My family and I returned to full-time liveaboard life aboard our Carver, Have Another Day, about nine months ago. Living and traveling on a boat greatly increases our demand for reliable internet, and over time I’ve learned a lot about what actually works in the real world. Below I summarize the practical systems and habits that keep us connected so we can work, stream a little TV and stay in touch while cruising.
Boat internet still doesn’t match the consistency of a wired home connection, but it’s come a long way from the early days of running a DSL line to a slip. Today our setup combines multiple cellular connections with marina Wi‑Fi when it’s available. That redundancy is key: different sources perform better at different times and in different places, so having more than one option keeps us online more often.
For cellular service I’ve had excellent results with a prepaid Verizon plan introduced in the fall that lists for roughly $65 a month. The service has been consistently strong for us, delivering large amounts of data without noticeable throttling in day-to-day use. I initially tested Verizon’s Jetpack MHS900L mobile hotspot but found better performance with a Novatel 7730L, which gave roughly double the speed for me. If you encounter resistance buying this plan in-store, ask for the internal plan identifier 28366; it has been referenced as a prepaid option and can appear differently depending on the sales channel.
I also rely on an AT&T-based unlimited plan purchased through a specialist reseller, 4G Antenna Shop. In my case I’m still on a grandfathered $85 unlimited plan that’s served well for more than two years, though that exact plan is no longer offered. The reseller currently promotes options with a defined allotment of high-speed data (for example 35, 75 or 120 GB) and then unlimited data at reduced speeds once the high-speed cap is reached. Some of these reseller plans may run on alternate networks; I’ve heard they can be provisioned on other carriers but haven’t confirmed those route details definitively for every offering. The take-away is that reseller plans can be a cost-effective way to obtain higher-data or unlimited-traffic options appropriate for cruisers.
Marina Wi‑Fi can be an excellent supplement when it’s well designed, but many marinas offer disappointing connectivity. We now generally only try marina Wi‑Fi when we see a recent positive review or when the network is managed by a professional provider such as OnSpot, which tends to deliver well-engineered networks with enough backhaul and sensible radio planning.
The two most common issues with marina networks are insufficient backhaul bandwidth and radio-frequency (RF) congestion. Insufficient backhaul is easy to spot: performance is fine during quiet weekday hours but slows to a crawl in the evenings and on weekends when more boaters are online. RF congestion is often caused by networks operating only on the crowded 2.4 GHz band; with very few useful channels available, nearby users interfere with one another and connections degrade. When a marina offers 5 GHz coverage and isolates guest traffic from management traffic, the experience is usually much better.
There are also surprising coverage gaps in areas you wouldn’t expect. For example, we spent several months in Gulfport, Florida, and found pockets of very weak cellular and marina coverage despite the town’s size. Those dead spots can be frustrating but highlight the value of keeping multiple cellular sources and a portable router on board.
A multisource router has been one of the most useful pieces of equipment for our setup. I’ve been testing the Wave WiFi MBR 550, which simplifies switching between connections and allows me to prioritize or failover between cellular and Wi‑Fi sources. Each morning I run quick speed tests across our connections and pick the best available as the primary link for the day. This simple routine helps avoid surprises and ensures we’re usually on the most capable connection for work or streaming.
Practical tips from our experience: carry at least two cellular hotspots or SIMs from different providers, test marina Wi‑Fi before relying on it, watch for 2.4 GHz congestion and prefer networks with 5 GHz where available, and use a multisource router or automated failover so you can switch easily. Expect to use several hundred gigabytes some months if you stream video and use cloud services, so plan for plans and hardware that tolerate heavy use.
Internet at sea isn’t perfect, but with redundancy, the right hotspot hardware and sensible habits you can achieve a level of connectivity that supports work, entertainment and staying connected with family and friends.
This article originally appeared in the September 2019 issue.