Lindblad Expeditions, which specializes in sailings to remote areas of the Earth, has become the latest cruise line to adopt SpaceX’s Starlink internet technology.
The line said the new internet service will bring 10 times faster download speeds to ships sailing remote itineraries, including Antarctica, the Canadian Arctic, Svalbard and Alaska.
The line has rolled out Starlink on seven of the line’s 14 ships, including the National Geographic Venture, Quest, Sea Bird, Sea Lion, Explorer, Endurance and Resolution. Installation is continuing across the fleet.
With the stronger internet service, the Lindblad plans to introduce tiered internet packages later this year.
The Basic tier will allow free messaging through apps like iMessage, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, along with email and limited social media. The Enhanced tier will support general web browsing, social media and video calls. The Premium tier will include unlimited web, social and streaming access.
Many cruise lines have adopted Starlink internet service, which uses a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites that provide shorter latency, which provides faster speeds, and better bandwidth.