Carnival Cruise Line announced today it will introduce further innovation aboard the upcoming Carnival Jubilee: 5G mobile connectivity.

The Carnival Jubilee will be the first Carnival vessel, and the first cruise ship in North America, to provide guests access to 5G mobile phone service through a partnership with leading cellular provider Wireless Maritime Service (WMS).

“Carnival Jubilee will be the fleet’s most-connected ship – literally raising the connectivity bar for our guests and serving as another big step in a period of vigorous advancement of our onboard connectivity,” said Luis Terife, vice president of onboard guest commerce at Carnival Cruise Line. “The ongoing enhancements we’re rolling out on all of our ships, such as SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, make it significantly easier for guests to share the memorable experiences of their cruise with friends and family.”

The Carnival Jubilee will launch in December as 5G-enabled and the service will be available early in 2024. Guests can utilize the enhanced connectivity through service plans for cruise ships provided by their wireless carriers. After the initial launch on Carnival Jubilee, the cruise line plans to enable other ships across its fleet with 5G capabilities.

To meet the growing demand for connectivity at sea, Carnival has also rolled out fleetwide enhancements to its Wi-Fi offerings. The cruise line recently completed upgrades on all of its 25 ships to install necessary infrastructure for the use of SpaceX’s Starlink Satellite service. In addition, Carnival has partnerships with other internet vendors to equip ships with multi-provider functionality, ensuring guests always enjoy access to the most robust and dependable service available while on board.

“We’ve received very positive feedback from our guests who are enjoying the more reliable Wi-Fi across the fleet as we continue to increase our capacity through Starlink and other service providers,” said John Harshaw, vice president of global infrastructure at Carnival Cruise Line. “Our multi-provider, multi-orbit strategy minimizes single-provider supply chain constraints and improves overall connectivity in support of our operations and the enhanced experience for our guests and team members.”