Communicating with home while cruising?

[francie2]

This is my first post although I have gained a wealth of info from reading posts for the past several months.

 

We are taking a Scenic cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest departing June 1. I understand that internet is unlikely to be available on board and I believe that cell phones don't work. How do people communicate with home (in Canada) while river cruising? Accessing internet in port is not ideal for us since we have minor children at home and really want more immediate access if necessary. I am thinking about minor emergencies like "Mom I need permission to attend a field trip tomorrow." That sort of thing.

 

Please help.

[ddschur]

There are varied opinions on your question including the purchase of cards, etc.

 

I have looked at them all including purchasing unlocked phones, buying SIM cards, buying prepaid calling cards but I have chosen what I describe below as the easiest way to communicate.

 

My preference that has worked for us for many, many years of travel is to purchase a telephone and service from: www.mobal.com

 

You purchase the phone which is yours to keep forever. Just bring it out whenever you travel anywhere in the world. You also get a permanent telephone number to be used with the phone for incoming calls...UK based number.

 

You set up an account with credit card and you are billed on the account for only what you use! No annuals fees, no monthly fees, etc...just what you use. Typically European calls bill at ~$1.25 per minute...keep it brief! (You just need to update credit card info...periodically).

 

The rates are not cheap but for the quick "how are ya is everything OK?" type calls it is great.

 

Have used it for many years throughout Europe and South America and the quality is outstanding and extremely convenient.

[paul929207]

We use the internet cafe in ports to checkin with home.

[AZPam]

I had set times during the morning and evenings that I would turn my cell phone on. If the family needed to talk to me or send me a text they knew to try during those times. That ended up working pretty well actually.

[steamboats]

francie2,

 

Generally spoken cell phones do work on river cruise ships. There might be spots where you won´t get a signal. As long as your cell phone is working in Europe it will work on a river cruise ship.

 

steamboats

[WIT]

francie2 - We each have quad-band phones from our US carrier, AT&T. They actually have better call quality overseas. For one phone we forward all calls to a trusted family member in the US. The other is left on 24/7 to receive calls. We used Mobal on our original European trip and despite our best efforts, few family members saved the new number and those that did had difficulty with their first experience with international dialing. While calls made with the Mobal phone are inexpensive, incoming calls cost more.

 

I think my rate is $1.24/minute both incoming/outgoing. One must notify the carrier to add international dialing.

 

We also considered Telestial, who providea a European number for your quad band phone. One dials, hangs up, then the company calls you back with a dial tone you can reach US numbers with. Inexpensive but complicated.

 

WIT

[JerseyGem]

I haven't used Scenic tours (we cruised with GCT), and I'm from the USA, not Canada, but here's my advice anyway:

 

Call your cell phone provider and verify whether or not you will be able to receive and make phone calls and text messages while on your cruise. If so, ask the prices! We were able to add international service to our phone package for a small fee. We found that texting was a lot cheaper than talking.

 

Also, GCT ships have a computer onboard (without Internet hook-up), and we could type up an email message and the front desk staff would send it for us. Our family could then reply to our message (and then had the proper address for future emails). Call your tour company and ask about this on your ship. We were also given a phone number to call the ship directly (obviously expensive from North America- but great for true emergencies).

 

For non-emergencies, you may just need to let the adult-in-charge use their discretion about class trips, parties, etc. I guess you should include some guidelines in the document you leave with them authorizing them to be temporary guardians (or whatever you have to do in Canada). And then try not to worry on your cruise!

[francie2]

Thanks so much for all your replies. Not knowing whether we will actually have an internet connection available definitely adds to the challenge!

[tobes]

We walk into the first cell phone store we see and buy a prepaid chip that we pop in our world blackberry. When we get back to our home airport, we pop our chip back in and call for our ride!:)

 

 

 

We are taking a Scenic cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest departing June 1. I understand that internet is unlikely to be available on board and I believe that cell phones don't work. How do people communicate with home (in Canada) while river cruising? Accessing internet in port is not ideal for us since we have minor children at home and really want more immediate access if necessary. I am thinking about minor emergencies like "Mom I need permission to attend a field trip tomorrow." That sort of thing.

 

Please help.

[fred111]

I have travelled in Europe numerous times and have found Telestial to be the best option. I purchased a SIM chip from them. It includes a 1-800 number that people calling you can use for free (for them). I bought a $20 Nokia at a cell phone store in Munich years ago and it still works. 220V charger comes with it. Just plug in the SIM chip and it works like a charm all over Europe.

[sjde]

ddschur-

We also have used a mobal phone, though it won't work on ocean cruises and so we haven't found a good solution for that situation.

 

Sue

[ddschur]

ddschur-

We also have used a mobal phone, though it won't work on ocean cruises and so we haven't found a good solution for that situation.

 

Sue

 

 

Sue,

 

I checked the Mobal website and they claim that all of their phones work on "cruise lines/ferries" with the exception of the budget phone.

 

The rates are pretty high at $1.95USD per minute but, again, for a quick "how are ya" kind of call it is convenient and not prohibitively expensive compared to the other options...IMHO.