Another cell phone question, sorry

[north29]

This one is different, LOL, just, up/maybe down graded to Trac phone to save some over my Verizon second phone(I use it so little). I bought a smart LG phone.

Question has anyone had a tracphone on a cruise line???, will it work on the ships system???

[jt1120]

The ship doesn't have a system per se. You'll be using roaming, and roaming charges can be HUGE. I give you four options: a) keave the phone at home and enjopy yoru cruise, b) use the phone in your cabin and spend $8 a minute or whatever it is, c) use payphones and an international calling card in ports, or d) buy a world phone. We bought one a couple of years ago for cruising specifically. It was only $99 and we are only charged for usage, which varies from $1-$3 per minute depending on where you are.

 

Never used a Tracphone so I can't really help, but I'm guessing they'll have to "roam."

[north29]

I guess I will take my wife's I phone, we have only one need, leave everything else behind, and that is to let the bank know how to get to me if account get compromised or wife makes extreme purchases on CC LOL.

It is funny, tracphone does not have much info on their web site, but you can call almost all over the world just for the same basic minute rates.

Just though I would ask.

[jcl410]

Many ships support both CDMA and GSM phones, but ...

 

Tracfone does does not have international roaming agreements in place, so you won't be able to use it on the ship.

 

Aloha,

 

John

Edited November 11, 2013 by jcl410
modified answer to be non RCI specific

[reedl]

The ship doesn't have a system per se. You'll be using roaming, and roaming charges can be HUGE. I give you four options: a) keave the phone at home and enjopy yoru cruise, b) use the phone in your cabin and spend $8 a minute or whatever it is, c) use payphones and an international calling card in ports, or d) buy a world phone. We bought one a couple of years ago for cruising specifically. It was only $99 and we are only charged for usage, which varies from $1-$3 per minute depending on where you are.

 

Never used a Tracphone so I can't really help, but I'm guessing they'll have to "roam."

 

Option E if you have a Verizon or AT&T phone is to purchase the cruise ship package for $30 which gives you 50 minutes of talk and each additional minute is around $1 per minute. It is MUCH cheaper to use your cell phone than use the in room phone. Never use the in room phone. It is a rip-off.

 

If you are on the Allure and are purchasing the unlimited internet package, then Option F would be to get Skype credit and make phone calls that way. We did that on our last cruise and saved probably $300 (we had our daughter at home with medical issues so we needed to make a lot of phone calls).

[cmason]

The ships do support cell phones, but they charge a huge fee to use it, plus roaming fees from your carrier.

 

If you are taking your phone just for worries about your bank calling you, be sure to call the bank/credit card before you leave, and tell them where you will be traveling, so that when that charge comes thru, they are not surprised.

 

Otherwise, on my last cruise (in Europe), I kept my phone off until we were in or near port, then turned it on to check for any calls or messages. I never connected to the ship system due to the fees. I have a Verizon phone that also supports GSM in Europe.

[reedl]

The ships do support cell phones, but they charge a huge fee to use it, plus roaming fees from your carrier.

 

If you are taking your phone just for worries about your bank calling you, be sure to call the bank/credit card before you leave, and tell them where you will be traveling, so that when that charge comes thru, they are not surprised.

 

Otherwise, on my last cruise (in Europe), I kept my phone off until we were in or near port, then turned it on to check for any calls or messages. I never connected to the ship system due to the fees. I have a Verizon phone that also supports GSM in Europe.

 

Actually there is no fee, just usage charges. If you do not purchase a "cruise ship" plan the price is $2.50 per minute.

[mein18]

Option E if you have a Verizon or AT&T phone is to purchase the cruise ship package for $30 which gives you 50 minutes of talk and each additional minute is around $1 per minute. It is MUCH cheaper to use your cell phone than use the in room phone. Never use the in room phone. It is a rip-off.

 

If you are on the Allure and are purchasing the unlimited internet package, then Option F would be to get Skype credit and make phone calls that way. We did that on our last cruise and saved probably $300 (we had our daughter at home with medical issues so we needed to make a lot of phone calls).

 

I believe this is just AT&T, not Verizon. Wish Verizon was included.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

Edited November 11, 2013 by mein18

[parrothead brian]

Anyone ever use the "TKLE"(tickle) app?Its an app on android and apple that allows you to use a "touch to talk" feature similar to the old Nextel Direct Connect. Do you get charged for air time on the ship when you use it on the ship?

[cmh]

This one is different, LOL, just, up/maybe down graded to Trac phone to save some over my Verizon second phone(I use it so little). I bought a smart LG phone.

Question has anyone had a tracphone on a cruise line???, will it work on the ships system???

 

I just bought an LG smart trac phone as well. My understanding is you can call internationally from the US, but it will not work outside the US to make calls. You may want to call the Trac phone customer service line, but that is how I understood it to be.

[CruiseZapper]

just my 2cents on the phones. one cruise i was on with my sister, she called home, only to learn that her daughters husband had walked out on her, the rest of her cruise she was miserable. i tell my kids-we have 4 grown kids with 8 grandchilden between them,-if something really, really bad happens and i need to get home at the next port, call me, BUT- if everyones alive with only a broken bone or so, wait until we get back home, we go on cruises to get away, our "Rule od Thum" if every ones alive, and gonna be ok, hold on. granny and pawpaw (or mom and dad) will call when we get off ship.......

[reedl]

Anyone ever use the "TKLE"(tickle) app?Its an app on android and apple that allows you to use a "touch to talk" feature similar to the old Nextel Direct Connect. Do you get charged for air time on the ship when you use it on the ship?

 

Of course. You are using a data connection. In fact the cellular data connection on the ship is an even bigger ripoff. It is better to use the ship's WiFi.

[reedl]

I believe this is just AT&T, not Verizon. Wish Verizon was included.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

 

You are correct. Verizon only has the $2.49 per minute rates for voice calls.

 

Yuck.

[agreenway6]

I'm 24 years old, and am on my phone non-stop every day... When we (me and my friends/same age) went on our cruise in May, we put ours on "airplane" mode which allowed us to still use it as a camera, or mp3 player, etc. When we would get into port we would find wi-fi and could get on facebook, email, text messaging, and stuff like that. Or you could turn your cell service completely off, and not worry about a thing.

[satxdiver]

The cell tower on RCCL ships is owned and operated by WMS (Wireless Maritime Service). All charges are by agreement between WMS and your cell carrier (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon) WMS bills you carrier who in turn bills you on your regular monthly bill. Voice calls are $2.49/minute, messages are $.50/msg sent and some charge $.05/msg received. Internet use is $.0195/kb. Charges may vary according to who your carrier is so always check with them first. International calling must be enabled on your cell phone (usually be calling them from the US and asking it be turned on).

 

The cell tower should turn itself off when you get near a port. Your cell will display "cell at sea" or "cellular at sea" when you a re using the ship's cell tower. The tower can accept GMS (AT&T and T-Mobile) or CDMS (Verizon and Sprint) technology.

 

If you have a smart phone (droid or iPhone) be sure to either turn it off or put it in airplane mode. If you do not it may automatically download email and data from the internet and you will be charged. Quite a few pax have found this out the hard way only to come home to a $1000+ monthly bill!

 

For more information on WMS go to http://www.wmsatsea.com/

[gnocchi_mommy]

I believe using the ships cellular only cost us .50 to send texts, and .05 to receive them, this is how we found eachother on the Indy when we were in different venues. We turned off data of course!

 

The ships do support cell phones, but they charge a huge fee to use it, plus roaming fees from your carrier.

 

If you are taking your phone just for worries about your bank calling you, be sure to call the bank/credit card before you leave, and tell them where you will be traveling, so that when that charge comes thru, they are not surprised.

 

Otherwise, on my last cruise (in Europe), I kept my phone off until we were in or near port, then turned it on to check for any calls or messages. I never connected to the ship system due to the fees. I have a Verizon phone that also supports GSM in Europe.

[gnocchi_mommy]

err, or like the person above me posted! ^ ;-) I should have kept reading!