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Phone Reception on Ship in Alaska


hubofhockey
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When docked you are in cities or really towns in the US so you should find reception as well as WiFi to be no problem. When at sea the service should be poor to bad as it generally is at sea. Not as sure of Hoonah.

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If we try to use our phone while traveling fron one port to anothet will it be roaming ?

 

 

 

It very well could be. And if you ping off the ships tower, it will be expensive.

 

 

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We've had good cell reception in each port. Roaming may depend on what plan you have with your carrier.

 

The area to be careful for is while traveling through Canadian waters. Could be costly international roaming charges there.

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We've had good cell reception in each port. Roaming may depend on what plan you have with your carrier.

 

The area to be careful for is while traveling through Canadian waters. Could be costly international roaming charges there.

 

Most unlimited ATT plans now include free data and roaming for both Canada and Mexico. Everyone should check their plans before they go.

 

When we do certain european itineraries, the ships stay close enough to shore where we had service even at sea (Adriatic - in particular). I was wondering if that was the same for Alaska. Someone previously said that was not the case.

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When on the ship you will see Cellular at Sea on your phone instead of AT&T. That is the ship's tower and is expensive. You can get a cellular at sea package with AT&T. I get the one that has a certain amount of minutes and texting.

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When on the ship you will see Cellular at Sea on your phone instead of AT&T. That is the ship's tower and is expensive. You can get a cellular at sea package with AT&T. I get the one that has a certain amount of minutes and texting.

 

Just to clarify, as long as the usual "AT&T" shows up in the top left corner of an iPhone like at home, that means you're connected to an Alaskan tower? (Ignore the Canada issue, not concerned with that.)

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Just to clarify, as long as the usual "AT&T" shows up in the top left corner of an iPhone like at home, that means you're connected to an Alaskan tower? (Ignore the Canada issue, not concerned with that.)

 

Correct. The ship should turn off their tower when docked. It is always good to check the corner before calling to verify which tower you are using. We have elderly parents so need to be able to be reached so we take one phone with a cellular at sea plan. We also get the voom plan for the basic internet. We both bring tablets to check our email etc.

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Correct. The ship should turn off their tower when docked. It is always good to check the corner before calling to verify which tower you are using. We have elderly parents so need to be able to be reached so we take one phone with a cellular at sea plan. We also get the voom plan for the basic internet. We both bring tablets to check our email etc.

 

Thanks, I'm used to cruising in the Caribbean and leaving airplane mode on for the entire time while using wifi for everything else including phone calls via Facetime.

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I’m gathering from this & other threads, Verizon isn’t a popular choice nor great service in AK- is that correct?Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Verizon established their presence here a couple of years ago. One of field techs has Verizon and he gets decent coverage across the state.

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Just to clarify, as long as the usual "AT&T" shows up in the top left corner of an iPhone like at home, that means you're connected to an Alaskan tower? (Ignore the Canada issue, not concerned with that.)

 

My understanding is that evening though you may not be using the phone in Canadian waters, if your phone is on and there is cell service and someone sends you a text, your charged the international rate if your plan doesn't allow for international calls.

 

Is that not the case?

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My understanding is that evening though you may not be using the phone in Canadian waters, if your phone is on and there is cell service and someone sends you a text, your charged the international rate if your plan doesn't allow for international calls.

 

Is that not the case?

 

No clue, I plan to keep my phone in airplane mode in all waters as well as when our cruise ends in Vancouver. I was only interested in cell service when in port in Alaska.

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Verizon established their presence here a couple of years ago. One of field techs has Verizon and he gets decent coverage across the state.

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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When we do certain european itineraries, the ships stay close enough to shore where we had service even at sea (Adriatic - in particular). I was wondering if that was the same for Alaska. Someone previously said that was not the case.

 

Yes, you'll have sporadic coverage along the inside passage as well as in each port. There are cell towers in some of the small towns along the way that you can connect through as you sail past, unless you keep your cell phone in airplane mode the entire way. Problem is there can be many miles with no communities and no cell service.

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Last week my phone connected to AT&T LTE in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan just fine on the ship while it was in port and usually a good half hour to 1 hour before and after leaving. It depends on how slow the ship is going and range of the the tower. Also I don’t think inside cabins will have good reception.

 

 

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Last week my phone connected to AT&T LTE in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan just fine on the ship while it was in port and usually a good half hour to 1 hour before and after leaving. It depends on how slow the ship is going and range of the the tower. Also I don’t think inside cabins will have good reception.

 

Good to hear. Thanks for the report!

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Last week my phone connected to AT&T LTE in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan just fine on the ship while it was in port and usually a good half hour to 1 hour before and after leaving. It depends on how slow the ship is going and range of the the tower. Also I don’t think inside cabins will have good reception.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Great news! We have AT&T also. Hubby is business owner and needs to be accessible and I need to be able to check on my 88 year old Mother. We did get the VOOM for WiFi calling on the ship but we are on land most days and then we are also doing 3 day inland post cruisetour.

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I am a Consumer Cellular customer and have the older style phone; not a smart phone by any stretch of the imagination. It's my understanding that my Company does rely on the AT&T Network.

 

In Juneau, I tried to use the phone when I was in my stateroom and was unable to do so. An error message appeared that indicated that something was wrong with the SIM card. After leaving the ship, I tried using the phone on the dock. It worked! (That was a great relief because I really needed to make the call.)

 

Ask me not why this happened. I have no idea.

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I called AT&T today My plan offers 50 mins of calling and unlimited text while on ship for $50. the rep said the next plan is unlimited calls and texts with 200 megabytes and $6.14 per megabyte after using the 200 She said most economical is buy the $50 plan and the ships data plan....if you want both She doubled checked to make sure Princess Star has AT&T reception

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I have cricket which runs on AT&T towers. I had reception in skagway and juneau this week while docked. It was great when my balcony door was opened. Noticeably slower when it was closed.

 

I like using these prepaid plans because I don’t have to worry about roaming. My phone just wouldn’t work (in terms of connection) when I’m out of my service area :) But I have the plan that included use in Canada and Mexico.

 

I had been a long time AT&T customer but felt I was just paying too much and coworker finally convinced me to switch.

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

VERIZON -- When To Check For Service?

If we try to use our phone while traveling fron one port to anothet will it be roaming ?

 

Verizon has told me I have service in Alaska. I was wondering, though, if I turn on my phone and don't see "Verizon" but get a voicemail or call while I am checking if I have service in port, what happens (i.e., will I be charged for roaming?)? Should I wait until I am off the ship to check or am I safe to do this once we dock? Any tips from fellow Verizon customers?

 

THANKS! :)

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Verizon worked fine for me on the land portion of our trip last year & in Sitka, Juneau and Ketchikan. I can't recall if I used it in Skagway,but it's probably fine there.

 

I didn't get data service or only very spotty in Icy Stair (didn't try it in Hoonah), Haines & Wrangell.

 

If I had service in port, I wasn't charged for it - didn't matter whether it was Verizon or roaming.

 

The case where you need to be careful is while at sea. Charges for Cellular at Sea can be high.

 

My plan includes service in Canada.

 

Sent from my Pixel using Forums mobile app

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