Alaska cruise using Verizon Service

[rgmiller66]

I have a two part question,

do any of you know if I actually have to leave the ship in the Alaska ports to take advantage of Verizon's rates or can I make calls from the ship while in port to take advantage of Verizon's rates?

Also can anyone tell me what the ships rates would be to check my email from my phone while at sea.

Thanks in advance.

[Illyria]

Verizon will sell you a Global Data package of 100MB for $25.

 

You don't technically have to leave the ship to take advantage of Verizon's towers in port but just be careful and make sure you're actually connected to Verizon, not Cellular at Sea. In some locations the towers are further away from the port, so their signal is weak, and ship's towers overpower it.

[chef2die4]

When we sailed in June, we turned off all roaming data (including voice) on the advice of our Verizon sales rep. This prevented any connection to other than a Verizon tower.

 

We didn't have any phones while at sea, obviously. During the port calls (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, BC), reception was okay except for Skagway, where we had to stand outside buildings to get reception.

 

No extra charges on our bill.

[Hatteras51]

Were you able to send and receive emails through your phone while on the ship? I'm assuming the answer is no, if you couldn't get a verizon signal, but thought I'd ask. Also, there were no charges for emails sent on your phone while in port, correct? I'm sorry to sound so dumb. I haven't had a smart phone very long, and I've never used it that far away from home. Obviously, having a smart phone does not make one smart :o

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Were you able to send and receive emails through your phone while on the ship? I'm assuming the answer is no, if you couldn't get a verizon signal, but thought I'd ask. Also, there were no charges for emails sent on your phone while in port, correct? I'm sorry to sound so dumb. I haven't had a smart phone very long, and I've never used it that far away from home. Obviously, having a smart phone does not make one smart :o

 

If you want to send e-mails from the ship, you will need to purchase a package from Celebrity.

 

As long as you're in port and connected to Verizon's network, there will be no charge for sending e-mails (assuming that's included in your plan). Or if you can find a wi-fi connection, you should be able to do it. I do it all the time in ports (not just Alaska). Much quicker than the ship's network.

[Hatteras51]

If you want to send e-mails from the ship, you will need to purchase a package from Celebrity.

 

As long as you're in port and connected to Verizon's network, there will be no charge for sending e-mails (assuming that's included in your plan). Or if you can find a wi-fi connection, you should be able to do it. I do it all the time in ports (not just Alaska). Much quicker than the ship's network.

 

Thanks, that's exactly what I'd figured. I plan to try to do all of my emailing while we are in port. I just hate using that painfully slow internet on the ship. I'm leaving my laptop at home for the first time, and am planning on just using my kindle and my cell phone for email and internet use on this trip.