Roaming charges

At what point does roaming charges kick in? Is it once you board the ship or once they sail away? I will not be getting the Internet packages but I would like to post a few pics from the ship on social media before I sail off.

Thanks in advance

If I had to hazard a guess (we put ours on Airplane Mode as soon as we board) I would think that it is when the ship sails to International Waters. But that is only a guess.....

Roaming is potentially any time your cellphone is connected to the ships or another countrys or even regions cell network. Depends on your plan and your phone settings - if it automatically connects to strongest signal you could be paying through the nose for 'cellular at sea' before the ship even leaves the dock; if you manually select the provider you could be cruising along the coast and still able to get your 'home' network. Cruiseships usually don't have the 'cell at sea' turned on at the docks, but the exact time they turn it on and off will vary in every port.

Not knowing your phone provider, phone model, OS, data plan or your cruise route all I can suggest is to contact your provider and ask them - get it straight from the horses mouth about whether they have a plan you could change to, or an add-on you could pay a fee for, that will let you get 'home' privileges in your various ports if that's something you want. At sea proper the only available option is the 'tower' onboard the ship so be sure to turn off any auto-connect Roaming options on your phone!

Also, if you do plan to use your phone even for WiFi access only in ports, be aware of the time settings - often the default is to swap to the time zone that the WiFi access point or cell signal is using. If you have a watch for timekeeping, no worries - but if you use your phone as a clock and it changes in port you may end up arriving back at the dock after the ship left and a whole world of hurt opens up for you! Not a super common scenario of course, but sounds like you are a first timer so a potentially very handy thing to be made aware of!!!

It is once the ship is far enough from land that it can no longer connect to the cellular towers. If you disable roaming; it will stop working once you are out of range.

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It is once the ship is far enough from land that it can no longer connect to the cellular towers. If you disable roaming; it will stop working once you are out of range.

 

 

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Thank you. I’ll do that

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Roaming is potentially any time your cellphone is connected to the ships or another countrys or even regions cell network. Depends on your plan and your phone settings - if it automatically connects to strongest signal you could be paying through the nose for 'cellular at sea' before the ship even leaves the dock; if you manually select the provider you could be cruising along the coast and still able to get your 'home' network. Cruiseships usually don't have the 'cell at sea' turned on at the docks, but the exact time they turn it on and off will vary in every port.

 

 

 

Not knowing your phone provider, phone model, OS, data plan or your cruise route all I can suggest is to contact your provider and ask them - get it straight from the horses mouth about whether they have a plan you could change to, or an add-on you could pay a fee for, that will let you get 'home' privileges in your various ports if that's something you want. At sea proper the only available option is the 'tower' onboard the ship so be sure to turn off any auto-connect Roaming options on your phone!

 

 

 

Also, if you do plan to use your phone even for WiFi access only in ports, be aware of the time settings - often the default is to swap to the time zone that the WiFi access point or cell signal is using. If you have a watch for timekeeping, no worries - but if you use your phone as a clock and it changes in port you may end up arriving back at the dock after the ship left and a whole world of hurt opens up for you! Not a super common scenario of course, but sounds like you are a first timer so a potentially very handy thing to be made aware of!!!

Yes I am first timer. I actually did call AT&T to find out if they have a cruise package and they do not but they said I can use it at the port for $10 a day. Thank you for your advice about the time issue.

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At what point does roaming charges kick in? Is it once you board the ship or once they sail away? I will not be getting the Internet packages but I would like to post a few pics from the ship on social media before I sail off.

Thanks in advance

Depending on the ship, you may find that there are cell towers on the ship, and your phone will continue to function when at sea. Check with your cell carrier's website and search for cruise ship coverage. You may find that even with roaming off, your cell is still able to make and receive calls and texts while at sea. In other words, you may have to put the phone in Airplane mode if you want to ensure no charges from the cell company.

Depending on the ship, you may find that there are cell towers on the ship, and your phone will continue to function when at sea. Check with your cell carrier's website and search for cruise ship coverage. You may find that even with roaming off, your cell is still able to make and receive calls and texts while at sea. In other words, you may have to put the phone in Airplane mode if you want to ensure no charges from the cell company.

If your roaming is off (not just data but voice also); your phone will not connect to a roaming network. So if the network isn’t included in your plan, it won’t connect. So no surprise charges. I always start w all roaming off and occasionally turn voice roaming on if I need to make a call when out of network.

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If your roaming is off (not just data but voice also); your phone will not connect to a roaming network. So if the network isn’t included in your plan, it won’t connect. So no surprise charges. I always start w all roaming off and occasionally turn voice roaming on if I need to make a call when out of network.

My roaming is always off, yet my phone still connects to the Cellular at Sea service on the ship while at sea. I can make and receive voice calls for $2.49 per minute and send texts for $0.50 per text.

You will know because instead of seeing your carrier name or the name of another carrier they use outside the USA you won't see this and you will see the description for the ship.

We do turn our phone off or put it in Airplane mode prior to leaving port and do not turn it on until we are docked or if anchored close enough to land to get the local signal.

Keith

My roaming is always off, yet my phone still connects to the Cellular at Sea service on the ship while at sea. I can make and receive voice calls for $2.49 per minute and send texts for $0.50 per text.

Sounds like you have data roaming off but cellular roaming on.

The charge for roaming varies depending on your carrier. My carrier is T-Mobile (US) and their charge is $6 per minute on any cruise line I've checked but (thankfully) T-Mobile doesn't support cruise ship data roaming. But with terrestrial service in most countries data roaming is free and calls are only 20 cents per minute so I depend on the carrier selection menu and stay off the Cellular at Sea choices.

My roaming is always off, yet my phone still connects to the Cellular at Sea service on the ship while at sea. I can make and receive voice calls for $2.49 per minute and send texts for $0.50 per text.

Then you need to talk to your carrier. That shouldn’t be happening. There should be a way to turn that off on your phone.

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Hmm. I just checked on my Android and you can disable Data Roaming but disabling cellular roaming requires airplane mode or locking the carrier selection to your primary carrier (which also disables domestic roaming).