Communicating by internet or phone while in Carribean ports

[Olstick]

My wife and I will be on the Gem for a Feb1 departure out of NYC for the Carribean. The ports include San Juan, St Thomas, Antigua, St Maarten, and Tortola. We were wondering if anyone has discovered any internet cafes or access to phone service while in any of these ports. As I recall some years ago we discovered an internet cafe while in one of these ports where the internet was reasonable as well as long distance phone calls. We both have cell phones and texting is reasonable but as we all know phone calls as well as internet service can be quite costly. Please don't get me wrong we are not penny pinchers and daily communication to the outside is not critical but if you might have information to share concerning any of these ports we would be grateful Thank you

[ma40]

Hi, When you dock in St Thomas,the ship should be at Crown Bay, go to the marina , there is a walkway to the right, there is a phone and internet store facing the water, I think it is for the convenience of the boat owners but it is public, or take a taxi to downtown there are several internet cafes, upstairs and in alleys,follow the signs, you are in the US so you can pick up Verizon there. Antigua, at least one in the square as you come out of the gate, there are jewelry stores,to the right, this is around the corner facing away from the water. St Martin , ask at the information on shore, there is lots of shopping,go to the first street, the big stores turn to the right, smaller family stores walk to the left. You can ask store owners, sometime they will know. I was there Nov 09, things change,hope you enjoy, we are on the 1/23 Jewel, to go to the Carib in Jan from NY at that price,wonderful.

[Planer's Edge]

The Gem will dock at Havensight not Crown Bay in St. Thomas.

 

PE

[cantwait2cruize]

My wife and I will be on the Gem for a Feb1 departure out of NYC for the Carribean. The ports include San Juan, St Thomas, Antigua, St Maarten, and Tortola. We were wondering if anyone has discovered any internet cafes or access to phone service while in any of these ports. As I recall some years ago we discovered an internet cafe while in one of these ports where the internet was reasonable as well as long distance phone calls. We both have cell phones and texting is reasonable but as we all know phone calls as well as internet service can be quite costly. Please don't get me wrong we are not penny pinchers and daily communication to the outside is not critical but if you might have information to share concerning any of these ports we would be grateful Thank you

 

 

There are phones at the port in San Juan, pack an umbrella the phones are not covered. It's not very pleasant talking to your kids back at home in the pouring rain:eek: (you can also buying calling cards at the port)

[Olstick]

Hi, When you dock in St Thomas,the ship should be at Crown Bay, go to the marina , there is a walkway to the right, there is a phone and internet store facing the water, I think it is for the convenience of the boat owners but it is public, or take a taxi to downtown there are several internet cafes, upstairs and in alleys,follow the signs, you are in the US so you can pick up Verizon there. Antigua, at least one in the square as you come out of the gate, there are jewelry stores,to the right, this is around the corner facing away from the water. St Martin , ask at the information on shore, there is lots of shopping,go to the first street, the big stores turn to the right, smaller family stores walk to the left. You can ask store owners, sometime they will know. I was there Nov 09, things change,hope you enjoy, we are on the 1/23 Jewel, to go to the Carib in Jan from NY at that price,wonderful.

Thank you very much for the information Have a great cruise Ed

[Carolin]

I have sprint. San Juan and St. Thomas are US. My sprint phone works just fine there with no extra charges.

[mommyto2girls]

My wife and I will be on the Gem for a Feb1 departure out of NYC for the Carribean. The ports include San Juan, St Thomas, Antigua, St Maarten, and Tortola. We were wondering if anyone has discovered any internet cafes or access to phone service while in any of these ports. As I recall some years ago we discovered an internet cafe while in one of these ports where the internet was reasonable as well as long distance phone calls. We both have cell phones and texting is reasonable but as we all know phone calls as well as internet service can be quite costly. Please don't get me wrong we are not penny pinchers and daily communication to the outside is not critical but if you might have information to share concerning any of these ports we would be grateful Thank you

 

If you have AT&T cell phones Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas) are considered part of your home calling plan. There are no roaming charges. I do not know about other carriers but you should check. I use my phone whenever we are there and have never had a problem

[CPT Trips]

I have sprint. San Juan and St. Thomas are US. My sprint phone works just fine there with no extra charges.

 

If you have AT&T cell phones Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas) are considered part of your home calling plan. There are no roaming charges. I do not know about other carriers but you should check. I use my phone whenever we are there and have never had a problem

 

The same is true for Verizon.

 

Check with your carrier, ours only charges 50 cents for a text message.

 

There are internet kiosks in each of the ports you mention . . . much better rates and usually faster connections than on board ship. A doller should get you 10 upto 30 minutes at these.

[Olstick]

The same is true for Verizon.

 

Check with your carrier, ours only charges 50 cents for a text message.

 

There are internet kiosks in each of the ports you mention . . . much better rates and usually faster connections than on board ship. A doller should get you 10 upto 30 minutes at these.

Thank you so much for the info. I have verizon and will check with them Best regards, Ed

[arielmurphy]

A couple of blocks from where the ship is docked in San Juan is a Starbucks where there is free wi-fi. If you have Verizon unlimited texts there is no charge for texts in San Juan or US VI. A few years ago while cruising on the NCL Majesty, we were close to the Florida coast, I think we were on our way to the Caymens, I could get cell coverage while on the upper decks.

[CPT Trips]

A couple of blocks from where the ship is docked in San Juan is a Starbucks where there is free wi-fi. If you have Verizon unlimited texts there is no charge for texts in San Juan or US VI. A few years ago while cruising on the NCL Majesty, we were close to the Florida coast, I think we were on our way to the Caymens, I could get cell coverage while on the upper decks.

 

I should clarify my comment about the cost of texts . . . it was for non-US ports (PR and VI being US) such as St. Martin.