Oceania’s Frank Del Rio Jr. Says Fleet Will Have Starlink by End of 2024

There’s finally a timeline for Oceania’s full launch of Starlink.

Speaking on Oceania to travel advisors during its New York City showcase this week, Frank A. Del Rio, president of Oceania Cruises, said that “this ship has Starlink installed and will be a fleet-wide application by the end of next year,” an announcement that was met with applause from advisors on-hand.

The expansion of Starlink to Oceania was announced last year—Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings committed to do so on all of its brands, which includes Oceania—but on Sunday Del Rio Jr. revealed the timeline for Oceania.

“This is a real game changer, what Starlink has brought to our industry,” he said.

Starlink has quickly taken over the cruise industry since the Royal Caribbean Group announced its commitment to the SpaceX-owned satellite company in August 2022. In 2023 alone, American Cruise Lines, American Queen, Windstar, Lindblad, Scenic, and Cunard, which did so just this week, have announced they would be adding Starlink to their ships.

Starlink promises its users high-speed and low latency capabilities, which are needed for those wanting to stream video or make video calls onboard. The Oceania team said that the addition has allowed guests have been able to stream Netflix during their time on Vista recently.

Other bits
Del Rio Jr. also told advisors that Oceania is in a “better-booked position than it has been in 20 years” amidst a fleet expansion that will see Oceania operate six ships in Europe next year.  That expansion is highlighted by the recent addition of Vista, along with Allura, which is coming in 2025.

Oceania Allura will debut with a seven-day cruise from Athens to Istanbul, which departs on June 8, 2025. Sales for the inaugural season, which boasts five sailings and 26 cruise packages to choose from, covering nearly 100 destinations, are already open.

Del Rio Jr. also reaffirmed where he and his executive team see Oceania fitting in the market. He dismissed the term “upper premium” and instead preferred using “affordable luxury,” but did say that Oceania continues to occupy the space between premium and luxury in the cruise industry, with a deeper destination focus.