Cell phone service-elderly parents

[Bettytrouble]

Sorry if this has been asked before;

 

We are cruising on FOS in August and will be leaving elderly parents behind. They have caregivers, but does anyone know the cell-phone rates that RCI charges or how any of this works? The last time we cruised was almost 2 years ago ( GASP!!) but we had no need to call anyone once we left Tampa.

 

Any suggestions or info would be appreciated. At present I have AT and T service they had no idea what to tell me about international rates, etc.

SO I CAME TO THE EXPERTS!!!!;)

 

We are doing Eastern route.

 

THANKS!!

 

BETTY

[setsail]

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/international-roaming.jsp

[Baseball fan]

I also have AT&T. I purchased an international plan while going overseas. Although I didn't use it because the rates in the hotel were cheaper to call the US (strangely enough). But it is cheaper to call from your mobile phone at $2.49 a minute than to use the ship's phone. Keep in mind that if you receive a call on your mobile and your phone is on, even if you let it go to voicemail, you will pay for the cost of the length of their message.

[Cruise-Crazy]

Not going to be much cheaper than the $2.49 per min. Maybe txt messages with the caregivers just to check on things? That would be a lot cheaper.

[Bettytrouble]

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/international-roaming.jsp

 

 

THANK YOU!

Now- why did my rep not know this? Next time i will just check the website .

 

THANK YOU!!

 

Betty

[pcur]

I have a 92 year old father, and my husband's Mom is 88. They both live in the same assisted living center. I email with the head nurse and receptionist to keep in touch. That's a max of 55 cents a minute.

 

We also have a member of our family who stays at our house for several days when we are gone on long trips, and checks in with the "grands" and staff. This person is also the emergency contact while we are gone. This person also has power of attorney on file with the staff, and is listed after us.

[fdthird]

An AT&T Cell call from St Thomas is considered a local US call and will be part of your regular allotment of minutes if you are heading there.

[IHateSnow!]

Anything sent from the ship will be billed at 2.99/minute. $.50 outgoing and i'm not 100% positive on the incoming text rate. If you call AT&T directly they do (or did) have a package you could purchase for a set amount that gave you a certain number of incoming and outgoing text messages.

 

I believe the discounted land international rate package is $10/month

 

Can be started & Stopped at any time

 

You can also purchase international data - but beware it is very expensive. If you have a smart phone be sure to turn 3G off and data roam off BEFORE you leave port if you plan on leaving it on to receive calls while you're at sea.

 

I've been in situations where i've needed my phone and I'd leave it in airplane mode and then 2 or 3 times a day turn that off to check for messages.

 

If your caregivers text you can always have them text you if its urgent and you can return the call - otherwise they can text you daily updates/reports for far cheaper than a call.

[pcur]

You get a lot more information if the caregivers email you, because you can keep the window open but log off RCCL's internet. They can write you a book a day if they want with updates. You only pay for the minute or two you are logged on to access the email, since the log-off window is a separate one from the email window.