How to Use Your Phone on a Cruise Without Racking Up a Giant Bill

There’s nothing like setting sail on a cruise: sunshine, cocktails, ocean views… and suddenly, a terrifying text from your mobile provider about sky-high roaming charges. Yikes.

Staying connected on a cruise holiday shouldn’t be confusing or stressful, but with patchy signal, satellite networks and roaming rules that change mid-ocean, it often is. If you’ve ever found yourself frantically switching your phone to airplane mode mid-trip, you’re not alone.

The good news? There’s a really easy way to stay online without losing sleep (or money). It just takes a little know-how and the right plan.

Here’s the thing most people don’t realise: once your ship leaves port, your phone can lose connection to regular land-based mobile networks. Instead, it may connect to a maritime or satellite network.

These networks are designed to work out at sea, which is great for keeping some sort of signal. But they come at a cost, sometimes more than £6 per megabyte. That’s just one Instagram scroll or an app updating itself quietly in the background. Multiply that over a few hours, and you could end up with a mobile bill bigger than your holiday budget.

It happens all the time.

Someone checks the weather while sunbathing. Another uploads a few sunset snaps. Meanwhile, their phone has connected to a sea-based satellite network without them knowing. A few hours later, they’re hundreds of pounds down and frantically messaging their provider.

It’s frustrating, totally avoidable and honestly, we think it’s just a bit unfair. So let’s make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

Here’s the golden rule for managing your data on a cruise:

Use Wi-Fi while at sea. Use an eSIM when on land. That’s it.

Cruise ships almost always offer Wi-Fi packages. They’re not always free, but they’re still way cheaper than unknowingly using satellite data. Turn off mobile data and connect to the ship’s Wi-Fi, and chill. No surprise bills to worry about.

Activate your eSIM via WiFi before leaving the cruise ship or even before your holiday if you have long validity duration on your plan. As soon as you hit port and can see dry land, you can switch mobile data back on and let your eSIM take over by turning data roaming on and make sure to turn data switching off to avoid automatic switching to data roaming. eSIM plans from Sim Local let you access affordable mobile data from local networks in whatever country you’re visiting. No physical SIM swap, no queues and no stress.

A smart alternative is to use a Global eSIM plan that covers all of your cruise holiday destinations. Simply activate it before your trip, make sure mobile data and data roaming are turned on, and data switching is turned off. Switching off data switching is important as it prevents your phone from accidentally connecting to an unwanted network and running up unexpected charges. It’s also worth noting that, like any mobile service in remote locations, coverage can vary depending on your exact location so it’s always good to plan ahead and manage expectations.

At Sim Local, we’ve got local, regional and global eSIM plans designed exactly for this kind of travel so whether you’re doing a whistle-stop tour of the Med or sailing the Caribbean for a few weeks, we’ve got you.

20 GB eSIM

Global

+Roaming

Orange FR

Duration

31 Days

Plan

Data/​Calls/​SMS

Speed

4G

Price

$32.00

Buy Now

Global Reach, Local Care

100 GB eSIM

Europe

+Roaming

Orange FR

Duration

31 Days

Plan

Data/​Calls/​SMS

Speed

4G

Price

$53.50

Buy Now

Global Reach, Local Care

Top Seller

Unlimited eSIM

Europe

+Roaming

Smartroam

Duration

15 Days

Plan

Data

Speed

4G / 5G

Price

$48.00

Buy Now

Stay Connected, Anywhere.

Unlimited eSIM

Europe

+Roaming

Smartroam

Duration

15 Days

Plan

Data

Speed

4G / 5G

Price

$48.00

Buy Now

Stay Connected, Anywhere.

10 GB eSIM

Caribbean

22 countries

Digicel

Duration

30 Days

Plan

Data

Speed

4G

Price

$41.00

Buy Now

Caribbean's fasted, most reliable network

Top Seller

5 GB eSIM

Caribbean

22 countries

Digicel

Duration

30 Days

Plan

Data

Speed

4G

Price

$30.00

Buy Now

Caribbean's fasted, most reliable network

Cruise holidays are meant to be relaxing. You shouldn’t have to worry about whether checking your messages will cost you a small fortune.

Just remember:

• Wi-Fi when you’re on the ship
• An eSIM when you’re back on land (turn on data roaming & turn off data switching)
• Sim Local for all your eSIM needs

Job done. Now go enjoy that sea breeze.

Ready to cruise with confidence?
Try Sim Local today and stay connected the smart way.