Cell phone service on private island

[cruisencrazy]

My husband needs to make an important phone call the day we are on the private island. We have Verizon as our service provider. Has anyone does this before? Any idea of the fees involved? Thanks in advance for your replies.

[Randyk47]

My husband needs to make an important phone call the day we are on the private island. We have Verizon as our service provider. Has anyone does this before? Any idea of the fees involved? Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

Unless it has changed there was no cell service at Half Moon Cay last time we were there. The ship's cell phone system may be on since this is not a regular port but I think you'd have to be on the ship to use it. I've never used the ship's cell service so don't know the cost but I seem to recall it was around $2.50-$3.00 a minute. I don't think the ship's cell phone provider is regular provider like Verizon, AT&T, etc., so your plan probably doesn't matter.

[POA1]

There was no service of any kind in HMC. Just by dumb luck, our party had phones covering all the bands for both CDMA (Verizon) and GSM (most everyone else) and there was no service. He will be able to call from the ship though. Check your plan because the shipboard rate is high, but might be lower if you add an optional international dialing plan add on.

[mamaofami]

I used a cell phone on the island several years ago.

[catl331]

I used a cell phone on the island several years ago.

Do you recall how that was billed? I.e., did it go on your shipboard account, like you were getting a signal from the ship? Or was it billed like you were calling from another Caribbean island?

 

And what service provider?

Edited April 14, 2014 by catl331

[POA1]

Do you recall how that was billed? I.e., did it go on your shipboard account, like you were getting a signal from the ship? Or was it billed like you were calling from another Caribbean island?

 

And what service provider?[/size][/font]

 

It's billed to your wireless bill. If I recall correctly, the bill designates it as an international country along the lines of "CRUISESHIP - WESTDM" with the appropriate rate & minutes. Since it's billed by your cellular provider, you should ask them or check their website. The ship calling rates vary by provider, even on the same ship. The carriers have negotiated roaming rates with the cruise lines.

[catl331]

It's billed to your wireless bill. If I recall correctly, the bill designates it as an international country along the lines of "CRUISESHIP - WESTDM"

You said "There was no service of any kind in HMC" so you must be talking about how it is billed when you call from the ship. I'm asking mamaofami how she was billed when she made a call from HMC. Was it like a call from a ship or from a "public" island? If she was billed as if the call was from "CRUISESHIP - WESTDM" what happens when two ships are there? Edited April 14, 2014 by catl331

[POA1]

You said "There was no service of any kind in HMC" so you must be talking about how it is billed when you call from the ship. I'm asking mamaofami how she was billed when she made a call from the island. If she was billed as if the call was from "CRUISESHIP - WESTDM" what happens when two ships are there?

 

Sorry. My bad.

[Typhoon1]

Unless it has changed there was no cell service at Half Moon Cay last time we were there. The ship's cell phone system may be on since this is not a regular port but I think you'd have to be on the ship to use it. I've never used the ship's cell service so don't know the cost but I seem to recall it was around $2.50-$3.00 a minute. I don't think the ship's cell phone provider is regular provider like Verizon, AT&T, etc., so your plan probably doesn't matter.

 

This is what you will be using if that call is that important. There is no service at HMC.

[Love the beach]

I have never been able to get cell service on Half Moon Cay....not even to send a text.

[jtl513]

There is no service at HMC.

 

I have never been able to get cell service on Half Moon Cay....not even to send a text.

In post #4 mamaofami said "I used a cell phone on the island several years ago." That leaves three possibilities:

(1) She was mistaken

(2) She picked up a usable signal from the ship

(3) There was once a usable island-based signal

If she comes back and answers the question in post #5, that would go a long way toward determining which was the case.

[POA1]

If I had an important call to make, I would be on the ship when it was time for the call. If you are on the island and can't a signal, you are probably 20 minutes from the ship - best case scenario.

[cruisencrazy]

Just back from our cruise and I can tell you about cell usage. We were able to make phone calls from Half Moon Cay using Verizon. It was a Bahamas connection and it was cheaper than the ship, about $2 per minute. The ships cell "tower" was not operating properly in the morning, but worked on and off through the day.

[mamaofami]

Sorry about not coming back sooner. I wasn't following the thread. I honestly don't know how it was billed, but if it had been billed to our shipboard account, I would have noticed and remembered. We use verizon . I was surprised at the time to be able to make the call.

[POA1]

Even if you call through the ship. It bills to your cell phone bill. That's good to know about HMC and VZW. We didn't see any signal. I wonder if it's something they turn on & off.

[kjw869]

Just back from our cruise and I can tell you about cell usage. We were able to make phone calls from Half Moon Cay using Verizon. It was a Bahamas connection and it was cheaper than the ship, about $2 per minute. The ships cell "tower" was not operating properly in the morning, but worked on and off through the day.

 

We had cell service also from Half Moon Cay in February. BTC has installed new towers on Eleuthera Island, one being just south of Bannerman Town.

 

We know a couple who have vacationed for the past 20 years in the same condo/cottage and are happy to now have cell coverage on the entire island.

[kjw869]

Even if you call through the ship. It bills to your cell phone bill. That's good to know about HMC and VZW. We didn't see any signal. I wonder if it's something they turn on & off.

 

The ship's cell service wasn't on (I think) when we were at HMC on the Noordam February 7th. I have AT&T and when I turned on my phone, BTC was listed as the roaming carrier. The call I placed was quick and the connection was great.

 

I was in an aft wrap cabin on the Rotterdam Deck and we could see Eleuthera Island, so it was line of sight. I didn't have the phone with me on the island.