AT&T Cruise Plus for Internet vs HAL Internet

[TiogaCruiser]

Has anyone had experience using AT&T’s Cruise Plus  Package on a HAL ship? 
The ad says it allows voice, text and 1Gb via cell service accessed by ship’s cellular for $100 for 30 days.*
 

I’m interested in whether it would be a fit for us on our upcoming cruise (Boston to Montreal) on Volendam. We mainly want email and regular internet access (look up maps, restaurants, sites, CC), and possibly stream a church service on YouTube. (I’m seriously doubting enough through put for streaming.)

This would be in place of ship’s package (we purchased the mid level package, which we would have refunded if we chose AT & T).
 

*Volendam is listed as a ship that is included- but Prinsendam is also on the list.🫤

[TiogaCruiser]

Anyone?

😁

[CruiserBruce]

1 gb of data is going to disappear quickly if you are looking at a church service. The AT&T system is using the same internet connection as the ship's wifi.

 

Your regular At&T phone plan should cover your time in port and ashore in Canada...ours does. Have been to Canada 3 times in the last 2 years... 2 cruises and one land trip. AT&T has been fine for all our needs. Can you just use the cell phone in port?

[Sharon in AZ]

We ended up using the AT&T package on our last cruise, the Koningsdam Hawaiian cruise. It was the during the last 5 days on the way back from the islands. We already had upgraded our shipboard internet to Premium but this was a family emergency and needed to make phone calls that we couldn’t on the ships plan. It wouldn’t have been an issue when sailing port to port around the islands but 5 days at sea before we got to San Diego it was. So, all that being said, I don’t think I’d do it for your particular itinerary since it’s port intensive. I have a similar itinerary coming up on the Zuiderdam and have HIA and plan on upgrading my internet once onboard. I can text while at sea and make phone calls in port if needed. 
 

 

Edited August 1 by Sharon in AZ

[Sharon in AZ]

Forgot something else, AT&T has an international day plan for $12/day (just went up from $10/day) that I have opted into and comes in really handy in foreign port. Much less expensive than the one you are considering. 
 

https://www.att.com/international/

[VMax1700]

22 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

cell service accessed by ship’s cellular

So this would be through 'Cellular at Sea' is that correct? 

Just a question on the technical side:   How fast is the data service?  With Starlink available will it seem like old 'dial up' internet?  Will you even get 4g signal?   Would it be sufficient to stream?

Just asking as I don't know, but interested to find out!

[POA1]

4 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

So this would be through 'Cellular at Sea' is that correct? 

Just a question on the technical side:   How fast is the data service?  With Starlink available will it seem like old 'dial up' internet?  Will you even get 4g signal?   Would it be sufficient to stream?

Just asking as I don't know, but interested to find out!

Cellular at Sea uses a combination of ships' Wi-Fi and piggy backing off roaming. I'd think that you'd be better with the premium HAL plan if your phone and carrier support Wi-Fi calling. One GB is not a lot.

 

Speeds should be pretty close because you're using the same pipe. You might lose a wee bit if you have to hop on or off the Cellular at Sea network instead of straight Starlin. 

[TiogaCruiser]

1 hour ago, VMax1700 said:

So this would be through 'Cellular at Sea' is that correct? 

Just a question on the technical side:   How fast is the data service?  With Starlink available will it seem like old 'dial up' internet?  Will you even get 4g signal?   Would it be sufficient to stream?

Just asking as I don't know, but interested to find out!

That’s sort of where I was going with this, in my head: “What really would I be buying?” (And therefore, “what am I getting?”)

 

My guess is it’s the common antenna and more of a billing /contract issue.* But I don’t know.
 

My past experience is AT&T public facing employees have not a clue as to how the product works. They have told us many times over the years that they provide fiber optic, but in truth all we have in the area is copper. 😜 And we have rented that line from different providers over the years.

 

 

 

*(Am wondering if it works like our medical billing system- (e.g. lab, radiology, anesthesiology: bills $1000 for services. Contracted rate for ABC insurance = $100, for DEF insurance = $102, but client has XYZ insurance or no insurance, so client owes $1000.)

Edited August 1 by TiogaCruiser

[TiogaCruiser]

Thanks @POA1 

 

I was hoping you might respond. And I was still typing when you replied.

[AKJonesy]

On 7/31/2024 at 5:17 AM, TiogaCruiser said:

Has anyone had experience using AT&T’s Cruise Plus  Package on a HAL ship? 
The ad says it allows voice, text and 1Gb via cell service accessed by ship’s cellular for $100 for 30 days.*
 

I’m interested in whether it would be a fit for us on our upcoming cruise (Boston to Montreal) on Volendam. We mainly want email and regular internet access (look up maps, restaurants, sites, CC), and possibly stream a church service on YouTube. (I’m seriously doubting enough through put for streaming.)

This would be in place of ship’s package (we purchased the mid level package, which we would have refunded if we chose AT & T).
 

*Volendam is listed as a ship that is included- but Prinsendam is also on the list.🫤

It would be nice to have the definitive on your question. Can you report back to this thread after your cruise and let us know what you did? I have used Cellular at Sea a few times and as recently as this spring when we crossed from Japan to Seattle and it works great at sea, but don't think that would work well for you as you have to be X miles off shore to use the sea portion. 

[TiogaCruiser]

10 minutes ago, AKJonesy said:

It would be nice to have the definitive on your question. Can you report back to this thread after your cruise and let us know what you did? I have used Cellular at Sea a few times and as recently as this spring when we crossed from Japan to Seattle and it works great at sea, but don't think that would work well for you as you have to be X miles off shore to use the sea portion. 

Will do, if we choose it.

 

At the moment I’m considering just dropping internet and using it on land only. I’m going to confirm that Canada and México are still included on our plan. If so, it’s no additional cost to us.

 

 

[TiogaCruiser]

Here’s a snip from the AT&T site:

 

”

Eligibility: Compatible device with eligible domestic postpaid wireless service required. 

Charges: One-time charge of $60 per line for Cruise Basic package or $100 per line for Cruise Plus package. Package is valid for 30 days beginning on the chosen effective date, may cross 2 bill cycles, and expires automatically. Package charge will not be prorated if canceled on or after the effective date. If package is canceled prior to the effective date, the line will not be charged. 

Coverage: Package applies to cellular use onboard select cruise ships listed at att.com/cruise when sailing in international waters. When the device is connected to the ship's cellular network, "cellularatsea", "wmsatsea", "901-18" or "NOR-18" displays on the device. The ship turns off its cellular network when it is within 12 nautical miles from land and docked or tendered in port, at which point cellular service is provided via the nearest country. 

Countries: Add AT&T International Day Pass to your eligible domestic wireless plan to cover your usage when on land or in port. Go to att.com/intldaypass for details. Business and government Customers: Add an available international roaming package to your domestic wireless plan to cover usage when on land or in port. Go to att.com/internationalforbiz to review options. 

Data: Includes 100MB of data for Cruise Basic package (smartphones only) or 1GB of data for Cruise Plus package (smartphones and tablets only). Actual data speeds vary by device and ship. Data use is subject to the same network management practices as your domestic wireless plan. See att.com/broadbandinfo for details. 

Data overage: If you exceed the amount of data in your Cruise package, additional data will automatically be provided in increments of 100MB for $10 each. Once you have incurred $100 in data overage charges or, for business and government customers, $300 in data overage charges, data use is subject to suspension, including data use on land, even if you have a separate international package for data usage on land. Upon suspension, AT&T will provide notice and instructions for restoring data use capability. 

Talk: For phones only. Applies to all cellular calls dialed and accepted. Cruise Basic package includes 100 minutes of calling. If you use all your Cruise Basic package calling minutes, additional cellular calls will be charged $1/minute. Cruise Plus package includes unlimited talk. 

Wi-Fi Calling: With Wi-Fi Calling enabled on eligible devices, you can call back to the U.S. at no additional charge. 

Unlimited Text: For phones only. Applies only to AT&T Short Messaging Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and not to other messaging services or applications that use data, such as iMessage. Messages received will be billed at your domestic messaging rates, unless you have a domestic plan that includes unlimited text. ”