Forward-looking: Thanks to Starlink's latest technological upgrades, cruise ship companies may soon offer passengers a major boost in connectivity. For now, SpaceX is showcasing its new ultra-fast gateway aboard one of the giants of the seas.
One of the world's largest cruise ships is now equipped with a 10Gbps internet gateway provided by Starlink. Star of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean International, entered service in August 2025. Along with her sister ship, Icon of the Seas, the vessel holds the title of the largest cruise ship in the world.
The high-speed connectivity is now available to both passengers and crew, though the 10Gbps figure reflects total shared capacity. In other words, individual speeds will be considerably lower.
Starlink's Community Gateway on Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas provides 10 Gbps of symmetrical throughput, ensuring high-speed connectivity for passengers and crew while traveling at sea pic.twitter.com/m4h1p3IvHs
– Starlink (@Starlink) September 12, 2025
The Star of the Seas has a gross tonnage of 248,663 and can accommodate 5,610 passengers along with 2,350 crew members. Individual guests have reported internet speeds of around 10Mbps, which is well below the 100 to 300Mbps typically available through traditional Starlink service on solid ground. The ship's internet gateway is also shared between passengers, crew, and onboard entertainment systems.
Royal Caribbean charges between $18 and $30 per day for internet access, a price the company describes as reasonable. On the provider side, Starlink requires a one-time upfront fee of $1.25 million to install its orb-like Community Gateways, plus $75,000 per Gbps each month. The cruise line is likely seeking to recoup some of these costs, as installing high-speed connectivity at sea remains a very expensive "extra" service.
Starlink says its Community Gateways can deliver fiber-like internet speeds through local providers and its global laser mesh network. The first gateway was installed in Alaska, on the remote island of Unalaska, where it provides 10Gbps of symmetrical data throughput to "thousands" of users with 99 percent uptime.
The company began testing Community Gateways in 2024, marketing them to providers interested in joining the LEO satellite internet network without relying on underground fiber. In July 2024, Starlink reported achieving a download speed record of 8Gbps.
At the time, SpaceX also announced that a gateway had been successfully installed on a cruise ship. The Star of the Seas entered service last month, while the Icon of the Seas launched in 2024. Starlink was likely referring to the Star of the Seas during its speed test, though no official confirmation has been provided. SpaceX and Royal Caribbean originally entered a service agreement in 2022.