Cell Phone Question

[maileenm]

We are first time cruisers for Freedom in July. We will be leaving my 4 month old baby at home with my MIL. I am not overly worried or concerned about this as she is family and a NICU nurse and can handle anything that comes her way.

However, we really would like to have an easy method for her to contact us should something happen and I thought our cell phones would be the most logical and cheapest method.

 

Currently we have AT&T (might be with Sprint at time of cruise) smartphones. I plan on turning off data and I don't think anybody will be calling us on our cell except for her. We really can't turn our phone off, to Airplane mode, or routing our calls straight to voicemail just in case she calls for an emergency.

 

Is this the cheapest and easiest method for her to contact us in an emergency?

 

Are there any other easier or cheaper methods? She is not a texting person so while a text message is cheaper, it wouldn't be practical (I don't think she knows how to text).

 

I know we will be in St. Thomas which is considered part of our phone plan (no roaming, long distance, etc.) and we plan to check in then, but I just wanted some back up contact method should something happen and we need to be contacted. Any advice would be helpful.

[alexkrn46]

Leaving your phone on will cost you money, I just paid $40 for my husband leaving the cell phone on. Your cabin will have a phone, in your documentation their is a number for your ship. It is expensive ( I think$8/min). Your cell phone will work, usually $2.69 a minute.

 

I would leave the ship's number with your MIL for emergencies, set a time to either email or call.

[sjcruiser]

We leave the ships emergency number with our cabin and reservation number for extreme emergencies. We use our cells in port for quick calls, but most often communicate via email. I'll be using my iPhone (ATT) for my music while onboard, leaving it in airplane mode. After four bad experiences with rectifying bills with Sprint, it's not worth it to keep the phone on while onboard.

 

FYI, the emergency calls to the ship are $7.95 a minute, billed to the callers credit/debit card.

[FLHugh]

Also, don't forget to leave a Medical Authorization with you MIL before you leave. Being she is a Medical Professional, she is probably aware of this. Just a friendly reminder... Have a great trip.

[BadSeaLegs]

There were a bunch of us on a few cruises with various cell phone plans. Thing was, while you are on the water, you did not have any service. The only time we were able to get service was once we docked.

 

Like others mentioned, leave the ship number and be sure all medical authorizations are left behind. This is NOT to incur worry but more to provide peace of mind for when you board.

[ehfl]

If you turn off the data connection (usually pretty easy to do on a smart phone), and no one else calls (and you pick up), then you shouldn't get hit with too big of a bill.

 

Text messages are the cheapest way to get a message through, so you might want to give her a lesson and offer to pay whatever her cost is for sending a message.

 

In an emergency, I don't think the cost of the phone call will be an issue anyway.

[KittyCat1Million]

Teach your MIL how to text, if I can do it so can she. That is the least expensive way to communicate. Also email. I usually get my emails on board. In St. Thomas just call her. I believe that is included as USA in most plans. Sometimes when we are sailing and not near a port I don't get my emails, texts, until we get closer to port.

 

If there is a real emergency give your MIL the phone number to the ship and your stateroom number. She can just call you direct. If it is a true emergency the cost will be of no concern. The phone number for the ship will be found in your cruise documents online when they are ready.

[maileenm]

Thanks everyone. :) I will leave the cell phone off or on airplane mode since in a true emergency we really wouldn't care about the $8/min charge and it is the easiest most direct communication method.

I definitely will leave her with medical authorization letter, insurance card, and drug card. She or my mother have watched my other two children when we have gone out of town and we always do this. (My other two kids 4 and 8 are coming with us on the cruise.)

 

She uses email so I will probably just buy one of the internet packagaes to check email and keep in touch for non-emergency but necessary check in type things and questions that she might have. I will also get my husband to teach and get her used to texting. She is on our cell phone plan so the cost of texting isn't a problem, it is just a generational thing for her.

[radsailor]

I have a 2 year old and 5 year old and travel to Europe on vacation once a year. I used the ship phone one time and my bill of course was outrageous. I use Sprint so this last August when we were doing a Baltics cruise I called them to find out other options. They directed me to Brightroam. I bought a phone for about $40 with a UK number and was able to call home quite often to talk to my kids. My bill was only about $40. The SIM card expires after 90 days so when I do my next cruise this May I will just replace the card. Hope this helps.

[cb at sea]

We just leave the emergency number at home in case of dire emergency....and use e-mail to "keep in touch"....

[mibarron]

I'm not sure what type of phone or plan you have, but I have the iPhone and I was able to receive calls throughout the entire ship. My oldest brought his phone too, and we texted all week, since this was pretty much the only way I could keep tabs on my teenager. :) Texts are about $.50 each. AT&T has an international plan, which I use. By the end of the trip, we probably spent about $50, between phone calls and texts. Much cheaper than the ship rate fees and I was always available to be reached in case of an emergency, which is better than if the ship has to page you and you aren't able to hear it or if you're off ship on an excursion.