How to keep in touch with our daughter while on a ship?

[cb at sea]

Just remember this...you are leaving your child with the parents who raised YOU (or spouse)...and I can guarantee that they will take MUCH better care of their grandkid than they ever did of you! It's a given!

 

Leave the emergency number with the grandparents....and call once in a while when you can! It will be so fine...I promise!

[splintz]

She might be a tad bit young for facebook at 3 years old!

 

Many options, but why not call your phone carrier? They have plans that you can use. Sometimes on the ship, they do not work, but they will work in Bermuda. ATT offers international packages beginning at $40.00 plus you can make wifi calls if you are in a wifi free location. You can also make regular phone calls at reduced rates, if you can't find a wifi location.

don't think the poster is referring to the 3 yr old. they were referring to the grandparents. :)

 

the best bet would be to get the social plan $5 a day. or $25 for the entire cruise. then if the grandparents have a smart phone you can keep in touch. if you both have iphones the best way is to use imessage. if not you can use facebook messenger. or snapchat. and also what'sapp. you also get to use the regular facebook, instagram, twitter, pintrest, and linkedin while on the ship.

 

i used this one cruise to keep in touch with my mother in law who was watching our kids during the cruise. we used what'sapp since i have an iphone and she has an android. it worked good. we would message each other and we also left voice messages back in forth. it has an option to actually use the app as a phone but the internet speed on the pride would not support it. i actually upgraded to the premium plan to use this feature and the speed was not fast enough to support the call even though the premium is advertised to allow calls on apps. we also called once and while from the phone in the room which costs $1.99 a minute. we kept these real short. probably less than a minute. we never actually got charged for the phone calls. not sure why maybe it was because it was less than a minute i'm not sure.

[ourcruiseyears]

We checked with our cell phone carrier & are going to just go that route. While onboard Ecstasy in September, we can send & receive a text from home each day to check-in & make sure everything is okay for just $0.65. While we are in our ports of call, texts will be free.

[elainmir]

It ends up being much easier for me to use the ship phone @ 1.99 per minute. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs at home in addition to oldest son who usually doesn't cruise as often. I like to check in make sure everything is good with my kiddo and animals as well as there are no issues with our rental house.You just never know. Most of the time youngest DS cruises with us, he's 14. But that being said he is still my kiddo and yes I'm gonna call home to check on him. It makes me relax alot more knowing things are going smoothly at home.

 

As for OP their child is 3 ...the child is going to have moments when they miss mommy and daddy. Maybe buy one of those books that you can record yourself reading and have grandparents read that at night. Make a silly good morning video for each day you are away! Have the grandparents play it each day. Also plan fun activities that your CHILD adores...this will make time go faster for them and the more worn out they are , the better they sleep making things great for them and the grandparents. I hope you guys have a great cruise!

[narrow56]

Just a point to ponder....How did kid's ever survive 20 years ago, when their parents did not call them everyday?

 

Don't get me wrong, I think cell phones are great, but recently I here more often the panic in people if they somehow get disconnected. Honestly, people survived generations without cell phones, and instant communications.

 

So although I carry a cell phone wherever I go, and that includes Internationally, it is because I can. Now on a ship, I leave it off. My adult kids know how to reach us, and so do other family members.

 

(My kids survived and so will yours!). But in the case you won't survive, check out your carrier, and purchase an international plan.

 

My daughter will be 3. I don't think it's going overboard to want to call to check in on her once a day.

[narrow56]

It ends up being much easier for me to use the ship phone @ 1.99 per minute. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs at home in addition to oldest son who usually doesn't cruise as often. I like to check in make sure everything is good with my kiddo and animals as well as there are no issues with our rental house.You just never know. Most of the time youngest DS cruises with us, he's 14. But that being said he is still my kiddo and yes I'm gonna call home to check on him. It makes me relax alot more knowing things are going smoothly at home.

 

As for OP their child is 3 ...the child is going to have moments when they miss mommy and daddy. Maybe buy one of those books that you can record yourself reading and have grandparents read that at night. Make a silly good morning video for each day you are away! Have the grandparents play it each day. Also plan fun activities that your CHILD adores...this will make time go faster for them and the more worn out they are , the better they sleep making things great for them and the grandparents. I hope you guys have a great cruise!

 

These are awesome tips!! Thank you.

[narrow56]

Thank you everyone! This has given me so many options to choose from.

 

We typically like to disconnect while on a cruise, and have never contacted home before while onboard. Disconnecting is actually something we look forward to. I think we will tell the grandparents that we will call each night at 5 or so just to say hello to our daughter, or we could even send a text with a picture.