Cell Phone Coverage?

[derksta]

How does the cell phone thing work when you're on the ship?....probably don't get any service out at sea right... and even if you did I'm guessing there's all kinds of extra charges for being out of the country/network etc.? I haven'te been out of the country for 10 years so I don't remember how it works... any help is greatly appreciated:)

[Keith1010]

A company called SeaMobile has worked out agreements with many cruise lines and cell phone carriers to provide a service where passenger's can use their call phones when the ship is at sea. You pay more than you would for a normal cell phone call but less than using the phone in the ships cabin.

 

I would go to the SeaMobile internet site and get their telephone number and verify with them whether they support the ship you will be on and the cell phone company you use. Also, verify with the cell phone company that your cell phone will work out of the country and be sure you know what digits to dial from where you'll be.

 

Keith

[ddonalds]

As previous poster mentioned - there are different aspects of the problem. First, you have to have a cell phone that can work internationally (this is a higher priced service plan), and then, if you need service on the ship, you figure out what they have. On the ship we're going on, they are actually a roaming point on my Cingular network. There would be additional charges, so if I wanted to call someone, I would probably wait until I was in port and use my regular roaming charges. I travel internationally alot, so I did get a phone that actually has worked everywhere in the world I've been (even in Liberia - and it wasn't supposed to work there...). I don't know where you're cruising to - and the countries you visit will have an impact on the success of your phone working (has that countries telco made agreements with the big US cell phone companies - most have, but some haven't). If I wanted a cell phone to be able to call home, I would probably go to my carrier and get their international capability (and plan), and plan on calling when I was in the Ports...

[Keith1010]

ddonalds, on most cell phones services adding the ability to call internationally does not add any cost to your normal monthly plan. It used to on services such as Sprint but they eliminated that about a year ago. And I know T Mobile does not charge more either. Yes, you pay more on your actual useage but on many cell phone plans you do not pay more to add the capability.

 

Again, each cell phone carrier is different so once the original poster figures out if hers cell phone service is supported on a cruise line then the next step is for her to see if her cell phone is international capable.

 

Keith

[jpg1747]

I have Cingular/AT&T. My plan includes free roaming and long distance, but only in the U.S. This includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. But I have to be on land. If I call from anywhere else, including on the ship when it's in port in the U.S., the cost is $2.49 per minute. Best thing to do is call your provider and see what it will cost you.

[welldone60]

We were on NCL Star Feb 06, we have cigular as our cell phone provider. We added Mexico to our calling plan for the month that we were cruising, $4.99 month. The calls that we were to make from shore would cost 75 cents a min. We also had service on the ship. Seems the ship was never to far off shore and we had service almost all the time. When we got our bill for that month, we were only charged 69 cents a min, even while we were on the ship. We have heard horrer stories about some cell phone users. I would talk with your phone provider and ask alot of ??. Then make sure you have it in writing. On our other cruises we left the phones at home.

[greatam]

I have Cingular/AT&T. If I call from anywhere else, including on the ship when it's in port in the U.S., the cost is $2.49 per minute. Best thing to do is call your provider and see what it will cost you.

 

$2.49 per minute is the AT & T charge. There is an additional charge for using the phone on the ship, which is a SHIP charge. Total cost of calls FROM THE SHIP, using the ship towers is about $6.00 per minute average. Yes, cheaper than the cabin phone, but still pretty darn expensive.

 

http://www.cellularatsea.com/press/pr080206-everexpandingcellphoneservice.htm

[cruisead]

greatam, our experience is similar to yours. Our ATT charges, depending on location, was anywhere from $6 to $7.95 a minute, plus if you're using anything internet, the download charges and email charges were also high. Lot less expensive waiting to use the cell phone when we got to the islands.