cell phones in Alaska

[Markanddonna]

I saw so many teens on board using their cell phones and know that many cruises advertise "cellular at sea". Do their parents understand the rates these phones are charged. How much is it? I just made calls when in Alaskan ports away from the ship.

Can you imagine getting a bill for $500+ when you get home?

[caa]

We had actual AT&T service a lot of the time while we were on the ship -- even in Glacier Bay. I was quite surprised.

[PennyAgain]

Yes, a lot of parents get surprises when they look at their bills after their cruises.

 

One of my work mates is out on an Alaskan cruise this minute. She telephoned to let me know that they had made the ship after flight delays that made them very nervous. Flew in the day of cruise departure. In any case, I asked her which phone she was using as the company doesn't pay for 'Cellular at Sea' service.

 

She was using her own cell phone but said 'ooops' and made the call short.

 

The cruise ships count on this!

[Joy2theWorld]

We had actual AT&T service a lot of the time while we were on the ship -- even in Glacier Bay. I was quite surprised.

 

So, did you leave your phone on the whole time? I don't want to pay for when we aren't at AT&T service areas, so, I'm not sure how you know. Otherwise, you get stuck paying the high rates for text messages, calls, etc... that are received, even if you don't make a call.

[mountainhouse]

Maybe it was my model of phone, but, with Verizon, I could not see anything to tell when we were using ship's connection vs. the shore connection. I just never used it when the ship wasn't docked.

 

We were doing a whale watching excursion out of Icy Straight on Father's Day. I remembered I wanted to call my father when were near Pt. Adolphus (outside Glacier Bay). Phone worked fine. With such good shore connections, I wish I had some way to disable access to the ship's service at $2.49 a minute. :eek:

[dazzie25]

I played around with our phones the other night to see if I could turn the signal off without actually turning off the phone. We have become somewhat dependant on the alarm clock setting and the time being on the phones! I have a Nokia and in the profiles settings there is an offline choice. I selected that, then tried to call my phone. Straight to voice mail. R has an LG Slider. On that phone I was able to select the profile for Flight and it did the same thing. That makes the phone still usable for us as the alarm clocks, etc but will not recieve any calls or texts. YAY!! Now I won't have to pack an alarm clock. More room for souveniers!!:D

[caa]

So, did you leave your phone on the whole time? I don't want to pay for when we aren't at AT&T service areas, so, I'm not sure how you know. Otherwise, you get stuck paying the high rates for text messages, calls, etc... that are received, even if you don't make a call.

 

Yes, I left the phone on. My company pays for basic service, and they would also pay for business calls if they had to reach me while at sea. Also, I have parents and in-laws who are all getting older, and we like to be reachable in case anything should happen to them. Family and friends knew we were on vacation and they could call in case of emergency, but not to chat. We have text messages blocked, so that's not an issue for us. Fortunately there were no emergencies of any kind, so the phone never even rang.

[KAYEF]

Our pre-paid cell 'phone works everywhere..................even in Canada and Mexico

and

far, far out to sea on a TA. I'm sure it was using the ship's cell towers out to sea but when it's a pre-pay that doesn't matter...............it just uses whatever service it can access.

 

ON the ship on our first cruise, we took walkie-talkies.............just something else to carry and noise which bothers others...........we now leave them home.

 

We decide when and where to connect and leave notes in the cabin if needed.

[CruisinRoxy]

We have Verizon, so I called to make sure what the policy is. DS is over-the-top with text messages. This is what they told me. If you are on the ship - even when it is docked - you pay ship charges via the cellular-at-sea program. That is, $2.49 per minute for calls, fifty cents per text out, five cents per text in. IF your feet are planted on land, no charges for texts or calls, per your phone plan, if you have a national plan, that is. In Vancouver, obviously, it would be international charges and roaming.

So, bottom line, I told the family, anything you want or need to say, wait til you are on land to say it!:) If not, you will be paying the bill.

[rae8836]

Cell phone charges are not a matter of where _you_ are but are a matter of what tower your phone is connecting with. Ships have their own 'cell towers' which connect back to shore via ship's satellite connection. These shipboard 'cell towers' are only supposed to be active when the ship is at sea. When the ship is in port the 'cell tower' is supposed to be disabled. However, sometimes they forget to flip the switch - not too long ago a cruise line was significantly fined due to a ship that left the 'tower' on when they were tied to a dock.

 

The key is you have to know what tower or vendor your phone is connected to. Most all phones do, or can be made to, display the vendor they are connected to. Even the most basic phone will say 'roaming' if it is not connected to it's normal vendor.

 

If your phone says 'Cellular at Sea' - you are on the ship's facility even if you are docked - you could even get this from on shore if you are close to the ship and the ship's facility is activated. OTOH, if your phone says 'AT&T' or 'Verizon' or 'Rogers' or such, you are _not_ on the ship's facility even if you are standing on deck watching the port recede into the mist.

 

Many times during coastal voyages like the Alaska Inside Passage run you can get shore providers from the ship. However, there are no certain rules beyond what it says on the phone. You need to find out how your phone displays the carrier to which it is connected and you need to pay attention to that display!

 

RAE

[gsarnow]

If you are on the ship rates, will you always get the message first? If it says, entering "Sprint" does that mean you are in the Sprint network or do the ship rates apply?

[CRUISERSWITHKIDS]

Our family all have the iphone. The only time that we had our phone out of the safe was when we were in port. It will tell you up in the corner of this model if you are on celular at sea or if you are on an AT&T tower. When we weren't in port, we made sure that the data roam and the data push option were off, it was set to airplane mode and the power off. At that point, no information can be sent to your phone. Just another bit of information.

Also, I was told that the ship did not make anything from the use of their tower. That it was the cell phone company that will be sending you that hefty bill! Was I given misinformation on that?

[greatam]

I'm sure it was using the ship's cell towers out to sea but when it's a pre-pay that doesn't matter...............it just uses whatever service it can access.

 

.

 

Oh, but it DOES matter. Using prepaid cell service via a third party system is a good way to get your prepaid cell PERMANENTLY turned off.

 

TracPhone just turns your phone off if you use your TracPhone repeatedly to access third party systems-including 900 numbers, hotel systems AND ship cell towers. And you cannot REACTIVATE the phone using the same credit/debit card number with the same phone number. TracPhone lost over $1,000,000 last year from third party billings which they were not able to collect. Carlos Slim, one of the richest men in the world and the owner of TracPhone, DID NOT get very wealthy allowing people to steal service. So now they just cut off the phone and will not reactivate them.

 

Our office just got notice from Verizon referencing the same type of policy for Verizon prepaid cell phones. We have over 60 regular Verizon phones, but we have 6 prepaid phones that employees who have a problem using the regular phones responsibly get. Verizon is now billing our corporate account for any third party numbers on the pre paid phones. BUT if we did not have the corporate account, the notice stated they would merely shut off the phone and before it would be turned back on, you would have to pay ALL third party billings plus reactivation fee.

 

Cell companies are loosing a lot of money through prepaid systems with third party billings. They won't let it continue. They consider it "stealing".

[PennyAgain]

The cruise lines MUST make something off those cell towers on the ships or they would not have them.

 

Whether is it money or electronic upgrades to their own systems and needs, I have no idea.

 

But cruise lines do everything in their power to make money. Cell Service has to be part of that story or they would not do it.

 

If you cell phone says ROGERS, you are going to pay very high Canadian rates, most especially if you have an IPhone. This warning has been on Cruise Critic for a long time.

[rae8836]

gsarnow;

 

What it says on your cell phone rules. If it says 'Sprint', you are not on the ship's tower, no matter where you might be standing. The thing to watch out for is 'Cellular at Sea', which _is_ the ship's tower. Others have indicated that you also need to watch out for 'Rogers' if you aren't one of their Canadian customers. It is my understanding (won't get a chance to actually verify it until 14Aug) that AT&T is available in many towns and along some of the coast.

 

RAE

[fenstersuzy]

On our HAL cruise last week, the cruise director advised us all (over the PA system) to turn off our phones to avoid accidentally using the ship cell tower and recieving a "million dollar phone bill". I don't think they would give that warning if they would be making the bucks from it.

[Leuser1]

We just returned from a great week on Celebrity Infinity. I had a sick relative and wanted to be in touch with the family back home. I was surprised to get Sprint coverage along the coast. I just turned the phone on and if it said "international", I turned it off. If it said "Sprint", I started texting. It was better than I expected.

[1hotflyer]

What is wrong with the phone in the cabin?

[greatam]

What is wrong with the phone in the cabin?

 

$8-15 per minute.

[NMLady]

We have Verizon, so I called to make sure what the policy is. DS is over-the-top with text messages. This is what they told me. If you are on the ship - even when it is docked - you pay ship charges via the cellular-at-sea program. That is, $2.49 per minute for calls, fifty cents per text out, five cents per text in. IF your feet are planted on land, no charges for texts or calls, per your phone plan, if you have a national plan, that is. In Vancouver, obviously, it would be international charges and roaming.

So, bottom line, I told the family, anything you want or need to say, wait til you are on land to say it!:) If not, you will be paying the bill.

 

We have Verizon's Nationwide plan and when we were in Hawaii, in Kona, I sat on the ship by the pool, making phone calls and there were no charges, just the minutes.

[PennyAgain]

Not only is using the wired phone in your room expensive, but it is not private.

 

I confirmed last week that Alaska passed a very strick law which forbids ships to keep their repeater systems on when in or near Alaskan ports. I would still watch for that "Cellular at Sea" warning when you turn your phone on.

[greatam]

On our HAL cruise last week, the cruise director advised us all (over the PA system) to turn off our phones to avoid accidentally using the ship cell tower and recieving a "million dollar phone bill". I don't think they would give that warning if they would be making the bucks from it.

 

TOOOOOO many complaints to the cruise line and requests for "compensation" over some of those HUGE phone bills cruise passengers (and especially teenagers) run up using the cell tower.

 

Third party billing systems bill the cell provider at XXX per minute (I have heard by way of a "veiled" comment from our Verizon corporate rep that the rate is "half"). Then your cell provider can bill you whatever they want, although most charge $2.49 per minute for phone use and different rates for texts. Out of the money the sat/cell phone providers on the ship make, the cruise line gets a portion. VERY similar to the arrangements on cruise ships for the stores, spas and hair salons that operate in cruise ship space but are not actually owned by the cruise line.

[dogdoc2002]

Cell phone charges are not a matter of where _you_ are but are a matter of what tower your phone is connecting with. Ships have their own 'cell towers' which connect back to shore via ship's satellite connection. These shipboard 'cell towers' are only supposed to be active when the ship is at sea. When the ship is in port the 'cell tower' is supposed to be disabled. However, sometimes they forget to flip the switch - not too long ago a cruise line was significantly fined due to a ship that left the 'tower' on when they were tied to a dock.

 

The key is you have to know what tower or vendor your phone is connected to. Most all phones do, or can be made to, display the vendor they are connected to. Even the most basic phone will say 'roaming' if it is not connected to it's normal vendor.

 

If your phone says 'Cellular at Sea' - you are on the ship's facility even if you are docked - you could even get this from on shore if you are close to the ship and the ship's facility is activated. OTOH, if your phone says 'AT&T' or 'Verizon' or 'Rogers' or such, you are _not_ on the ship's facility even if you are standing on deck watching the port recede into the mist.

 

Many times during coastal voyages like the Alaska Inside Passage run you can get shore providers from the ship. However, there are no certain rules beyond what it says on the phone. You need to find out how your phone displays the carrier to which it is connected and you need to pay attention to that display!

 

RAE

 

Not trying to be dense, but I looked multiple times on our phones and can't find this. We have US Cellular as our carrier, and we have LG UX 260 phones.

Thanks!

[greatam]

Not trying to be dense, but I looked multiple times on our phones and can't find this. We have US Cellular as our carrier, and we have LG UX 260 phones.

Thanks!

 

SOME phones do not display anything other than maybe a "roaming" sign-no carrier name, nothing (DH has one and we have 3 or 4 company phones that don't display anything). As a general rule, IF you are on the ship and the ship is moving, you are connected to the expensive ship cell towers.

 

Call your cell provider and ask about your SPECIFIC model.

[dogdoc2002]

SOME phones do not display anything other than maybe a "roaming" sign-no carrier name, nothing (DH has one and we have 3 or 4 company phones that don't display anything). As a general rule, IF you are on the ship and the ship is moving, you are connected to the expensive ship cell towers.

 

Call your cell provider and ask about your SPECIFIC model.

 

Thanks. Thought I was just overlooking the obvious. Some of the previous posts made it sound so simple to do.

dogdoc2002