Post #23 5G Connectivity on Cruise Ships

I am not a professional smartphone tech. nor I.T. trained. You may wish to follow along with my own layperson thoughts that I am happy to share here after my research. Your own thinking & conclusions are also necessary. Hopefully I can save you some time by sending some of your thoughts in helpful directions & towards useful questions.

If you are interested to find travel experiences offering you extra fast speed connectivity service with the possibilities offered by a wider bandwidth, you may be on the lookout for 5G service offerings. Especially when on the move, in the places that WiFi cannot always reach. Here is some info. about two of the first 5G-enabled cruise ships:

1. Carnival Jubilee (passenger capacity reported as 5,374):

Inaugural (commercial) passenger cruise was in December, 2023. Planned to be Carnival Cruise Line’s (& the North American market’s) first 5G-enabled ship in 2024. Is believed that the 5G service will be available early in 2024, though does not seem to be available quite yet (no date certainty yet as to when in 2024; I phoned/asked). WiFi 6 not (currently) available on this ship.

Of interest:  this ship uses LNG for fuel.

Currently sailing out of (home port) Galveston, Texas, USA .

2. Adora Magic City (passenger capacity reported as 5,246) :

This ship departed on her inaugural (commercial) passenger sailing with 3,000 guests on the afternoon of January 1, 2024. Ship was built in China for the Chinese market. In addition to 5G, it was said that passengers on this new vessel will also be able to access Wi-Fi 6.

Is said that there is diesel-electric power installed on this ship.

Has begun sailing from (home port?) Shanghai, China including to some nearby countries.

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There’s a lot more detail to be had on these two ships, though here I am interested in their 5G capabilities. I expect that within the next few months there will be reports back from ocean cruisers who have tried it, & their thoughts about the 5G service at sea.

*If trying out 5G connectivity/speed/reliability on a ship would be of rather vital importance to your ocean cruise experience, then is best to check/ask before booking: whether 5G service is in place & functioning well on that ship & on that itinerary. & It has been said that some might encounter issues finding a carrier that is capable of offering the type of data sets that 5g requires.