I'm assuming these large cruise corps can get a decent bulk/business discount though.

Pre starlink I looked at getting sat internet for 3 years around Africa. For even a few GB per month the cost was more per month than all other costs of the expedition combined.

I just got local sims, worked great

Pre-Starlink, no, not really. Some discount due to the bulk payment, yes, but the bandwidth is simply not there to allow for such discounts, especially in high-demand areas like Africa and the Pacific where satellites have a double-duty to serve land-based customers.