Cell phones while on ship

[treasure4two]

I need your help. :confused: Just talked friends into a cruise, their first for 5 of the 6. I know people will say to relax on the cruise and not worry about work, but my friend's husband has to be in contact with his office, so please do not mention he should not. That would be impossible. So please, for those of you cell phone and computer savvy, what does he need to do as far as his cell phone to have coverage as much time as possible. I know he can buy the Internet time on ship, but is cell phone coverage available while sailing? As you can tell, I really do not know how to ask this question, as I am computer and cell phone impaired, but I need you all to work through my question:confused: and tell me what I need to tell them. REALLY appreciate your help. They will be sailing out of Port Canaveral to the Bahamas. Thanks again my CC friends!:D

[kingoftheicedragons]

I think you need to check with your cell phone carrier.

 

For instance, I use T-Mobile, which I think is one of the better international cell phone companies to have. There are a number of international countries that I get free (or rather included) data service in. Therefore, if I'm in port of one of those countries, I can read emails, surf the net, or check Facebook at no additional charge. I'm not sure if I'm subject to data limits or not the way I would be if data-roaming in the US, but I have never come up against that limit if I do. I just make sure I turn my data off just prior to the ship leaving each port as I would have large fees if I tried doing this at sea. So to answer the question, is it available? Yes. But it's expensive at sea, and unless he uses a business phone that will pick up the tab, he shouldn't do it.

 

However, just because I have included data in international countries at no additional charge doesn't mean that I will necessarily have service. T-mobile does work in most countries, but just as in the US, not the entire country.

Edited October 18, 2014 by kingoftheicedragons

[bury me at sea]

They need to contact their cell phone carrier. Costs incurred will be billed by the carrier, not by Carnival.

[Disconnections]

If he needs to be in contact with his office while at sea, you may want to consider using VoIP services, such as Skype. You can purchase a subscription from Skype for $2.99 per month (you can purchase a single month) for unlimited calls to the US & Canada and connect to the ship's WiFi. Alternatively, the stateroom phone can possibly be the cheaper alternative at $1.99 per minute, depending on the plan you have with your carrier.

 

As you mentioned having it for as long as possible, I'm going to assume you're talking about domestic service. For most legacy US carriers, you will be in range of domestic cell towers for a little bit after sailing from any US port, St. Thomas and San Juan. Out of Fort Lauderdale, I typically am not roaming until an hour and a half after we leave port on both my Verizon and AT&T devices. If sailing to the Western Caribbean and hugging the Florida Keys, my AT&T connection becomes spotty and I can occasionally pick up 3G, but usually Edge or GRPS. As a suggestion, you may want to turn off data roaming to avoid unexpected costs.

 

When on the ship, you will be connecting to Cellular@Sea who will bill your phone carrier for the usage, which in turn, passes the bill onto yourself. If you choose to use VoIP, you can do so over the ship's WiFi with an Internet plan or at a wireless hotspot in a port.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Disconnections

[snowskier]

When my dad was still alive and I made the choice to receive calls from him, I used the capabilities of my smart phone to block all calls except his. I also used the capability of my email provider to filter my incoming mail to ensure only those sent from my dad came to my phone.

 

Kept my charges to a minimum and allowed me to talk to my dad. Why you ask, because I enjoyed talking to my dad. Didn't talk to him every day, just when one of us had something to share. We all decide how to spend our money and the few dollars I spent on cell phone charges was my choice.

 

My charges for a 7 day cruise were never more than $20 (calls and email) and I still smile at some of the conversations we had.

 

So use your smart phone capabilities to facilitate your needs and keep your charges at a minimum. My solution may not be right for you but your phone is powerful and there is a solution.

[SuiteTraveler]

Your friend's husband needs to check with his work cellphone provider to make sure he has international calling and get the best package. The costs are very high in the Caribbean. Normally, the cellphone doesn't work at sea (no towers) - only in port. Incidentally, if he needs better internet connectivity or is having problems sending files, he needs to go to the internet cafe to do that. Last cruise, my husband was working onboard and he couldn't send his files - he tried all sorts of things but the files were huge and he was going to stay up all night to split the files into hundreds of individual files and then send the files back to his office. They HAD to be there by the next morning. I made him go to the internet cafe, we put the files on a memory stick, used the hardwired computers there and the file went in a matter of 3 minutes. So keep in mind, the hard wired computers work a lot better than the wireless on the ship.

[dettlja]

Normally, the cellphone doesn't work at sea (no towers) - only in port.

 

Not true. The ship has its own "tower" which runs of satellite. It's called Cellular at Sea and your phone will work while at sea. Its just expensive. If he just needs calls he should turn off his data roaming so he will only be charged for phone calls he answers and outgoing calls.

 

My husband always has to take a few calls from work while we are on vaca. But his employer pays his bill, so we don't worry about the cost.

[T. Advisor King]

I think the OP is probably at least as concerned with figuring out how the fellow can remain in contact while on board, not just in port. A previous poster has mentioned that there is cell service on board. I think my carrier charged me $4/ min.

 

More importantly, the OP will need to determine what the fellow needs in terms of connectivity. Is it just to be able to answer the phone when it rings (cell service at sea and a travel plan for in port), is it the ability to check email on a periodic basis (can bring a laptop and subscribe for an Internet package for about $50, or leave the laptop and visit the Internet cafe on board for the same cost), or does he need to be able to respond more immediately to push-notification, like smart phone email and text? If he needs email on his phone while at sea, then he will need data access on board. This will get expensive because I don't think there is any way to filter for just the "important" messages. I'm guessing a little wildly here, but if my phone was on 24/7 on a week-long cruise and assuming 50-100 emails per day, I would think it would cost me at least around $500 for the data service. And I would want to be sure that I had all my settings down to bare bones (no unnecessary apps running in the background, email set to not automatically download images, etc). If it is just text, I think (not completely sure) he could leave the data off and just be charged for each message (maybe $0.75-1.00 per message either way).

Edited October 18, 2014 by T. Advisor King

[CookieShip]

Is the company footing the bill for all this connectivity during the cruise? He can be connected as he wants, but is he/the company willing to pay for it?

[Verde Man]

If he just needs to phone out, an option is to use the phone in the cabin. They charge $2.00 a minute for outgoing calls.

[elainmir]

I can say when we were onboard the Liberty in June/July I called Verizon and had international calling added to both of our phones. I did use my phone some but mainly texted home. It was under 20 bucks for 8 days. I ended up using the in cabin phone for 1.99 per minute and it worked perfect. I will tell you that some people I texted didn't receive them or weren't able to text me..and some could

[BS Criusers]

test

[travler27]

There are several issues here. Cell service in foreign ports needs to be worked out with the appropriate cell carrier. Cell service while at sea is provided by the "cell" tower mounted on the ship and connected to land via satellite. The cabin phone is another option. Additionally, VOIP can be used but doesn't work very well (if at all) due to the very limited bandwidth provided by the ship board internet services. And finally, there is email which works fairly well as long as the messages don't contain a lot of video and graphics.

 

The cabin phone is probably the most reliable method. However, for someone to call from land to the ship they will have to call an 800 number and provide the appropriate info to reach the ship.

 

There are multiple parties involved in all these services and charges will vary based on the option chosen. If only outbound calling (ship to shore) it gets a little easier and if inbound is needed (while walking around the ship) it gets a little more complicated. Costs for any solution are pretty high so communications planning might be needed or a fairly robust expense account.

 

I maintain contact pretty well by simply checking my email about 3 times a day and warning those on land that they need to email me and not call me while I'm on the cruise.

Edited October 18, 2014 by travler27

[Havingfun2010]

I need your help. :confused: Just talked friends into a cruise, their first for 5 of the 6. I know people will say to relax on the cruise and not worry about work, but my friend's husband has to be in contact with his office, so please do not mention he should not. That would be impossible. So please, for those of you cell phone and computer savvy, what does he need to do as far as his cell phone to have coverage as much time as possible. I know he can buy the Internet time on ship, but is cell phone coverage available while sailing? As you can tell, I really do not know how to ask this question, as I am computer and cell phone impaired, but I need you all to work through my question:confused: and tell me what I need to tell them. REALLY appreciate your help. They will be sailing out of Port Canaveral to the Bahamas. Thanks again my CC friends!:D

 

Most people who need to be in constant contact, really do not, but of course it is their choice. If for some reason, they are given vacation time, and told, they still must be in contact, then it becomes the companies responsibility for footing the bill if the expectation is above what would normally be expected.

 

With that in mind, you ask a question, without all the necessary details. Your friend needs to go to their companies cell phone company, and set up his phone to handle international data and phone calls. In addition, he would need to purchase a data/internet package on the ship. Yes, they can make calls on the ship, use the internet, use a computer etc. It will cost an arm and two legs. They need to determine how much they will need, and pick a data plan to fit that need, keeping in mind, that this is not inclusive tot he data plan they will use while docked.

 

I don't think any one person on this board will give you the answer you need. Work with the phone company to get your answer.

[GoinCruisin]

Most people who need to be in constant contact, really do not, but of course it is their choice. If for some reason, they are given vacation time, and told, they still must be in contact, then it becomes the companies responsibility for footing the bill if the expectation is above what would normally be expected.

 

With that in mind, you ask a question, without all the necessary details. Your friend needs to go to their companies cell phone company, and set up his phone to handle international data and phone calls. In addition, he would need to purchase a data/internet package on the ship. Yes, they can make calls on the ship, use the internet, use a computer etc. It will cost an arm and two legs. They need to determine how much they will need, and pick a data plan to fit that need, keeping in mind, that this is not inclusive tot he data plan they will use while docked.

 

I don't think any one person on this board will give you the answer you need. Work with the phone company to get your answer.

 

It actually does not cost an arm and 2 legs LOL. For those of us that run small businesses, the cost is well worth it... 120 minutes of internet for $55, not an arm and 2 legs ;) Calling back to the office can be done via Skype using Wifi. Most providers have an international packages which offer a reduced cost on calls. For instance, a package that for $60 offers unlimited text messaging, 300MB of cellular data and .50c/minute calls. All ship to shore communication can be kept within a reasonable financial limit... and can certainly help those of us that need to keep in touch, have a much better vacation. I'm not sure why people automatically assume when someone has to keep in touch with the office that it means an employer is demanding that... when many times those people are self employed and have a small business that needs to be tended to. Being able to be in touch actually allows one to be MORE relaxed when you know all is well back at home. Being connected is a small price to pay for peace of mind that your business is still operating and will be there when you return home ;)

[spcannon]

I posted this on another thread but it seems relevant here as well - the info is current as of today as I am leaving in a couple of days for my own cruise :-) I didn't address cellular data because I generally turn it off and if I have to get online I buy an internet package from the ship.

"I know if you use AT&T you can receive text messages for the same rates as home - so if you have unlimited texting they are free. To send a text is .50 per message. Making or receiving a calls cost about 2.50 per minute. Without an international plan calling from most ports is 2.50 except Mexico & Canada are $1. We typically receive messages from home via text and respond as necessary."

You do have to have international calling enabled with AT&T on your phone to call from the ship or a foreign port.

[tkportersat]

He will really need to check with his Cell phone provider, there are so many possible charges that could pop up while trying to use his phone on a ship but there may be a change that can be made to his plan temporarily while on the trip to help keep costs down. Also, no way to guaranty how well the service will be either. There are places still where my Verizon phone has zero service yet someone with At&t next to me has no issues.

 

I need your help. :confused: Just talked friends into a cruise, their first for 5 of the 6. I know people will say to relax on the cruise and not worry about work, but my friend's husband has to be in contact with his office, so please do not mention he should not. That would be impossible. So please, for those of you cell phone and computer savvy, what does he need to do as far as his cell phone to have coverage as much time as possible. I know he can buy the Internet time on ship, but is cell phone coverage available while sailing? As you can tell, I really do not know how to ask this question, as I am computer and cell phone impaired, but I need you all to work through my question:confused: and tell me what I need to tell them. REALLY appreciate your help. They will be sailing out of Port Canaveral to the Bahamas. Thanks again my CC friends!:D

[BallFour4]

Most people who need to be in constant contact, really do not, but of course it is their choice.

 

Small businesses employ more people than any other entity and those of us that own one are not willing to risk a decision, miss a chance to help a customer or answer a question based on experience. Sometimes the decisions I can make in a split-second will pay for the cruise.

 

If for some reason, they are given vacation time, and told, they still must be in contact, then it becomes the companies responsibility for footing the bill if the expectation is above what would normally be expected.

 

Please. Being accessible 24 hours a day (as long as the technology is there) is a requirement in many careers. We know that when we "sign on" with the company. Again, it's a small price to pay for being able to take family on vacation.

 

.

Edited October 22, 2014 by BallFour4

[nj_flyer]

Small businesses employ more people than any other entity and those of us that own one are not willing to risk a decision, miss a chance to help a customer or answer a question based on experience. Sometimes the decisions I can make in a split-second will pay for the cruise.

 

 

 

Please. Being accessible 24 hours a day (as long as the technology is there) is a requirement in many careers. We know that when we "sign on" with the company. Again, it's a small price to pay for being able to take family on vacation.

 

.

 

i agree with being someone that needs to be in touch also,

I have verizon and in last month it was 2.99 a min using verizon wireless and as long as you have international dialing turned on it will work, VM is hit and miss on the cell phone

Skype and any other VOIP doesnt work (i tried vonage voip) and not enough bandwidth really slow internet on the ship

FYI i also missed some incoming calls (didnt ring all the time)

BTW and my company pays for the calls

Edited October 23, 2014 by nj_flyer
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