WMS has installed the LGC technology on 30 ships so far, with another 50 under contract, Marjerison said. In all, there are about 120 large cruise ships now plying the waters around the globe, many capable of carrying thousands of passengers each.

WMS provides GMS and CDMA cellular switches on each ship to serve for customers with different service plans, Marjerison said. The cost of equipping a single ship with the wireless technology is up to $100,000 for cable installation, up to $300,000 for switches and another $250,000 for the satellite dish and related electronics, Marjerison said. Most ships already have satellite dishes in place.

Manuel said one major issue in setting up the service is getting roaming agreements with carriers. WMS has so far arranged partnerships with 340 carriers worldwide.

The cellular service has given Island Cruises and Manuel a few bragging rights. "Working for a smaller cruise line, it's given me the ability to be more of a cowboy out there," he said. "Sometimes there were growing pains, but I beat the big boys. Cruise lines are very competitive, so it pays to be a little different."

Now that other cruise lines have begun to catch up, Manuel is watching out for the next wireless application to come along -- as is Marjerison, who is now weighing the popularity of wireless video.