Cruise ships are basically floating roaming traps: The moment you hit 12 nautical miles from the coast, your regular eSIM becomes useless and the ship’s own satellite network takes over, and nobody warns you about this (you find out when the bill arrives). Saily, the eSIM international travel app from the NordVPN people, just launched plans that actually deal with this, and for now, none of their competitors have anything close.
Holafly, Airalo, and most of the other eSIM providers out there simply don’t cover maritime networks. Saily is the first to go there with coverage across more than 200 ships from the lines most people actually sail on: Royal Caribbean Group, the full Carnival Corporation fleet, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, MSC Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Virgin Voyages, P&O Cruises and Cunard Line.
The whole thing lives in a new Cruise tab in the app (screenshot below), you pick your plan before you board, done.
Matas Cenys, Saily’s Head of Product, says it plainly: “Many travelers are surprised to learn that mobile connectivity works differently once a ship leaves port. Standard roaming plans often do not cover maritime networks, and connecting to a ship’s onboard cellular network can result in significant roaming charges. With dedicated cruise plans, travelers can prepare before departure and enjoy connectivity at sea without worrying about unexpectedly high bills.”
Pricing is pretty reasonable, especially once you factor in what cruise lines typically charge for their own onboard Wi-Fi. We’re talking $16.99 for 500 MB over a day, $29.99 for 1 GB over seven days, $51.99 for 3 GB over 30 days, and $69.99 for the 5 GB/30-day option the app flags as its best pick. All plans earn 3% back in Saily credits, and the Saily coupon code GIZMODO takes 15% off any of those prices at checkout (cruise plans included).
More than just an eSIM app
The cruise plans are the headline but they fit into something bigger that Saily has been building. The eSIM app already covers 200+ destinations on land, and they’ve been steadily adding things that make it useful beyond just data: a real US phone number for $0.84 a month if you need a +1 line for Venmo or 2FA, payments now accepted in USD, EUR, and GBP, and if you happen to be flying into the US for the World Cup right now, the code GIZMODO also gets you 35% off the North America plan covering the US, Canada, and Mexico (that’s the best discount they have going at the moment).