Keeping in touch with kids

[mrsd2fan]

A friend of ours who's cruising with us this time was wondering, other than email, if there is a way they can call their kids while on the ship?

[akcruz]

Assuming the kids will be at home while the parents are on board? You can always call either by the ship phone or a cell phone, but it will be very expensive to do so from the ship. Cell phones can also be used in port and with a lot of carriers it is cheaper to do so off the ship. Also Puerto Rico is considered US for Verizon, not sure of other carriers. Look into what their carrier has.

[sara mom]

They might want to try texting. On my Verizon plan, it was 50 cents to send...5 cents to receive.

[Rala]

Check with the cell phone provider and see if they can go on an "international" or whatever plan just for the length of time they will be cruising. In addition to Puerto Rico, I think the US Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John) ate also included on some plans...there may be others. Call and see what the cell phone company offers.

[pltag]

Check with the cell phone provider and see if they can go on an "international" or whatever plan just for the length of time they will be cruising.

This is VERY GOOD advise. Just because your cell phone works, it does NOT mean you are operating under your regular plan. We have good friends who came home to a $600 cell bill because one of thier teens was chatting / texting with friends at home from the ship and ports. Our AT&T cell phones diplayed a different message ..... like, "Cellular at Sea" or "AT&T at Sea" ..... something like that. This meant they would work, but additional charges would apply.

 

Go talk to your cell provider. When we do land based vacations in Mexcico or Europe we always add the international plan, which then can be removed as soon as you get home and ensure that all calls have processed.

[jennmaybe]

They might want to try texting. On my Verizon plan, it was 50 cents to send...5 cents to receive.

Same here.....this is our we communicated with our daughter while we were on our last cruise and she was with the grandparents. Much cheaper than calling!!

[mibarron]

We used texting. Sometimes, my son was in a part of the ship that the signal wasn't great or if he's in the Teen rooms it would be too loud to hear the ring, so we decided not to call each other. AT&T is .50 cents a text. By the end of the trip, my cell phone bill was about $50 extra, but that's because we were always texting each other all the time. :)

 

I've seen some families with walkie talkies, but I heard complaints that the signal wasn't always great, depending on where you are on the ship or other people were using the same channels and you could here their conversations too.

[newlifeca]

With the Iphone, I waited till I got off at a port, found a wifi spot and used Skype to call home, it's something like 2 cents a minute.

[CaribbeanCrush]

Same here.....this is our we communicated with our daughter while we were on our last cruise and she was with the grandparents. Much cheaper than calling!!

 

We've found that texting isn't always best if timing is an issue, but it works great for a quick note... like reminding a forgetful teenager that tomorrow is trash day! :D