Cell phone in ship at port

[Fog123]

OK, so I thought I had finished researching everything I needed to know, and I'm sure I've read the answers here before.

 

We are doing Alaska inside passage round trip out of Vancouver. Boarding starts at noon, ship departs at 5:00. How long does my cell phone use local towers vs the ship tower?

 

The same question goes for our ports of call.

 

Thanks so much. Less than 100 hours to go.

[fishywood]

General rule is that the ship does not switch on its cellular service until it is 12 miles away from embarkation port, and will switch it off when it reaches the same distance away from ports of call.

Do they regularly fail to heed this limit? Goes without saying. Best way to know if the ship's tower is on or off is to check for any reception in your cabin; if signal is strong, very likely you are on the ship service.

Edited June 29, 2014 by fishywood

[insanemagnet]

How long does my cell phone use local towers vs the ship tower?

 

Surely the answer is that your phone will stay connected to the home network until you turn roaming on.

[Keith1010]

You will be fine at least until when the ship begins to move.

 

Keith

[gaelsail]

I've been on ships, in port, and my phone has tried to connect to the ship's network. I've had to move out to an open area of deck to connect to the land signal.

 

There has always been a warning though- 'do you want to connect to... ' 'it will cost ... per minute'

[Calgon1]

Check your phone screen. It should display who you're connected through.

[insanemagnet]

There has always been a warning though- 'do you want to connect to... ' 'it will cost ... per minute'

 

That isn't normal with roaming.

 

If roaming is turned off, it won't connect.

 

If roaming is turned on, it will connect, and the only cost warning you will get is a text (or two or three) shortly afterwards.