How do you know that your phone has started using Cellular at Sea?

[casper4095]

This will be my first cruise with an AT&T phone and I was just wondering if you know when your phone has started using Cellular at Sea? Will my screen actually say Cellular at Sea? How will we know the diffference between using the ships tower and a land tower?

[PattyG12]

Your display will say "Cellular at Sea" ... but it's really not that expensive. At least not compared to other things. I thought I'd do good last year calling home from the Bahamas. I called collect for a 2 minute chat to make sure everyone was ok. Phone call was $40. Yeah, so cell at sea isn't so bad.

[crusinmama06]

Call AT&T and find out the exact fees for it. My MIL has AT&T. She went on a cruise with us and kept chatting away on her cell phone. I kept telling her just because it says "Cellular at Sea" on your phone doesn't mean it's free. After the 4 day cruise, she came home to a $480 cell phone bill. :eek:

 

Yes I thought it was funny. :p I warned her. :D

[casper4095]

Thanks for the quick replies. I don't plan to use my phone on the ship but I know I will have service in St. Thomas and San Juan and I just wanted to make sure I will know the difference between using AT&T and "Cellular at Sea". I will be sure to call AT&T before I leave.:)

[wrp96]

Michelle, you are bad!:D

 

The display on your cell phone should say Cellullar at Sea when the onboard cell towers are on. The cost for AT&T customers should be $2.49 per minute.

 

One note, even if it doesn't say Cellular at Sea, it is best to assume that the cell towers are turned on unless the ship is not moving and is tied up to the pier in port.

[pam_1024]

We have AT&T also. Didn't make any cell calls at sea, but my son texted a couple of times. I was dreading seeing the phone bill, but it was only 50 cents per text so that wasnt too bad.

[WNcruiser]

I made three calls while on the ship (docked) in St Thomas. I was also dreading the bill. Well, it came and I was happy, it was Free!

 

The USVI must be part of their regular service. There was no roaming or international fees at all.

[Jfultz81]

Ours said on the phone and also when you made a call. A recorded message said something like "Thank you for roaming with cellular at sea".. maybe they've changed it, but we definitely knew!

 

Glad to hear its cheaper now. We made a call from the ship as we were leaving the dock. 7 minutes = $40. We could still see land!

[Shanafan]

I have AT&T as well and you can call for no additional charge from St Thomas and I believe San Juan as well. Someone may be able to verify that but I know we could use it twice on the Eastern route.

 

Be careful if you have the iPhone. If you turn it on it could start downloading all your emails. I just keep mine on airplane mode until we are in an area where I can make calls for free and then I know I will not be coming home to a huge bill.

[premiumrican]

Be careful if you have the iPhone. If you turn it on it could start downloading all your emails. I just keep mine on airplane mode until we are in an area where I can make calls for free and then I know I will not be coming home to a huge bill.

 

If you have the iphone, with the current updates you can turn off the email feature in the settings section. Just make sure you turn the feature off before you leave.

[wrp96]

I have AT&T as well and you can call for no additional charge from St Thomas and I believe San Juan as well. Someone may be able to verify that but I know we could use it twice on the Eastern route.

 

Yes, because San Juan and St. Thomas are in the US they are covered by AT&T's nationwide calling plan. There's nothing like calling home in the middle of winter from Trunk Bay (although the names they called me weren't very nice:p).

[BillPatrice]

If you have AT&T then any call you make are 2.49. Text messages are $.50 for any you send and if you have family or a message plan all received text messages are free. You will see a 5.99 charge (International text 100 messages) and a 5.99 credit on your bill if you receive messages. I had someone text me the baseball scores while I was on the EOS bermuda 9/20/08 and I was not billed for any received text messages. Also you are only charged when you see "celluar at Sea" on your phone - if you see AT&T the you are within US ( includes San juan and st Thomas). Any other display is a foriegn country. Although last year we were in st thomas and visited ST John Island and when on the other side we picked up st Maarten towers but a call I made was never charged

[springtxbill]

I have found that the time displayed on my phone is totally off real time when going on the ship's tower. Check the time and if it shows the different time, then you will be on their tower.

 

This does cause problems when using you cell phone as a wake up call on the last morning when the ship changes from their tower to land based during the early morning prior to arrival.:)

[irb33785]

I just had a long conversation with a Sprint representative yesterday. In Nassau, my phone showed International Roaming; however, at sea, nothing showed up (not even an "r" for roaming). I used my phone and got hit with $2.49 minute rate. The customer service supervisor told me that if you are on a ship and at sea, you should know and will be charged the roaming fees charged by the cruiseline. The notices they give you are suppose to be your notice.

[The Big Booper]

I know AT&T will work in Europe and on the ship but how about Verizon? Anybody have recent experience with them?

 

In 2007, wouldn't work in Europe or Mexico, because of different technologies used by them as opposed to AT&T.

 

Thanks

[kyriecat]

Verizon only works in Europe if you have an international phone. I had to buy one special since my husband and I travel overseas sometimes and his grandparents aren't in the best health. I used my phone in Italy and I think the rate was $0.89/minute. He has a regular US edition cell phone and it showed no service while we were there.

 

BTW - my Verizon phone did not show roaming or cellular at sea when we were away from port. I made sure to wait until I was on land to make any calls.

[Disneybridein2k3]

This is very timely! I was on the phone just this morning with AT&T checking on this very same thing. The website suggested calling ahead of your trip (we fly out this Saturday) to see if your phone works in all of the areas you will be in. Turns out our phones do work in all 4 areas (Haiti, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Ocho Rios) - she said it works on the ship as well. Everywhere we will be is $1.99/min except for Cozumel which is .99/min and on the ship which is @2.49/min. Texts are .50 each. I could have added AT&T World Traveler for $5.99/month and then the per min rate would have been 30 cents less everywhere except for the ship -- never a discount on the ship!

 

Here's the link:

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/international-roaming.jsp

[lance32]

Hi,

Last year on the LOS, my friends I-Phone actually showed at SEA!! Problem next month his bill had 500 dollars in roaming charges. ATT eventually reduced the bill to 250.00. This year he put his phone in airplane mode while aboard the ship. This mode shuts down all phone/text functions. He only used the phone while ashore. Bottom line if you have ATT, only use phone aboard for emergencies, otherwise you will be hit with roam charges at 1.85+ other charges per minute, very expensive. have a Great cruise!!

lance 32

[kyriecat]

This webpage has some of the information for Verizon Wireless users regarding phone coverage. If you have a standard US cell phone (not a global phone), you can call any of the couptries listed in the CDMA column in the table at the bottom of the page. The prices shown to the right will apply on a per minute basis. If you have a global phone (CDMA & GSM modes), you can call any of the countries on the list.

 

Here's something a little strange on the table. It shows a roaming rate for Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico but the bottom of the page shows Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands are included in the Nationwide Plans. I called and was told that there is not roaming charges for those islands.

 

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Global_Phone/plans_coverage.html

 

This page shows a list of the ships that have cell phone coverage. All are $2.49/minute for calls.

 

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/rates_coverage.html

[The Big Booper]

This webpage has some of the information for Verizon Wireless users regarding phone coverage. If you have a standard US cell phone (not a global phone), you can call any of the couptries listed in the CDMA column in the table at the bottom of the page. The prices shown to the right will apply on a per minute basis. If you have a global phone (CDMA & GSM modes), you can call any of the countries on the list.

 

Here's something a little strange on the table. It shows a roaming rate for Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico but the bottom of the page shows Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands are included in the Nationwide Plans. I called and was told that there is not roaming charges for those islands.

 

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Global_Phone/plans_coverage.html

 

This page shows a list of the ships that have cell phone coverage. All are $2.49/minute for calls.

 

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/rates_coverage.html

 

Thanks a lot.

[cruiserbryce]

the display on our phone changes from AT&T to Cellular at Sea

[love2vacation]

This webpage has some of the information for Verizon Wireless users regarding phone coverage. If you have a standard US cell phone (not a global phone), you can call any of the couptries listed in the CDMA column in the table at the bottom of the page. The prices shown to the right will apply on a per minute basis. If you have a global phone (CDMA & GSM modes), you can call any of the countries on the list.

 

Here's something a little strange on the table. It shows a roaming rate for Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico but the bottom of the page shows Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands are included in the Nationwide Plans. I called and was told that there is not roaming charges for those islands.

 

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Global_Phone/plans_coverage.html

 

This page shows a list of the ships that have cell phone coverage. All are $2.49/minute for calls.

 

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/rates_coverage.html

 

DH has At& T and I use Verizon. Used my phone in San Juan because it is part of my plan. Not sure if I used it in St. Thomas or not but I had no "extra" charges on my next bill. Our daughter called us several times while we where on our cruise and we used DH phone at sea a few times. I beleive he told me his bill had an extra 40.00 for that month. I was amazed at the reception though out at sea it had a bit of an echo.

[kyriecat]

DH has At& T and I use Verizon. Used my phone in San Juan because it is part of my plan. Not sure if I used it in St. Thomas or not but I had no "extra" charges on my next bill. Our daughter called us several times while we where on our cruise and we used DH phone at sea a few times. I beleive he told me his bill had an extra 40.00 for that month. I was amazed at the reception though out at sea it had a bit of an echo.

That's good to know. Thanks! I never whow whether to trust what they tell you on the phone or not. I'll be in both Puerto Rico and St. Thomas in April (that's WAY too long from now!) so I might use the opportunity to call and check on things at home. Unfortunately those are days 3 & 4 of a 14 day cruise so I'll have to find somewhere cheap to call from later in the cruise.

[love2vacation]

That's good to know. Thanks! I never whow whether to trust what they tell you on the phone or not. I'll be in both Puerto Rico and St. Thomas in April (that's WAY too long from now!) so I might use the opportunity to call and check on things at home. Unfortunately those are days 3 & 4 of a 14 day cruise so I'll have to find somewhere cheap to call from later in the cruise.

 

I specifically changed to Verizon in order to have San Juan in the calling plan and it is nice that we have different carriers specifically when we travel.

 

I always check my e-mail every couple days and you can use a lot of minutes just checking and answering the important things. My kids have been told to put anything important in the subject line so I can go right to those posts.;)

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[DaNana]

Thanks for the quick replies. I don't plan to use my phone on the ship but I know I will have service in St. Thomas and San Juan and I just wanted to make sure I will know the difference between using AT&T and "Cellular at Sea". I will be sure to call AT&T before I leave.:)

I have had A T & T for years with no roaming charges. St. Thomas was not on the free list. San Juan is part of the US but anywhere else I had to have overseas to get a better rate. They do have a special plan we will pay for a couple of months to insure we do not have outlandish charges. Asking A T & T is the best thing to do.:rolleyes: