British Cruise Line Ambassador Adopts Starlink Broadband

Customers travelling on ships belonging to the Ambassador Cruise Line, which is a British cruise line with its HQ in Purfleet (Essex), may be pleased to know that their onboard WiFi connectivity will soon be getting faster broadband speeds after the company adopted Starlink’s constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

The Ambassador Cruise Line tailors more towards premium-value cruises that typically set sail during the summer months, visiting destinations such as the British Isles, the Baltics, Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, Cuna and the Caribbean.

The company’s two cruise ships – Ambience and Ambassador – operate from eight ports in the United Kingdom, including London Tilbury, Newcastle, Dundee, Edinburgh Leith, Bristol Royal Portbury, Falmouth, Liverpool and Belfast.

The Starlink service is understood to have already been through a trial on Ambition in September, which saw customer satisfaction with onboard Wi-Fi improve by 35%. Faster latency and broadband speeds are a key selling point, particularly in comparison to old communication satellites in a much higher Earth orbit that typically suffer from slower speeds and extremely high latency.

Christian Verhounig, CEO of Ambassador Cruise Line, said:

“Reliable internet access is essential, and we are thrilled to introduce an enhanced Wi-Fi service on board Ambience and Ambition.”

The new Starlink backhaul connectivity is currently being fully deployed across Ambience this month and Ambition’s upgrade is due to follow, becoming ready for use by early December 2023.