Satellite Phone Rental

[ds91199]

Has anyone ever rented a satellite phone to take with with them on a cruise? I am looking into this for an upcoming 5 night cruise, want to stay in touch with our 4 year old daughter.

 

If so can you tell me about your experience and offer any suggestions on where to start with looking for a rental place.

[nparmelee]

Before going to that expense, and since the sat phone may only work from the top deck, they are a little more limited and need to be able to line up with the satellite, check to see if you can use your current cell phone or rent an international cell phone from your current carrier. Our cells could be used in Mexico, the Caribben and in Europe so far with no trouble.

[wraithe]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=250460&highlight=satellite

 

Took me a while to find it, but there's a link to a thread that has several links to places that rent satellite phones. Like nparmalee said above, depending on which cruise line you're going on, you might be able to save money by using your cell phone. A lot of ships have cell phone service now. If you have access, the Feb 2006 issue of Cruise Travel magazine had a fairly extensive article in it about cell phone service at sea. Good luck.

[ds91199]

Thank you for all the information. I do have a cell phone that is GSM capable and can have an international plan added through my current carrier. My only concern was if it would actually work in Cozumel or not. Also we will be at sea for an entire day and then we will go to Coco Cay. I know my phone will not work on the day at sea or Coco Cay. I am not sure I could go 2 days without checking on my daughter. This is our first time leaving her for an extended amount of time.

[wraithe]

Thank you for all the information. I do have a cell phone that is GSM capable and can have an international plan added through my current carrier. My only concern was if it would actually work in Cozumel or not. Also we will be at sea for an entire day and then we will go to Coco Cay. I know my phone will not work on the day at sea or Coco Cay. I am not sure I could go 2 days without checking on my daughter. This is our first time leaving her for an extended amount of time.

 

Just for the record, and this isn't going to help, but your baby girl will be fine, and you will, too. Call your cruise line and ask them if they have the cell phone at sea capability. If so, then you can get cell phone service at sea and at Coco Cay. If you can't get any help from your cruise line, drop me an email to the address in my sig, tell me who you're sailing with and who your cell phone carrier is, and I'll tell you what information is in the Cruise Travel article that I told you about above. Please, take it from a guy who has had to leave his kids behind many times for our rich Uncle Sam, it does make them stronger. It doesn't make Mom or Dad happier to know that the little darlings can live without them for a few days, but it should be okay.

[Seal]

Also, the internet--you can contact your care-giver or visa-versa--with any luck it will be working

 

Also, you can give your care-giver the number for the ship, to use in an emergency.

 

good luck--have a great cruise

 

Nancy:D

[dforeigner]

Also, the internet--you can contact your care-giver or visa-versa--with any luck it will be working

 

Also, you can give your care-giver the number for the ship, to use in an emergency.

 

good luck--have a great cruise

 

Nancy:D

 

Although email is not always available through the ship, it is an option. I have service through Cingular. I do not have the international package but do have the Mexico package. If indeed your service is with Cingular, be advised (I am pretty sure to be correct) that the International plan and the Mexico plan are not the same.

 

While in Mexico, I am always able to receive phone calls at no extra charge (except for the minutes used). Which reminds me that I need to learn how to dial back home while in Mexico as the phone is using a different cell service.

[Seal]

I believe that this is called the World Service--Every time the phone is turned on it searches to see where it is and then shows the company that is used in the area you are in at the time--sometimes you need to turn the phone off a couple of times to get it in gear--but, has always worked.

 

I noticed that in Europe it always knew the correct local time--but, in the South Pacific it always read LA time--it never changed

 

Leaving for Canada next Wednesday--see, what it will do

 

Anyway--Cingular told me that anywhere I was dialing from--it should always be 001 then area code. It works

 

To me Cingular is the greatest, since I had many years with Nextel that were really miserable--kept it because we had 20 some in the company and had the walkie talkie feature.

 

Nancy:D

[dforeigner]

Cool thanks for the info.

[wrp96]

Even if your ship doesn't have service, you might have service when you are at CocoCay and part of the sea day. On my cruises out of south Florida (except for the Panama Canal cruise), I've had cell phone service for all but a few hours of the cruises, even when out at sea. I have Cingular as a carrier. Just be sure to call and add international calling to your phone.

[hajekfam]

If all else fails, you can always use the ship's phone in your cabin. We did a transatlantic crossing and missed our granddaughter's birthday. Since I was feeling so miserable, my husband suggested that we call her. We were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and were able to use the phone in our cabin - we were really suprised at the charge - it was nowhere near expensive as we thought it would be.

[greatam]

This is the BEST place to rent sat phones. I looked for a long time trying to find the best for the money with the best service.

http://www.worldcell.com/web/page/1086/sectionid/1007/pagelevel/3/parentid/1085/travelers.asp

 

We purchased two from them for our business and have an open account with World Cell to rent anyplace in the world. We have employees traveling all over the world and need to keep in touch.

 

However, for the price for 5 days, it will probably be cheaper to use the ship's phone.

 

$175.00 divided by 5 days = $35.00 per day + air time @ $1.99 per minute + shipping. A five minute call is going to cost you at least $45.00. Just as cheap to use the ship's phone. And on days you can use your cell or a phone card, you will definitely save money.

[ds91199]

I have actually found a couple of places that rent the phone for less than $100 for 5 days. I think I will try and write everything out and see how much it would come down to per minute and see what the best deal would be. It just seems like a lot to pay $7.95/min on the ship phone. I have sent an email to the cruise company asking if our ship has the cell at sea capability, but still have not received an answer.

[greatam]

I have actually found a couple of places that rent the phone for less than $100 for 5 days. I think I will try and write everything out and see how much it would come down to per minute and see what the best deal would be. It just seems like a lot to pay $7.95/min on the ship phone. I have sent an email to the cruise company asking if our ship has the cell at sea capability, but still have not received an answer.

 

Please be careful who you rent from. MAKE SURE they back up their service. There are providers out there who rent you the phone, but have NO authorization to use the satellites for calls. So you are stuck using their phone, only to connect to another network (kind of like cell roaming) and get stuck with additional charges. Immarsat and Globalstar satellite phone rentals are JUNK.

 

You need an Iridium phone for any coverage at all. And quite a few companies place a hold on your credit card for the cost of a sat phone (about $1500.00) until you return it. They may not state that in their advertising, but they do.

 

You do know that sat phones generally can't be used indoors??? No calling from your cabin. You will have to go to the top deck of the ship so you have clear line of sight to the satellites. They have VERY bad reception wherever there is a lot of metal. And they are MUCH bulkier, with all the extra equipment than a cell phone.

 

Cell at sea is almost as expensive as using the ship's phone.

 

Other than at sea days (when you can use the ship phone), I would recommend this phone: http://www.mobalrental.com/

 

I now have 5 of these for business use. The beauty: NO monthly charges-just pay for what you use. And keep it FOREVER. And you can talk as long as you like-the prices are fairly reasonable.

[edgecomb2580]

My issue is Regent blocks Skype. Cell service in India and Africa is not an option with AT&T International Plan since service is spotty. Also at sea several days during the trip. So a satellite phone was another option I can go to the top deck to work if that is a reliable method to always get a satellite signal. I am cruising for 30 days so i 100% need a way to work. It will cost $1,000 so it is costly but i see no other option.

I can IM my office and try whatsapp but really need voice option. Any advice appreciated. What is best satellite phone/company?

[rvsullivan]

This was a 9 year old post! For the cost of a satellite phone I would think you could just use the ships phone system?