5MNtravelbugs Posted January 28, 2011 #1 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Is there any cell phone service at the southern cartibbean ports? (Aruba, Bonaire, Dominica, Grenada, St. Thomas) If so how expensive? In an emergency do they work on the ship? Or are we better to place call thru ship? Just wondering! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuiteTraveler Posted January 28, 2011 #2 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Cellphones will work while you are in port. Once you are out to sea, the phones do not work due to a lack of cell tower coverage at sea. Cellphones are cheaper to use than the ships phones which can cost as much as $15 per minute. Check with your cell provider to make sure your phone can roam internationally. If not, you may want to add that to your plan for the cruise. Free internet is also available in many cruise ports that have a Starbucks. Check Starbucks website for availability in ports you are visiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy's Mom Posted January 28, 2011 #3 Share Posted January 28, 2011 AT&T will work without roaming in St Thomas and St Croix as they are US territories. Other Islands you will need international roaming and some may not have decent service. Many people turn off their phones, put them on airplane mode etc. to avoid large charges for data download, texts etc. As the previous poster said, check with your provider. B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cello56 Posted January 28, 2011 #4 Share Posted January 28, 2011 AT&T works on the ships while at sea or in port at a charge of $2.49 per minute. Not sure about other phone carriers. St. Thomas is at your normal rate with AT&T as it is a US territory. http://www.cellularatsea.com/press/pr06152006-wirlessheadsouttosea.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitty9 Posted January 28, 2011 #5 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Cellphones will work while you are in port. Once you are out to sea, the phones do not work due to a lack of cell tower coverage at sea. Cellphones are cheaper to use than the ships phones which can cost as much as $15 per minute. Check with your cell provider to make sure your phone can roam internationally. If not, you may want to add that to your plan for the cruise. Free internet is also available in many cruise ports that have a Starbucks. Check Starbucks website for availability in ports you are visiting. Cell phones certainly DO work on a ship. Cruise ships now have cell phone capability when at sea. You need a phone with international calling capabilities, and you get that by just going to your cell phone store and adding that feature while you're on vacation (you remove it once you get home). The cost using a cell phone on the ship is generally $2.49 a minute compared to $7.50 using the phone in your cabin. If you stop in places like San Juan, St Thomas and St Croix, there are no roaming charges as these are US territories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyV Posted February 1, 2011 #6 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Be sure to call your cell phone provider first. We have verizon and had to set our location once on board. We were able to call home all but one night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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