texting

[cajinyank]

Going to Alaska in 2 weeks and was wondering about texting. Can you text while on ship and how much would it cost?

thank you

[paul929207]

You can text while on the ship.

 

If you are close enough to a cell tower, your normal plan would take over. Most of us have free texting in the US.

 

If you are at sea, the text would go thru the ship's satellite. I belive it is 50 cents per minute.

 

Princess is starting to equip their ships with the capability to text other passengers on board for no cost. Both would need the app

[Colo Cruiser]

Going to Alaska in 2 weeks and was wondering about texting. Can you text while on ship and how much would it cost?

thank you

 

 

Its expensive and can run up a pretty hefty bill very fast. :(

[skf]

Best call/text from land. We had free family service from Hawaii...probably the same in Alaska.

[Working 2 Cruise]

Is it worth spending hundreds of dollars for a few texts? Remember, you'll be paying for outgoing and incoming...

[shorefolks]

It depends on your carrier and your plan. We have Verizon and always get a Global plan for use on cruises. Right now, that plan is $40 for 100 texts, 100 minutes of voice, and 100 Mb of data. With good planning, e.g., using wi-fi on shore, that should take care of your needs. If you need extra texts, I believe the present rate is $.50 to send. Check with your carrier.

[Pam in CA]

You first need to check with your service provider. Some offer international messaging. Put your phone in Airplane mode. Log into the ship's WiFi (you'll need to purchase an Internet plan) to text. Cost is usually $.50/text to send, $0-.10/text to receive. If you are texting between two iPhones using iMessage, there's no charge.

 

When in port or the ship is cruising the Inside Passage or the Glaciers, you should be able to connect to your phone service's cell towers.

[tanzer22pilot]

cajinyank (text) "these glaciers are awesome"

 

cajinyank's friend at home (text) "had to mow my lawn today"

 

cajinyank (text) "that sucks"

 

$1.50

[pablo222]

You first need to check with your service provider. Some offer international messaging. Put your phone in Airplane mode. Log into the ship's WiFi (you'll need to purchase an Internet plan) to text. Cost is usually $.50/text to send, $0-.10/text to receive. If you are texting between two iPhones using iMessage, there's no charge.

 

I think most people in the us mean 'send an sms message' when they

say 'text'. I don't think they are going to be doing this over wifi.

[caribill]

Using your phone to send/receive text messages on a ship does not require you to sign on to the ship's WIFI.

 

However, it does route the texts through their cell tower. You need to check with your cell phone service provider to determine the costs of sending/receiving texts this way.

 

Be sure that you do not have your normal cell phone services (automatic checking for new calls, checking for updates, etc.) active or you may get hit with very expensive roaming charges.

[GolfMom321]

It depends on your carrier and your plan. We have Verizon and always get a Global plan for use on cruises. Right now, that plan is $40 for 100 texts, 100 minutes of voice, and 100 Mb of data. With good planning, e.g., using wi-fi on shore, that should take care of your needs. If you need extra texts, I believe the present rate is $.50 to send. Check with your carrier.

 

Can you give me a little more info on this plan? Does this work overseas or just in the US? This would be GREAT--much better than anything I've tried before.

[cruisequeen4ever]

I can say with certainty that you will be able to use AT&T in all ports of Alaska, BUT you would be charged international rates in Vancouver and Victoria (if you're going there). I always put my phone in airplane mode as soon as we leave port to be safe. Not worth risking a hefty bill in my opinion.

[Colo Cruiser]

Can you give me a little more info on this plan? Does this work overseas or just in the US? This would be GREAT--much better than anything I've tried before.

 

I use 100Mb just turning my phone on! :eek: Anyway you look at it unless you have a European or a local phone/sim card for the country you are visiting its going to cost quite a bit for any extra international plans you purchase.

[Hawaiifrank]

I use 100Mb just turning my phone on! :eek: Anyway you look at it unless you have a European or a local phone/sim card for the country you are visiting its going to cost quite a bit for any extra international plans you purchase.

 

For my last transatlantic on RCCL, I switched my T-Mobile plan to their new "Simple Plan". We planned to spend time in France and England, 2 of the over 150 foreign countries where the plan offers free 2G or 3G data, free text messages and low cost voice calling. For voice it was $1.69/min. from England or France to the US. I had free data for metro and site-seeing information with no problems the whole time I was there.

 

Switching to the new plan actually saved me about $50/month. In the US the plan offers unlimited voice and text for a base price and you add on the amount of data you need. Wife and I do 3 gigs for $10/mo. each. My daughter has Unlimited for $40/mo. I had to pay off any remaining contracts to switch to this plan, but it was invaluable in Europe and it works in many Caribbean islands too.

 

Unfortunately, it doesn't help on the ship. :mad:

Edited May 10, 2015 by Hawaiifrank