Cell Service At Sea - questions and comments (merged)

[AmigaDude]

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!

 

Cingular's Standard Cruise Ship Rates are $2.49 per minute, while ON THE SHIP. International roaming rates vary, according to which carrier handles each island but are generally in the same range.

 

This is a quote from Cingular's International FAQ:

Q. Will I be charged long distance in addition to the per-minute roaming rate?

A

. No. All calls you make or receive while roaming internationally are charged at the per minute voice roaming rate—with no additional long distance charges. While roaming internationally, calls deposited to your voicemail (when phone is "active" and if busy/no answer) will incur

twice

the per minute charge.

I interpret that to mean that turning OFF your phone negates any voice mail forwarding charges. Makes sense, given that GSM phones themselves are the first source of a forwarding number to Voice Mail, etc..

[cohusker]

My phone did not work in Nassau, despite the fact that I had "full bars."

 

I had the same issue in Nassau last week. I called Sprint; they said Bahamas Telecom and them were working on "contract issues" that they hoped to have it solved soon to allow us to make CDMA calls while in the Bahamas. However, if you have a GSM Sprint phone (you rent one from them or have a quad-band phone) it is $2.29/min! (ouch!). I hope it isn't that much when Sprint CDMA phones can roam down there.

 

Tip: Any CDMA phone (Verizon, Sprint, Alltel, etc.) should get a PRL update before leaving the country.

[JTHOMAS]

Ok, after starting to read this thread about wheter my cell phone will work on board or not, I found myself reading alot of posts from venting people. I will be leaving on 12/30 for the NYE cruise and will have my cell phone with me and on for every work day (during working hours EST). I will not be checking in with folks back home (its only a week), I am not going to be chatting with anyone telling them what a good time I am having, and like someone else mentioned if someone is sick back home (I'm not there, deal with it till I get home). What I do have to do is still run my business. No, not day to day activities cause I'm on vacation, but if there is a problem at work or on a job then I get a call. Last Aug. I got 4 calls while on an excursion to the ruins in Mexico. I did not stand anywhere near others to talk, I was not loud and although I was on the phone for up to 15 minutes at a time, I had to do it. I recieved some looks from people who thought I was crazy, but they had no idea what I was doing on the phone. Yes the phone calls cost me a small fortune, but I saved over $100,000 with the business decision. Phones are not the problem folks...PEOPLE ARE!!! Some people are just rude no matter what they are doing or where they are.

BTW phone worked on the Enchantment except in Belize.

[gbfan06]

Hi everyone! Just a quick inquiry to find out whether there are any fellow Sprint customers out there who have been able to successfully use their phones while at sea. If so, did you need to have to make any special arrangements to do so or have a particular type of phone? I understand that various ports may or may not have local coverage but I am also interested in whether one can be reached on "sea days". I read an article which indicated that Carnival has installed cell access on all of its ships and that RCI will do so this year. Thanks:)

[alexkrn46]

Sprint worked no extra charge in Saint Thomas and San Juan. My last cruise on the Jewel, I had a signal even at Sea. I called customer support who saw my location, somewhere between Boston and Bermuda and told me that I was using the Cell At Sea, the cost is $1.99/minute. Good to have for an emergency. Sprint has no signal in Mexico or any of the other islands.

 

Alex

[cohusker]

[quote name='alexkrn46']Sprint worked no extra charge in Saint Thomas and San Juan. My last cruise on the Jewel, I had a signal even at Sea. I called customer support who saw my location, somewhere between Boston and Bermuda and told me that I was using the Cell At Sea, the cost is $1.99/minute. Good to have for an emergency. Sprint has no signal in Mexico or any of the other islands.

Alex[/quote]

Sprint doesn't have coverage in Mexico, but you can ROAM in Mexico. It is $.99/min but you need to call Sprint and have your phone activated for International Roaming. Go here for a list of counties and all kinds of info: [URL="http://www1.sprintpcs.com/explore/coverage/internationalroaming/Search.jsp"]http://www1.sprintpcs.com/explore/coverage/internationalroaming/Search.jsp[/URL]

You can also get text massaging and surf the internet on your phone in certain areas of Mexico (Cabo, PV, Cancun, etc.)