NCL Wind - cell phone service off Hawaii?

[gbfan06]

Hi everyone. I wanted to find out if anyone knows whether cell phone service exists on the NCL Wind during sea days while away from Hawaii. I'm looking at the 11 day trip in October but I will need to have access to my cell phone (unfortunately) throughout the trip. I know my phone will work while we visit the islands, but the other 4-5 days at sea are a question for me. If anyone has any recent experience with this, I'd greatly appreciate your insights.

[mel31]

I'm not sure about Hawaii gbfan06,

 

But on our Alaska cruise on the Wind, during the sea days away from developed areas, we always had cell service. We made a couple calls to family and received a couple calls from family.

 

When the cell bill arrived, those calls had a $4.99 per minute roaming charge added. The calls made and received in the port areas had our standard $.09 per minute charge.

 

When we checked into the $4.99 we found that it was due to a surcharge added because we had connected through the Wind's cell system.

 

It was a shock to see that cost, but we only had a few minutes charge and chalked it up to learning the difference between cell calls in port and cell calls on the ship while out in the ocean.

 

It may be the same or different near Hawaii, but we never had a period of "no signal" on the Wind in Alaska.

 

Good luck.

[shoreguy]

Unlike the NCLA ships in Hawaii the Wind in fact has its own cell service that is turned off in port. It is provided by a joint venture of Cingular. Check with your carrier for the rate they will apply if you use the service. The Cingular rate is $2.49. Not all phones work with the service. Verison phones that do not support GSM will not work.

 

http://onlinestorez.cingular.com/travelguide/coverage/cruise_ships_rates.jsp?PIDL=IRSD|IRWT

[garycarla]

Hi everyone. I wanted to find out if anyone knows whether cell phone service exists on the NCL Wind during sea days while away from Hawaii. I'm looking at the 11 day trip in October but I will need to have access to my cell phone (unfortunately) throughout the trip. I know my phone will work while we visit the islands, but the other 4-5 days at sea are a question for me. If anyone has any recent experience with this, I'd greatly appreciate your insights.

 

What carrier are you using?

[gbfan06]

I appreciate everyone's input. My carrier is Sprint. I know there are global satellite phones that would work, but I was hoping to avoid the expense and hassle just to have coverage during our sea days.

[shoreguy]

I appreciate everyone's input. My carrier is Sprint. I know there are global satellite phones that would work, but I was hoping to avoid the expense and hassle just to have coverage during our sea days.

 

If the phone is tri mode - it may work - GSM is the default. You could get one of the Cingular prepaid phones it would be less then the cost of a satellite.

 

Keep in mind there is always the Internet - a laptop and email can keep you in touch.

 

How did we ever survive when when the only option was the radio phone a $10 a minute. :eek: We went a whole week on vacation cut off from the outside world :)

[garycarla]

I appreciate everyone's input. My carrier is Sprint. I know there are global satellite phones that would work, but I was hoping to avoid the expense and hassle just to have coverage during our sea days.

 

That is important information. Sprint operates on a different platform. The Cingular prepaid would be a good idea.

[NCmom]

We had no problem with Verizon service while sailing around the islands. We lost the signal the first night we headed towards Fanning, and didn't regain it until the morning we arrived in Kona.

[mel31]

Adding that our carrier was/is T-mobil. The phone worked everywhere while on the Wind in Alaska. Just watch out for the cost if connected to the Wind's tower.

[shoreguy]

We had no problem with Verizon service while sailing around the islands. We lost the signal the first night we headed towards Fanning, and didn't regain it until the morning we arrived in Kona.

 

And if you had a carrier that supported GSM you would have had service going and coming from Fanning.

 

The most cost effective way to use the onboard service is text messaging.

 

Here is a PDF detailing NCL's service http://www.ncl.com/download/freestyle_cellular_service.pdf

[mel31]

thanks for that new link shoreguy :) . The PDF helped me figure out the cost basis. I checked out the "Wireless Maritime Services" web site and found the following link to all available carriers and found a link to the charges page for each. it is here:

 

http://www.wirelessatsea.com/endusers.htm#custinfo

 

maybe this can help someone.

[shoreguy]

That is important information. Sprint operates on a different platform. The Cingular prepaid would be a good idea.

 

From the WMS link above

 

Some prepaid phone plans by some carriers are not currently supported. Check with your mobile telephone service provider for details.