Best Place on Ship for Cell Service???

[cruzdon]

i know, i know , i know! we don't like to even bring cell phone with us. but, to check up on the kids i am going to try the cell at sea service since it is cheaper than the $7.95 per minute from the RCCL in room phones.

 

just wandering if anyone has used this service and if there is any place on the ship better than the other for reception?

 

thanks

donald

[Honey's Gal]

I used the Cellular at Sea service and it was fine. We had a very good friend that was sick and we needed to keep up on his condition (he unfortuately died while we were at sea). My cell worked anywhere on the ship, but I did have to move around to a place that was fairly quiet so I could hear the person I was talking to.

 

The price was minimal compared to the ship prices. IMO it was well worth it.

[PattyG12]

I sat in my cabin when we were leaving Miami and chatted with my DD. No problems at all

[Tabbymom]

We're going to use cell phones to check in with each other but plan to text instead of calling - only $.50 per message. That turned out to be the best way to communicate with DH when he was in Russia on business.

[EbonyBeauty]

My boyfriend and I used our cell phones on the ship to keep in contact with our family and friends. The coverage is good throughout the ship.

Sometimes you might get the odd occurence of drop calls and these might be due to the change in the network depending on the ship's location at that point in time.

Cruise taken

Adventure of the Seas - 21/10/2007

[funfamilyfun]

We're going to use cell phones to check in with each other but plan to text instead of calling - only $.50 per message. That turned out to be the best way to communicate with DH when he was in Russia on business.

 

What cell phone provider to you use? We use Verizon. Last time we cruised we rented the dect phones. Although they worked, we find texting much easier. We paid $100 for the dect phones, this would be cheaper!

[Tabbymom]

We have AT&T Wireless. We'll have to put ourselves on international roaming ahead of time - we are not charged for that but it may be because we have a corporate discount via my employer; I've heard others mention a charge of about $6. Then Cellular at Sea would be $2.49/minute and $1.99/minute in Bermuda for talking. As noted, text messages are $.50 and data usage is $.0195/Kb but only our 20 year old son knows how to go online via the phone anyway!

 

Texting is almost better than talking since you don't have to look at it right away, you don't disturb others, and you can read it more than once if necessary. I imagine we'll text such messages as, "we are in the Champagne Bar if you want to join us" or "are you meeting us in WJ for lunch or going to JR" or "do you want us to order you any room service for a pre-dinner snack" or "are you ever coming back to the cabin to sleep or are you at Cafe P" etc. Good thing I'm learning the abbreviations!

[cb at sea]

We've never been able to get a signal on the ship, once we leave port! We use the ship's e-mail to make contact with home and business--at .50cents a min.,, it's the most economical way.

[maaaaattt]

I used the Cellular @ Sea service last month on Majesty, and was surprised to find that I had service all over the ship, even in my stateroom on deck 4.

 

I will offer this piece of advice for anyone thinking of using it though: BE CAREFUL. Turn off data services if you get a lot of text messages, or have web or e-mail capabilities. I used my phone at sea to call my mother on her birthday for only two minutes, but still had $60 worth of roaming charges on this month's bill because of my data services (I was not particularly surprised, because I knew all of the costs for my services before I left).

[maaaaattt]

One other note about Cellular @ Sea. You must have international roaming turned on by your cell phone company to use RCI's cellular services. I never understood why on previous cruises I could not get into the ship's network, but I called my cell company (T-Mobile), and they told me it was because I had "Worldclass Roaming" turned off on my account. Once I turned it on, I was able to use my cell on the ship and in all ports of call.

[CGBCruiser]

We have Sprint service. I activated International Calling on my cell phone before we left for a Western Caribbean cruise in March. Your service will give you the rates they charge while you are on land, but it is more expensive while at sea. I did this just to use in case of an emergency, but I accidentally left my cell phone on and at 4:30 a.m. one morning it rang and it was somebody leaving a stupid text message...not an important one, it was somebody advertising via text messages. Of course, I'm the one who had to pay for the message besides the fact that it woke me out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night while we were at sea!! So, I'd definitely keep it turned off until you want to use the phone.

[Honey's Gal]

Maaaat (enough a's?), I do not have international roaming on my phone, and I had absolutely no problem using my phone at all. In fact, I let others use my phone since theirs did not work (we had a lot of scrambling to do to change flights and book a hotel due to late arrival back to San Diego).

 

I have AT&T and I as I mentioned before, price was minimal compared to what we needed it for and received. I don't text message, but friends that were at dinner with us did all the time with their daughter....that is how got our Red Sox scores during the world series.

 

What did we ever do before cell phones and email???? My DH has neither and does not care to have them at all. Can't teach an old dog new tricks?