Online at Sea: Cruise Company Debuts Social Media Flat Fee

The advent of broadband at sea continues to expand, as German cruis brand AIDA introduces a flat-fee for social media networks onboard its ships.

AIDA Cruises is introducing an Internet flat fee for social media networks on board its ships. For 4 euros per day, or 19 euros per week, passengers will be able to share their experiences on board with friends in popular social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or WhatsApp. “The use of mobile devices is continuously growing. We want to accommodate this trend and are offering our guests an additional service with the flat rate,” says Thomas Pfitzer, CTO at AIDA Cruises.

In addition to the new, exclusive social media flat rate, AIDA is also dramatically increasing the bandwidth and thereby the speed of Internet. AIDA Cruises will also be introducing new Internet packages on all AIDA ships in upcoming weeks. For the first time, the packages are not based on minutes but allow unlimited access. In the future, AIDA guests will be able to choose between three Internet packages. The M package(250 MB) for 25 euros, the L package (500 MB) for 39 euros, and the XL package (3 GB) for 99 euros can be used on an unlimited basis for the complete duration of the voyage. If desired, guests can upgrade to a higher data volume by additionally paying just the price difference to the higher rate. “With these package offers, we help keep the costs of satellite-based Internet connections at sea reasonable and calculable for our guests,” Pfitzer emphasizes. On board, the MyAIDA portal provides convenient Internet access.

On AIDAmar and AIDAvita, the new Internet offerings have already been very well received by guests. By July of this year, four more ships in the AIDA fleet will be equipped with the enhanced communication service. By November, the rollout will be complete. WLAN is offered in the public areas and staterooms on all ships. This can be used with smartphones, tablets, and notebooks with WLAN connections, regardless of the operating system. At the reception desk, Internet terminals are offered for guests without own mobile devices. The new Internet packages and fees will be part of the standard offering on the new flagship AIDAprima.