Cell phones in St. Thomas

[hopelea]

My sister thinks that she needs to call home to check in at work and with her oldest DS. She was wondering if cell phones worked in ports. With St. Thomas being part of the USVI, are the charges as high?

(I leave my phone locked in the car at the port :) )

Thanks

[richtersl]

My sister thinks that she needs to call home to check in at work and with her oldest DS. She was wondering if cell phones worked in ports. With St. Thomas being part of the USVI, are the charges as high?

 

(I leave my phone locked in the car at the port :) )

 

Thanks

There is cell phone service on St. Thomas but you'll have to pay roaming charges. When we were there 3 years ago, service was spotty and you couldn't always get a signal but we were able to make a few quick calls. You might want to check with your provider to see how much they charge for roaming.

 

You may not get service in any of the non-U.S. ports -- not be because there's no service but because they don't support your provider. Hopefully someone will be able to chime in on that for you. I've never been able to get service in foreign ports, but that may have changed.

[wwinfl91]

We got AT&T service in San Juan and St Thomas without too much trouble. I'm sorry I don't know what the roaming charges were. I know there were some as there were when we were in Vancouver earlier this year.

 

Whatever you pay for your cell phone will be much cheaper than using the phone in your cabin. Another option is getting a phone card and then using one of the many phone booths you will find on the docks in St Thomas. You will have to compete with the cruise ship crews to use them but they would be an option.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[Betsy's Mom]

We lived in St. Thomas for many years and used AT&T with no roaming charges. Never had a problem. I cannot speak for any other provider.

B.

[delco]

I have used AT&T in St. Thomas and San Juan without any roaming charges.

[msmayor]

Contact your cell carrier to get a definitive answer, as it may depend on the plan you have.

 

I have T-Mobile My Faves plan with 700 included minutes, and I was told that in both San Juan and St. Thomas any calls would only be charged against my regular minutes with no roaming fees. I did have to activate international calling for the phone to work, but there was no fee to do so.

[dcrow72]

Verizon has roaming charges. My phone worked 2 weeks ago, but I think it's going to cost me $2 a minute; have to see when the bill comes!

[Scooter-n-GB]

Our AT&T Plan considers St. Thomas to be domestic, and it is covered as part of our nationwide calling plan, with NO roaming charges.

[hopelea]

Thanks for all the input. I emailed my sister and told her what everyone has said. She has Verizon and will call Verizon to see what they say.

Glad I don't have that problem. I don't want to have any contact with the mainland while I am on vacation.

[skiorcruise]

We were on St Thomas in late October. Wife used her cell phone to talk to the adult kids scattered over the country, and a call to a shop on the island. Perhaps 20 minutes, not more than 30 for the 4 or 5 calls. My bill for the month was about $15 more than the "normal" bill. Checked totals via the phone, I haven't seen the breakdown yet. I dont' think we went over our minutes for the month, so it is probably roaming charges. We use Verizon. Good service, nice and clear.