Before you read
Most amenity write-ups skim the surface and leave you with the same answer for every boat. This one is built around the questions that actually move a dockage decision: how marinas measure your boat, how they bill, and which clauses to read twice before signing.
Marina Wi-Fi is consistently the most complained-about amenity. The honest answer for cruisers and liveaboards is to assume marina Wi-Fi will not work and bring your own cellular solution.
Marinas typically install one or two access points serving 100+ slips. Water reflects 2.4 GHz signal, masts and metal hardtops block it, and bandwidth is shared. A marina advertising 'free Wi-Fi' often delivers 1–5 Mbps at the slip — fine for email, useless for video calls.
Liveaboards and remote workers almost universally run their own setup: an LTE/5G hotspot, a directional antenna, or a Starlink dish. Starlink Mini has rewritten the playbook for full-time cruisers — $50–$165/month, 100+ Mbps anywhere with sky view.
If marina Wi-Fi is a deciding factor, ask specifically: 'Do you have per-slip ethernet, or just shared APs?' A handful of premium marinas now offer per-slip fiber drops, which actually deliver.
What works
- • Starlink Mini (~$50–$165/mo)
- • LTE/5G hotspot + external antenna
- • Per-slip fiber (rare, premium)
- • Restaurant Wi-Fi for calls
What doesn't
- • Shared marina AP at the slip
- • 2.4 GHz through a mast
- • Video calls on free Wi-Fi
- • Cloud backups