Verizon in alaska

[sgutt86]

Hi everyone. Sorry if this is a topic somewhere else, I tried searching for it first.

 

Ok, so what's the deal with phone service in Alaska. I have Verizon and I've heard that they now (as of early 2014) have extended their coverage throughout most of Alaska- at least to the major cities. So anyone been on a Land/Cruise tour recently and have Verizon? How spotty was it?

 

I expect to have nothing in Vancouver - because...Canada, but it's just for 1 day and don't want to mess with my plan for just a day.

 

Also, if you purchase an internet plan onboard the ship (I'm going to be on the Island) How well does the wi-fi work?

 

Thanks!!

[Colo Cruiser]

Hi everyone. Sorry if this is a topic somewhere else, I tried searching for it first.

 

Ok, so what's the deal with phone service in Alaska. I have Verizon and I've heard that they now (as of early 2014) have extended their coverage throughout most of Alaska- at least to the major cities. So anyone been on a Land/Cruise tour recently and have Verizon? How spotty was it?

 

I expect to have nothing in Vancouver - because...Canada, but it's just for 1 day and don't want to mess with my plan for just a day.

 

Also, if you purchase an internet plan onboard the ship (I'm going to be on the Island) How well does the wi-fi work?

 

Thanks!!

 

You will roam in Vancouver and have Rogers network.

Wifi onboard can be very sporadic especially in Alaska.

Its expensive.

[AKman2495]

Here is the latest on Verizon in Alaska:

 

http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/June-Issue-1-2014/Verizon-to-launch-voice-coverage-this-fall/

[Colo Cruiser]

So it does not start until the fall.

[caribill]

Ok, so what's the deal with phone service in Alaska.

 

Verizon phone service for making phone calls is available in the cities the cruise goes to now.

 

Internet/data is a different animal.

[Colo Cruiser]

Verizon phone service for making phone calls is available in the cities the cruise goes to now.

 

Internet/data is a different animal.

 

Then the story is a little misleading.

[annieatfsu]

I cruised to Alaska 2 years ago. There was no data service at any of the Alaska stops. Bonus in Vancouver was that it picked up signal from Washington and I was in a home network with Verizon 4GLTE coverage. I would check their posted current maps on Verizon's website. It was my understanding 4G towers were being installed the same time we were there.

[TaraMom22]

We also have Verizon, and we leave tomorrow for Victoria, then on to Vancouver and our ship. DH and I are both confused. He even went into a Verizon store and didn't get much help. He needs to be able to check in with work at least daily, and I should be able to get online to my companies web mail server if I get a text that they need me to reply to a specific email.

 

Also, our moms and house sitter need to be able to get ahold of us.

 

I looked on Verizon and there was a plan for cruising that was $25/100MB, but if that is true then why didn't Verizon tell my husband that?

 

Can anybody else shed light on all of this?

 

Can we download email when we are in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway - for free? Or is that roaming? Should we buy the ship plan?

[Pam in CA]

Can we download email when we are in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway - for free? Or is that roaming? Should we buy the ship plan?

If you have a national plan (likely), Alaska is in the US so whatever you do at home would be the same in these ports. Your cell and data plan would apply.

 

On the ship, neither WiFi nor cell is ever guaranteed. As a matter of fact, if the ship is in Glacier Bay or similar, the mountains will block the ship's communication signal. It's kind of like driving through a tunnel or if you have Sirius, driving under a bridge.

Edited July 12, 2014 by Pam in CA

[Coral]

Two years ago I had voice and data in the ports in Alaska except for Whittier where I only had voice.

 

I have used my Verizon phone in Victoria. I was charged extra for that call but had good reception.

[love2relax]

I just took a cruise in June, and I checked my email in every port (Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan). Skagway was a bit sketchy, but Juneau and Ketchikan were no problem on my Verizon phone. I didn't have to pay any roaming for texts, calls, or data.

[cr8tiv1]

I just returned from Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan (twice at each port / back to back). I stopped in a mobile phone store in Juneau because I was curious. I did have service in each of these cities. Can't tell you what my phone read (sorry...forgot), but the nice lady in the mobile store said that Verizon has an agreement with whatever the carrier is in Alaska. I was not charged for phone calls or data. And it was clear as day when sailing on a beautiful sunny day on Glacier Bay. (No you do not get cell service in Glacier Bay, Denali, or at sea.) I had lots more issues with the ship's internet than I have on any other cruise.

[CRUISING71]

Anyone has tmobile?

[TaraMom22]

Thanks so much Pam, Coral, Love2Relax and cr8tiv1,

That was exactly the information I needed. We will plan to use Wifi in our Victoria and Vancouver hotels, and then turn our phones off until we get to Ketchikan. I will tell my husband now so he can inform his work that he will have no access to email on the days we are at sea and the day we are in Denali. They will have to live without him.

 

Why do companies give you vacation days and then expect you to check your email when you use one???

[Coral]

 

Why do companies give you vacation days and then expect you to check your email when you use one???

 

This seems to be the norm for many of us these days..... Enjoy your cruise!

[cruisingready]

I have verizon and have never had problems with my cell in Alaska or internet

[grgsuch]

I just added the canada /mexico plan for a month for 15.00. This gets me 1000 extra minutes plus unlimited texting. Also, scheduled to take it off next billing cycle. Verizon was very helpfull. I did my plan change over the phone.

[TaraMom22]

We are back from our cruise. For some reason we do not understand, my husbands Samsung Galaxy and my iPad worked when we were near Verizon or extended coverage, but my iPhone did not work at all anywhere in Canada or Alaska. All 3 devices are on the exact same family share plan, and all 3 shared (or were supposed to share) our Canada plan.

 

We did get coverage while in port in Juneau and Skagway, but not in Ketchikan. We had very limited coverage in Whittier, and no coverage in Denali, but good coverage in Anchorage. It was actually good for us to not have much coverage. It kept me from wasting my vacation time looking at a screen. We were glad we brought a separate GPS for our drive to Denali and back since we didn't get maps to work on the Samsung or iPad once we were north of Wasalia.