As the Facebook generation approaches full swing, more and more of us are using the internet and mobile phones to stay in touch with friends and family while on holiday. Whether it's posting holiday pictures to Instagram, tweeting your latest cocktail choice, or posting a blog about today's shore excursion, staying in touch has never been easier.

But, has it ever been so expensive? The costs of data roaming on mobile devices and onboard Wi-Fi can seem astronomical at times, especially when compared to the age old action of sending postcards. To some extent I understand why internet costs are high onboard the ship, for starters a satellite connection isn't going to be cheap to run. But why can't more ships access internet connections in port, vastly reducing the price on those days, and why do mobile phone companies charge so much?

Data Roaming In The EU

Here's a little run down of the basic data charges for the UK's main carriers. These are all based on EU bundles and range between 25mb and 30mb per day of data. 30mb with Orange should cover most people's Twitter, Facebook or Instagram addictions, along with being able to use Google maps etc on your phone in port.

3 No data bundles, 70p p/mb.
Orange £3 per day for 30mb, the 70p p/mb.
O2 £1.99 per day for 25mb, the 70p p/mb.
T-Mobile 3mb for £1, 10mb for £2.50 & 50mb for £10 — 30 days use not per day.
Vodafone £3 per day, data allowance based on your monthly contract.

Cruise Ship Wi-Fi packages

Cruise ship Wi-Fi prices vary massively from 25p per minute with Fred. Olsen to $2 per email with Oceania Cruises. Though pay as you go cruise ship Wi-Fi prices are available, for the sake of comparison I'll stick with the package prices in order to give a better overview of the best value for money. Note: not all cruise lines offer bundles.

Cruise ship Wi-Fi has a distinct advantage, which isn't the price, but is the convenience. As long as the ship has satellite signal, you can browse and upload away. The main problems, however, are the cost and the speed. Carnival are currently testing a new technology offering vastly improved speeds, while Royal Caribbean are set to test a system next summer — which claims to offer fibre optic-like internet speeds.

Here are the package prices for some of the most popular cruise lines for British cruisers:

Carnival 8 hrs $159, 4 hours $89;2 hours $59 & 45 minutes $29. Also trailing unlimited access packages at $29.95 per day & $119.95 per week.
Celebrity Cruises 1666 mins $399.95, 555 mins $199.95, 208 mins $99.95, 90 mins $49.95 & 38 mins $24.95.
Cunard Line 2 hrs $47.95, 4 hrs $89.95 & 8 hrs $167.95.
Disney Cruise Line Sailing of 7+ nts 500 mins $150, 250 mins $100 & 100 mins $55. Sailing of -7 nts 250 mins $175, 100 mins $40 & 50 mins $27.50.
Fred. Olsen 50 mins £10 & 25 mins £5.
MSC Cruises 250 mins $80, 60 mins $25 & 30mins $15.
NCL 250 mins $100 & 100 mins $55.
P&O Cruises On 7-24 nts 250 mins £62.50 & 100mins £35.
Princess Cruises 250 mins $100, 150 mins $75 & 100 mins $55.
Royal Caribbean 500 mins $150, 250 mins $100, 150 mins $75, 100 mins $55 & 60 mins $35

These prices have been taken from Cruise Critic and are meant as an indication of cost as cruise lines can change their pricing at any time. But, as you can see, surfing the net onboard is definitely a luxury item as opposed to an everyday holiday cost.

Looking at the prices, for me using data roaming on my mobile or tablet is 100 times more preferable than the costs of using the internet on a sea day. Why not spend your free time at sea preparing your images, writing you draft tweets and offline blog updates, and actually do the online sending when you're in port? In some ports you may even find cafes and bars with free Wi-Fi, which is a win-win situation — enjoy a good coffee in the sun while uploading your photos without the worry of how much data you are using.

I'm sure once the latest EU legislation comes into play, data roaming around the EU will slowly become more affordable and eventually shouldn't cost anymore than using your phone at home, while satellite internet connections on cruise ships will always be at a premium.

Send your thoughts to @Iglucruise.