I went on the cruise back in the day before smart phones. On the first day the ship follows the coast until late evening, so you'll still get phone signal off the land. Then just switch your phone off and relax.

    If you must have internet then you may get it with a roaming SIM card when in port at the more populated islands.

    • 8
    • MS Paint on 07/07/2026 - 10:54

      The internet will be primarily for my son (18) to stay in contact with his close friends to help him to self-regulate.

      How can they relax if their son can't self regulate?

      • 28
      • JIMB0 on 07/07/2026 - 11:01

        He'll make new friends on the cruise. Who knows, he might even meet the future Mrs Jnr Muddled Dead and forget all about his mates back home. Hope he's got his own cabin.

        • 17
        • LFO on 08/07/2026 - 11:28

          he might even meet the future Mrs Jnr

          At 18? … On how to ruin your life at a very early beginning …

          • 3
          • ATTS on 09/07/2026 - 07:53

            @LFO: Happy wife happy life!

            • 0
            • LFO on 09/07/2026 - 12:58

              @ATTS: For her, yes. Very happy indeed!

              • 0
        • Muddled dead on 07/07/2026 - 11:41

          Haha maybe! Thanks for the helpful advice about it following the coast it might be we just look at travel sim and he can connect in at ports/coast and have times where he might be limited.

          • 1
      • Raj09 on 09/07/2026 - 11:10

        Self regulate? We didn't have phone growing up. There was no such idiocy. You make friends on the boat or where you land. And you talk.

        • 2
        • raiseyoursteaks on 09/07/2026 - 19:18

          Almost like he needs a good detox from mobile devices

          • 1
        • LFO on 09/07/2026 - 13:00

          And you talk.

          And that is the problem today.

          • 0
  • Godric on 07/07/2026 - 16:45

    I recommend not going on cruises

    • 5
    • jaimex2 on 08/07/2026 - 18:11

      Why? They're the best holiday you can have with a young family

      • 1
      • jv on 13/07/2026 - 09:36

        They're the best holiday you can have with a young family

        So you don't holiday much then…

        • 0
        • Muppet Detector on 13/07/2026 - 09:40

          Children do get first dibs on life boats. That's always handy for those who cannot swim very far.

          • 0
        • jaimex2 on 13/07/2026 - 13:29

          I can tell you don't

          • 0
  • Dslrfirst on 08/07/2026 - 09:35

    U dont say whether your son has access to the grog package?

    • 5
  • tsunamisurfer on 07/07/2026 - 11:31

    So your son needs others to self regulate?

    • 4
    tsunamisurfer on 07/07/2026 - 11:31 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
    • Muddled dead on 07/07/2026 - 11:35

      He can be himself with his mates and not feel like he will be judged. He gets highly anxious about how others see him especially in crowds/public. It's a family event so he has to come. His choice would be not to go.

      • -5
      • MS Paint on 07/07/2026 - 15:19

        family event so he has to come

        He's 18 so he doesn't. I gave up associating with family members that I wouldn't normally be friends with decades ago. It's liberating.

        • 4
      • p1 ama on 07/07/2026 - 17:03

        It's a family event so he has to come. His choice would be not to go.

        As someone who is autistic and doesn't particularly like going to social events or crowded places, I find this statement really concerning.

        Who is saying that he "has to come", and what right do they have to dictate whether he should be there or not?

        If his choice is to not go, then who is forcing him to go? He is an adult, not a child, he has the right to decide whether he wants to go or not.

        If you are forcing him to go, you need to respect his wishes. If others are forcing him to go, you need to step up as a parent and defend your son.

        • 4
        • Muppet Detector on 13/07/2026 - 09:06

          If his choice is to not go, then who is forcing him to go? He is an adult, not a child, he has the right to decide whether he wants to go or not.

          As you are autistic, you would possibly be in the best position to understand that a person can stay home alone for over a week, even if they are an adult.

          If you are forcing him to go, you need to respect his wishes. If others are forcing him to go, you need to step up as a parent and defend your son.

          You have no idea what is going on in the life of that family and yet you have the audacity to try and shame a father about his parenting strategies.

          Sometimes being forced to participate in controlled situations within a safe supportive environment that you would rather avoid is how one gains the skills and confidence to eventually do so autonomously in pursuit of independence.

          • 0
      • The Wololo Wombat on 07/07/2026 - 23:04

        Sounds like your placating/condoning the the social issues he has…

        • 3
  • aidenh37 on 07/07/2026 - 20:17

    Get a decent Android phone, connect to the internet on board for a single fee. Then repeat the signal using personal hotspot. Saved us $300. Just make sure repeating is supported.

    This isn't supported by iPhones.

    • 4
    • Guybrush57 on 08/07/2026 - 01:52

      Haha we did the same thing. I was wondering if iPhones could do it. Glad none of us were dumb enough to own an iPhone.

      • 1
      • aidenh37 on 09/07/2026 - 12:30

        Oh, I was. I switched for the cruise XD

        • 0
  • OzzyOzbourne on 10/07/2026 - 13:33

    I must be getting old…
    1. Why take an 18yo son on a cruuse?
    2. What does self regulate mean wrt your son and the internet?
    3. Why does an 18 yo need to be in regular contact with their friends, you are only going for 7 days, not 6 months
    4. If he needs the internet to self regulate on a cruise ship then can't he pay for the usage himself?

    • 4
    • Mjk698 on 10/07/2026 - 13:58

      Unfortunately this generation of cotton wool babies even at 18 they may as well be 10.

      • 1
    • Captain Cardigan on 21/07/2026 - 15:40
      1. Family holiday.
      2. Don't know
      3. Don't know
      4. Don't know.
      • 0
  • scotty on 07/07/2026 - 12:38

    There's also GigSky eSIM that's supposed to work on many cruise ships. It uses Cellular At Sea service. They have a 100MB free offer that you can test out, and quite a lot cheaper than cruise's wifi. However there are also many negative reviews saying either having too many blind spots onboard, or not working at all.

    • 3
    • Muddled dead on 07/07/2026 - 13:01

      Thank you I will look into them

      • 1
      • scotty on 07/07/2026 - 13:11

        Saw this review where this guy tested the bandwidth of GigSky in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. Download ranges between 0.3Mbps to 1Mbps, i.e. probably too slow to stream video, but fine for web browsings. However I have also heard that the performance also varies by the ship and where the ship placed its maritime cellular network.

        • 0
  • dylanando on 07/07/2026 - 16:06

    Much superior experience just spending the money for the onboard starlink. You’ll chew through data, least with the wifi you won’t need to worry about it.

    • 3
  • saltypete on 09/07/2026 - 17:55

    Forget the advice on upbringing! You know your kid and your judgement is best.
    You can buy eSims etc, but these may work only when you are close to cells and you won't be most of the time.
    Internet prices are steep on cruise ships because they can, but it's probably the way to go in this case. For a week it won't break your bank.
    Enjoy!

    • 3
  • fozzie on 11/07/2026 - 15:46

    I'm in carnival ATM. I bought Maya 7 days unlimited. First couple of days got buy with the free 3 days (for some reason worked for texting). Use Travel20 for it to be cheaper. I have a cabin with ocean view (restricted) on deck 8 and the service is amazing! I paid about $120 for 7 days unlimited. Used about 7gb over 4 days. My cruise is to Vanuatu and New Caledonia. I'm hot spotting for husband. For some reason it doesn't work too good on deck 14-15 (outdoor) but it's great where cabin is and decks 7-8.

    • 3
  • mskeggs on 07/07/2026 - 11:30

    If the red bull eSIM works on the ship you are taking, I would just buy that and not over think. Tell your adult child that there is 1Gb of data, so it is only for text messaging, no video and let them manage it.

    • 2
    • Muddled dead on 07/07/2026 - 11:42

      Good point - he's done well with travel sims when overseas in the past but has connected into the wifi at accommodation keep him within the data limits.

      • 1
    • JIMB0 on 07/07/2026 - 14:04

      Back in my day smart phone plans only came with 1gb of data that had to last for a whole month.

      • 1
  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 08/07/2026 - 17:22

    Agree with doing without. Tell them to suck it up.

    If you HAVE to, just tip one of the room cleaners and they'll give you the staff recreation wifi user and password ;-)

    • 2
  • jaimex2 on 08/07/2026 - 18:08

    I just got off this exact cruise and knew they'd gouge for access.

    I set up a DNSTT server and had access to internet the entire time. Granted it's not the fastest.

    Http injector app on Android was the client I used.

    • 2
    • cyrax83 on 08/07/2026 - 23:33

      Interesting - have a guide on this?

      • 0
      • jaimex2 on 09/07/2026 - 09:50

        Not really, I self host stuff so it was easy for me.

        Might be worth asking an AI for options or if there is a VPN service that does DNSTT out of the box.

        • 2
  • freedomofspeech on 09/07/2026 - 08:15

    Time to grow up for your son. Why are you researching on his behalf?
    He would have to learn that if he doesn't, there simply won't be internet. Easy.

    • 2
  • Hen on 07/07/2026 - 12:01

    Take a look at gigsky. They sell cruise eSIMs

    • 1
    • slacktech on 10/07/2026 - 13:27

      and 'cruise and land' options, too. Very handy if you also want access to data at ports.

      • 0
  • apsilon on 07/07/2026 - 14:55

    If you don't have coverage I doubt any of the other sim/esim options are going to work either unless you get something like star link or the onboard option (surely they have a wifi option, it's 2026).

    • 1
    • slacktech on 10/07/2026 - 13:35

      Gigsky (and their direct competitors) have agreements with cruise lines to use the Starlink onboard (piggyback off it essentially). It's more stuffing around than WiFi on the ship (very easy, and allows calling/sms over WiFi) but much cheaper on average.

      The cruise lines often offer a multi-device package. That usually works out much cheaper than individual device pricing. And you can use the access on any device - the cruise line doesn't care - their systems just monitor the concurrent login sessions. So a family is usually much better off buying a multi-device package and just logging in with the one set of credentials on each device (e.g. last name and cabin number usually).

      • 0
  • Darayus on 08/07/2026 - 11:23

    JJust a quick but really important heads-up before you go:

    Please make absolutely sure you do not have data roaming turned on for your current SIM card. A friend of mine enthusiastically left his roaming on during a one-week trip to use data and voice, and Optus hit him with a shocking $8,000 bill because he didn't realize the charges were accumulating.

    I know you love your son and want to keep him constantly connected while you're away, but I really don't want you getting a massive, frustrating rip-off in your mail once you return.

    Please be especially careful if you are on a cruise or flying: the standard $5-a-day roaming plans do NOT apply on the high seas or to satellite roaming. Those maritime and aerospace networks charge exorbitant premium rates.

    To be safe, manually toggle data roaming OFF in your phone settings, or double-check your setup before you head out!

    • 1
    • spaceflight on 08/07/2026 - 23:14

      because he didn't realize the charges were accumulating

      Why did he ignore all the usage messages that he was sent?

      • 2
    • djsydney on 08/07/2026 - 17:30

      @darayus : I am assuming this cannot happen on prepaid sim cards? Thx

      • 0
  • Heracles on 08/07/2026 - 21:01

    Time for your son to embrace a digital detox, live the moment and meet new people ;-).

    His friends will still be there when he returns.

    • 1
  • AustriaBargain on 09/07/2026 - 03:38

    Your son will surely be consuming so much alcohol the entire cruise that he probably won't even miss his phone. I guarantee you that someone has made him aware of Carnival's reputation. You should get him the drink package, it has a limit between drinks, a daily cap (though servers can use their discretion to pace you even lower), and unlimited soft drinks like Coke and coffees. If you don't get him the internet it'll prevent him from posting stupid things during his first booze cruise.

    • 1
  • tasty-falafel on 10/07/2026 - 16:09

    If you purchase a connection these are typically locked to a single device at a time, but you have a few options to share it between family. 1) use an android phone and share the wifi connection after you have connected (doesn't work on non jailbroken iphones). 2) buy a travel router that will allow you to rebroadcast the signal over its own wifi network. Something like this https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-mt3000?variant=453818039…

    • 1
  • gezza90 on 10/07/2026 - 16:29

    Download for offline use?

    • 1
  • Drakesy on 07/07/2026 - 13:44

    With Carnival all the entertainment you need will be onboard!

    To this day with their reputation i don't know who in their right mind would choose to cruise with them.

    • 0
    • brendanm on 07/07/2026 - 15:36

      I've had a good time on a carnival cruise?

      • 2
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