Tmobile at sea-opinions of service

[debbs0723]

Hi everybody,

 

I'd like to hear from those of you who have used Tmobile on a ship.

 

(Disclaimer: Please don't use this thread to tell me how I do not need to get in touch with my family on my vacation, because the idea of having to commit to certain locations and activities on my vacation is not my idea of vacation. We also do not plan to talk on our phones and only text while our phones are on vibrate so this should not annoy other passengers. :))

 

I finally called Tmobile for my daughters and I to find out what the deal was. We will be on the Allure. They said to turn off all data roaming before boarding the ship and it would be .50 for outgoing text and zero to receive. Also calls would be billed at a very high rate so they advised not to answer the phone for incoming calls as well as to call them ahead of the trip and ask them to temporarily turn off voicemail because voicemail calls would be charged a minute minimum if picked up.

 

Have any of you had experience on whether you had good service to send and receive text on a large ship like Allure through Tmobile?

 

Thanks,

Debbie

[Clarea]

We've used AT&T onboard, which uses the same GSM technology as T-Mobile, and had no problem sending and receiving texts. One thing that may or may not be different is that we get charged for incoming calls, even if we don't answer. If the phone rings, we get charged $2.49.

[luvmygirlz]

I have tmobile. We did just as they said and had no problems. We were not able to text while at sea, but usually had no problems in port. Also while in port you can usually find a place with free wifi. I allowed my daughter, 18, to text her boyfriend while in port. I just gave her a limit of like 4 texts each port. Just enough to check in (we were only on a quick 3 night). Also, tmobile now has free international roaming. Not sure where you are cruising to, but they did have some caribbean ports that were included in this. Unfortunately, the bahamas is not one of them.

[debbs0723]

I have tmobile. We did just as they said and had no problems. We were not able to text while at sea, but usually had no problems in port. Also while in port you can usually find a place with free wifi. I allowed my daughter, 18, to text her boyfriend while in port. I just gave her a limit of like 4 texts each port. Just enough to check in (we were only on a quick 3 night). Also, tmobile now has free international roaming. Not sure where you are cruising to, but they did have some caribbean ports that were included in this. Unfortunately, the bahamas is not one of them.

 

So the texting didn't work while at sea? That is when we will need it most to check in with each other on the ship.

 

Bob, thanks for that $2.49 heads up. I will have to check on that.

[Clarea]

So the texting didn't work while at sea? That is when we will need it most to check in with each other on the ship.

 

Bob, thanks for that $2.49 heads up. I will have to check on that.

Texting worked at sea for us, but you have to understand the different types of texting.

 

If you use SMS texting, which are short, text only messages, they will work fine because they don't need data. However, if you use messages that require data, then they will not work. Examples of these would be a photo attached to a text, or iMessage texting. Those won't work without a more expensive data connection.

[debbs0723]

Texting worked at sea for us, but you have to understand the different types of texting.

 

If you use SMS texting, which are short, text only messages, they will work fine because they don't need data. However, if you use messages that require data, then they will not work. Examples of these would be a photo attached to a text, or iMessage texting. Those won't work without a more expensive data connection.

 

Absolutely, Bob. No pictures due to price. This is so confusing. Now I'm wondering if there is a way to turn off the dumb pictures my daughter always gets from her friends.

 

Debbie

[Clarea]

Absolutely, Bob. No pictures due to price. This is so confusing. Now I'm wondering if there is a way to turn off the dumb pictures my daughter always gets from her friends.

 

Debbie

If your daughter's phone has data turned off, there's no problem. I do that all the time, and receive nothing if someone sends an MMS (text with photo) message. Next time I turn on data, all the MMS messages come through. So just keep data turned off until you get back to the US.

[debbs0723]

If your daughter's phone has data turned off, there's no problem. I do that all the time, and receive nothing if someone sends an MMS (text with photo) message. Next time I turn on data, all the MMS messages come through. So just keep data turned off until you get back to the US.

 

Thanks. Now I just have to figure out if Tmobile gets good service to text on sea days. I won't have to keep touch with anyone from home. Just on the ship if I want my 13 year old to have a little bit of freedom.

[luvmygirlz]

Sorry, but although we have tmobile, we did not try the texting to each other on the ship. But usually even at home if I do not have a signal even just a standard text will not go through and I do not receive until i am where I have a signal.

[lakelorain]

Our t-mobile plan has free international texting and data. I believe it's called the Simple Choice Plan. Check to see if you can switch to this plan at no additional cost.

Edited April 25, 2014 by lakelorain

[Bosjoe]

Our t-mobile plan has free international texting and data. I believe it's called the Simple Choice Plan. Check to see if you can switch to this plan at no additional cost.

 

It does not include cruise ships. It does include most islands, not the Bahamas though

[Bosjoe]

Double post

Edited April 26, 2014 by Bosjoe

[Underwatr]

this was a long time ago, but when I had TMobile and traveled to England, in addition to being charged for a minute if the phone rang, if the call forwarded to voicemail (which it will do if you don't answer) I was charged for a second minute.

 

Be aware that for some reason TMobile's calling rates on cruise ships are much higher than other cellular companies, up to $5.99 per minute. Rates here: http://www.t-mobile.com/International/RoamingOverview.aspx

Edited April 26, 2014 by Underwatr

[lakelorain]

this was a long time ago, but when I had TMobile and traveled to England, in addition to being charged for a minute if the phone rang, if the call forwarded to voicemail (which it will do if you don't answer) I was charged for a second minute.

 

Be aware that for some reason TMobile's calling rates on cruise ships are much higher than other cellular companies, up to $5.99 per minute. Rates here: http://www.t-mobile.com/International/RoamingOverview.aspx

 

You can get special pricing via ATT through T-Mobile for the cruise ship. I have never used it but friends have. It is the Att special rate.

 

I used my T-Mobile phone all over Europe and Canada and the highest charge I had was .20/minute and that was only one call. Most have my calls have been completely free. Incoming calls, messages and texts were also free. Text and data were always free. There are some countries that add their own charge per minute but even when in those countries, my calls have been free. You must have a different plan or I've been very lucky.

[Underwatr]

The 20 cent a minute roaming rates are new and good, but while they apply in many international destinations I don't believe they apply while at sea.

 

I'm confused by your reference to both TMobile and AT&T in the same sentence, since they are competitors.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Underwatr

[lakelorain]

The 20 cent a minute roaming rates are new and good, but while they apply in many international destinations I don't believe they apply while at sea.

 

I'm confused by your reference to both TMobile and AT&T in the same sentence, since they are competitors.

 

I never used this option, but I've been told by some other cruisers that you can get an ATT at sea plan and use it on t-mobile phones. Not sure how it works as I'm not really interested in it but several people I've cruised with have mentioned it.

[debbs0723]

I will check into this ATT thing. I think the reason you can do that might be because they both use sim cards. I'm sure I'm using the terminology correctly but I remember the glorious day that I went no contract and bought my phone for full price I went to Tmobile. If I decide to switch I can easily switch to ATT, whereas I cannot switch to Verizon. Also my husbands old verizon droid can't be switched to TMobile but any ATT phone can be switched to TMobile.

 

Debbie