Cell Service At Sea - questions and comments (merged)

[brn2crz]

Is there some sort of new plan where phones can be used onboard where they used to not be?

 

(I thought the falling off the ship while talking was funny, btw.)

 

 

 

All you ever needed (or wanted ) to know on TCA

 

http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/onboard/connected.cfm

[jdeatsch]

^ 5's my friend.

 

Grinning here.

 

Jim

[logan1_2000]

I carry a cell phone but only use it for emergencies. I never give my number to anyone except immediate family who may need me in a crisis. I absolutely never use it in a car while driving!

 

There will be no end of cell phone use on cruise ships and it will become as irritating as trains and planes and busses! I can't imagine wanting to talk on a phone while on vacation but then again some people just like to hear themselves talk. I know this may sound unkind but I have heard way more than my share of nonsensical and idiotic cell phone conversations where peeople discuss absolutely nothing and feel the need to do it loudly because they are on a cell phone. I vote to ban cell phones on cruise ships! There are other ways to reach people in emergencies... even on cruise ships!

 

However, if people are as careless while talking on a cell phone on a cruise ship as they are when doing it while driving a car maybe they will be so distracted that they will be walking and talking on the cell phone and fall overboard and thus solve the problem for the rest of us. We can only hope! :D

 

i started out agreeing, then I had to say that this poster was on his own. particularly when hoping for harm to others, even in jest (though I do stand by my vote for death penalty to spammers). i join in the concern that use will increase and will present some degree of intrusion into the peace and relaxation of a cruise. exactly to what degree, I dont know, and the timing of when prices come down to a point where use goes up to the point of irritation, i dont know either. but it is a concern and i think valid. but not, currently, a clear and present danger, no.

 

i also take mine, keep it shut down most of the time. maybe try a call from my stateroom when in port to see if i have converage (nassau, yes, though i couldnt figure out the codes i needed to make a call on T-mobile). make a call from port of embarkation to make sure the dog sitter was able to get into the house and find everything (we do worry about our 4 legged baby, he's our 1st born). our two legged son is with us, so no calls needed.

 

my office and clients are informed of the good old fashioned $7.95 a minute shore to ship rate for emergencies--and go figure, there has never been an emergency that couldn't wait!

[Fritz265]

For what it's worth, I think that people who let someone talking on their cell phone on a cruise irritate them need to learn to relax more.

 

I don't like slow elevators, pushy people at the windjammer buffet or people who try to save deck chairs with towel for five hours but I don't let them ruin my vacation. I chose to sail on a large cruise ship with 3000+ people. I'll have to deal with what those people do. My choice.

 

If I want not be bothered by other folks, I choose to lay on a remote beach in the South Pacific.

 

If someone wants to talk on their cell phone on a ship, who am I to tell them not to?

 

I'm annoyed by people who are annoyed by everything when they should be relaxing with a cool mojito in the sun....:cool:

[shoreless]

I don't know the poster, but I was fairly sure the "fall overboard" thing was not meant to be taken literally.:D

 

I too am not happy to have to listen to long cell phone conversations, or even annoying ringtones. I once spent at least a half hour trying to eat dinner in a restaurant while having to hear the intimate details of some medical tests that a lady at the next table was yelling into her phone about. There was also the very busy and important executive on the plane who pulled out his phone as soon as we landed and proceded to give a play-by-play description of the next ten minutes --- "we've just landed...now we're taxiing to the terminal.....just let me get my bag from the overhead....I'm walking down the aisle now.:rolleyes:

 

I'm no luddite; I think cell phones are a great convenience, and I have no problem with people using them on the ship as long as they find a location where they won't be disturbing anyone else.

[justme3]

We were on the Rhapsody last week..my brother, who has Sprint, had constant service. Even tho my Verizon phone said I was on roam, when we were away from land, i had no reception..none in Cozemel either. Hope this helps!

[Lightsluvr]

It's not exactly a new program, but here is a link to the ships equipped with Cellular at Sea as of 10/16/2006. GSM phone is required. Analog phones will not work.

 

http://www.cingular.com/travelguide/coverage/cruise_ships_rates.jsp?PIDL=DIR%7CWC%7CWCM&dsessionid=FQQQm0GWJ346fgdrZlXhkXRNw2qvFdB2mlqm4cmjlxf1BHNGHHGJ!-1282084815!1157660688544

 

Don't get too close to the rail...:cool:

 

LL

[Mrsg324]

We were on the Rhapsody last week..my brother, who has Sprint, had constant service. Even tho my Verizon phone said I was on roam, when we were away from land, i had no reception..none in Cozemel either. Hope this helps!

 

will you ask your brother what type of charges he ended up with? I also have sprint.

[skypilotks]

Well, perhaps after you have had your car totalled by some idiot yacking on a cell phone and not seeing the stop sign and nearly killing you, your family and themselves your opinion may change. As regards to your statement about children, children are people, not tech devices and I do not ever complain about them unless they are unruly and their parents are ignoring the situation. I also do not complain about emergency use of cell phones... but I certainly do object to them being used as time killers while driving and in areas where other people are forced to hear whatever nonsense you choose to spew! If you were to look at the real statistics as to how many accidents are caused by people not paying attention while on cell phones you might be surprised.

 

Actually the new stats are saying cellphone use in cars is no more distracting then all the other types of distractions that people seem to do while driving!! ie talking with others in the car, eatting, changing radio/cd's! And no I hardly ever use my cell while driving, but just telling the new stats the ins companies have put out there!!

[Lightsluvr]

Actually the new stats are saying cellphone use in cars is no more distracting then all the other types of distractions that people seem to do while driving!! ie talking with others in the car, eatting, changing radio/cd's! And no I hardly ever use my cell while driving, but just telling the new stats the ins companies have put out there!!

 

You are correct. This has been widely reported on television news, as well.

 

I handle serious liability claims for a major insurance company, and see examples of this all the time. It's all about speed and reaction time. It can be two teenagers yakking to each other, the driver messing with the car CD player, changing the radio station, picking a nose...you name it...it has caused accidents. The cell phone is just the latest item to blame for a driver's inattention...

 

All this discussion still has no connection to cell phone usage onboard a cruise ship. Folks just have to be thoughtful and courteous when using them...as in any public place.

 

Reminds me when I was standing in line at an airport, and there was a yuppie-looking guy standing behind me talking on his cellphone with one of those lovely "bluetooth" devices...He was talking quite loudly, conducting his business, and seemed to be basking in his own importance...After more than a few minutes of his jabber, I turned to him and asked if he could repeat his last order, I missed some of the details...He blinked in disbelief, turned red and apologized. The rest of his call was in subdued conversation...

 

:cool:

 

LL

[isujim]

will you ask your brother what type of charges he ended up with? I also have sprint.

 

If the Rhapsody is now wired with the same service LL is talking about (the cellular at sea program).......I have Sprint........and my charges on the Mariner in April were $2.99 per minute.........if we are talking the same thing here.

[mumofsons]

We have sprint and will need to take our phone to keep in contact with the grandparents who are keeping the kids. Did you need a special cell phone or do they all work? Just wondering. We are sailing out of Tampa on Legend of the Seas going to Grand Cayman's, Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel. Thanks for any info.

[R'man]

I'm leaving mine home when we depart this Friday. For free I can just shout into my hand to annoy other vacationers. Please don't impose your personal phone conversations on me while I'm otherwise enjoying myself. When did the world become a phone booth?

[Alexru12]

what difference does it make if someone is speaking into a phone or talking to a companion next to them? as long as they are speaking in a calm, rational and reasonable tone, why do you care? is it because you only get to hear half the conversation that annoys you so?

i can understand if someone is yelling into their phone or using vulgarities, but the same can be said for people yelling at their children or at a hard of hearing companion.

i do not plan on taking my phone on the ship, but if someone else wants to take theirs who am i to complain. they bought and paid for their ticket and can spend their time doing whatever they wish. if i find them annoying i wll move, same as i would if i found myself next to an annoying drunk, a vulgar loudmouth or unruly kids.

[beachchick]

Alexru12: A few of reasons, at least for me, that make the cell phone conversation versus person to person conversation different.

 

First, for some reason some people seem to have no problem discussing the most intimate and inappropriate subjects on a cell phone, whereas they wouldn't dream of doing so if the person they were speaking with was sitting next to them. Something about cell phones seems to turn off that self-censoring part of the brain sometimes. I really, really don't want to hear details about private, intimate, or flat out disgusting subjects. (And don't tell me to move elsewhere. I'm entitled to be where I am too.)

 

Second, cell phone service being sometimes spotty or difficult, people do in fact tend to speak much louder than they would to a person seated next to them.

 

Third, having a cell phone conversation while walking through the ship often makes the person on the phone a mobile hazard. They pay no attention to where they are and end up running into people, pushing by people, and so forth because they become unaware of their surroundings when they are engrossed in constant cell phone conversations.

 

Fourth, often the person on the cell phone is actually with someone on the ship. Then it becomes a competition for attention. IMO, it's extremely rude to have an extended cell phone conversation while ignoring your traveling companion(s).

 

I have no problem with someone sitting anywhere on the ship and having a quiet cell phone conversation. If that's what they want to do, no problem. It's when the cell phone usage starts to negatively affect others that I am annoyed. Personally, I have far too much to do and am far too busy enjoying the people I'm traveling with to waste hours on a cell phone, but that's me. If others want to rack up those expensive roaming minutes, that's their concern. Just don't force me to listen to someone's loud description of their sex life while they bump into me on the stairs. That's extremely rude manners.

 

beachchick

[Alexru12]

beachchick

i agree, time and money are too valuble on vacation to waste, especially money, i cannot imagine spending 2.50 a minute to talk to anyone, except maybe johnny depp, and since he won't be calling, i will leave my cell in the car and enjoy my cruise. he will have to leave voice mail!

on the other hand if you were next to me and wanted to call someone as the ship was pulling out to share your excitement, cest le vie! like you said we all just need to be courteous of others!

counting down 28 days till i sail on the Freedom!

[cruiselovingmom]

I really, really, really find it hard to believe that anybody would talk for extended amounts of time about stupid random things at $2.50 a minute.

 

People do this at home (on land) because we all have such great deals now- unlimited minutes, free calling on nights and weekends etc...

I agree with everyone, this annoys me too!

 

I have to ask, is everybody so worried about cell phones on the ship just because cell phone use on land drives them nuts? I think you really can't compare the two, unless your sitting next to a millionaire it's probably not going to happen.

 

I'd like to know if anyone here has actually been sitting next to someone on a ship that talked for an extended amount of time about silly unimportant things? Not at sailaway, actually out to sea?

 

I assume the worst that would happen is that you would hear someone on a 2 minute conversation just "checking in".

Who wants to carry a cell phone around a ship? They would probably be left in the cabin, and the calls home would be made from there anyways, and no one would be bothered at all.

 

You are very lucky if you can leave the world behind while on vacation, but you must understand that some of us must call home at least every few days to check on things.

[codewize]

So am I to understand that ANY GSM phone will work on these ships? I don't HAVE to have Cingular?

 

Thanks

[codewize]

Did this thread die ??

[Lightsluvr]

So am I to understand that ANY GSM phone will work on these ships? I don't HAVE to have Cingular?

 

Thanks

 

Any GSM phone will work.

 

LL

[cruisin4kicks]

I started a thread about this a week or two ago. A brief summary...

 

We were in the middle of the ocean on a cruise on the Explorer at the beginning of November when my cell phone rang. It was my daughter asking how we were enjoying our cruise. We chatted for 8 minutes. When we got home and later got the T-Mobile bill, we found we were charged a roaming charge of $4.95 a minute for our little chat.

 

I learned that on future cruises, our cell phone will be in the "off" position. I really don't think there will be a lot of people "yakking" on the phone during cruises. Just my own opinion.

 

Tim - finding out I'm still not too old to learn things the hard way

[CaddyB123]

Am I better off not even bringing it on the ship? I am going to leave the 800 number with relatives, but I routinely get A LOT of calls. If I turn my phone OFF on ship, will I still be charged with calls going to voicemail?

 

I am so confused about this!

[irishnyc]

I was just recently on board with my Sprint phone. I left it off and did not get charged for calls that went to my voice mail. That's just silly thinking. You don't normally get charged for calls that go to your vm when your phone is off, right? Why would it be any different?

 

I did make a few calls. It was $2.49/min while at sea. My phone did not work in Nassau, despite the fact that I had "full bars."

[cb at sea]

If your phone is off, I can't see why there would be any charges! We bring ours so we can call and gloat (lol) before sailaway. After we lose the signal, the phone is off until the last night--when we turn it on and set the alarm for morning. (The ship's clocks don't have alarms, and rather than put in a wake-up call, we use the cell phone.)

[codewize]

For me it's a matter of business. Until now I've worked around a lot of things and carried my laptop checking email twice a day. I own a small computer networking business and if I'm not there it can easily be a problem.

 

I have just a couple of clients that would like to know they can talk to me if they have to.

 

I agree with whats being said about disrespectful cell users.