When to switch cell phone to airplane mode?

[mattR]

When should a person switch their cell phone to airplane mode? If you are in port will it go through normal land based cell towers or dose it go through the ships communication system?

[gcvt]

When should a person switch their cell phone to airplane mode? If you are in port will it go through normal land based cell towers or dose it go through the ships communication system?

 

It depends. Where are you cruising?

[pablo222]

It depends. Where are you cruising?

 

It doesn't 'depend'. Any time the ship is in range of a short based

cell signal, the ships cell is turned off.

 

Additionally, there are places where the cell signal is always off,

like the Japanese territorial sea.

[tbmrt]

It doesn't 'depend'. Any time the ship is in range of a short based

cell signal, the ships cell is turned off.

 

Additionally, there are places where the cell signal is always off,

like the Japanese territorial sea.

 

Want to be clear on this...so if I am on the ship at any port, I can use my phone without fear of having ship's tower charges?

 

Thanks

[SadieN]

When you turn off airplane mode the name of the service you've connected with should be on the screen.

If it says something like 'Cellular at Sea' you're still on the ship's tower.

[mattR]

It depends. Where are you cruising?

 

Vancouver Victoria San Francisco

[pcl2001]

They have to wait until they're at least 12 miles from shore (it's only 2 miles in the EU). It's possible you may still have a little bit of signal from your home carrier when it's turned on so don't wait until the last second.

[pcl2001]

Want to be clear on this...so if I am on the ship at any port, I can use my phone without fear of having ship's tower charges?

 

Thanks

 

Yes. It will never be on while the ship is in port.

[Scanorama]

The ship cellular is shown as 'MCP Maritime Comm' on my iPhone.

[alamojo]

They have to wait until they're at least 12 miles from shore (it's only 2 miles in the EU). It's possible you may still have a little bit of signal from your home carrier when it's turned on so don't wait until the last second.

 

Thanks. What about for an Alaskan cruise which is near land the whole time?

[PescadoAmarillo]

Your best bet is to simply take your phone off Airplane Mode and see what provider shows up in the upper left corner. If it's MCP or some other company that not your provider, put it back in Airplane Mode. On our Alaska cruise, I was surprised by having AT&T when I didn't think I would, and not having it sometimes when I assumed I was close enough to port. If you're afraid of some data getting used in that quick timeframe, have Data Roaming stay turned off, and you should have no issue.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks. What about for an Alaskan cruise which is near land the whole time?

 

 

Ships cell (MCP) the majority of the time and US cell providers IE AT&T when in US ports.

Even though you are close to land there are usually no signals other then MCP (ships cell) until you get on port.

Rogers when in Canadian ports.

Edited May 9, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[sherryf]

Thanks. What about for an Alaskan cruise which is near land the whole time?

 

You won't always be that near to land, and even when you are, a lot of it is sparsely inhabited and won't have cell coverage anyway. I put my phone in airplane mode any time the ship is moving and only take it out of airplane mode in port.

[pcl2001]

Thanks. What about for an Alaskan cruise which is near land the whole time?

 

It will be off most of the time. For instance, you won't have service of any type while in Glacier Bay.

[duck addict]

Mine is in airplane mode (or off) unless I am tied up in a US port.

 

I accidentally turned mine on in Ensenada (we were tied up) and received a $15 cellular at sea cost on my bill and another $15 for international roaming. ( I had used the phone in Hawaii but forgot to reset the settings when leaving there)

 

 

On Alaska cruises, the at sea portions will almost always be roaming.

 

In the Caribbean, you have to be careful even on US Locations. For example, if you are on the Eastern side of St Thomas or on St Johns, you are on US territory BUT... sometimes one of the British Virgin Islands can be a stronger signal. If you use them, here comes the roaming charge.

[PescadoAmarillo]

It will be off most of the time. For instance, you won't have service of any type while in Glacier Bay.

 

We had excellent service near the park headquarters where the rangers boards, but nine again until we went by their on the way out of the park.