Cruise phone package--AT&T vs extra NCL Internet minutes

[sharonann24]

Quick question.  I am once again weighing the options of going with the AT&T Cruise Internet package versus adding extra NCL Internet minutes.  We will be on the October 6 sailing of the Prima and have several ports but I still like to be safe on board.  Last time we had both and ended up using all of the NCL time and my husband purchased more.  I know this topic has been debated before but I can't locate the posts.  We like to obviously check email, take pics, text to each other and occasionally home to check in with family.  Husband likes to check into news and now my personal daily obsession are the NYT games!  Any suggestions/feedback appreciated!  22 days to cruise and 19 days to departure!🛳️

[JSar]

ATT is MUCH Cheaper.. but I must say.... I didn't have ATT service on the ship unless we were close to land (and in the case of the Alaskan cruise... next to land that actually had people nearby) or if I was in certain areas of the ship to access my ATT through the ships cell tower. I NEVER had cell reception in my room without being close to land. And to connect while away from land, I had to be near the upper deck open areas like the pool or the outdoor dining areas. I just relied on doing my calls and internet when close to land. Even with the lower cost, it is always a waste of money in my experience. 

 

Not sure how reliable and accessible the ships internet is... haven't used it. I will have the "free at sea" internet package this time though - but I will only use my regular International Plan for phone and data when near land/on land. (but of course will have to turn off cellular data while at sea to avoid accidental roaming charges)

[grouchomarx]

I would recommend getting an internet package of some kind, there will be plenty of time you will not have cell reception and without wifi, you will have nothing.  I usually upgrade to unlimited but not streaming as I don’t need that.  I’m like you, obsessed with my NYT games, also use Insta and Reddit through the day when relaxing on the deck.  Always need to access email.  So I really require wifi all the time.  The basic 150 minutes in the FAS is nowhere near what I need but for some people they make it work.

[pcrum]

We purchased the ATT plan for our TA cruise in April on the Epic. The ATT cruise plan was useless and when I returned home I called the company and was given a refund. Next time, I’m purchasing extra minutes on the ship. I cannot recommend ATT. 

[Pat.D]

Be aware that internet package = Starlink.  Your cell phone data thru a cruise ship roaming package = the ship's cell tower going thru "cellular at sea" satellites.   Data thru the Cellular at sea satellites is very SLOW compared to Starlink. 

 

[BirdTravels]

11 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

I would recommend getting an internet package of some kind, there will be plenty of time you will not have cell reception and without wifi, you will have nothing.  I usually upgrade to unlimited but not streaming as I don’t need that.  I’m like you, obsessed with my NYT games, also use Insta and Reddit through the day when relaxing on the deck.  Always need to access email.  So I really require wifi all the time.  The basic 150 minutes in the FAS is nowhere near what I need but for some people they make it work.

 

11 hours ago, JSar said:

ATT is MUCH Cheaper.. but I must say.... I didn't have ATT service on the ship unless we were close to land (and in the case of the Alaskan cruise... next to land that actually had people nearby) or if I was in certain areas of the ship to access my ATT through the ships cell tower. I NEVER had cell reception in my room without being close to land. And to connect while away from land, I had to be near the upper deck open areas like the pool or the outdoor dining areas. I just relied on doing my calls and internet when close to land. Even with the lower cost, it is always a waste of money in my experience. 

 

If you read the OP's post, she is talking about adding the $100 AT&T cruise plan that provides unlimited calling (using the ship's cell tower), unlimited SMS text messages, and 1 GB of data. 

 

Since I live post a lot, I would blow through the 1GB of data in a few days. So the package is not good for me. 

 

The AT&T package is the "easy button". You don't have to fuss with wifi calling and struggling through that. You pick up your phone, take it off airplane mode, and use it as if you were on land. Check email. Make calls. And if you have very low data usage, you can stay in the 1GB easily (no big emails, etc). But it is tied to a phone. 

 

 

[pcrum]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

If you read the OP's post, she is talking about adding the $100 AT&T cruise plan that provides unlimited calling (using the ship's cell tower), unlimited SMS text messages, and 1 GB of data. 

 

Since I live post a lot, I would blow through the 1GB of data in a few days. So the package is not good for me. 

 

The AT&T package is the "easy button". You don't have to fuss with wifi calling and struggling through that. You pick up your phone, take it off airplane mode, and use it as if you were on land. Check email. Make calls. And if you have very low data usage, you can stay in the 1GB easily (no big emails, etc). But it is tied to a phone. 

 

 

Yes, in theory that’s how AT& T should work. In practice, it did not work for us. I received less than half of the text messages sent to us and could not reply to text messages. I also could not make calls or go online. The fact that AT&T refunded me upon our return with no pushback led me to believe that I was not the only one experiencing issues. In fact, on our cruise I spoke to other passengers with the AT&T cruise package and it wasn’t working for anyone. This was a TA cruise in the middle of the Atlantic, so other areas might have better coverage, but I won’t use it again. 

[sharonann24]

19 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

If you read the OP's post, she is talking about adding the $100 AT&T cruise plan that provides unlimited calling (using the ship's cell tower), unlimited SMS text messages, and 1 GB of data. 

 

Since I live post a lot, I would blow through the 1GB of data in a few days. So the package is not good for me. 

 

The AT&T package is the "easy button". You don't have to fuss with wifi calling and struggling through that. You pick up your phone, take it off airplane mode, and use it as if you were on land. Check email. Make calls. And if you have very low data usage, you can stay in the 1GB easily (no big emails, etc). But it is tied to a phone. 

 

 

So to be clear--even at sea, with the At&T plan you take the phone off airplane mode?  Frankly since we have a pretty port intensive itinerary I can't see using it much other than the two sea days we now have.  I am just terrified of coming home to have to pay roaming charges. And Bird, BTW, I love reading your posts.  You are always on point and your NCl POV is spot on. Wish we could be on as many cruises as you are!  Love the vicarious experience.

[BirdTravels]

47 minutes ago, sharonann24 said:

So to be clear--even at sea, with the At&T plan you take the phone off airplane mode?  Frankly since we have a pretty port intensive itinerary I can't see using it much other than the two sea days we now have.  I am just terrified of coming home to have to pay roaming charges. 

So,,, when you are off airplane mode and roaming to the ship's cell tower, connected to the Cellular at Sea "phone company", your home mobile company (not NCL or Cellular at Sea) charges you for using that roaming service. 

 

If AT&T (or other major mobile companies) is your carrier, they will sell you a package for $100 for unlimited phone calls, unlimited SMS text messages, and 1GB of data. The data would be the only limiting factor. If you are "unwise" and decide to start emailing or wifi texting high resolution photos or videos home, you can blow through 1GB quickly. 

 

[JSar]

23 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

If you read the OP's post, she is talking about adding the $100 AT&T cruise plan that provides unlimited calling (using the ship's cell tower), unlimited SMS text messages, and 1 GB of data. 

 

 

 

Yes, I read the OP's post. Yes, I know the OP was referring to ATT's cruise plan. Yes, the cruise plan connects using the ship tower. Yes... I have payed for and ATTEMPTED to use the cruise plan on 2 different ships, on 2 different continents. As I said before... IT DIDN'T WORK. Not well enough to justify the extra cost. When could I use my phone/internet? When I was DOCKED or CLOSE TO LAND - close enough to reach a land tower. When could I NOT use my phone? Most of the time when I was on the ship. It never once worked in my room. It rarely worked on some of the upper outside decks. It was not easier because it rarely worked. It was NOT worth the extra cost. Will not use it again.

 

But... to the OP.. where are you sailing? If internationally - make sure you have international coverage added to your phone! That DOES work. I have never had an issue with using the international plan when near international ports. The cruise ship plan? Rarely worked for me. I will keep my phone on airplane mode anytime I am not at port or checking to see if I can get a cell signal from a LAND tower. 

[JSar]

15 hours ago, pcrum said:

Yes, in theory that’s how AT& T should work. In practice, it did not work for us. 

Same for me for 2 different ships on 2 different continents. And 3 different phones... 

[JSar]

3 hours ago, sharonann24 said:

So to be clear--even at sea, with the At&T plan you take the phone off airplane mode?  Frankly since we have a pretty port intensive itinerary I can't see using it much other than the two sea days we now have.  I am just terrified of coming home to have to pay roaming charges. And Bird, BTW, I love reading your posts.  You are always on point and your NCl POV is spot on. Wish we could be on as many cruises as you are!  Love the vicarious experience.

If you have the ATT cruise plan, you have unlimited phone and text. It is just your data that is limited. With that... you can turn your phone on in airplane mode if you WANT to... and then you can't make or receive calls/texts/data. But if you want to leave you phone/texting on.. you can just turn off your cellular data when not in use to avoid being charged a fortune for using too much data. If just your cellular data is off, you can still send and receive texts But monitor that data usage to make sure you don't go over by too much. 

 

If you do NOT have the ATT cruise plan, then definitely put your phone on airplane mode so you can block all phone, texts, AND cellular data use when you are not using your phone. What I do is I turn it off long enough to see if I connect to the "cellular at sea" or a land tower. If I connect to a land tower.. I will leave it on and use my phone. But as soon as I am done, I turn it back to airplane mode. 

 

If you are travelling outside the US though... make sure you have the international plan added so you don't get charged a fortune for international roaming when connecting to an international land tower. I think the international plan just increased to $12/day but you only get billed for a max of 10 days in a month. So... the international plan costs up to $120/month to use. And if they haven't changed it... for additional lines on the same account and used the same days.. that second phone's fee is half of that. So... let's say my daughter and I are travelling and we use our phones daily. I will get charged $12/day and she will get charged $6/day up to the 10 days worth of charges. (for the cruise plan I think it is the flat fee for each phone). 

 

Anyhow... I rarely was about to connect to "cellular at sea" so data wasn't an issue... I just didn't have ANY service most of the time.