The Price of Magic: Is Disney Pushing the Limits with Internet Charges?

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Staying connected while sailing the high seas has become a must-have for most of us.

Whether it’s sharing magical memories on social media, staying in touch with family back home, or just catching up on your favorite shows, internet access has become an essential part of cruising life.

But here’s the thing—Disney Cruise Line’s internet prices are starting to feel like they belong in a galaxy far, far away.

Compared to other major cruise lines, Disney’s charges are noticeably higher.

And while Disney is all about delivering premium experiences, are these sky-high prices for staying connected really justified?

The latest price hike was kept very quiet. No announcement – and if you try and find pricing online pretty much all the information is outdated.

As recently as 2023 DCL only offered data useage based packages. These were a nightmare.

You could very easily run into high charges simply to download email – so it was a great relief when Disney Cruise Line moved to daily or length of voyage packages.

The Stay Connected package offered access to select social media sites, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

When this was first tested the price was $10 which was soon raised to $16 per day if you paid for the whole voyage, or $18 per day if you wanted 24 hour periods but not to pay for the whole voyage.

The second option was Basic Surf” which included the “Stay Connected” offerings plus access to the web, email, and voice calling. Pricing started at $24 a day when purchased for the length of the cruise.

Premium Surf” included all that is offered in the “Basic Surf” plus video on Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, video calling, and music streaming. Video streaming was not available with this package. Pricing started at $34 a day when purchased for the whole voyage.

However, some time in 2025 Disney raised the prices. I am not sure what the date of that was, as there was nothing to be found online.

How I found out was the members of my Disney Cruise Line Groups began talking about the price hike.

I wanted to wait until I sailed to double check all the details so that I only published accurate information from my own experience.

All prices shown in this article are correct as shown February 2025.

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Disney Cruise Basic Internet Plan Cost

The prices below are for a 7 day sailing.

New Pricing

• $26 per 24 hours
• There is a discount when you purchase multiple days.
• Prices are for one device but you can add up to an additional 3 devices.

As you can see this is a significant price rise from the previous prices.

Stay connected on social media with our most affordable internet plan. With this plan, you can:

• Post text and pictures on popular websites and applications like Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Linkedin and Tumblr

The Stay Connected plan does not support surfing the web, accessing email, or video streaming

Disney Cruise Premium Surf

The old price was $30 per person per day.

This is now $42 per day with a discount for multiple days.

This is for one device only.

You can add multiple devices up to a total of 4. The additional cost is $196 for each device for 7 days.

Experience faster connection speeds and access to music platforms such as Pandora, Spotify and Apple Music – plus, all the benefits of the Basic Surf plan. With this plan, you can:

• Enjoy faster connection speeds and stream favorite movies and TV shows from platforms such as Disney+, ESPN and Hulu.
• Make video phone calls on platforms FaceTime, Zoom, and more
• Listen to your favorite music streaming platforms like Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music
• View short-form on platforms like YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok
• Surf the web, read the news, check the weather, and visit your other favorite websites
• Send and receive emails
• Post text and pictures on popular websites and applications like Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Linkedin and Tumblr

Guests can select the number of devices.

How Does Disney Compare with Other Cruise Lines for Internet Charges?

Let us look at how much other cruise lines charge for their internet plans.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival has 3 different plans.

The Social Wi-Fi Plan provides access to the most popular social websites and apps like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, TikTok, Pinterest, X, Reddit, LinkedIn, and major airline sites.

This is $18.70 per day when purchased before a cruise and $22 if guests buy it onboard

The Value Wi-Fi Plan runs $22.10 per day pre-cruise and $26 onboard. Access all sites included in the Social plan with a faster connection speed. Ideal for travelers who want to stay in touch via social media, manage emails, browse, and stay updated on news, sports, and weather.

The Premium Wi-Fi Plan costs $23.80 per day when purchased in advance and $28 on the ship. This plan offers access to all sites from the Social and Value Plans at speeds up to three times faster.

Celebrity Cruise Line Internet Pricing

Celebrity Cruise Line has two different levels of internet service – Premium Wi-Fi and Basic.

The pricing isn’t straight forward as it varies between ships and voyages.

Premium Wi-Fi on Celebrity starts at $26.99 on the older ships, but the starting price on the newer vessels is $32.99.

You will get a discount if you purchase in advance, and you will also typically get a discount of 20% for a second device.

Basic Wi-Fi is no longer available as a stand alone package, but is part of the All Included Fare that is an option on Celebrity. This is bundled in with a drinks package and costs around $80 per day.

Cunard Internet Costs

Cunard has 2 plans available.

The Essential Internet Plan is $20 per day and includes web browsing, email and social media (text and images). This price is for the whole voyage option. If you just want 24 hours that is $25 per day.

The Premium Internet Plan also includes social media video and video streaming. This is $28 per day for the whole voyage option. If you just want 24 hours it is $40.

Norwegian Cruise Line Internet Pricing

NCL has 2 different internet plan options.

A Voyage Wi-Fi Pass is $29.99 per day. This is for general web browsing, emails and messaging. Does not support streaming functions.

The Streaming Wi-Fi Pass includes audio and video streaming via your favorite provider or app plus VPN access. This is charged at $39.99 per day.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Internet Prices

This one is more difficult to compare as Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines internet prices vary depending on which ship you sail on, the specific voyage, and when you purchase your plan.

Unfortunately, we can’t let you know exactly what you will be paying because of these variations, but you can expect to pay between $20 and $26 per day for your RCCL internet service. Prices are higher if you do not have a package for the complete voyage.

You can save money by pre booking your internet package with Royal Caribbean. Disney Cruise Line does not offer any discounts for pre- booking. You can’t purchase any of the internet options for DCL until you are able to connect at the cruise ship termimal.

Connection Speeds

When you are paying these prices for internet, what will you actually be experiencing in terms of speed?

Historically, cruise lines faced significant challenges in meeting the growing demand for reliable internet access while at sea.

Ships, situated in the vast ocean, depended on satellite systems that often proved to be inconsistent, overly expensive, and frustratingly slow.

With limited broadband capacity allocated to each vessel and thousands of passengers onboard, each with multiple devices, the need for a more effective solution became clear.

The answer came in the form of Starlink, the pioneering satellite constellation designed to operate in low Earth orbit, delivering high-speed internet.

Developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Starlink has begun equipping numerous cruise ships with the bandwidth necessary for activities like streaming, online gaming, and video conferencing, no matter where they are in the world.

Since its launch in 2019, Starlink has transformed internet connectivity for countless cruise ships, significantly enhancing both speed and capacity as they navigate the globe.

But not all cruise lines use Starlink.

Disney Cruise Line does not use Starlink.

And in my experience, yes, it does make a difference.

These cruise lines use Starlink:

• American Cruise Lines
• Carnival Cruise Line
• Celebrity Cruises
• Holland America Line
• Margaritaville at Sea
• Norwegian Cruise Line
• Princess Cruises
• Royal Caribbean International
• SeaDream Yacht Club
• Seabourn Cruise Line
• Viking Cruises
• Virgin Voyages

Having recently sailed on a Transatlantic Voyage with Virgin Voyages, and then on multiple voyages with Disney Cruise Lines in the Bahamas and Caribbean I would say that Virgin does have the edge in speed and reliability over DCL.

And as Virgin Voyages offers Classic Wi-Fi free for all Sailors, supporting one device per person it is definitely a winner over DCL in that sense. The 13 night voyage would have added an extra $338 to my costs if I had sailed with Disney instead as I had originally planned to do.

The Classic Wi-Fi Virgin package offers basic browsing, social media (TikTok, Facebook, X etc), and email capabilities. But if you want features such as video or music streaming, video calls, virtual meetings, and work-related tools like Zoom, Dropbox, or VPNs you have to upgrade at $30 per day.

Are Disney Cruise Line Internet Charges Too High?

Internet connectivity at sea is a must have for many people.

Whilst some can disconnect and just use the “loophole” that you can use WhatsApp without having to connect to the ships wifi. If you have an iPhone, you can send and receive iMessages while onboard. However, you won’t be able to send or receive any pictures or videos.

For many people, they can’t disconnect completely. I am one of those people as I have an online business that requires work every day. I have to be connected, so pricing is very important to me and many others.

When you look at Disney Cruise Line’s current internet pricing and comparing it to other major cruise lines, it’s hard not to conclude that Disney is indeed charging too much.

And add to that they weren’t transparent at all about the price increases – it was impossible to find out any information online.

If you go to the Disney Cruise Line website this is what you see:

“Wireless Internet AccessDisney Cruise Line offers multiple internet packages based on your online needs. Use the onboard Wi-Fi anywhere on the ship to chat, post pictures on social media or simply stay connected while at sea. Once on board, simply open the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app and navigate to the “Connect to Internet” card, which will open a separate browser for you to view internet plans and purchase internet access”.

No pricing is shown.

While Disney prides itself on delivering a premium experience, their internet packages are not only more expensive than most competitors, but they also lack the technological edge of Starlink, which many other cruise lines now use to offer faster and more reliable connectivity.

For instance, lines like Virgin Voyages even provide basic Wi-Fi as included in your cruise fare, while others offer discounts for pre-booking, something Disney doesn’t.

With prices for Disney’s premium internet package reaching $42 per day for just one device, the value simply doesn’t match the cost—especially when connection speeds and reliability lag behind competitors.

In a market where staying connected is becoming increasingly important, Disney’s pricing feels outdated and excessive. It’s time for Disney Cruise Line to rethink its internet strategy and align its offerings with the value guests deserve.

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