Cellphones??

[shadbrew]

I was told that in certain ports our cellphones will work to call back to the US.

Anyone know if this is true or not? We are going on the Navigator to the Eastern Caribbean (leaving Saturday).

[tigirl1989]

You certainly can try. I would check w/ your cell phone provider before you leave to check rates could be quite costly. When I went to Bermuda this past September I just waited and got a calling card there....less expensive and didn't have to worry about carrying my cell. :D

 

Have a wonderful cruise :D

 

Dana

[jst]

We have used cellphones in Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and recently Grand Cayman. We have Cingular and we called our daughter back in the US, she checked on the charges from GC and noticed it only cost $2, and we talked for awhile as it was Thanksgiving Day. Grand Cayman has recently started using Cingular. Hope this answers some of your question, we have called more than once from the other two islands..

[ckrobyn]

Being from Canada we were shocked that we actually had cell service in Cozumel, Grand Cayman as well as Montego Bay!

 

It was a pleasant surprise for us to be able to call home when we thought we couldn't.....:o

[cb at sea]

Generally, it's only Cingular that works--some other providers MAY have plans that will cover some U.S. Territories, but not all will. Foreign ports may not get any signal, and if you do get one, the cost can be out of sight! Be careful!

Best option, if you MUST call home, is to purchase an international calling card AT THE PORT WHERE YOU INTEND TO USE IT!!! and call from one of the many pay phones! (Don't buy an international card here in the states--those are for calling TO foreign counties--not from!)

[isujim]

Again..........my Sprint PCS worked like a charm...........not only in the US territories mentioned but on the RC ships that have the cell service at sea.

[isujim]

Just checking.......got whited out again...........a daily occurance anymore:rolleyes:

[wework2play]

When we went to the western car. my US Cellular phone would not work, but my Sprint phone would. (Only in port)

[cruiseorbust]

Again..........my Sprint PCS worked like a charm...........not only in the US territories mentioned but on the RC ships that have the cell service at sea.

 

 

Does it cost more to use when your phone says being connected by service at sea?

[cluemeister]

I just checked my Sprint PCS detailed call by call invoice, and my calls during the first five days of the cruise (that's when the billing cycle ended) were included.

 

During that time, I made calls on the ship at sea, in Puerto Rico, in Antigua, and in St. Thomas.

 

The only place I did not make calls was in port in St. Maarten, where my phone automatically got one of those "to make a call, dial blah blah blah" voicemails. I took that as a bad sign, and did not call while in port in St. Maarten.

 

I have a Family plan with roaming included. I think it's five or ten bucks a month to have roaming included. Certainly paid for itself on this trip!

[cmich068]

The CDMA technology used by Sprint, Telus, Bell Canada, and Verizon (among others) is predominantly an American thing. (There are other implementations of CDMA in the world, but none compatible).

 

The GSM technology used by Cingular and Rogers (among others) is a much more worldwide standard... Europe and the Carribean, among other places, use it.

 

Asia uses a newer implementation of CDMA for the most part, not compatible with ours.

[Brian131489]

I have the Sprint/Nextel Hybrid phone and it worked great. I have cell service on the ship and while I was in mexico I had two way service. The only problems I had was on a stormy night the connection on the other end was broken up or there was a slight delay, otherwise it was crystal clear.