Cell phones 101

[jgmpuma]

I have a T-Mobile phone and a pay-as-you go payment plan. I work from home and mainly use a land line for business.

 

Will my phone work while at sea or in ports (Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Cozumel)? Do I have to sign up for a plan with Carnival or with T-Mobile? How much do minutes cost? I don't intend to use the phone a lot (that's what vacations are about) but would like to keep in contact.

[shof515]

from carnival faq:

Can I use my cell phone on the ship?

 

Yes, cell phone service is available on all ships in the Carnival fleet. While your ship is at sea, the cellular system is activated and you can make and receive calls, send and receive text messages, as well as view emails and browse the Internet with over 300 carriers worldwide. International roaming rates apply and are set and billed by your home carrier. Charges will appear on your regular cell phone bill. Please contact your carrier before your cruise to check rates for each service and ensure your plan allows you to roam. For more information, visit http://www.cellularatsea.com.

 

I have a tmobile prepaid phone, and my phone was unable to connect to Cellular At Sea but was able to roam in Canada

[tommie594]

our t mobile phones have never worked once we left galveston.... wife called t-mobile etc... still does not work on the ship on in mexico...

 

does not bother me at all :D

[golfadj]

Rather an expensive way to communicate.

 

I also have a business and use a email plan to get my stuff done.

[cmptrwiz]

I have T-Mobile had to have the International plan turned on to work while traveling out of the country. As I recall I don't think they charged me anymore to have International added to my plan. I also had to have my phone "unlocked" to work in Europe. I don't know if you can do any that with pre-paid!

[cardqb]

We activated the international roaming feature with T-Mobile on our phones for our past cruise and it was free. But we didn't turn them on because we didn't want to deal with any additional roaming charges. Kept them in "Airplane" mode our whole cruise so they didn't transmit any signal.

 

Carnival ships are $5.99 per minute, Mexico is $1.79 a minute. Any data use is $15 per MB. So it adds up fast. Plus there could be additional local fees on top of it.

[thinfool]

It is my understanding that prepaid phones do not work thru the ship system, regardless of brand.

 

Regular cell phones can bill for the charges thru a regular cell plan. It has all of your billing information, credit history, etc.

 

A prepaid plan has little if any, of this.

 

Remember Martha, it's all about the money. :o