MedallionNet
Princess Cruises' branded onboard internet — powered by SES O3b plus Starlink across the Princess fleet.
Provider Snapshot
Where you'll find it
About MedallionNet
MedallionNet is Princess Cruises' marketing brand for onboard internet, not a satellite operator in its own right. Behind the brand, MedallionNet runs on SES O3b/MedallionNet-class capacity (originally O3b, later O3b mPOWER) augmented with Starlink across the Princess fleet from 2024 onwards. Princess marketed MedallionNet as "the best WiFi at sea" when it launched in 2017 because, on O3b's MEO constellation, it genuinely delivered streamable speeds and low-enough latency for video calls — a sharp contrast to the GEO VSAT competitors of that era. With Starlink layered on top, MedallionNet today is materially faster again. It is included with Princess Plus and Princess Premier fares and offered as an add-on otherwise. MedallionNet is exclusive to Princess; you will not find it on other cruise lines, in flights, on trains or on ferries.
History
Princess Cruises launched MedallionNet in 2017 as part of the broader OceanMedallion smart-cruise initiative. It was one of the earliest major cruise-line WiFi services to use SES O3b MEO capacity, which gave Princess a multi-year head start on streamable in-cabin internet. SES and Princess publicly renewed and expanded their multi-year MedallionNet agreement onto O3b mPOWER as the second-generation constellation came online in 2022–2023, and Princess began layering Starlink onto MedallionNet across the fleet from 2024 to add LEO capacity and lower latency.
Operators using MedallionNet (1)
Cruise (1)
How MedallionNet Compares
MedallionNet is a brand, so the underlying technology evolves with Princess's choices. Today's MedallionNet (O3b mPOWER + Starlink) is competitive with anything else at sea. The brand differentiator is bundling: Princess Plus and Premier fares include MedallionNet for one or four devices respectively, which makes it effectively free for most guests. There is no plan to spin MedallionNet out beyond Princess.
| MedallionNet | Starlink | |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit | GEO / ATG (high latency) | LEO (~30ms latency) |
| Typical Speed | 50–200 Mbps typical (mPOWER + Starlink combined) | 100+ Mbps typical, 350+ peak |
| Latency | ~600ms (GEO) / 60–100ms (ATG) | ~20–44ms |
| Trajectory | Defending installed base | Rapid airline adoption |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is MedallionNet?
MedallionNet is Princess Cruises' branded onboard internet service. It is not a separate satellite operator — it runs on SES O3b mPOWER MEO capacity plus Starlink, packaged and branded by Princess as part of the OceanMedallion experience.
Which ships have MedallionNet?
Every ship in the Princess Cruises fleet — currently 16+ ships including the Royal-class, Sphere-class (Sun Princess, Star Princess), Crown-class and Coral-class. MedallionNet is fleet-wide.
Is MedallionNet included in my fare?
It is included with Princess Plus (1 device) and Princess Premier (4 devices) fares. With a standard fare you can buy MedallionNet per-day or for the full voyage; pre-cruise pricing is cheaper than buying onboard.
Is MedallionNet Starlink?
Partly. MedallionNet today is a multi-orbit blend of SES O3b mPOWER and Starlink. It is not pure Starlink — Princess kept SES as a backbone and added Starlink for additional capacity and lower latency.
Does MedallionNet work in flights?
No — MedallionNet is exclusive to Princess Cruises ships. Princess does not operate aircraft, trains, ferries or buses.