Internet on a cruise: avoid the onboard roaming bill

Why phones get expensive on a cruise

Most cruise ships carry a small mobile network (often called 'Cellular at Sea' or a maritime network). Once you're out of reach of land masts, your phone connects to it automatically. That connection runs via satellite and is billed as international roaming, even in EU waters and even if your plan includes 'roaming in the EU'.

What to do before you board

1. Install a travel eSIM for the countries on your route while you're still at home.
2. On your own SIM: turn data roaming off. Keep it on for calls only if you really need them.
3. Optionally set your network to manual so your phone never picks the ship's network.
4. Download offline maps, music and series for the sea days.

In port and along the coast

As soon as the ship is near land, a travel eSIM picks up local 4G/5G networks, often a few kilometres out to sea. That's when you check messages, share photos and plan your day ashore.

Pick a regional plan that covers all ports on your route. Check the coverage list: on Mediterranean cruises, ports such as Kotor (Montenegro), Turkey, Morocco or Tunisia are not always part of a Europe plan. In the Caribbean every island can be a different country.

At sea: ship Wi-Fi

Out on open water no SIM card works: only the ship's Wi-Fi. Many ships now use faster satellite internet with day or cruise packages. Compare the price per day with how much you really need, and keep the travel eSIM for the port days.