Guest currently onboard the Disney Fantasy’s 10-night Southern Caribbean Cruise have been offered a choice of two internet packages: Internet starting at $26/day, or Internet + Streaming offering long-form streaming from most mainstream services starting at $48/day. These test plans are currently replacing the standard offerings found across the fleet of Stay Connected ($18/day), Basic ($28/day), and Premium Surf ($42/day) which do NOT support long-form video streaming such as Netflix and Hulu.
Fantasy Test PlansFleet Standard Plans
For a comparison to these test packages offered on select Disney Fantasy sailings this summer, you can read more about the fleet’s standard internet plans here.
Summer 2024 Disney Fantasy Test Internet Plans
Internet
The base Internet plan includes access to the internet, social media, texting, FaceTime, Zoom and Wi-Fi calling but excludes music streaming and long-form video such as YouTube and other streaming websites and applications.
During this test phase, Disney Cruise Line’s Internet Package starts at $26/day.
Stay connected on social media, browse the web and access your emails with our most affordable internet plan. With this plan, you can:
Post text, pictures and video on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Facebook Messenger, X, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Linkedin and TikTok
Make audio and video phone calls on FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom and more
View short-form video on social media newsfeeds and platforms like Snapchat and TikTok
Surf the web, read the news, check the weather and visit your other favorite websites
Send and receive emails
Note: This plan does not support audio streaming like Spotify and Apple Music, YouTube or long-form video streaming platforms such as Disney+ and Hulu.
Internet + Streaming
For guest interested in streaming media content, the Internet + Streaming plan includes the service level of the internet package plus access to full video streaming sites and apps such as YouTube, Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, Paramount+ as well as music streaming services.
During this test phase, Disney Cruise Line’s Internet + Streaming Package starts at $48/day.
Enjoy all the benefits of our Internet plan, plus full streaming access. With this plan, you can:
Stream your favorite movies and TV shows from platforms such as Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu and more
Access YouTube content
Post text, pictures and video on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Facebook Messenger, X, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn and TikTok
Make audio and video phone calls on FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom and more
View short-form video on social media newsfeeds and platforms like Snapchat and TikTok
Surf the web, read the news, check the weather and visit your other favorite websites
Send and receive emails
Listen to audio streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music
Note: While video game streaming is possible, we cannot ensure a seamless experience due to the constraints of satellite connectivity at sea.
As is standard with the internet packages, the plans can be purchased for the length of voyage as well as for additional concurrent devices.
Please note, the voyage price shown in the screenshot are not representative of a full cruise. At the time of publication, the Disney Fantasy is on night 5 of a 10-night Southern Caribbean Cruise. As a result, the voyage price has been adjusted for the amount of time left in the voyage
Since these plans are in a test phase on the Disney Fantasy, there may be more changes before we see fleet-wide changes. However, I would estimate there is a desire to normalize the Internet packages across the fleet ahead of the launch of the Disney Treasure in December.
Special thanks to @jaylen_reese7 and @penguinsfan32. Both were took a few minutes during their current Disney Fantasy vacation to share these screenshots and feedback.
I do not know abut you, but I don’t need the streaming as much as I need a reliable low latency connect that doesn’t cause lagging when connected to a remote desktop for working on simple office tasks. What do you think about these test internet packages?
9 Replies to “Disney Fantasy Testing New Internet Packages with Streaming Option”
Justen
Scott, I completely agree with you on not needing streaming as much as needing / wanting a service that would be able to provide a usable remote desktop experience. As a related side-note, the Premium Surf package was available at least as far back as the Fantasy’s Lighthouse Point inaugural sailing on 06/08. I wanted to occasionally check HD (1080) home security webcams and since doing so is technically streaming, I wasn’t sure if I would need the Premium or not. While not quite the same as streaming a 4K YouTube or NetFlix video, you never know how the filters are going to be configured. I took my chances with the Basic Surf and had no issues.
I think the problem isn’t so much the Disney systems for Remote Desktop as the limitation of the speed of light. The internet is satellite based, so every packet round trip is going to be around 500ms. That makes it tough to do anything interactively. While there is the potential for Disney to move to LEO satellites, those tend to be extremely expensive and the bandwidth is mostly already spoken for.
There is also limited bandwidth on the current service since the satellite is shared with the entire ship.
I inadvertently referred to the newer “Internet + Streaming” service on the Fantasy as the older “Premium Surf” option. Everything else is correct. Apologies.
My question about this is, will this only be available on the Fantasy or will it roll out to the other ships, also what “changed” to allow them to stream now? Did they upgrade their equipment or get another satellite provider? Starlink? Voom? So many questions, will the streaming availability hinder or slow down other’s internet experience?
Currently on the Fantasy 10-day and it has been a bit of a challege getting the iPhone config right and staying connected. On Day 5 finally think we have it nailed. Also have an (expensive) CellCo Int’l package for emergency voice and phone calls access which adds some additional complexity. Don’t anticipate doing any streaming or social media at all.
I recently paid for a single day of $28 internet for a sea day on the Wonder and I was extremely disappointed with the speed. I spotted some rather new looking antennas just by the sports deck that looked similar design to Starlink but I don’t know enough about this tech to properly identify. I was glad I didn’t bother paying for any other days as the sporadic mobile phone signal from top deck was only marginally worse. Speed on Odyssey of the Seas a few months ago was much better and only cost about $16 for the day.
The thing to remember about satellite connections — they generally get worse the further north you get. So if you were on the Wonder in Alaska you have two things against you: the distance north and the mountains in many of the areas that block the satellites. You can also have poor performance in the Med as the satellites are over-subscribed and there are more cruise ships there all trying to use the same set of satellites.
I’m sailing on the Fantasy in December and need to lead a Board Meeting via Zoom, can I expect the onboard internet service to be reliable or plan to have someone on the mainland ready to step in for me if the call freezes up or fails?
Scott, I completely agree with you on not needing streaming as much as needing / wanting a service that would be able to provide a usable remote desktop experience. As a related side-note, the Premium Surf package was available at least as far back as the Fantasy’s Lighthouse Point inaugural sailing on 06/08. I wanted to occasionally check HD (1080) home security webcams and since doing so is technically streaming, I wasn’t sure if I would need the Premium or not. While not quite the same as streaming a 4K YouTube or NetFlix video, you never know how the filters are going to be configured. I took my chances with the Basic Surf and had no issues.
I think the problem isn’t so much the Disney systems for Remote Desktop as the limitation of the speed of light. The internet is satellite based, so every packet round trip is going to be around 500ms. That makes it tough to do anything interactively. While there is the potential for Disney to move to LEO satellites, those tend to be extremely expensive and the bandwidth is mostly already spoken for.
There is also limited bandwidth on the current service since the satellite is shared with the entire ship.
I inadvertently referred to the newer “Internet + Streaming” service on the Fantasy as the older “Premium Surf” option. Everything else is correct. Apologies.
My question about this is, will this only be available on the Fantasy or will it roll out to the other ships, also what “changed” to allow them to stream now? Did they upgrade their equipment or get another satellite provider? Starlink? Voom? So many questions, will the streaming availability hinder or slow down other’s internet experience?
Currently on the Fantasy 10-day and it has been a bit of a challege getting the iPhone config right and staying connected. On Day 5 finally think we have it nailed. Also have an (expensive) CellCo Int’l package for emergency voice and phone calls access which adds some additional complexity. Don’t anticipate doing any streaming or social media at all.
I recently paid for a single day of $28 internet for a sea day on the Wonder and I was extremely disappointed with the speed. I spotted some rather new looking antennas just by the sports deck that looked similar design to Starlink but I don’t know enough about this tech to properly identify. I was glad I didn’t bother paying for any other days as the sporadic mobile phone signal from top deck was only marginally worse. Speed on Odyssey of the Seas a few months ago was much better and only cost about $16 for the day.
The thing to remember about satellite connections — they generally get worse the further north you get. So if you were on the Wonder in Alaska you have two things against you: the distance north and the mountains in many of the areas that block the satellites. You can also have poor performance in the Med as the satellites are over-subscribed and there are more cruise ships there all trying to use the same set of satellites.
I’m sailing on the Fantasy in December and need to lead a Board Meeting via Zoom, can I expect the onboard internet service to be reliable or plan to have someone on the mainland ready to step in for me if the call freezes up or fails?
I’ve encountered mixed results even with the new Starlink service offering. I would have a backup plan in place just in case.