How to Set Up Your GigSky Cruise eSIM (Step by Step)

Five minutes, give or take. That's how long the actual cruise eSIM setup takes. 

There's one timing mistake that catches a lot of people off guard, though, and if you make it, your data plan starts counting down before the ship has left the dock. We'll get to that. 

First, the phone check.

Make Sure Your Phone Is Ready

Before you install your GigSky eSIM, confirm two things: eSIM compatibility and carrier unlock status. They're different requirements, and you need both.

To confirm compatibility, dial *#06# on your phone. An EID number should appear on screen. No EID? Go to Settings, then General, then About, and look for it listed there. 

Most iPhones from the XR onward have it, along with recent Pixel phones and Samsung Galaxy S20 and above.

For carrier lock, go to Settings, General, About, Carrier Lock. It needs to say "No SIM Restrictions." 

Anything else means your phone is still tied to your carrier, which sometimes happens with devices on a payment plan. Worth a quick check before you're standing at the port with nowhere to sort it out.

Is Your Ship Covered?

GigSky Cruise plans cover 290+ ships across Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Disney, Celebrity, AIDA, Costa, MSC, and more. 

The fastest way to check yours is through the GigSky app. Search your cruise line in the search bar and it'll show you every supported ship for that line. 

You can also browse the full list at gigsky.com/data-cruises if you prefer to do it from a browser.

Choosing the Right Plan

Cruise plans are regional. Americas and Caribbean, Europe (which pulls in some African ports too), Asia Pacific, and Middle East. 

If your itinerary crosses more than one region, there's a World Cruise + Land plan that covers a wider spread.

You'll also choose between two plan types. Cruise + Land covers you both on the ship and at every port stop. Good if you want connectivity throughout the whole trip. 

Cruise Only keeps you connected while you're aboard, nothing more. Shorter cruises work well with this one, or if you're fine grabbing local Wi-Fi at the ports and just want data at sea.

Tap the info icon next to any plan on the website, or "View Coverage" in the app, to see exactly which destinations fall under each one before you buy.

How Much Data Is Enough?

Rough math: WhatsApp, emails, and maps at the port puts most people somewhere between 300 and 500 MB per day. Multiply by your cruise days and you're in the right ballpark.

Video calls, photos uploading, anything streaming, and 1 GB per day is a more honest number. Worth knowing before you pick a plan rather than after.

Turn off auto photo backup before you board. It runs silently in the background and can eat through a data plan faster than everything else combined. 

Same goes for any app that refreshes automatically. Download whatever you want to watch or listen to while you're still on land.

Traveling with family? GigSky has a family plan option for managing multiple plans under one account, and hotspot sharing works if you need to get other devices connected.

Try It Before You Commit

There's a GigSky free eSIM trial — 100 MB, no card needed — that's worth claiming before your departure. 

Not a huge amount, but enough to send messages, check a map, or make a WhatsApp call, and more importantly, it confirms your phone actually connects before you're relying on it.

Download the GigSky app, search your cruise line, and you'll see the option to activate it from there.

The Setup (Start to Finish)

1. Everything happens in the app. Open the GigSky app, go to My Plans, tap your plan, and select Install Now. On the next screen, choose Install on this device (or pick another OS if you're setting it up for someone else's phone). Tap Install Now again, read the instructions, then tap Get Started.
2. Stay on Wi-Fi for this part. The cruise eSIM downloads over the internet, and a weak or inconsistent connection mid-download creates problems.
3. Your phone will ask you to activate the eSIM. Tap it. On iPhone, it'll share your EID with the network automatically. When the confirmation screen appears, tap Continue.
4. iOS will then ask you to label your plans. Set GigSky as Cellular Data and your home SIM as Primary.
5. On the following screen, turn off Allow Cellular Data Switching. This is the setting that quietly catches people out.
6. Leave it on and your phone will start pulling from your home carrier the second the GigSky signal dips, running up roaming charges you weren't expecting.
7. Also toggle off data roaming on your home SIM while you're in there.
8. Last step: go to Settings, tap Cellular, find GigSky in the list, and turn on the line. Renaming it “GigSky” in Settings is worth doing if you ever manage more than one cruise eSIM.

When Should You Install the GigSky Cruise eSIM?

Install your GigSky eSIM on embarkation day, right before you leave for the port. Not two days early because you want to get organized. Not the night before.

Here's the reason: if your phone is already in a region the plan covers at the time of installation, it activates the data automatically. 

Install early while you're still home and traveling to the port, and your days of data start ticking. By the time you're at sea, you've already burned through some of your plan.

After installation, if you're not ready to use it yet, go into Settings and switch the GigSky line off. Turn it back on when you want to use it. 

Full connectivity at sea usually comes in around an hour after the ship departs.

A Few Things Worth Knowing About Signal

Open decks and common areas on the ship give you the strongest signal. Cruise ships are built with heavy steel throughout, and lower-deck cabins, especially enclosed interior ones, can be harder to reach. If you're not connecting, moving up to an open area on deck usually does it.

The plan is data-only, so regular calls and SMS don't go through it. WhatsApp calls and FaceTime both work. 

Some ships restrict internet calling on their end, but that's a ship policy, not an eSIM limitation. If you want your home number reachable, keep your primary SIM active and use Wi-Fi calling where the ship allows it.

Recap: GigSky Cruise eSIM Setup

• Dial *#06# to confirm eSIM compatibility, then check Carrier Lock says "No SIM Restrictions"
• Confirm your ship is covered at gigsky.com/data-cruises or in the GigSky app
• Pick your regional GigSky Cruise plan. Cruise + Land for full coverage, Cruise Only if you mainly need data at sea
• Budget 300 to 500 MB per day for light use, 1 GB or more if you're doing calls and uploading
• Claim the free trial in the GigSky app before committing to a paid cruise eSIM plan
• Install on embarkation day while you still have Wi-Fi on land, not days in advance
• Turn off Allow Cellular Data Switching and disable roaming on your home SIM after setup
• Signal is strongest on open decks. Move up from lower-deck cabins if you're not getting a connection