Chris AshtonIf you’ve ever attempted to use internet on a cruise ship you’ll know it can often be a painful experience with slow speeds and high prices.
And it looks like cruise lines are finally able to fix our frustrations.
Royal Caribbean International has just announced Voom high-speed internet access will be rolled out across it’s fleet of 24 ships, including it’s Australian offering when they return back to our waters for the 2016/17 season.
First introduced on the Quantum Class Ships, Voom is sold on a per day rate, meaning travellers can stream music and movies, and check emails, Facebook and Instagram to their hearts content.
We’ve done a few cruises over the years and the per-minute charge system used by many of the major cruise lines is pretty cost prohibitive.
Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean, says Voom is a game-changer for the industry, allowing travellers to do everything they’d normally do online at home on cruise ships in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
The only downside we see is this might remove that forced digital detox – no phones, no emails – that you normally experience on a cruise ship.
Voom is available in two packages:
– Surf, which allows you to surf the web, stay in touch via email, and share their holiday photos on social media. Surf packages start at US$12.99 per device per day with additional devices added at a discounted cost. Family packages – 5 devices or more – start at US$8.99 per device per day.
– Surf and Stream, which allows you to stream movies and music from Netflix or Spotify, to connect to video chat apps such as Skype. This package is available for US$17.99 per device per day. Additional devices can be connected at a discount and family packages – 5 devices or more – start at US$11.99 per device per day.
Visit royalcaribbean.com.au to find out more.
