WMS: Keeping You Connected at Sea

Pramod Arora

By GERRY BARKER
North Palm Beach Life

Frequent cruisers have all heard the horror stories. You return from a fabuluous vacation at sea and get a CPR-inducing phone bill -- all because you forgot to activate "Airplane Mode" on your smartphone.

For example, one Royal Caribbean passenger racked up $1,300 in roaming charges. But that was peanuts compared to the German family who reportedly ran up $14,000 in charges on their cruise.

If you aren't a fan of phone bill sticker shock -- and who is? -- WMS is at your service.

Founded in 2004, and based in Miramar, FL., they pioneered the first wireless network on a cruise ship 20 years ago and continue to expand their operations, serving over 25 cruise lines with more than 200 ships and ferries in service around the world.

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​At the just-concluded Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Miami Beach, Pramod Arora, WMS president and CEO, along with Liz DeCastro, WMS executive director for PR and communications, talked about the state of staying connected at sea, along with some headline news items.

First, the news. Last year, WMS and Verizon teamed up to offer the Verizon Cruise Daily Pass, and this year, they announced an enhancement. Priced at $20 per line, per day, if offers unlimited data (the first 500MB at high speed, 3G speed after), unlimited talk and text while at sea.

Days later came word that AT&T, in partnership with WMS,  is enhancing its International Day Pass for cruise passengers. For $20 per day, it offers 500MB of high-speed data per day with no overage charges, along with unlimited talk and text, which also covers ports of call. "In many ways, 2025 is going to be a transformational year," said Arora. The new plans, he said, "are predictable, and a good experience." 

Arora said in today's "instant" culture, travelers want to share moments and memories as they happen. He remembers a time when the only option was take photos and then wait for the film to be developed. "But today we live in a world of instant communication -- it's part of the vacation experience to post on social media and share experiences now. So being connected is no longer a distraction -- it's part of your vacation."

Arora added: "For the longest time, cellular roaming was considered too expensive, too unpredictable. I'm proud to say that WMS, has, for the most part, completely changed that."

Arora pointed out one major difference between using WMS and a ship's Wi-Fi is security. If you are trying to access your financial or medical records, WMS provides a secure connection, versus regular Wi-Fi. 

In fact, just like on land, Arora sees Wi-Fi and cellular as complementary technologies. For users who stream a lot of video and watch movies, they may want to purchase a Wi-Fi package from the ship, but use a cellular roaming plan for sensitive information.

He said one of their biggest challenges is just getting the word out to cruisers these plans are available to them. With an expected 40 million cruise passengers expected by 2028, "we need to make sure everybody is aware of what's out there so they make good decisions for themselves and their families."

Longterm, Arora said their goal is when people go on a cruise, "they don't even think about connectivity -- it's just taken care of."

He summed it up this way:

"Our job is to make sure that we provide high-quality, predictable and affordable connectivity. That's our promise. That's what we want to do."