Our Own LUNYMA is in the NEWS!

[dromMOM]

LUNYMA or as some of us know her PAM....was recently interviewed by the Associated Press... Way to go PAM/LUNYMA

 

Updated: 02:39 PM EDT

Wanna Get Away, Sorry, Cell Phones Head to Ships

By JOHN PAIN, AP

 

MIAMI (July 18) - The tranquility many passengers cherish on cruises may be shattered by the cacophony of ringing cell phones. A new service makes regular mobile phones work even when communications towers are miles of ocean away.

 

It's just the latest way technology is changing cruise vacations, which now offer Internet access, pay-per-view television and digital music libraries.

 

Pam Lome loves sitting on the deck when she's on a cruise, the shoreline shrinking on the horizon as the ship pulls out to sea. It's relaxing to know that, at least for a short time, she's leaving her everyday troubles behind.

 

"It's supposed to be a way to get away from it all," said Lome, a 45-year-old former travel agent from Buffalo Grove, Ill.

 

To Beth Abrams, the more communications technology onboard, the better.

 

Abrams, a 40-year-old first-grade teacher from Freehold, N.J., recently traveled on the Norwegian Dawn from New York down the East Coast. The ship was close enough to shore to reach Nextel phone's network, so she could stay in touch.

 

"I need it. My husband's self-employed. He needs to be in contact on a daily basis. We have someone taking care of our home that we need to talk to. We have pets at home that we need to check up on," she said while the ship was docked in Miami.

 

In the past, "we would just be out of contact for a week and hope for the best," she said.

 

But what about passengers like Lome who want to enjoy a relaxing getaway?

 

"I don't want to be on deck by the pool getting some sun and listening to someone talk about their stock options," she said.

 

Some cruise executives don't think it will be a big deal.

 

"I think you should offer as many amenities as you can and if you find that the bulk of your passengers don't want it, you'll hear about it pretty quickly," said Colin Veitch, head of Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd., which is exploring the technology.

 

"Are you going to be annoyed by sitting next to the pool and having somebody talking on their cell phone? Probably not any more annoyed than just having a noisy person next to you," Veitch said. "People will just get used to it."

 

Carnival Corp. & PLC, the world's largest cruise company, is testing cell phone service on its Costa Cruises line in Europe and plans to eventually install the equipment on more ships, said Trevor Brydges, Carnival's supervisor of shipboard technology.

 

Carnival's main rival, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., just began offering the service on the Island Escape, a ship it operates on the Mediterranean through a joint venture. The line is considering adding it to other ships, too.

 

AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Maritime Telecommunications Network Inc. created the system used on the Island Escape. Wireless equipment on the ship relays calls to satellite transmitters, which then beam the signals to shore.

 

Charges for cruise cell calls appear on the user's wireless bill at home. The service is currently available only for phones on the GSM network standard.

 

Prices for U.S.-based cruises haven't been set yet, but they could be similar to rates on European cruises, where the price per minute can be about $1.69, roughly the same as a roaming call, AT&T Wireless spokeswoman Rochelle Cohen said. In comparison, satellite phone calls can cost $6 to $8 a minute.

 

The cell phone signals piggyback on systems that transmit Internet data to cruise ships via satellite. Since Internet service was introduced about five years ago, it has grown to be used by about 15 percent of passengers, industry officials said.

 

George Hall, 54, is a big fan of onboard e-mail. He was vacationing on the Dawn last year when the heating system at his home in New York's Hudson Valley malfunctioned, cranking the temperature to 95 degrees.

 

Hall's house-sitter contacted him by e-mail. Together they diagnosed the problem and arranged to get it repaired before Hall's cruise ended. The cost for keeping in touch by e-mail was about 40 cents a minute, a common figure for the service.

 

Internet service generally comes to cruise passengers at 128 to 256 kilobits per second, faster than dial-up but below broadband connections such as DSL and cable modems.

 

Passengers can Web surf in designated Internet cafes, and many ships have wireless access points at spots around the vessels. All of Norwegian's ships have such "hot spots," and the line rents wireless cards and laptops for $10 a day.

 

Celebrity lets passengers download MP3 music files to company-owned Apple iPods that can be rented on board for $10 a day. Vacationers can choose from about 47,000 songs in many musical genres, from classical to rap. The downloads are free, but passengers can't keep the music files when they leave the ship.

 

Jim Cannon, Celebrity's entertainment manager, notes that seniors - a big cruise demographic - have embraced the iPods.

 

"They love to have their swing numbers," he said.

 

For about $4, passengers can print out more than 150 different newspapers each day in several languages using a computer kiosk. Cabin TVs on most ships are outfitted with pay-per-view movies and automated booking of shore excursions. Digital X-rays taken on board can be transmitted by satellite to be examined by medical specialists on land.

 

All this technology amazes people like Hall. Just don't stroll onboard with a cell phone glued to your ear.

 

"That could be a little annoying," he said.

 

 

07/18/04 14:00 EDT

 

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

[carol louise]

I wonder how often Colin Veitch finds himself forced to listen to other people's cell phone conversations? I fear not often, or he wouldn't be so cavalier about our "getting used to it." One of the joys of cruising is just what Pam describes -- getting away from it all.

 

On my last cruise, on the Norwegian Dawn, I noticed that the appearances that first alerted me to the nearness of land (birds, bugs) have been replaced by the appearances of cell phones at the promenade deck railing.

 

Carol Louise

[msraye]

On my trip to Alaska last year, my enjoyment of my balcony was greatly diminished by others, also on their balconies, placing calls as we arrived in port so they could say" Hi Jed, guess where I am calling you from!?!" If am emergency happens with your dog or your house we CAN be reached on the ship without the ubiquitous cell phone. I fear it is a lost cause.

[lunyma]

Ya know... In a true emergency, I don't think anyone would care about the satellite phone costs to or from the ship. They'be been available for ages... But!!! If people can use their cell phone, for a trivial call, for just a few bucks, they will... Tis sad...

[4 cruisers]

Just from a different point of view...we had our very first balcony and were on the NCL Star in Hawaii. We were so thrilled with our balcony, our room, the beautiful ports, we called both sets of parents at every port and it was one of the highlights of our days to share the beauty and pleasure we were experiencing. We really wished our folks could have been with us and this was the next best thing for us! Our folks are in their late seventies, early eighties and I think they got just as much pleasure hearing from us as we did calling. I hope we didn't disturb anyone else on their balconies...but if I heard someone else making such calls, I know I would just smile! Sadly some people don't have their parents to call anymore. :(

 

Isn't a conversation with someone on the cell phone very similar to a converstaion with someone on the balcony with you? :confused:

 

Pam, I think I remember your posts about the Crown Odyssey?! That was a long time ago!!!

[lunyma]

>>>Pam, I think I remember your posts about the Crown Odyssey?! That was a long time ago!!!<<<

 

I think it was 2 years ago... What an awesome trip!!!

Anwyay... I don't have a problem with people using their cell phones on their balcony, but I frown on the idea of using them in public places... I understand that people want, or need, to keep in touch, but please be considerate of others. This new technology will allow more cell phone use, anywhere... That's what bugs me...