How good has your cell phone reception been at sea?

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

FIRST OFF - the purpose of this thread is not to debate whether you like the thought of having a cell phone on your vacation (or if your fellow guests have one)... We take/make our calls in the privacy of our cabin.

 

I know that Carnival typically turns off their system for handling passenger cell phone calls while in port...

 

My "issue" has to do with the general quality of the service when it is "working". There have been times when I try to make a call and there is no indication of a connection (ringing) - then, after 10-15 seconds I look at my phone and it's as if I never pressed SEND. My signal strength (with no land in sight) might be 3-4 "bars". When it does connect often the connection is so poor that I only catch half of what the other person is saying, often hearing crosstalk, many times dropping the call. Last week, on the Sensation, I had to call my son 3 times to relay a couple of simple messages back and forth. What should have been ONE two minute call likely ended up as THREE two-three minute partial calls. So, for me at least, the actual cost for some calls is double or triple the theoretical cost.

 

I am aware that there is limited bandwidth involved here -- perhaps that's what happens when the call does not even appear to "take" -- but you would think that it could be regulated a little better to give service which is worth charging for. I have noticed this more on our last few sailings - whereas when the service first rolled out, it seemed to work better. I have seen more and more people on their cell phones onboard... OVERLOAD!!!

 

So anyone else have issues with their onboard service? (This is where most people will reply and say they have never had a problem, and the call is of "CD Quality"... LOL)

 

Tom

[LovesCruisin]

I had no problem calling or receiving calls on our last trip on the Inspiration. Cell service was perfect from my balcony. You wouldn't have even known I was out at sea and DH was back at home. I only hope the service is as good

this summer on the Victory.

[kjeanne2001]

We just got off the Glory and my cell phone service was the worst yet at sea. I had no problems in December in the Bahamas. I had 3-4 bars and the person I was calling was telling me I was cutting out and so were they. I had to spend extra minutes just to get them to try to understand me and me them Many times my call would not connect on the ship - act like it was signal was going out but never connected - curious to see if I will get billed for that.

[fllady61]

could not get service at all even to call cell to cell. took the phone to my cabin and left it there.

[bakechef]

It could be a bandwidth issue. Another issue is that if I am not mistaken ships use 1900mhz GSM and CDMA signals, the 1900mhz band does not penetrate buildings as well as 850mhz (even though you show bars, the quality is often garbled). Both T-mobile (gsm) and Sprint (cdma) use the 1900mhz band extensively and if you are not is a very well covered area you will often have reception problems inside buildings.

 

I would think that with the 1900mhz limitations, and the ship being a huge hunk of steel, that this is the likely culprit, the reception may be better outside.

 

Just a theory!

 

MAC

[Nuttycruisegirl]

I was on Conquest in April...Out of 7 phone calls, one was dropped. I just called back in about 5 min. with no problem. There was the annoying delay for our voices to reach each other which I guess is normal. But other than that no problems at all. My text mesaging worked fine and messages were sent and received quickly. (and were SO much cheaper...50 cents each) I have AT&T service btw. :)

[pungo3]

Mine was non-existent except when I was in port. I have Alltel if that tells you anything.

[trock]

I have a blackberry/Verizon and I left it in the cabin the entire time except when in port off the ship.

I didnt make any calls but did not receive any emails either.. unless we were in Puerto Rico or St Thomas.. it didnt work at all in Tortola!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

It could be a bandwidth issue. Another issue is that if I am not mistaken ships use 1900mhz GSM and CDMA signals, the 1900mhz band does not penetrate buildings as well as 850mhz (even though you show bars, the quality is often garbled). Both T-mobile (gsm) and Sprint (cdma) use the 1900mhz band extensively and if you are not is a very well covered area you will often have reception problems inside buildings.

 

I would think that with the 1900mhz limitations, and the ship being a huge hunk of steel, that this is the likely culprit, the reception may be better outside.

 

Just a theory!

 

MAC

 

I was standing (with a view similar to the following) using my Verizon phone:

 

 

(So - that's almost outside)...

 

No telling - but a good theory!!!

 

Tom

[illeniumsd]

Do the ships have cell towers/transmitters on them?

[Ascott318]

I have Verizon,used it quite abit on Legend last September as my DH was unable to go as he was called to law enfofcement Academy 3 weeks before sailing.It was the only contact I had with him,so I looked forward to his call each night.I had quite a few dropped calls and just called Verizon when I received bill and they gave credit.They knew it was a dropped call when we called right back within a min or two.Just keep in mind that it is $2.59 a min I think,but to soeak to my DH every night it was worth every $.

[bakechef]

I was standing (with a view similar to the following) using my Verizon phone:

 

 

(So - that's almost outside)...

 

No telling - but a good theory!!!

 

Tom

 

Cool view!

 

I am willing to bet that if you are in the right place, that the call could be good, but I can almost guarantee that the ship's radar or something messes with the system. I saw very different signal strengths on the glory, with deck 12 forward (outside)being one of the worst, I wonder where they mount these cell systems? Also are these systems being maintained like they should?

 

MAC

[Bert64]

I had PERFECT reception the entire time. Used text messaging and it didn't seem to make a difference we were at sea, it worked great. I have AT&T.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

This sounds like a question for me to pose once onboard again next month. No doubt I will only get a partial answer!! (I suppose I'm a pessimistic optimist :D )

 

Tom

[bakechef]

This sounds like a question for me to pose once onboard again next month. No doubt I will only get a partial answer!! (I suppose I'm a pessimistic optimist :D )

 

Tom

 

You probably already know this, but have you updated your roaming capabilities lately? *228 is how you do it. Have you changed your plan or upgraded your phone lately (their plans have changed ever so slightly lately), is IDial still active on your line (maybe fell off if any changes to your plan).

 

I have read on other threads that people without IDial activated were able to dial out, but would drop immediately.

 

Just a few thoughts

 

MAC

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

You probably already know this, but have you updated your roaming capabilities lately? *228 is how you do it. Have you changed your plan or upgraded your phone lately (their plans have changed ever so slightly lately), is IDial still active on your line (maybe fell off if any changes to your plan).

 

I have read on other threads that people without IDial activated were able to dial out, but would drop immediately.

 

Just a few thoughts

 

MAC

 

Hmmm - I have not updated anything recently. I did have Verizon "activate" my account (and phone) for international roaming last year.

 

I will look into that.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

[gumbeaux58]

I'm confused and a first time cruiser. Do the ships have repeaters on board? We have Sprint. I actually hate the idea of being in cell contact but ... Should we contact our provider about whether roaming charges apply?

[bstman]

I have never had any problems with my cell reception as long as I was outside. I called from my balcony with no problem (Fantasy) but had no service in my inside room on the Inspiration. Once I went out on a deck I had no problems. I also had that annoying delay which makes it impossible to talk to the kids. I felt like saying "over" each time I finished what I was saying! LOL

[Nuttycruisegirl]

I'm confused and a first time cruiser. Do the ships have repeaters on board? We have Sprint. I actually hate the idea of being in cell contact but ... Should we contact our provider about whether roaming charges apply?

YES! Find out about roaming in advance. I had an international plan put on my service which allowed me to talk for $2.99 a minute, Without it I would have paid $4.99 a minute. The ship phones in the cabins are $6.99 a minute. My text messages although unlimited at home as part of my service plan were 50 cents each (incoming and outgoing) So if you are comfortable texting it is a good way to communicate.

[FabFourLover]

Did I hear someone say that the ship "turns off" their tower when in port. I have T-Mobile and know the procedure to call from the island so I don't get charged for the calls but the customer service rep at T-Mobile said I had to be far enough away from the ship not to connect through its tower.

If the ship "turns off" the tower than that wouldn't be an issue, would it?

Also, just in case my T-mobile phone doesn't get service at sea, and I called my mom from the cabin while at sea at $6.99 per minute, does that just go on the S&S card? She's 83 and I just want to do a quick check between NY and PR and between Tortola and NY.

[EngIceDave]

I was on Valor a year or so ago and my cell (AT&T, then Cingular) worked fine, even when I got a call in the casino.

 

When you reach a port, they do kill the on-board cell tower and the land tower picks up your signal, you'll see the change in provider name next to your signal strength

 

FYI - St Thomas is a US territory, so your regular provider will (should) work there at no additional charges

[4cruizers]

I was on Valor a year or so ago and my cell (AT&T, then Cingular) worked fine, even when I got a call in the casino.

 

When you reach a port, they do kill the on-board cell tower and the land tower picks up your signal, you'll see the change in provider name next to your signal strength

 

FYI - St Thomas is a US territory, so your regular provider will (should) work there at no additional charges

You definitely need to check on St. Thomas, as we were there a couple of years ago and were charged a differernt rate through then Cingular. Maybe it has changed recently.

[Indestructible]

Used my phone with no issues while on board. Was a bit costly ($2.99 /min) but had service if I needed it. At least with att, you need to add international roaming if you plan to use your phone in port. Then simply remove it afterward.

[happy cruzin]

I was on Valor a year or so ago and my cell (AT&T, then Cingular) worked fine, even when I got a call in the casino.

 

When you reach a port, they do kill the on-board cell tower and the land tower picks up your signal, you'll see the change in provider name next to your signal strength

 

FYI - St Thomas is a US territory, so your regular provider will (should) work there at no additional charges

 

Yep - we have AT&T and have always had good service when we needed it. It is easy to tell when then ships towers go off - and you change to a land based tower because the display changes. When using the ship's tower our displays read "Cellular at Sea".

Couple of hints....make sure that your phone has international capability and turn off the auto update feature for the clock if you want it to stay on "ship time".

We do opt for the World Traveller Plan - which can be added and then removed when you return and then you get reduced rates in the ports. AT&T has a pretty good international customer service department. I call them...tell them where we are going and they give me the per minute rates for each port.

[ruag8tr2]

We were on Century in March and needed to make contact with our son. We had a balcony and could not get through unless in port. Did get a few texts through though, but they took a long long time.