mobile phones in port

[arsenalboy]

Can anybody clarify the following please.

 

If I make voice calls at sea it is going to cost me £1.50 (usd 2.25) per min. If I make a call on shore it will come within a travel package I am buying from my phone provider.

 

What happens if I use my phone from my cabin whilst in port? Will it get locked into maritime signal or will it pick up the local country signal?

 

thanks

[Keith1010]

When you are in port the ships system will be turned off so you will be making the call using the land service provider.

 

Keith

[arsenalboy]

When you are in port the ships system will be turned off so you will be making the call using the land service provider.

 

Keith

 

thanks for that.

[Underwatr]

If yuo're unsure, look for the info on your phone that identifies who is providing the service at that moment. On most smartphiones it is spelled out on the top banner on the phone screen.

[4znough]

When you are in port the ships system will be turned off so you will be making the call using the land service provider.

 

Keith

 

This in NOT true if you are on a Princess ship per phone call TODAY with Princess they DO NOT turn off their DAS while in port. You must be off the ship for the local tower to pick up.

[4znough]

It is also imperative to turn off data and roaming BEFORE you put your phone in airplane mode so that when you turn your phone on in port it doesn't try to push all the data updated and emails you've missed.

[Underwatr]

This in NOT true if you are on a Princess ship per phone call TODAY with Princess they DO NOT turn off their DAS while in port. You must be off the ship for the local tower to pick up.

This would sugest that someone walking by the ship (or passing in a boat) could inadvertantly connect to the ship's system instead of their local cellphone system, which is why the ship's transmitters are turned off once within range of land (on my Princess cruise last summer I always ended up connected to the land towers when we were close to land).

 

I wonder whether the Princess rep didn't understand your question...

[Lookingforfacts]

This would sugest that someone walking by the ship (or passing in a boat) could inadvertantly connect to the ship's system instead of their local cellphone system, which is why the ship's transmitters are turned off once within range of land (on my Princess cruise last summer I always ended up connected to the land towers when we were close to land).

 

I wonder whether the Princess rep didn't understand your question...

+1 I suspect the Princess rep was taking about the ships internet (WiFi).

[4znough]

+1 I suspect the Princess rep was taking about the ships internet (WiFi).

 

No we were very clear. She even stated from her own experience that making calls while in port from her cabin incurred a roaming charge. My husband works with in building DAS and it is very common for micro systems bleed into macro systems. Bottom line don't assume what system your phone is running off of, always assume if you are close to the ship you could be running off their system.

[Lookingforfacts]

No we were very clear. She even stated from her own experience that making calls while in port from her cabin incurred a roaming charge. My husband works with in building DAS and it is very common for micro systems bleed into macro systems. Bottom line don't assume what system your phone is running off of, always assume if you are close to the ship you could be running off their system.

 

You may have been very clear but I don't think the Princess rep knows what she's talking about. Ships are required to turn off their cell towers when they're at port, or even near land, so people in port don't ROAM on the ships tower.

 

Always a good idea to look at your phone and make sure you're not roaming. Ships crew can make a mistake and leave it on.

[4znough]

You may have been very clear but I don't think the Princess rep knows what she's talking about. Ships are required to turn off their cell towers when they're at port, or even near land, so people in port don't ROAM on the ships tower.

 

Ships are not required, to turn off anything. We are doing an inside passage cruise and there is no promise of it being turned off and we will be near land almost the whole time. The ships systems are very small thus the likelihood that another passing ship or someone more then 100 feet away would be able to piggy back on that signal is unlikely unless that signal is the only one available in the area.

[4znough]

I just called again and confirmed with Princess concerning the CELL service not WIFI and whether or not the system is turned off in port and it is NOT. This maybe just a Princess thing but I would double check with your cruise line before assuming that it gets turned off in port. Just assume that if you are on the ship (anytime) and near it you could be running off that system and not the local cell service.

[Underwatr]

Again, on Princess, sailing up the Olso fjord (among other locations) I was clearly and unambiguously connected to the Norwegian cell network hours before arriving in Oslo. Ditto for bruges, ditto for Copenhagen, etc. etc.

 

Your own mileage may vary, learn how to read your phone's display. But I trust my personal experience over a Princess rep's prediciton about whether the DAS will be running (did you use the term DAS in your initial inquiry?).

[4znough]

Again, on Princess, sailing up the Olso fjord (among other locations) I was clearly and unambiguously connected to the Norwegian cell network hours before arriving in Oslo. Ditto for bruges, ditto for Copenhagen, etc. etc.

 

Your own mileage may vary, learn how to read your phone's display. But I trust my personal experience over a Princess rep's prediciton about whether the DAS will be running (did you use the term DAS in your initial inquiry?).

 

Bottom line I don't think that it's good form for people to post yes or no for certain to the OP question. Obviously people have varying experiences and reps from the cruise lines themselves are inconsistent with answers. The only way to be sure is to know how to work your own phone and check what system it is connected to before making a call or txt.

 

Depending on where you are going and what cell carrier you have all of these things will be varied.