Does Disney Cruise Line have Wi-Fi?

As an ex-Disney Cruise line cast member I always remember constantly needing internet. Since my time onboard the system has came a long way and in turn got a lot faster. Every cruise company is different, so how do you access the Internet on a Disney ship?

Wi-Fi is available to all during a Disney Cruise line vacation from anywhere on the ship and on Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. Access is billed through your stateroom and allows users the ability to connect to as many different devices as required.

Looking at more intricate details such as cost, tips and tricks let’s navigate the Disney Cruise Line Wi-Fi and Communication systems.

Can i get FREE Wi-Fi on a Disney Cruise?

Every guest can claim a standard, complimentary 50mbs of data on the day of boarding any Disney Cruise. Guests can only register for this on the first day, up until midnight, but can then use it for the entirety of the cruise… well, as long as it lasts. You can probably check a few emails with this amount of data so don’t count on it for anything more. Once you have boarded the ship you can get this complimentary data through the Disney Cruise Navigator app. 

If you are onboard and have bought Concierge Service which, is basically a VIP package that gives a “Top End” upgrade to the already fantastic Disney Cruise Line experience. There are a few different categories of concierge room service and 2 tiers of complimentary Wi-Fi access. Concierge category S, T, and V Staterooms get an extra free 50mbs of data on top of the standard data plan. Just for those people who are not very good at maths, thats 100MBs free. But if you are lucky enough to be in category R staterooms you will recieve free Wi-Fi for the entire cruise length!

Joining Wi-Fi through the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app is straightforward even for the most novice of tech users. Once you have downloaded the app, from your preferred app store, (most likely the Apple App Store or Google Play ) you will need to login or register. From there you will need to hit the connect@sea button.  Here it will give you an option to learn more. If you hit that it will open a new page in your browser and if it’s still available you will see an option to grab your free Wi-Fi data.

How much does Wi-Fi cost on a Disney Cruise?

While you’re in the connect@sea browser area though the navigator app, you will also have the choice to choose a Wi-Fi plan, if you wish to do so. See what i did there.. “wish”… nevermind! There are multiple different plans so you have plenty of choice. These are pay-as-you-go, small, medium or large.

The first option, pay-as-you-go is $0.25 per megabyte. My opinion is this should only be used by someone who is looking to check their emails once or twice during the cruise and has run out of the free data. Otherwise you’re going to pay more for no reason at all. For example 100mb on pay-as-you-go will cost you $25. You would be as well paying for the small package and saving yourself a few dollars, i mean why not.

A small package which comes with 100 MB costs $19. I know, pick your jaw up off the floor. I think the idea is that Disney Cruise line wants you to cut off from everything, disconnect, relax and lose yourself in the magical experience. Which is completely understandable and the service is provided for those who really need it. Again this package should only be purchased if you have run out of free data and you just want to look at a few emails, maybe on a daily basis.

The medium package which comes with 300 MB costs $39. Your jaws gone again. If you need more data maybe you want to do a one off video call, watch a YouTube video (Which can be pointless as the speed isn’t great.) or maybe download a few tracks or that quick episode of “Goof Troop” you’re so desperate to see. If so then this is the plan for you. But maybe downloading those things before you get on the ship would be more practical and cost effective.

The large package which comes with 1 GB costs a cracking $89. Where did your jaw go? Maybe you need to keep in contact with someone back home during the cruise, have a video call with work that can’t be rearranged or maybe just want to do a bit of streaming. In any of these cases the large package might possibly well be the way for you. People who buy the gig say that it’s sufficient enough for the whole trip.

In any case, if you decide to use the ships Wi-Fi just remember, as I hinted above, that the system isn’t designed for you to spend all your time online during your cruise. It’s there so you can use it to keep in touch with the outside world if you really need to. Therefore the internet speed is not overly exciting. It’s not awful, don’t get me wrong I’ve seen worse, but I’ve also seen better. I just wouldn’t spend all my time on the Internet on a Disney cruise as there is so much more to do. I certainly wouldn’t use it to upload any videos. There are other options if this is something you desperately need to do.

Disney Wi-Fi Hacks and helpful tips

When you decide to buy a package, go pay-as-you-go or simply just use the complimentary free data that you pick up on your first evening you’re going to want to try and make what you have last as long as possible. I have done a bit of research by speaking to some cast members and friends currently on Disney cruises as well as some former guests to get some up-to-date information on how to get the most out of Disney Cruise Line Wi-Fi. Let’s take a look.

First off, Disney Cruise Line offer cellular@sea which means you can use your cell phone on the ship just like you would if you were on land. Even better it’s available in your stateroom. But before you do anything, like board the ship, you might want to call your cell phone carrier to ask about roaming charges and know before hand any costs that may crop up from being at sea. It can be very pricey and when you get off at a port you will likely change to the local phone carrier. Just to be on the safe side I would doublecheck prices for each country that you will be visiting. If you have the time it could end up being cheaper to use your Wi-Fi data in a port rather than using it on the ship. Every carrier is different so again always doublecheck. 

Now, you may only want to contact your own party or other people on the ship and Disney cruise have 2 fantastic systems to help you do that.

First up is your wave phone allowing you to text and make calls for free. You have two of these babies in your state room on arrival and you can use them on the ship or on Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. You have the ability to phone any stateroom on the ship, any shipboard phone and any other wave phone.  

Another fantastic system is the chat feature available in the navigator app. You can use this to contact any of your party anywhere on the ship. Both these features make keeping in contact while onboard easy, hasslefree and can help you from using up loads of unnecessary data.

You can find more information on both of these services on the Disney Cruise Line website here.

Below are my 5 Disney Cruise Line ways to save data and to be honest most can be found through the Internet helpdesk on the ship. They have a helpful sheet that will give you information on how to save data while onboard with specific details for all types of phones. But let’s get you in the know before you go.

1. Turn on Airplane Mode – this is especially true if you are not going to be using cellular@sea or your phone in ports. You don’t want unwanted charges.
2. Close all your apps, Internet browser pages and anything that refreshes in the background or on it’s own – all this can all hurt your data consumption without even knowing. So close them all down as you probably won’t need them to be updating continuously throughout your cruise.
3. Turn off your location services – this is completely unnecessary. TBH that’s all I’ve got to say on this. This is a bit awkward…
4. Log in and out of connect@sea – if you are using the on-board Wi-Fi then make sure you sign out when you are finished as you’ll keep using your data especially if you have not done the above 3 steps.
5. Use only apps you need to – Apps like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram amongst many others use a ton of data. Just think about all the pictures and videos that are being loaded every time you move your newsfeed screen.

Conclusion

When it comes to going on a Disney cruise you really want to be getting the most out of the experience and maximise the fun. Spending loads of time working out the Wi-Fi while you’re on the ship is silly when you have guides such as this one to help you get the knowledge you need prior to boarding. 

To sum everything up, make sure you pick up your free Wi-Fi data on the first day of boarding or you will lose it. Make sure you do everything you can to minimise or stop your phone using unnecessary data. Use wave phones, the navigator app and if it makes sense cellular@sea. 

Overall, to save yourself a bit of money, maybe consider doing any heavy uploading or downloading when you are off the ship and in port. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading. Check out some of my other articles on Disney below and have fun.

See you real soon.