How Expensive Are Phone Calls?

[Leo Jay]

1. Are there public phones throughout the ship that can be used to call the cabins? If so, I assume there's no charge for this...

 

2. How expensive are ship-to-shore calls? If I want to check my voicemail once or twice a day, how much is it going to cost me?

 

I'll be on the Triumph to Canada, calling in to NY/NJ, if that's relevant...

[kimcruiser]

I believe it is approximately 9.50 per minute for ship to shore. to phone another cabin I am not sure. I would like to know that also.

[BrendaB1]

Free to call cabins on the ship. I thought it was $9.95 a minute ship to shore. Much too expensive to waste my time calling anyone......I'm on vacation. :D

[Setme2sail]

Yes, you can call cabin to cabin at no charge. But ship to shore calls are about $7.00 to $10.00 per minute, if I remember correctly. It is much cheaper to have an international calling card and call when in port or use a phone/internet store when in port. One of the things I love about cruising is that I tell co workers that I am unreachable. It is heaven not to have a phone ringing or having to answer questions all the time, it feels good having someone else make a decision.:)

[big_duck]

Wait until you are in Canadian waters and use your cell.

 

 

Yes we have them too. :D

[DOHC]

I've read it's $7.95/minute. Any the lines don't connect instantly when u call from your home phone so u might have a wait a minute or so cause it's by satellite. They also still charge u while it's connecting. i think it's insane

[sgriff17]

I've read it's $7.95/minute. Any the lines don't connect instantly when u call from your home phone so u might have a wait a minute or so cause it's by satellite. They also still charge u while it's connecting. i think it's insane

 

You are right, it is insane. Use email all you can!!! I just would leave a VM so when people call, I tell them to email me whatever they have to say...lots cheaper

[sgriff17]

Or you can always just go into someone else's cabin when the room is being cleaned and use their phone :) he he he

[Flip2cruise]

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Telephone_Communication.aspx

 

Can I call home while on board?

For our guest's convenience, the ship's telecommunications network offers direct dialing via satellite from the staterooms telephone. This is available 24 hours a day regardless of the ship's location. This service is closed on the final day of the cruise at 4:00AM. The rate is $6.99 per minute for calls to the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and $9.99 per minute for all International calls. All charges are billed to the guest's on board Sail and Sign Card. Since all communication is via satellite, guests cannot use calling cards, credit cards, dial 800 toll-free numbers nor make a collect calls. Instructions and rates can be found in the cabin's directory.

[Cruising89143]

Or you can always just go into someone else's cabin when the room is being cleaned and use their phone :) he he he

\

You're bad!!!:D

[justloud]

Just back from triumph and the calls to or from cabin from off the ship are $9.99/ min. If you have verizon there are roaming charges plus 20 cents per minute to use cell phone in Canada if Canada is not on your plan, and it probably is not because it is extra $$$ from the plans we get. Even cell to cell in Canada these charges apply.

[salty dingo]

Cell phone is definitely the way to go. I if you are in sight of land, you may have a cell signal on the ship. That's by far the best deal. You can call on land too, most of the internet cafes have phones available to call home for a reasonable amount.

 

Rather than pay $10 a minute, why not hire an answering service to take the calls or check the voice mail for you, and email you any messages? I would think that would be cheaper in the long run, and be better for the caller.

[serene56]

Not all cell phones work in the different ports. Check before you go- Nextel does not work at all after leaving tampa.

[MSSQRL]

Calls from the ship are very expensive. We called our son and got his voice mail. His message is very short and I also left a very short message, couldn't have been over a minute, but they said it was and it wound up costing $35.00 and change.

 

Last year when we called from pay phones we had to use our credit card because the phone card we bought wouldn't work. The calls we made were only a few dollars from St. Thomas and St. Marteen. So, we thought this year we would do the same thing and made calls from Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and Cozumel. (I like to stay in touch with my chidren even though they are young adults;) ) and all the calls we made, even though we only talked a couple of minutes were in excess of $35.00. Turns out we had almost $300 in phone calls. Needless to say we won't do that again.

 

So, depending on where you are going, I would be on vacation and forget the voice mail. After all, if there is an emergency someone will get in touch with you. (It has taken me a long time to learn this):)

 

Have fun!!!

[DOHC]

Just makes ya think how much carnival actually profits everytime 1 of their ships pull outta port for a week. They might have some debts to pay since their ships are half a billion dollars. Well at least the valor was. Heck Bill Gates could afford 70 of em :eek:

[MrPete]

Yes we have them too. :D

 

Don

How are the signals through the blustery snow?:eek:

[pungo3]

We had an emergency call from our home to the ship during our October cruise. For a one minute call, the cost was $35.00. Our call back from the ship to the house was about two minutes and cost $75.00. We were not in an area where we had cell phone reception. We now have new instructions for our house sitter. Even if someone dies, don't call. We will find out when we return.

 

My advise to you is to either use your cell phone (if you have a signal available) or don't worry about your voice mail. You are supposed to be on vacation.