As the world’s largest cruise company, Carnival Corporation & plc hosts nearly 13 million annual guests on a fleet of more than 90 ships that visit over 700 ports worldwide. With 300,000+ cruise guests and crew sailing aboard the company's fleet at any given time, a scalable and reliable internet solution is crucial to upholding their high standard of crew and guest experience.

Like many other businesses operating at sea, prior to adopting Starlink, Carnival faced the challenges of existing internet connectivity solutions. Historically, satellite internet options have been limited to Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite. However, its significant distance from the earth (~36,000 km) often results in high latency and low bandwidth. Moreover, traditional GEO service requires extensive maintenance operations, which coupled with their large footprint makes it costly and susceptible to mechanical issues. These factors combined with sensitivity to weather conditions, often affect reliability. Carnival’s experience was no exception.

“With the explosion of online video, our guests and crew — just like people everywhere — expect to have the same type of connectivity at sea that they're accustomed to at home to stay connected to their friends and family. Traditional GEO services on their own could not keep up with the growing demand, so we began looking for a solution. We knew we needed to move quickly to continue delivering the great guest experiences our cruise lines are known for.”

“Rivaling on-land connectivity experiences, 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.”

Using multiple Starlink kits to supplement its GEO services, Carnival Corporation has seen enhanced latency performance, bandwidth, uptime, and coverage:

• Improved equipment monitoring
• Real-time ship to shore communication
• Enhanced crew well-being and guest experience
• Supported video / live sports streaming