AT & T cell phone use

[Bustersmom]

After searching the knowledgeable threads (and many thanks Pam) I contacted and confirmed with my carrier (AT&T) I thought I would pass on the info I learned to add to the many threads. I added for $5.95 the AT&T international roaming feature, I will remove when I return. So if I use my cell phone to voice call, and this is all I added, no data no texting, then the per minute price while the ship is at sea is $2.49. When in Ports, depending on which countries it can be anywhere from 1.69 up to 2.29 and these were just from the ports I checked. AT & T has a complete list on line. Hopefully this will be helpful to some. I have no idea what it costs to pick up the phone in your cabin at sea and place a call, but I think it is more. And for those who say leave the phone at home, I agree in most cases, but some have to check with caregivers etc to make decisions etc. To each his own. As is actually the attitude I take on a cruise!

[cathycruise]

Thank you very much. This is really useful. We use AT&T, too.

Good to know. :)

[septrack]

After searching the knowledgeable threads (and many thanks Pam) I contacted and confirmed with my carrier (AT&T) I thought I would pass on the info I learned to add to the many threads. I added for $5.95 the AT&T international roaming feature, I will remove when I return. So if I use my cell phone to voice call, and this is all I added, no data no texting, then the per minute price while the ship is at sea is $2.49. When in Ports, depending on which countries it can be anywhere from 1.69 up to 2.29 and these were just from the ports I checked. AT & T has a complete list on line. Hopefully this will be helpful to some. I have no idea what it costs to pick up the phone in your cabin at sea and place a call, but I think it is more. And for those who say leave the phone at home, I agree in most cases, but some have to check with caregivers etc to make decisions etc. To each his own. As is actually the attitude I take on a cruise!

 

 

Make sure you add Princess's charge as well (if you haven't already). I have a friend who works for ATT who changed her plan to lower her bill at sea, only to find that the Princess charges took her costs to several hundred dollars. Also ran into another cruiseline criiser last year who made the same mistake.

 

Best of luck!

[GrammyKati]

Hi - we also have AT&T and as long as you ad the roaming mentioned above and ONLY call while you are on shore you do not incur Princess charges. We did have a problem in Vancouver once but AT&T gave us credit when we got home and saw the bill. Hope this helps.:)

[Bustersmom]

So after I added the International roaming with AT &T I asked the question directly, if I use my cell phone at sea on a Princess cruise what is the per minute charge and it was $2.49/min. How do I document then what any additional charge would be from Princess, thought I had it all down pat, guess not??? I think then my original post was not helpful, why oh why oh why is this so difficult to understand, I am not a "rocket scientist" but I have investigated and asked the questions, but not sure now if I have the full info? Is there then indeed another addiional charge by Princess to use a cell phone while at sea? Guess I am not as "bright" an investigator as I thought!

[Pam in CA]

Any cruiseline with a cell phone tower charges for the use of that tower. It's not free any more than WiFi is free on the ship. It's a service that uses satellites. Actually, the charge will be on your cell phone provider bill, not Princess. The cost is $2.49/minute regardless of your service or any international roaming you've turned on. The cell tower is turned off while the ship is in port so you won't incur that charge then.

 

It's actually a lot cheaper to communicate via text. Texts are free to receive, $.50/text to send. I make sure my texts are long. :)

[Bustersmom]

Oh Pam I think I finally get it, duh, thanks! So my AT &T roaming is 2.49/min at sea and then I incur Princess charges of 2.49/min, yikes I see why you say texting is the way to go! So in the Ports usually the only charge I would have is the 2.49 but at sea, right at $5 a min. Thanks as usual for making it clear!!! Maybe for not just me but others!

[MHMarkL]

Any cruiseline with a cell phone tower charges for the use of that tower. It's not free any more than WiFi is free on the ship. It's a service that uses satellites. Actually, the charge will be on your cell phone provider bill, not Princess. The cost is $2.49/minute regardless of your service or any international roaming you've turned on. The cell tower is turned off while the ship is in port so you won't incur that charge then.

 

It's actually a lot cheaper to communicate via text. Texts are free to receive, $.50/text to send. I make sure my texts are long. :)

 

Pam, Should we call AT&T and add international texting or is that automatic? I agree that texting seems to be the way to go.

[Pam in CA]

Oh Pam I think I finally get it, duh, thanks! So my AT &T roaming is 2.49/min at sea and then I incur Princess charges of 2.49/min, yikes I see why you say texting is the way to go! So in the Ports usually the only charge I would have is the 2.49 but at sea, right at $5 a min. Thanks as usual for making it clear!!! Maybe for not just me but others!

That's the way I understand it but I could be wrong. It could be that the $2.49 you were quoted and the at sea charge is one and the same. I've never used my iPhone for a cell call while at sea.

 

Pam, Should we call AT&T and add international texting or is that automatic? I agree that texting seems to be the way to go.

I think it depends on where you are. I turn on Global Messaging 50 for $10 as a matter of course just before leaving and turn it off after I get home. It's then pro-rated for the days it was on. You get 50 outgoing messages, whether they're just text, photos, video, etc. and it's free to receive texts. The coverage area is 100 countries.

[snowskier]

Just to add to the confusion -- not all AT&T plans are the same. The OP was smart to call and ask about the plan they have. For example, paying $5.95 for an international roaming plan would do nothing for me except cost me an additional $5.95 which doesn't make a bit of sense. It wouldn't reduce my per minute cost in any country, in fact in some countries it makes the per minute cost more.

 

One size does not fit all -- call and get the info for your specific plan.

[Posaune]

Since you are on ATT you have a GSM phone with a SIM card. If you have a world phone (4 band) you can purchase a SIM from one of the many international providers and you end up paying from .29 to .79 a minute back to the US depending on the country you are calling from in Europe. Just make sure on your screen you are using a land based service and not the ship service. I am taking my first Caribbean cruise this so I really need to study the phone costs there.

[Scotoco]

There is an unlimited international roaming, texting and data plan through AT&T which is what I have. It is expensive but worth it if you have to travel a lot (I am in either S. America or Europe for about 15 days a month). Maybe they can give you that for a month. I think it's a corporate plan.