Cell phone usage while on the ship?

[zdub86]

Obviously you are out in international waters not near any cell phone towers so this may be a silly question, but my wife and I will be taking our first cruise next month for our honeymoon (7 night cruise) and it will be the longest we've been away from our kids. So, needless to say my wife will want to talk to them occasionally somehow. Would we need to wait to get on the islands to be able to use our cell phones? Would we need to contact our service provider ahead of time (AT&T) to get some kind of international data/roaming package? I'm not sure how any of this works, so if anybody has any experience with this please advise!! And thank you!!

[Peery5]

A few options:

 

1. Buy an internet package onboard to send emails or texts. If you have an Apple device you can FaceTime them or use Skype.

 

2. Set your phone to airplane mode and turn on WiFi. When you get in a port look for free WiFi which can be found at most bars.

 

We use #1 above consistently when we cruise. Don't always buy internet package but definitely FaceTime in ports. Have never purchased an international roaming package so I can't comment on that.

 

Enjoy your cruise and Happy Honeymoon.

[spookwife]

on board your only option is the ships cell towers, which are expensive ON TOP OF what your carrier charges your to international/roaming. we are talking you could come home to a phone bill thousands of dollars higher than usual if you talk frequently.

 

texting is usually a much better option..as little as 50 cents each to send and some carriers charge nothing to receive.

 

most ports have several options for free wi fi.

 

be smart and check what your carrier offers. usually they can be put in place for a month and then canceled.

[zdub86]

Thanks for the reply. If I buy the internet package, that would allow me to send emails/texts directly from my cell phone? Or will I need to use a computer onboard the ship?

 

Also, we do not have Apple devices. However, I use an app called "Tango" on my Samsung Galaxy phone which is the same thing as FaceTime. So if I buy that internet package I would be able to use Tango on the ship? Or only while at the ports?

[Peery5]

You can do both. Just be sure to put your phone in airplane mode and turn on Wi-Fi.

 

 

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[Peery5]

One more thing. The internet can be slow on some ships which would lead to buffering if you Tango them. If so, you might want to just text and email while I'm bored and video chat when in port.

 

 

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[zdub86]

Guess I could have done some research. This is straight from Carnival's website...

 

Social ($5 USD per day) – Access the most popular websites and applications. Includes: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Does not include access to other websites or apps.

 

Value ($16 USD per day) – Surf all your favorite sites, including e-mail, news, sports, weather, banking and finance. Note: Does not support Skype calling or music streaming (such as Spotify).

 

Premium ($25 USD per day) – From e-mail to Skype, our Premium plan promises the fastest possible connection, at speeds up to 3 times faster than our Value Plan. Supports Skype video calling, where coverage allows.

 

Users may easily upgrade from one plan to another. Users may use one device at a time on each plan, including either their personal devices or one of our on-board computers. All plans exclude video streaming (such as Netflix or Hulu) and Snapchat. Cellular-network-dependent WiFi Calling and Facetime services are also not supported at this time. Printing is offered at no charge.

 

.....

 

So it looks like Facetime and other similar apps are not supported. Bummer.

[Peery5]

Oops. I meant to say "while in port" not while I'm bored. Freaking auto correct.

 

 

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[Whiting2]

Check with your cell phone carrier verizon offers an international package looks cheaper then ship internet package

 

 

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[Peery5]

That is a bummer. We haven't cruised Carnival in several years due to a problem we encountered bus I did not know their Internet rules. Our children are grown but we still feel like we need to contact them on a daily basis to know that they are safe.

 

 

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[Clarea]

Obviously you are out in international waters not near any cell phone towers so this may be a silly question, but my wife and I will be taking our first cruise next month for our honeymoon (7 night cruise) and it will be the longest we've been away from our kids. So, needless to say my wife will want to talk to them occasionally somehow. Would we need to wait to get on the islands to be able to use our cell phones? Would we need to contact our service provider ahead of time (AT&T) to get some kind of international data/roaming package? I'm not sure how any of this works, so if anybody has any experience with this please advise!! And thank you!!

Check with your cruise line whether they have a Cellular at Sea arrangment with AT&T. Some cruise lines have a cell tower on the ship that allows cell service while at sea. When we sail on RC, we can make calls with our AT&T phone while at sea for $2.49 per minute. Note that I would not consider using data while at sea using Cellular at Sea because of the high cost.

[CruisingRavyn]

If you just want to make a few quick calls you can do so issuing your cabin phone. It is $1.99 per minute but you know you won't get a crazy phone bill when you get home or insane ship charges for calling with your phone. Also if the kiddos have FB or will be with someone that has FB you can use the messenger app to text and call using the wifi service. We always purchase the $5/day which is actually only $25 total if you purchase it for the entire duration (they give you a little discount). I have been able to call on the messenger app using this plan before but the service isn't great and it is a crap shoot as to whether it will connect or not. If you can survive texting for the duration this is the way to go.

 

 

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[Whiting2]

I know how you feel so I called Verizon

and added International plan for texting only it is .50 to

Send and .05 to receive.

[LokiPoki]

You could look at an international travel sim & see how the rates compare to whatever your carrier offers. Think the one we used was about AU$3.00 a minute.

 

Depending on where you're cruising and how port-intensive it is, you might be able to get something like a "travel pass" ... no idea how AT&T works - but with my carrier, I can pay an extra $X a day (depending on which part of the world - unfortunately doesn't cover cellular at sea I don't think) which gives unlimited calls to and from home and also to and from any landline or mobile in the country I'm visiting.

[teecee60]

Make absolutely SURE you KNOW what is happening with your phone BEFORE hand. :cool:

 

During a transatlantic cruise, my girlfriend THOUGHT her cell phone use was all set... :rolleyes:

 

When we returned from the cruise she got a cell phone bill for $1,250! :eek:

 

I have three kids (and six siblings) that I enjoy talking to... but my phone is completely OFF while on a cruise.

Edited January 6, 2017 by teecee60

[kayjay76]

Hi all, I have virgin mobile, Samsung phone. First cruise. I have a couple questions on this topic:

 

1. To avoid unwanted costs, when I get on the ship, what should I do with my phone? In other words should I shut off wifi, put phone on airplane mode or do nothing with it? I get texts from clients on m cell and do not want a text coming to me to cost me extra.

 

2. I have 2 children at home that I would like to text once per day to check up on. Any clue at all how much that text would cost me? I checked virgin mobile and can't find info. And also will the text even go thru if I don't have wifi on? Sorry, not so tech savvy lol

 

3. Is the internet café on board norwegin escape only for people who have bought internet packages? and if not, what can you do from there... can I send a facebook message to kids from there?

 

This is the one aspect of our trip that my mind can't wrap its head around lol. I just need to avoid added charges and know how to contact my kids once per day. Thank you all so much for replies!!!!

[thinfool]

Hi all, I have virgin mobile, Samsung phone. First cruise. I have a couple questions on this topic:

 

1. To avoid unwanted costs, when I get on the ship, what should I do with my phone? In other words should I shut off wifi, put phone on airplane mode or do nothing with it? I get texts from clients on m cell and do not want a text coming to me to cost me extra.

 

2. I have 2 children at home that I would like to text once per day to check up on. Any clue at all how much that text would cost me? I checked virgin mobile and can't find info. And also will the text even go thru if I don't have wifi on? Sorry, not so tech savvy lol

 

3. Is the internet café on board norwegin escape only for people who have bought internet packages? and if not, what can you do from there... can I send a facebook message to kids from there?

 

This is the one aspect of our trip that my mind can't wrap its head around lol. I just need to avoid added charges and know how to contact my kids once per day. Thank you all so much for replies!!!!

 

Please check...last I knew Virgin Mobile does not work outside of the US for cellular roaming.

 

Still, you may be able to make wifi calls (Skype, etc) in ports or on the ship, if the ship supports these calls.

[CruisingRavyn]

Hi all, I have virgin mobile, Samsung phone. First cruise. I have a couple questions on this topic:

 

 

 

1. To avoid unwanted costs, when I get on the ship, what should I do with my phone? In other words should I shut off wifi, put phone on airplane mode or do nothing with it? I get texts from clients on m cell and do not want a text coming to me to cost me extra.

 

 

 

2. I have 2 children at home that I would like to text once per day to check up on. Any clue at all how much that text would cost me? I checked virgin mobile and can't find info. And also will the text even go thru if I don't have wifi on? Sorry, not so tech savvy lol

 

 

 

3. Is the internet café on board norwegin escape only for people who have bought internet packages? and if not, what can you do from there... can I send a facebook message to kids from there?

 

 

 

This is the one aspect of our trip that my mind can't wrap its head around lol. I just need to avoid added charges and know how to contact my kids once per day. Thank you all so much for replies!!!!

 

 

When you board, put your phone in airplane mode. You can turn on the wifi and use the ships wifi if you have purchased an internet package which vary between cruise lines.

 

If you are ok texting your kids use a social media app like FB messenger which you can use through wifi. If you need to call you can also do so through the social media apps over wifi but many times the wifi signal is not strong enough to call unless you purchase the highest internet package. Also Skype is available depending on the wifi you purchase.

 

DO NOT use you cell to call unless you have spoken with the wireless carrier and understand the charges AND have spoken with guest services to see is there is an additional charge to use the ships phone tower.

 

Another option is to pick up the cabin phone and call. It's usually $1.99/minute (price should be posted on the phone) which is pricey but you know what you are being charged and can time you calls to keep the cost down.

 

 

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[kerryincork]

On my phone my text messages were under $1. Through ships tower, so if only making a daily txt to your kids. It's not going to cost the fortune. The issue is if you make more than 7 txts.

I've read many a story on CC where people have gotten home to hundreds of $$$ txt charges. Usually from their kids.

 

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[Kristi Barber]

Obviously you are out in international waters not near any cell phone towers so this may be a silly question, but my wife and I will be taking our first cruise next month for our honeymoon (7 night cruise) and it will be the longest we've been away from our kids. So, needless to say my wife will want to talk to them occasionally somehow. Would we need to wait to get on the islands to be able to use our cell phones? Would we need to contact our service provider ahead of time (AT&T) to get some kind of international data/roaming package? I'm not sure how any of this works, so if anybody has any experience with this please advise!! And thank you!!

 

Contact ATT. They have several plans that you can set up for a 30 day time period. We have ATT and unlimited plan. That unlimited plan includes Canada and Mexico for FREE. However, not Belize or Honduras. Those places outside of Mexico require a pay-per-use fee. We have just decided to put our phones UP in those places unless we can hook into free wifi. :). As far as on the ship itself, I think the ship wifi is your only option. I tried to see if ATT has a cruise plan but it wasn't available on our NCL. NCL has a 250 minute package for $125 so we will just do that for our communication and use facebook or imessage.

[Kristi Barber]

Obviously you are out in international waters not near any cell phone towers so this may be a silly question, but my wife and I will be taking our first cruise next month for our honeymoon (7 night cruise) and it will be the longest we've been away from our kids. So, needless to say my wife will want to talk to them occasionally somehow. Would we need to wait to get on the islands to be able to use our cell phones? Would we need to contact our service provider ahead of time (AT&T) to get some kind of international data/roaming package? I'm not sure how any of this works, so if anybody has any experience with this please advise!! And thank you!!

 

Contact ATT. They have several plans that you can set up for a 30 day time period. We have ATT and unlimited plan. That unlimited plan includes Canada and Mexico for FREE. However, not Belize or Honduras. Those places outside of Mexico require a pay-per-use fee. We have just decided to put our phones UP in those places unless we can hook into free wifi. :). As far as on the ship itself, I think the ship wifi is your only option. I tried to see if ATT has a cruise plan but it wasn't available on our NCL. NCL has a 250 minute package for $125 so we will just do that for our communication and use facebook or imessage.

[kayjay76]

When you board, put your phone in airplane mode. You can turn on the wifi and use the ships wifi if you have purchased an internet package which vary between cruise lines.

 

If you are ok texting your kids use a social media app like FB messenger which you can use through wifi. If you need to call you can also do so through the social media apps over wifi but many times the wifi signal is not strong enough to call unless you purchase the highest internet package. Also Skype is available depending on the wifi you purchase.

 

DO NOT use you cell to call unless you have spoken with the wireless carrier and understand the charges AND have spoken with guest services to see is there is an additional charge to use the ships phone tower.

 

Another option is to pick up the cabin phone and call. It's usually $1.99/minute (price should be posted on the phone) which is pricey but you know what you are being charged and can time you calls to keep the cost down.

 

 

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Thank you, great answer!! I think we'll just do a nightly quick call from room.

 

I do have one more question... Clients text me to make appointments. And I plan on not answering until home. So my question is this.... will I receive the texts while onboard or will they get sent to me as soon as cruise is over and I'm back in Miami or will I just not get them at all?

 

Not matter how long in advance I warn them i'll be unavailable its certain someone will try to bother me loll.

[CruisingRavyn]

Thank you, great answer!! I think we'll just do a nightly quick call from room.

 

 

 

I do have one more question... Clients text me to make appointments. And I plan on not answering until home. So my question is this.... will I receive the texts while onboard or will they get sent to me as soon as cruise is over and I'm back in Miami or will I just not get them at all?

 

 

 

Not matter how long in advance I warn them i'll be unavailable its certain someone will try to bother me loll.

 

 

If your phone is in airplane mode with the wifi enabled you will only get messages that won't affect your bill (like iMessage that uses wifi)

 

When you disembark at the end of the cruise and you take the Airplane mode off your phone will go crazy for a few minutes receiving all the texts/voicemails that were sent while you were away.

 

 

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[Kristi Barber]

If your phone is in airplane mode with the wifi enabled you will only get messages that won't affect your bill (like iMessage that uses wifi)

 

When you disembark at the end of the cruise and you take the Airplane mode off your phone will go crazy for a few minutes receiving all the texts/voicemails that were sent while you were away.

 

 

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I have a question for those with AT&T service. We have the unlimited data, text, calls plan currently with them. We just added the North American Canada/Mexico unlimited for free. Does that mean that mean we should be able to text/call without additional charge at sea also? Would we also need to purchase the wifi package on ship or will our roam just use CellatSea and we wouldn't have to purchase wifi package?

We also have the option for $40 to add AT&T Passport to cover Belize/Honduras but would that be necessary if we do purchase wifi package and just imessage?

 

Looking for advice from AT&T users on how you have done that on cruise?

[Flatbush Flyer]

I have a question for those with AT&T service. We have the unlimited data, text, calls plan currently with them. We just added the North American Canada/Mexico unlimited for free. Does that mean that mean we should be able to text/call without additional charge at sea also? Would we also need to purchase the wifi package on ship or will our roam just use CellatSea and we wouldn't have to purchase wifi package?

 

We also have the option for $40 to add AT&T Passport to cover Belize/Honduras but would that be necessary if we do purchase wifi package and just imessage?

 

 

 

Looking for advice from AT&T users on how you have done that on cruise?

 

 

AT&T Cellular@Sea would cost extra beyond the AT&T passport plan (for onshore international calling). But, the two together gives you voice calling across a broad spectrum of areas. However, buying wifi data on the ship would allow you to iMessage between iPhones and use "wifi calling" on newer iPhones - unless the ship throttles or denies certain streaming apps (like FaceTime or Skype). FWIW, wifi calling uses approximately 1 MB of the wifi provider's data per minute of calling.

Finally, don't fall for that "free wifi" BS in cruise ports. Google/watch the NBC Today Show segment on wifi hacking in tourist areas - particularly in cruise ports.

 

 

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