Silhouette -which cell service will work?

[cruzemaven]

Going on the Silhouette in July. Our At&t Iphone will not work on that ship with the On Waves system Celebrity provides. We know that this is a problem on both the Reflection and the Silhouette. I understand from other posters that Verizon does not fair well either. Can somebody please recommend a cellular service provider that will work on the Silhouette. We will try to switch to a provider that is compatible. Thank you

[cruzemaven]

Going on the Silhouette in July. Our At&t Iphone will not work on that ship with the On Waves system Celebrity provides. We know that this is a problem on both the Reflection and the Silhouette. I understand from other posters that Verizon does not fair well either. Can somebody please recommend a cellular service provider that will work on the Silhouette. We will try to switch to a provider that is compatible. Thank you

 

Update: Called Celebrity Cruiseline directly. The first person we spoke with was unable to answer our question about which cell service provider will work on the Silhouette? She then transferred our call to the Resolution Department. We asked them if they could tell us which cellular service works with the ONWAVE system on the Silhouette and Reflection. They said they had no idea and would contact the ship and then would email us the answer. It will be interesting to see if they follow up with that email. Still hoping that someone on this board had success with their cell phone service while at sea on either of these two ships.

Edited May 6, 2014 by cruzemaven

[neptuno]

Does anyone recommend using wifi phone? While not on Celebrity, we have used Tmobile "simple choice" plan ashore around the Caribbean, free text, free data roaming and 20cent/minute calling, but with free text, we didn't need to call much. So, we are wondering if wifi calling is recommended aboard ship to save the exhorbitant roaming fees?

[budcann]

We just got off the Reflection on 4/26. Had both a Verizon Motorola Droid and TMobile Nokia 521 (with post paid Simple Choice plan). Both phones were able to send and receive text messages onboard, expected to have no service. Did not try phone calls from ship.

Edited May 7, 2014 by budcann

[Iamthesea]

My brothers experience with Verizon has been good. Last spring, while in Europe, he was able to send text and make a phone call. He had an International plan from Verizon.

 

How that works on the ship and with their towers, I have no idea. I am going to Verizon on Friday to sign up for the International package for my Iphone. Can anyone tell me if there will also be charges from the ship?

[cruzemaven]

We just got off the Reflection on 4/26. Had both a Verizon Motorola Droid and TMobile Nokia 521 (with post paid Simple Choice plan). Both phones were able to send and receive text messages onboard, expected to have no service. Did not try phone calls from ship.

 

I appreciate your helpful answers. May I ask you, that when you were texting and receiving texts on your cell were you connected to the cellular service OnWaves or the wifi on the ship?

[Iamthesea]

That's what I would like to know, Also. :)

[ghstudio]

I wasn't there, but they weren't getting the messages through the ship's wifi. the only way that would happen is if they stayed logged on to the ship's network at $.75 a minute all day :) Whatever they sent or received was via cellular......

[cruzemaven]

I wasn't there, but they weren't getting the messages through the ship's wifi. the only way that would happen is if they stayed logged on to the ship's network at $.75 a minute all day :) Whatever they sent or received was via cellular......

 

Unless, of course, they used the wifi service for texting and receiving in a very short window of time. They may have texted and received an answer to their text in under a minute.The poster did not indicate whether or not the texting was all day long.

[Iamthesea]

I asked my brother and he said that there were no charges from the ship. He bought the International plan from Verizon (not sure how much) and then was charged per text. One charge for text coming in, but I think a little higher for text going out. I do not know how the voice call worked or cost.

[ghstudio]

Unless, of course, they used the wifi service for texting and receiving in a very short window of time. They may have texted and received an answer to their text in under a minute.The poster did not indicate whether or not the texting was all day long.

 

I don't believe SMS text message (as in message sent to a phone number) are sent via wifi at all unless you have an application loaded to specifically do that. Normal SMS messages are only delivered by cellular service.

[travelpeon]

I don't believe SMS text message (as in message sent to a phone number) are sent via wifi at all unless you have an application loaded to specifically do that. Normal SMS messages are only delivered by cellular service.

 

TMobile has wifi calling and sms on some of their phones. It is UMA/GAN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMA_Today

 

Traditional cellular texting will be cheaper for one or two messages than signing onto wifi. I wouldn't suggesting attempting to call via wifi. VOIP and UMA quality both depend on the latency of the network. Latency on satellites is quite high/laggy so your call quality will probably be very low, if the firewalls have not blocked UMA calling.

 

Last year, wittygal on CC had an AT&T international texting plan while on the Reflection TA. If I recall correctly, she wasn't able to send texts from the ship, so whether the plan kicked in or not for discounted texts was somewhat irrelevant. Not sure if anything has changed for this season Reflection TA. TA's are a bit tricky though, because Reflection uses a satellite based system and there isn't the same coverage everywhere especially in the ocean. **

 

There are some technological improvements in the works.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/marcwebertobias/2013/05/10/finally-cheaper-calls-for-cruise-ship-passengers/

 

@neptuno - the short answer is you might want to stick to traditional sms while onboard. Leave wifi phone calls for land on fast wifi networks.

 

** Satellites are directional and cover an area. It makes sense to cover certain areas where it is likely to be used, not necessarily all parts of the ocean. Different sat phone companies have different coverage and there's a period where sat handover from Caribbean to European also has to happen, plus assumptions that your ship is staying in the major ocean lanes.

Edited May 8, 2014 by travelpeon

[Lsimon]

My brothers experience with Verizon has been good. Last spring, while in Europe, he was able to send text and make a phone call. He had an International plan from Verizon.

 

How that works on the ship and with their towers, I have no idea. I am going to Verizon on Friday to sign up for the International package for my Iphone. Can anyone tell me if there will also be charges from the ship?

 

Regular text messages go through cellular service. There is no action needed to be taken on the ship as it all happens automatically if your phone is compatible with the ship's service. Only thing you have to do in advance is make sure you have international service enabled on your phone which is something that there should be no charge for unless you use it. All billing for cellular text messages and cellular phone calls goes through your mobile phone company. The rates vary by company so you'll have to look these up. Verizon's rates are listed on the bottom of this page: http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/global/plans-and-pricing.html

 

I'm not sure how it works with Verizon but with ATT the International packages do not include service on the ship at sea, although you can get land based service when at port. Also, my experience is that the international and cruise ship packages for phone calls and text messages are only worthwhile if you know you'll use all or most of the included minutes and text messages. If you want the best deal you have to estimate your usage and then compare the pay as you go rate to the package rates.

 

The only charges that go through the ship would be use of the ship's WiFi internet service which is the same for a phone as it is for a laptop or tablet. You have to log into the ship's system so it doesn't happen automatically. The only phone calls that are billed through the ship would be those made from your stateroom's telephone.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Lsimon

[Iamthesea]

Larry - Extremely helpful post! :) And thank you for the link to the Verizon plans and charges. Now when I go into Verizon tomorrow, I will know my options and will not get roped into buying something that I may not need. ;)

Edited May 9, 2014 by Iamthesea

[Kennyftlaud]

AT&T has package pricing for Celebrity on ship cellular service. RCCL pricing is listed at the AT&T wireless web page or you can call att customer service for details. The packages make voice calling and texting more reasonable while on board. Also, RCCL is the only cruise line att partners with for package pricing.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[neptuno]

Yes, text and voice will go through the ship while onboard, and be billed through your cell provider(mucho bucks, carro). The math question is: "Can you speak for less with a quick wifi connection, or not". Or can you limit your wifi time to just your calling period. If you choose to remain online(wifi), you will be billed continuously for the ship wifi connection, at exhorbitant rates. So, unless someone can help, we will continue in 'airplane' mode until we see land and get a Tmobile signal, which gives us free text and data in over 100 countries.

[mimbecky]

Larry - Extremely helpful post! :) And thank you for the link to the Verizon plans and charges. Now when I go into Verizon tomorrow, I will know my options and will not get roped into buying something that I may not need. ;)

 

I texted daily on our Med trip w/Verizon. It was something like 50 cents outgoing 5 cents incoming or opposite. I can tell you that they weren't necessarily immediate depending on where we were (middle of ocean vs. near a port). I know they have a plan (minimal cost) that will save you a little per minute on phone calls but since we don't plan on calling, decided not to do it. You can also get an international data package which is $25 per KB (?) but I was also told that if you don't plan to use data and then end up doing so, you can request being set up retroactively when you get home. I also confirmed today that if I have to call local numbers in foreign countries, I would still need to use country codes etc. They sent me an email regarding that but I am hoping I don't need to worry about that either. One simple text a day from home and I will be good ;)

Please let me know if they tell you something different.

[Iamthesea]

Will do!

 

We will have to make local calls in Germany. I have my friends number. However, it starts out differently, than the Verizon site list for codes. Friends is 0049 + a really long number. I found one place on Verizon that says the code for Germany is 011. Another says 0049. I don't know which is local or what I have to dial. :rolleyes:

[cruzemaven]

Thank you for all your responses. Still have no idea which cell service will work with ONWAVES which is only on The Silhouette, The Reflection and according to Celebrity, The Expedition. Never had a problem on any other cruise ship while sailing in Europe with our international plans from AT&T. But on the Reflection, our cell phones were useless. At&t refunded our money when we returned. At&t does not have a contract with ONWAVES and I heard that Verizon does not have a contract either. We never received an answer from Celebrity's Resolution Department. They were going to contact The Silhouette to find out which cell phone carriers will work on that ship and email us the answer. So if anyone can recommend a cell service that has a contract with ONWAVES, we would really appreciate it.

[CruisinNJ]

I have been on Silhouette in the past and I can tell you that I had a real problem getting my AT&T iphone to work on their system. They could not help on the ship, and based on some online research that I did, it appears that this has been a problem with onwaves all along. Everything I read indicated that the technical issues were being researched with the goal of developing a "fix" - I just dont know if this happened yet.

 

I have not had a problem on any other ship ever.

[cruzemaven]

I have been on Silhouette in the past and I can tell you that I had a real problem getting my AT&T iphone to work on their system. They could not help on the ship, and based on some online research that I did, it appears that this has been a problem with onwaves all along. Everything I read indicated that the technical issues were being researched with the goal of developing a "fix" - I just dont know if this happened yet.

 

I have not had a problem on any other ship ever.

 

Exactly, but I am hoping that someone has successfully used their cell phone on The Silhouette, while at sea, and can tell me which carrier they used.

[mimbecky]

Will do!

 

We will have to make local calls in Germany. I have my friends number. However, it starts out differently, than the Verizon site list for codes. Friends is 0049 + a really long number. I found one place on Verizon that says the code for Germany is 011. Another says 0049. I don't know which is local or what I have to dial. :rolleyes:

 

Verizon will send you detailed instructions.

49GSMGermanyU.S.Dial Plus Sign then 1 then ten digit U.S. number49GSMGermanyLocalDial Plus Sign then Country Code then Local Number with Area Code (if applicable)49GSMGermanyOther CountriesDial Plus Sign then Country Code then international number49GSMGermanyCustomer ServiceDial Plus Sign then 1 then 908-559-489949NoneGermanyCustomer Service from a landlineDial Access Code: 0800-888-8000 then follow Calling Card Dialing Instructions

[mimbecky]

Verizon will send you detailed instructions.

49GSMGermanyU.S.Dial Plus Sign then 1 then ten digit U.S. number49GSMGermanyLocalDial Plus Sign then Country Code then Local Number with Area Code (if applicable)49GSMGermanyOther CountriesDial Plus Sign then Country Code then international number49GSMGermanyCustomer ServiceDial Plus Sign then 1 then 908-559-489949NoneGermanyCustomer Service from a landlineDial Access Code: 0800-888-8000 then follow Calling Card Dialing Instructions

 

Sorry, that didn't paste like it should and I came back to edit too late. Basically:

 

GermanyLocal

Dial Plus Sign then Country Code (49) then Local Number with Area Code (if applicable)

[Iamthesea]

Exactly, but I am hoping that someone has successfully used their cell phone on The Silhouette, while at sea, and can tell me which carrier they used.

 

Sorry, I thought that I mentioned earlier that my brother used his Verizon phone...on the Silhouette last May....with no trouble. :)

 

Verizon loaned him a phone that could be Internationally enabled because he had an older model.

 

Sorry, that didn't paste like it should and I came back to edit too late. Basically:

 

GermanyLocal

Dial Plus Sign then Country Code (49) then Local Number with Area Code (if applicable)

 

Thank you. Well, went to Verizon and they were of little help. They would not set International up and told me that I would have to call Global. :rolleyes: The rep did say that based on what my needs are, that I did not need to get a plan or package. All I need was for Global to enable my phone for International. He told me to be specific of my dates so that I do not keep getting charged. :confused:

Edited May 9, 2014 by Iamthesea

[mimbecky]

Sorry, I thought that I mentioned earlier that my brother used his Verizon phone...on the Silhouette last May....with no trouble. :)

 

Verizon loaned him a phone that could be Internationally enabled because he had an older model.

 

 

 

Thank you. Well, went to Verizon and they were of little help. They would not set International up and told me that I would have to call Global. :rolleyes: The rep did say that based on what my needs are, that I did not need to get a plan or package. All I need was for Global to enable my phone for International. He told me to be specific of my dates so that I do not keep getting charged. :confused:

 

Interesting....I just set my iphone up today. They can't charge you global if you aren't traveling global yet. Hummmm. I have your email and will forward what they sent me. If you are going to use your phone more than 15 minutes it would be beneficial to get the $4.99 global plan. You need to call "611" on your phone...that will link you to someone who actually knows something.