Cell Phone Use- 2 young children at home

[Mschif78]

Hello,

 

Been on several cruises and I am going on one in 2 weeks but this is the first time not taking my children. I would like to be able to check in with them or facetime them...is this going to be possible?

 

I have verizon and I called to see if I could add international calling, but according to them there is no such plan- just international rates.

 

Is there cell phone reception while on board? What happens if I use my cell phone- the international rates?

 

We are going from Baltimore- port canaveral- nassau- freeport- baltimore. So I am assuming I can use the phone up until we leave florida?

 

I have 2 younger children so I am just wondering what the best thing to do is?

 

Thanks

[CJinFLA00]

Since they lowered the rates to $1.99 per minute, we just use the phone in the room. Works great and well worth the money. Cheaper than a cell phone.

[coevan]

Skype is free, works great and you get to see the kids

[firefly333]

You can call from the ports for about 40 cents a minute from almost any internet cafe Ive seen.

[firefly333]

Skype is free, works great and you get to see the kids

 

How is it going to be free.. where are you going to get the free internet. It doesnt work offline. on the ship prices start at 75 cents per minute.

[loxley]

Hello,

 

Been on several cruises and I am going on one in 2 weeks but this is the first time not taking my children. I would like to be able to check in with them or facetime them...is this going to be possible?

 

I have verizon and I called to see if I could add international calling, but according to them there is no such plan- just international rates.

 

Is there cell phone reception while on board? What happens if I use my cell phone- the international rates?

 

We are going from Baltimore- port canaveral- nassau- freeport- baltimore. So I am assuming I can use the phone up until we leave florida?

 

I have 2 younger children so I am just wondering what the best thing to do is?

 

Thanks

 

The best thing to do is have a passport. Tell the children you will be home in a week, give the number of the ship to the person watching the children, get on the ship and put the phones in the safe, enjoy your vacation.

[Macklovin38]

The best thing to do is have a passport. Tell the children you will be home in a week, give the number of the ship to the person watching the children, get on the ship and put the phones in the safe, enjoy your vacation.

 

Sounds like it a great idea but that would never work. I do agree with making sure that you leave the ship number with the caregiver though.

 

I am sailing in 2 weeks and am leaving kids at home as well. I plan on calling for a brief moment to make sure things are fine daily- but no more than a minute or two. I have to have this peace of mind while I'm away.

[tamirpr]

When DH and I cruise without the three kiddies, it is just an assumed expense that we will incur a phone bill for my peace of mind. We have cruised over six times without them now.

 

The best advice I can give is to keep it short. You'll be surprised how much you can actually say in a minute. We set a time frame that we will call so they can expect it and be waiting. Each kid gets one minute with mommy and daddy, and they make the most of it.:D Then is not the time to tell them all the stuff you're doing. Just let them ramble on.

 

We have Verizon. I keep the data off and just turn the cellular on and then turn the phone back off when we're done. Our bill is never more than $50-$75 depending on the length of the cruise. It's not hundreds of dollars. Of course, like another poster said, once they started having the $1.99 per minute in the rooms, that's what we've used because it's more convenient and the price is set. No surprises later.

 

Good luck! Go enjoy your time together. :)

[Kamloops50]

Skype is free, works great and you get to see the kids[/quote

 

Most cruise lines discourage or block Skype on the ship internet. Skype uses to much capacity to used .

[Holders3]

Have you checked this out:

 

 

http://businessportals.verizonwireless.com/international/Cruise_Ships/index.html

 

Carnival has agreements with Verizon. Not sure which device you have but you mentioned FaceTime so I'm thinking iPhone? You can turn off various options to avoid major billing pain like data roaming. I believe if you use the cell for voice it would be 2.49 per minute so the stateroom phone would be more economical. If they extend that unlimited data package then it opens up lots more options.

[wranglerguy]

Skype is free, works great and you get to see the kids

how is skype free? you have to buy a internet package to use it. the internet is slower then dial up so streaming live video wont happen. in theory even at home it's not free. you have to have a internet connection to use it. have to pay for that.

 

if you use your cell phone your carrier will charge you and so will carnival to use there network on the ship. just use the cabin phone and keep it short.

 

Friends and family may call guests on board via Sea Mobile Shore-to-Ship telephone service. The rate is $9.50 per minute from the United States; additional long distance charges may apply from outside the United States.

 

1-877-CCLSHIP (1-877-225-7447) – from the U.S

1-732-335-3284 - from outside the U.S

The caller needs to have available the ship name and the guest's name. The charges will be applied to the caller's credit card: MasterCard; Visa; American Express; The Discover Card; Diner's Club.

 

 

this is for ATT but probably similar to all carriers

 

Calls Placed/Received

While in Carnival Cruise Line

AT&T Standard International Roaming $2.49

AT&T World Traveler $2.49

AT&T Canada $2.49

AT&T Mexico $2.49

Data Usage: All GPRS pay per use rates are $.0195/KB, except in Canada rate is $.015/KB

Text, Picture and

Video Messages:

Send Text Message $0.50 per message sent

Send Picture and Video Messages $1.30 per message sent

Receive Text, Picture and Video Messages Home pay-per-use or package rates apply to all text, picture or video messages received when roaming internationally.

[Holders3]

If he uses his Verizon phone on board he will be charged by Verizon only because they have a roaming agreement just as they do with land based cell towers outside their own. I verified that with them as I have Verizon as well.

 

The challenge is to avoid the data charges and that can be done by disabling various options on his smartphone. He can still use voice and or disable it when he doesn't need it.

[NewKansasKruiser]

You say younger, but I don't know how old your children are. What we did was start a thread on the free www.carnival.com as we left. Then on funville, we posted our daily doings so they knew we were fine, they posted from home on the same thread updating us on their day and we knew they were fine. It only took a few minutes a day to check in (usually did it twice) and made me feel 100% better knowing things at home were fine with kids and house. I don't think Skype would work on the ship as the internet was very slow at times. I'd forget the cell phone and use the free check in. :)

 

 

Hello,

 

Been on several cruises and I am going on one in 2 weeks but this is the first time not taking my children. I would like to be able to check in with them or facetime them...is this going to be possible?

 

I have verizon and I called to see if I could add international calling, but according to them there is no such plan- just international rates.

 

Is there cell phone reception while on board? What happens if I use my cell phone- the international rates?

 

We are going from Baltimore- port canaveral- nassau- freeport- baltimore. So I am assuming I can use the phone up until we leave florida?

 

I have 2 younger children so I am just wondering what the best thing to do is?

 

Thanks

[maplevale]

The best thing to do is have a passport. Tell the children you will be home in a week, give the number of the ship to the person watching the children, get on the ship and put the phones in the safe, enjoy your vacation.

 

LOL - that is what we are doing! (Leaving our 2 young daughters with my parents)

 

Not sure if you have traveled without your kids - but if my kids hear my voice, or suspect that it is my on the phone (4 year old) or even hear my mom tell my dad that I called.... all heck would break loose!

 

My parents will call if there is an emergency, or expect to hear from us if there is an emergency. Otherwise all is assumed fine.

 

Of course every family(especially kids) is different.

[Herfnerd]

As a PP stated, just use your stateroom phone - at $1.99/minute, cheaper than using your cellphone. Once in a port, you can use your cellphone at international rates

[Ramrac]

Sounds like it a great idea but that would never work. I do agree with making sure that you leave the ship number with the caregiver though.

 

I am sailing in 2 weeks and am leaving kids at home as well. I plan on calling for a brief moment to make sure things are fine daily- but no more than a minute or two. I have to have this peace of mind while I'm away.

 

Agree 100%. We do the same thing. We would not be able to relax going the whole week without an update on our kids. We also keep is short and simple on the phone, just making sure everything is OK type of call.

 

We have done the same cruise as OP and we called once in Florida, but also used our cell phones at both ports in the Bahamas and were fine. We luckily did not have a high cell phone bill the next month as I have seen happen to others.

[Bibble]

If it's just to check in with the caretaker (and not necessarily to say hi to the little ones), is the caretaker a texter? Texts can be a lot cheaper than phone calls. But if you're looking to chat for a couple of minutes, as soon as you get on board, find out what the cost of their phone service is (It used to vary by ship, not sure if all ships are the same yet) and that might be the best way.

And ahead of time, try to plan with caretaker what times would be best to call. You don't want to waste those minutes just to leave a voicemail...

 

You also mentioned using your phone up until you leave Florida - you can use it in Baltimore for no charge (or whatever your regular plan is), then again once you're in Port Canaveral, but between Baltimore and Florida you are the ship's cell service, which I believe is $2.49/minute. Just because you're following the coast does not mean you are still in US cell area.

[mibarron]

Try looking into getting a phone card at each of the ports, the rates are sometimes cheaper, and call then. During sea days, you can purchase a wifi plan and use skype (which someone mentioned earlier) or use the cabon phone for $1.99. Not sure how young your children are, but if they are old enough to text, you can consider that an option as well. I don't know what the rates are fro Verizon. AT&T charges me $0.50 a text and I use it quite often while on the ship.

[SadieN]

You say younger, but I don't know how old your children are. What we did was start a thread on the free www.carnival.com as we left. Then on funville, we posted our daily doings so they knew we were fine, they posted from home on the same thread updating us on their day and we knew they were fine. It only took a few minutes a day to check in (usually did it twice) and made me feel 100% better knowing things at home were fine with kids and house. I don't think Skype would work on the ship as the internet was very slow at times. I'd forget the cell phone and use the free check in. :)

 

 

We use this also. We set it up beforehand and try to post several times during a cruise. It is an open board, like CC, and you do need to be signed up to post.

 

To acces the free board go to carnival.com-community-user groups (currently onboard)

http://www.carnival.com/Funville/forums/20274.aspx

 

The whole carnival.com site is free to use onboard.