Is Quibity any use on a cruise ship?
Tested against the one question that matters at sea: does anything survive once the coast drops below the horizon? Here is the answer for Quibity, and the plans behind it.
Does Quibity work at sea?
Quibity used to be eSIM.sm. The San Marino company has run this eSIM since 2016 and took the Quibity name in April 2026. It sells data plans for more than 190 countries, and Trustpilot reviewers rate it highly. On a cruise it behaves like any land eSIM. The phone connects in port and goes quiet at sea.
Prices last confirmed
Who Quibity is for
Magic Srl built the original platform in San Marino in 2016, and renamed itself Quibity Srl in April 2026. The rebrand added new features to a product with real history behind it. Quibity is a GSMA member and reports more than 2 million users, who between them have used over 10 million gigabytes.
The range covers around 190 countries, one place at a time, grouped into five regions: Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and Oceania. A separate Global Plan spans roughly 150 countries for a trip crossing borders. Popular single-country plans include Italy, the UK, Turkey, China, Egypt, Morocco, Thailand and the Balkans. Trustpilot reviewers give it around 4.7 out of 5 from more than 10,000 reviews.
What happens when the ship leaves port
These run on ordinary national networks, the same ones locals use, and that signal fades about 12 nautical miles from land. Past that line the ship has left coastal water. A Quibity plan bought for a port stop works fine while the ship is tied up somewhere covered. Once it pulls away, the plan gives nothing. There is no maritime product, so the hours between ports are simply a dead zone.
What Quibity costs, and what that buys
Prices start around €5.40 to €6 for the smallest plans, with sizes from 1GB to unlimited and validity from a single day to a full year on the longest. Those were checked in September 2026. The Global Plan is priced separately from the single-country ones and suits a trip crossing several of its roughly 150 countries rather than staying put.
Refunds are not covered by one fixed policy. It comes down to which plan was bought and how far it had been used. If travel plans shift, the safest move is contacting support before installing. Payment takes Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Klarna, which is a wider spread than most eSIM sellers offer.
The details that matter on a ship
| Coverage | 190+ countries via destination plans; ~150 countries via a separate Global Plan; port-day use only |
|---|---|
| Hotspot / tethering | Generally allowed, subject to the plan and local partner operator |
| Data / calls / SMS | Data-only; a home SIM stays active for calls and SMS alongside it |
| Validity | 1 to 365 days depending on plan |
| Activation | Manual — install the QR code and enable data roaming; under a minute to set up |
| App | Quibity (formerly eSIM.sm) app on iOS and Android |
| Top-ups | Additional data or a new destination plan purchased through the app |
| Refunds | Depends on plan type and usage; handled case-by-case through support |
| Support | 24/7 chat, email and in-app support in multiple languages |
| Device compatibility | eSIM-capable smartphones with a compatibility checker on the site |
Getting it working before you sail
A QR code arrives the moment you pay, and Quibity puts setup at under a minute in the app. Installing still needs a working connection first, so do it before flying out while home wi-fi is reliable. Then leave data roaming off, and switch it on only once the ship has docked somewhere covered.
Where Quibity shines, and where it does not
- More than 10,000 Trustpilot reviews put Quibity at around 4.7 out of 5.
- It holds GSMA membership and reports more than 2 million users to date.
- You can pay with Klarna, on top of the usual cards and wallets.
- The Global Plan lets you cover several countries with one purchase.
- Quibity has no maritime option, so its signal cuts out the moment your ship sails past the coast.
- Refund rules shift from plan to plan, instead of one clear promise.
- The rebrand is recent, so search results and reviews are still split between the Quibity and eSIM.sm names.
- How well the hotspot works depends on the local partner carrier at each stop.
Cruise and ferry plans
The plans database on this site holds cruise, ferry and maritime products only. Quibity publishes none, so there is no plan table on this page. Its regional data plans remain the relevant purchase for port days.
The verdict for cruise passengers
Quibity carries real history behind it, even under a new name, having built its user base and its review scores as eSIM.sm. What you get today is a solid port-day range, plus a Global Plan for cruises touching several countries. There is no shipboard product in the mix, so open-water days still want a real at-sea plan or the ship’s wi-fi. And because refunds depend on the specific plan, a quick word with support before locking in a route is worth the minute.
What to pair this with for sea days
Whatever you buy here, something on this list has to handle the crossings:
Frequently asked questions
01Does Quibity work on a cruise ship?+
It works ashore and nowhere else. The practical test is whether you can see land — Quibity uses ordinary terrestrial carriers, which reach roughly twelve nautical miles out and no further. Pair it with an at-sea eSIM.
02Is Quibity a new company, or a rebrand of an existing eSIM provider?+
Quibity is a rebrand, not a new company. It’s the same product Magic Srl launched in San Marino in 2016, under the eSIM.sm name. The product, the user base and the history all carried over. Only the label changed, to Quibity Srl, in April 2026.
03What’s the difference between a Quibity destination plan and the Global Plan?+
A destination plan covers just one of the roughly 190 countries in the catalogue. The Global Plan is different. It’s a separate product spanning about 150 countries in one purchase. That suits a trip crossing several countries, like a multi-port cruise, rather than staying in one place.
04What happens to your refund if a cruise port gets skipped or your itinerary changes?+
There’s no single refund rule at Quibity. Terms depend on the plan type and how much data you’ve already used. If a port gets skipped or your itinerary changes, contact support before you install the eSIM. That’s the best way to find out what’s possible for your plan.
Compare Quibity with
- InstaBridge eSIM — The eSIM arm of the Instabridge Wi-Fi app, with simple regional data packs. A convenient port-day option for existing app users.
- iRoamly — Travel eSIMs with daily-allowance plans that suit short port stops where you only need maps and messaging.
- Japan Wireless — A Japan specialist offering local eSIMs and pocket Wi-Fi. The obvious pick for Japan-calling Asia-Pacific cruise itineraries, ashore only.
- Jetpac — Circles.Life's travel eSIM brand, with regional packs and airport-lounge style perks on some plans. Land-only coverage.