Calling into work!

[sk8teacher]

Ooberdam, that's funny! No I'm just a speedy, yet not accurate typist!:p

 

Thanks for the info on the email. So....did I understand correctly, if you have your own lap top the internet is free? No fees? Hummmmm, that is interesting....perhaps I should invest in that ultra thin apple computer like I want, then I'd have it for the cruise......:rolleyes: or I suppose I could pay $10 bucks and save the rest!:o

 

Nope, you will still pay. The advantage is you can write your email offline and then log in, send, log off and save time. Internet costs will be $3.95 sign up, then packages are available. I normally get the 250 minute package for $100. If you sign up the first day you get free minutes added as well. With the 250 minute package you get an extra 20 minutes.

 

Cheers,

[SDadw01]

Wow, I thought cruising was meant to be relaxing....if the call is THAT important....relax, chill out!

[Boytjie]

On T-Mobil.....and I believe other carriers, if I drive down the coast from washington and make calls along the way it's logging in on towers all along the way. No problem if I have free long distance in and from anywhere in the US, I do. If I turn my phone off it is honed in on the last place I made a call from.

 

Unless the last tower checks periodically to see if your phone is still within range.

[Scorpiorose]

Yep, it's vital I call in, just that one time though so the rest of the cruise will be relaxing....I'll just send an email I suppose, and I wont run out and buy a lap top ;)

[gophercruiser]

The phone card you can purchase on board from Hal for $25, gives you 12 minutes of airtime back to the USA or Canada. You can phone from your room and there are no further charges, this card is not for use with cell phones.This is a satellite link and we used it three times on our recent 36 day Amazon cruise and had good reception in all places.

[LovetheFall]

The phone card you can purchase on board from Hal for $25, gives you 12 minutes of airtime back to the USA or Canada. You can phone from your room and there are no further charges, this card is not for use with cell phones.This is a satellite link and we used it three times on our recent 36 day Amazon cruise and had good reception in all places.

 

 

That is good to know - thanks for the info :) !

[Moriah]

Ooberdam, that's funny! No I'm just a speedy, yet not accurate typist!:p

 

Thanks for the info on the email. So....did I understand correctly, if you have your own lap top the internet is free?

Oh no! I didn't mean that at all! I just meant that if you have the laptop you can compose your message before you go online! Meaning you wouldn't be paying for composing time - just the time it takes to log onto your mailer and send it! The internet fees are exactly the same no matter whose computer you use. Laptop just means you can be online anywhere on the ship, and the aforementioned money "saving" tip. I need my laptop because I need its content for work, but everyone has different needs, and if I didn't "have to" take mine, I wouldn't. The PC's in the lounge are perfectly adequate for just an occasional email home or to the office.

Moriah

[cruisersmom]

My daughter works for HAL and has a global phone through T-Mobile. She has learned to have voice mail disconnected when she leaves the USA for a ship contract. Even if her phone is off and someone calls and it goes right to voice mail, there is a charge on her bill. The charge depends on where she is --$4.99/minute if her phone is on the ship and the voice mail delivery goes through SeaMobile or whatever it is called; the country charge if she is off the ship and on land. She learned this the hard way--several HUNDRED dollars in charges all to the same phone #, which I don't remember at the moment. After calling T-Mobile to find out who was calling from this number, they explained that it was their voice mail delivery number and told her what to do to keep the charges from appearing in the future--disconnect voice mail. After all, if a voice mail is being delivered--even if your phone is off--a connection is being made to a cell tower somewhere.

 

Text messaging IS the cheapest way to get in contact at 35 cents/min.

Internet cafes' on shore are another option if you're traveling with your laptop--they are often much faster than the service on the ship.

 

Hope this helps!

[Scorpiorose]

Thanks cruise mom, maybe that is what I'll do!!! It seems you've explained that better than I did and confirmed I am right, thanks!

[LovetheFall]

My daughter works for HAL and has a global phone through T-Mobile. She has learned to have voice mail disconnected when she leaves the USA for a ship contract. Even if her phone is off and someone calls and it goes right to voice mail, there is a charge on her bill. The charge depends on where she is --$4.99/minute if her phone is on the ship and the voice mail delivery goes through SeaMobile or whatever it is called; the country charge if she is off the ship and on land. She learned this the hard way--several HUNDRED dollars in charges all to the same phone #, which I don't remember at the moment. After calling T-Mobile to find out who was calling from this number, they explained that it was their voice mail delivery number and told her what to do to keep the charges from appearing in the future--disconnect voice mail. After all, if a voice mail is being delivered--even if your phone is off--a connection is being made to a cell tower somewhere.

 

Text messaging IS the cheapest way to get in contact at 35 cents/min.

Internet cafes' on shore are another option if you're traveling with your laptop--they are often much faster than the service on the ship.

 

Hope this helps!

 

This scared me so I called T-Mobile. I just got off the phone with them. There may be different plans out there, so you might want to check yourself, but here is what I was told:

I read the post above and the T-Mobile person said that, for my plan anyway, voice mail is not charged unless you actually call to retrieve it. What is charged - and this effects lots of us with newer phones - is email. If you have internet service on your phone, and you receive emails, and turn your phone on, all outstanding emails flood into it and you are charged a certain amount per mega byte or gigabyte or something. Sorry, I don't remember the amount, but it was pricey. T-Mobile says there is no way to turn this off. My husband sends and receives lots of emails a day for business on his phone. I do not have my phone set up for email. So, if we absolutely need to make a call or text message, we will use my phone, and make sure his stays off for the duration of the cruise. In the end, I would caution everyone to call their service provider and make sure about these things upfront so a wonderful cruise isn't marred by a huge phone bill when you get home.

[Alexat2]

They also cautioned about making sure the phones were off or in airplane mode when not in use, because if someone calls you and it rings, you are charged the $4.99 rate when onboard the ship, even if you don't answer (not sure I understand that).

Texting is much cheaper - $ .35 to send or receive.

 

The cheaper option, since you have t-mobile, is by a satellite calling card at the pursers desk. It's cheaper. If i remember right it's something like $25 for either 10 or 12 minutes.

 

Lydia

[Boytjie]

This scared me so I called T-Mobile. I just got off the phone with them. There may be different plans out there, so you might want to check yourself, but here is what I was told:

I read the post above and the T-Mobile person said that, for my plan anyway, voice mail is not charged unless you actually call to retrieve it.

 

That makes sense to me. :)

 

What is charged - and this effects lots of us with newer phones - is email. If you have internet service on your phone, and you receive emails, and turn your phone on, all outstanding emails flood into it and you are charged a certain amount per mega byte or gigabyte or something. Sorry, I don't remember the amount, but it was pricey. T-Mobile says there is no way to turn this off.

 

That sounds a bit strange. There is 'push' and 'pull' technology: either your mobile 'pull's email from the server to your phone or it is 'pushed' to your phone. I had a Blackberry which 'pushed' email to my phone when it arrived on the server - and could alert me any time of day or night. I was not going to have alerts from spam email waking me up in the middle of the night! I switched to a Palm Treo where I could specify when to check for email (e.g. every hour between 8 am and 10 pm) and you could also set it to not automatically check for email, but only when you manually requested it. That was on T- Mobile. I know have a Palm Centro with AT&T service and have the same set-up. Maybe it is different with different phone models.

 

 

In the end, I would caution everyone to call their service provider and make sure about these things upfront so a wonderful cruise isn't marred by a huge phone bill when you get home.

 

I also believe that it depends on who you talk with - they can give out conflicting information.

[navybankerteacher]

Sorry to be confusing.....

 

We leave San Diago on Sat.

We have a sea day Sun.

Arrive in Cabo on Mon (thanks northshorecruisers)

 

So.....I need to call mon. morning, early.....we will be coming into port I believe, ready to disembark to cabo at 8:00 am. I need to call before then.

 

So.....I too have T-Mobil, so in Cabo does that mean it's $1.49 a min. I could call when we arrive in port.

 

What do you think if I send an email (no one mentioned if this is something I can do easily on Sunday night)

 

Then try to put a call in while we are docking in Cabo, just to make sure the message gets through. Would this be a reasonable plan?

 

You can sign up for an internet package - good email access - much less expensive than ship-to-shore phone. You can get an hour's connect time for the cost of two very brief phone calls. Keep in touch via email when at sea, and phone in from port calls.