By October, 2023, all ships in the AIDA fleet will be equipped with SpaceX’s Starlink broadband service.
This will enable AIDA Cruises to offer the best available Wi-Fi experience at sea before the end of the year, the company said.
Starlink has already been installed on ‘AIDAblu’, ‘AIDAbella’ and ‘AIDAstella’. Guests can benefit from a Starlink special offer with increased Internet package data volumes from mid-July.
With the special introductory offer ‘Starlink Special’, the Internet packages L, XL and XXL can be purchased at the usual price but with twice the volume. The volume is doubled automatically for packages that have already been booked. Parents of kids and teens can look forward to a 50% discount when booking the social media flat rate ‘Fifty’ on the myAIDA service portal.
“Our project team has already equipped three ships in the AIDA fleet with Starlink antennas and the field test has been very convincing. Guests and crew appreciate the faster internet connections and enjoy the more comfortable web surfing. Digital work on board is also made easier. We are very much looking forward to offering this new standard on all ships very soon,” said Steffi Heinicke, AIDA’s Senior Vice President Guest Experience & OBR.
This is also of significant benefit for the crew, as it improves communications to AIDA’s shoreside operations and thus increases co-operation.
By increasing the data volume, each individual crew member benefits in terms of private use.
Starlink’s rollout within Carnival Corp’s fleet began in December, 2022 with Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises ships.
Thanks to the dedicated work of AIDA’s project team, the fleet-wide connection to Space X’s Starlink low earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology and associated IT infrastructure will be completed on AIDA ships ahead of schedule, by mid-October, 2023.
In future, AIDA guests and crew members will have access to a reliable, fast and even more affordable Internet connection at all destinations through a combination of seaparate technologies, services and broadband connections.
This opens up completely new possibilities for travellers who cannot do without the Internet or who want to stay in touch with friends and family and share their travel experiences, the company said.
Guests can take advantage of this introductory offer until the entire AIDA fleet has been fitted. During the summer, the ‘AIDAprima’, ‘AIDAperla’, ‘AIDAnova’ and ‘AIDAcosma’ will be equipped.
AIDA guests will be informed of the current rates before the start of each voyage and can book them through the myAIDA service portal. Guests who have already booked their cruise can pre-book services, such as Internet packages and social media flat rates, at www.myAIDA.de.
