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Marella Cruises invests in LEO connectivity across its fleet
A cruise ship owner is investing in a second level of LEO satellite communications to enhance internet access for passengers and crew
Marella Cruises is investing in low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications on its fleet of cruise ships to bolster connectivity for passengers and crew on its global voyages.
LEO satellites of Eutelsat OneWeb will provide coverage in high latitudes during Arctic and Antarctic expedition voyages and increase capacity from hybrid onboard networks during sailings in cruise hotspots, such as the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
Speedcast will deploy OneWeb’s maritime connectivity service to the TUI UK subsidiary, to join the Starlink service already deployed, across the fleet of five cruise ships.
This will bring seamless high-speed, low-latency internet access to both customers and crew throughout the fleet.
“This is another step forward in terms of innovation for Marella Cruises,” said Marella Cruises managing director Chris Hackney.
“With this new partnership with Speedcast, it will provide low-latency internet across the fleet, not only enhancing the customer experience onboard, but also improving the connectivity for crew on board the ships.”
The integration of LEO services will enable Marella to benefit from improved service levels, network availability and download speeds, and enhance digital solutions and use of cloud computing, according to Speedcast.
“The latency and speed of our LEO services can transform the connectivity experience from stem to stern,” said Eutelsat OneWeb vice president for global maritime Thierry Polycarpe.
Speedcast executive vice president for global sales, James Trevelyan said Speedcast had provided satellite communications to Marella Cruises for more than a decade including use of very small aperture terminals connected to geostationary orbiting satellites for Ku-band connectivity, and mandatory safety communications through L-band services.
Marella’s fleet includes Marella Discovery, Marella Voyager, Marella Explorer, Marella Discovery 2 and Marella Explorer 2.
In the past few years, Marella has upgraded electrical and communications systems on its ships to include LED programmable lighting and illuminations and passenger connectivity in public spaces with support from Birkenhead, UK-based SeaKing Group.
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