I've taken dozens of cruises with my family over the years, and having internet access went from "nice to have" to "critical" for keeping up with everyone.
Unfortunately, internet access at sea costs extra on a cruise ship, but that's largely because of how expensive satellite internet is compared to what a land hotel pays for a wired connection. It has gotten cheaper thanks to Starlink, but it will likely never be free.
Nonetheless, I consider buying an internet package for a family one of the most useful cruise extras to consider because it's a real difference maker in making it as simple as possible for to check in with everyone in my family.
While there's this notion disconnecting from the world is a more relaxing vacation, as long as you can exercise restraint and skip the work emails, internet access is a must buy.
Being connected doesn't mean work emails
I love having internet access because so much of our personal lives rely on it, not just work.
From checking the weather, to staying in contact with family, or following sports teams, the internet is how so many of us interact on a basic level these days.
The idea that if you have internet access it means answering work emails is misconstrued, in my opinion. If you have work emails on your phone, turn off notifications for that app and stay out of it.
Not only does having internet access make every day life easier, it's a godsend for being able to communicate with friends and family onboard the ship.
While I appreciate the notion of "unplugging" as a novel escape from the daily grind of our lives, I think it's romanticized in the same way people talk about "sleeping under the stars" in the woods somewhere while conveniently forgetting how uncomfortable that can be.
The free chat feature in the app isn't nearly as good
While Royal Caribbean app has a free chat feature, it's not very good.
It works well enough, but it's lacking key features and doesn't work at all for kids.
You have to be at least 13 years old to use the chat feature, so it means kids either cannot use the chat feature at all or you have to log them in under an adult's account.
Plus, the chat feature requires both you and the person you're trying to reach to accept each other as contacts.
This means if you try to message someone who hasn't accepted your invitation to chat first, they'll never see the message.
Lastly, the notifications are hit or miss within the app. I've had pretty good luck with getting a push notification of a new message, but not always.
Let's face it, the tried-and-true messaging apps millions rely on at home just work better.
Having internet access on shore excursions is even more important
If having Wi-Fi on a cruise ship is nice, having internet while touring ports is a must-do.
Thanks to cheaper cell phone roaming plans, I've found having at least one device with cell phone access is helpful in knowing where to go, where to eat, and generally navigating your day.
When I was in Europe this summer, I relied heavily on an e-Sim and AT&T internet pass while in various countries and I know it made my experience so much better.
I was able to quickly navigate where the next spot to visit was, understand which form of public transportation would be best, and download apps we needed to get around.
Even when I was on a shore excursion sold by the cruise line, having internet access made waiting less dull, and provided context when we were on our own.
Not cheap, but affordable
Getting Wi-Fi on your Royal Caribbean cruise doesn't have to be expensive, if you know when to buy it.
The cruise line sells internet packages before the cruise begins and pre-purchasing is going to save you the most money.
As an example, an unlimited one device at a time internet package costs just $18.99 per day if I buy it now, compared to $27.99 per day if I wait to get it onboard the ship.
Sales like this are quite common, so there's no excuse not to buy before the sailing.
In fact, you can pay less per device if you add more concurrent devices to use. Royal Caribbean's Voom packages come in 1, 2, 3 or 4 devices plans.
You can share internet access with friends or family, as you're just limited to however many devices are in your package at one time.
