MIAMI — Royal Caribbean International is making its high-speed Internet service VOOM available fleetwide on its 24 ships.

VOOM allows passengers to stay connected and stream their favourite music, movies and TV shows. “Whether they are posting envy-inducing vacation photos on Instagram or Snapchat, or video-chatting with loved ones back home using FaceTime or Skype, travellers can share their adventures in real-time with family and friends,” says the cruise line. Guests can even relax poolside while catching up on their favourite TV show or the newest movie.

“VOOM is revolutionizing the onboard experience for our guests as well as for our crew and it is truly a game-changer for the industry,” said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “Everything our guests and crew can do online at home, they will now be able to do from onboard all of our ships around the world.”

The enhancements will provide speeds at least twice as fast as before and also have enabled the cruise line to provide service at lower prices. Passengers can choose from two packages:

• ‘Surf’: Allows guests the opportunity to surf the web, stay in touch via e-mail and share vacation photos on social media. Surf packages start at US$12.99 per device per day with additional devices added at a discounted cost. Family packages – five devices or more – start at $8.99 per device per day.
• ‘Surf & Stream’: Geared to guests looking to do more than connect via e-mail or social channels, who want the capability to stream movies and music from Netflix or Spotify, and to connect using video chat apps such as Skype. Surf & Stream is available for $17.99 per device per day. Additional devices can be connected at a discount and family packages – five devices or more – start at $11.99 per device per day.