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Staying Connected At Sea

When selecting your dinner location, do you check to see if they have Wi-Fi?   While shopping, do you tend to frequent malls and other stores that also have Wi-Fi available?   If you answered yes to these questions, you'll also want Wi-Fi access during your vacation.

Having internet access at sea is nothing new.  It has been available for many years.  If you've been cruising for years, you are also painfully aware that speed of your connection typically was not on par with your land experience.   At the same time, it wasn't free either and in combination with the slow speed your time online could be pretty costly.   For some people, like us that need to be connected, it was a cost of doing business, but if you are just getting online for pleasure, that was a different story.

The "always-connected" Society 

New Demands on Cruise Lines

With the increase in social networking, passengers have been requesting faster and less expensive internet access.   The cruise lines have made this one of their tasks to address.

The first line to address the speed aspect of the request was Royal Caribbean.  They've partnered with O3b Maritime (see our previous article)
Largest Ships Fastest Internet at Sea

The first major announcement for 2015 from the cruise lines is from Carnival Corp.



Carnival Cruise Line  Launches Carnival Hub & New Pricing 

Carnival Breeze is piloting two new changes that should begin to address the largest complaints about cruise ship internet pricing. A new app has been developed for iPhone and Android phones which can be installed for free and provides the user with ships schedules and other important information to help make your cruise enjoyable.   Optionally, you can sign up for the "chat" feature for $5 for the length of the cruise.  With this feature you can communicate with your fellow passengers individually or in groups.

Some of the key information provided by Carnival Hub on Breeze:

day-by-day schedule of all onboard events 

 real-time balances for passengers' Sail & Sign accounts

information on alternative, casual dining venues

searchable deck plans with key areas highlighted

itinerary details, including the ship's current time

estimated arrival/departure times for upcoming ports 

Cruise Industry Safety Standards Changes

Concordia Disaster

Brings More Changes

In the wake of the Costa Concordia accident, the cruise industry has examined the current safety standards and made modifications.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and European Cruise Council (ECC), have jointly announced new recommendations.  The new policies address issues related to personnel access to the bridge, passage planning and life jackets - all of which came under scrutiny during the Costa Concordia investigation.

Bridge Access

The new policy announced by CLIA states "bridge access will now be limited to those with operational functions during any period of restricted maneuvering or when increased vigilance is required." 

The period for increased vigilance is defined  as "any time a vessel is constrained in its ability to freely navigate, such as in a restricted waterway/channel, entering a port, or an area where there is an unusually high volume or compression of vessel traffic." 

The policy changes will most likely impact bridge tours, which are often part of "behind-the-scenes" activities offered to certain passengers, such as those with higher loyalty status with the cruise line.

Passage Planning

Voyage plans have always been a requirement under the International Maritime Organization's SOLAS conventions, however consistency and level of detail in the plans was previously not detailed in the formal polices.  The new language, adopted by CLIA and ECC, explicitly requires for the plan to be "drafted by a designated officer and approved by the master" well in advance of the sailing,  Recall that the master of Costa Concordia claims that he was authorized to do the "sail by salute".

Life Jackets 

The change in life jacket policy calls for ships to carry more life jackets than are currently legally required.   SOLAS currently dictates that ships carry life jackets for every berth, which may be higher than the number of persons onboard, plus five percent. In practice, the majority of cruise ships carry many more life jackets than is required, but the new policy will raise the official mandatory minimum. 


Some Concordia passengers indicated that they had to return to the cabins in the dark in order to retrieve their life jackets.   The new limits will mean the muster stations will be required to increase the quantities available for passengers unable to return to their cabins in an emergency to retrieve their life jackets.

Related Posts:

Cruise Industry Adopts New Muster Policy  

Carnival Corp Taking Steps to Address Safety Concerns