Mobile Coverage in the Mediterranean

[jblive]

Hi there,

 

I apologise if this topic has been covered before, but I am brand new to this site and have never been on a cruise.

 

I feel lost at sea and am not exactly sure which forum I should be addressing my question.

 

The question is: Is there mobile coverage in the Eastern Mediterranean?

 

Am I able to receive an SMS on my mobile (cell) phone while I am at sea?

 

I understand the internet situation, but I do not know about mobile phone coverage at sea.

 

Can anybody assist?

 

Thank you in anticipation.

[paul929207]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Usually you will be able to use a mobile phone while at sea. The connect is thru the ship and p to a satellite. It is expensive (most often $2.49 per minute). Also service is not guaranteed.

[Underwatr]

The OP's question was in regards to sending and receiving text (SMS) messages.

 

You'll probably be able to send and receive phone calls and texts due to the ship having a its own cellphone system that communicates with the rest of the world over a satellite link. On my carrier (US T-Mobile) incoming texts come out of whatever text message allocation is in my account (since I have unlimited texts, incoming texts are free) and outgoing texts are US 50 cents each.

 

As paul929207 mentioned, voice calls are expensive. For some reason T-Mobile's rate is considerably higher than the $2.49/minute he mentioned, although I think most carriers charge in that range.

[Hlitner]

For European cell phone service you need to have a GSM phone (as opposed to a CDMA phone) and have a service that allows you to expand your coverage. Some providers such as Verizon offer European coverage for an additional monthly fee (which you can get for only a month) so you might want to contact your own phone provider. WiFi is also very common throughout Europe and many folks simply find some free (or low cost) WiFi when ashore. Starbucks and McDonalds are always popular for their free WiFi.

 

If you have an unlocked phone you also have the option of purchasing a European enabled SIM chip (which will get you some kind of Euro phone number). There are services like MOBAL that will give you access to lots of countries with a single chip. There are also other services which are strictly national.

 

Hank

[jblive]

Thank you for your help Paul, Underwatr and Hlitner. You all gave me some important information.

 

I apologise for not being clear in my first post.

I only want to receive messages by SMS.

I do not wish to send them.

 

Underwatr said that the ship has its own cellphone system that communicates with the rest of the world over a satellite link. He went on to say:

 

On my carrier (US T-Mobile) incoming texts come out of whatever text message allocation is in my account (since I have unlimited texts, incoming texts are free) and outgoing texts are US 50 cents each.

 

This is great news because the only thing that I intend to do with my Australian based SIM and phone is to read text messages sent via SMS.

 

I heard that it was free to receive SMSs so hopefully it may be FREE to receive when I am at sea.

 

The SIM and phone is not going to be my main communication method. I intend to use SKYPE on another device to make calls when I am in port.

 

Thank you all very much for your insight and if you have more to add I look forward to hearing from you.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Thank you for your help Paul, Underwatr and Hlitner. You all gave me some important information.

 

 

 

I apologise for not being clear in my first post.

 

I only want to receive messages by SMS.

 

I do not wish to send them.

 

 

 

Underwatr said that the ship has its own cellphone system that communicates with the rest of the world over a satellite link. He went on to say:

 

 

 

On my carrier (US T-Mobile) incoming texts come out of whatever text message allocation is in my account (since I have unlimited texts, incoming texts are free) and outgoing texts are US 50 cents each.

 

 

 

This is great news because the only thing that I intend to do with my Australian based SIM and phone is to read text messages sent via SMS.

 

 

 

I heard that it was free to receive SMSs so hopefully it may be FREE to receive when I am at sea.

 

 

 

The SIM and phone is not going to be my main communication method. I intend to use SKYPE on another device to make calls when I am in port.

 

 

 

Thank you all very much for your insight and if you have more to add I look forward to hearing from you.

 

 

Once you are out of range of land based cell towers, which are "partner" towers to your regular service provider (e.g., Vodaphone to AT&T), the ship's cell and data service or it's wifi is the only way to receive or send SMS, e-mail, phone calls, etc. BTW, take great care to which land based cell network you connect. Any purchased discount Int'l roaming package you may buy or be gifted by your regular provider will only apply to partner phone systems. Regular Int'l roaming charges will apply to other companies' services.

 

Unless you purchase (or are gifted) access from the ship (or have your own satellite phone and service plan), you will pay extra for that connectivity between your mobile device and the service provider.

[jblive]

Wow, that's very handy to know.

 

Partner towers are OK, but anything outside these attracts charges.

 

Wow, very interesting. I must tread cautiously.

[jblive]

I heard somewhere on the line that the range is about 12 miles out of port, before the SEA Satellite kicks in. True or False?

[Flatbush Flyer]

Wow, that's very handy to know.

 

 

 

Partner towers are OK, but anything outside these attracts charges.

 

 

 

Wow, very interesting. I must tread cautiously.

 

 

Your regular cell provider can provide a list of its partner networks arranged by nearby country. They can also spend some time with you explaining how this all works and selling you a one month Int'l roaming package of cell and/or data. We buy these roaming discount packages from AT&T and I print a small card with the names of all the partners, which I carry in my wallet. Can't remember how much data is in the particular package we buy (though it is plenty for everything short of streaming multiple movies). But, we pay $60 USD extra per device we plan to use for the minimum duration of one month and this provides X MBs of data and lower Int'l. per minute and per SMS message charges. But, you still pay at least what are your charges at home.

 

In another post, the question is how far will a cell tower reach out to sea. That varies significantly based on a wide variety of circumstances. So, if your "roaming" phone (incl SMS) and/or data is turned on, you may find the foreign provider at any moment changing from one network to another (incl the ship's network appearing/disappearing within sight of land). This is why you leave these services turned off until you are in range of a strong signal from your service or it's partner.

While you are at it, you may want to adjust other settings on your phone before travel to limit apps "running in the background," auto downloading e-mail or allowing more than the e-mail message header (incl) graphics and attachments auto-downloading when you first turn "airplane mode" back on after arrival at the embarkation airport. All of these eat into your data allowance.

 

Do call your cell service provider and listen to them rather than to us folks here on CC. I have tried to give you the "straight scoop" but I am not your service provider (particularly since you are not from the US).

[jblive]

Thanks for that, you have been a great help.

[SadieN]

I heard somewhere on the line that the range is about 12 miles out of port, before the SEA Satellite kicks in. True or False?

 

 

Wouldn't count on it.

[Underwatr]

If you're familiar with your phone's menus there should be a setting to select the cellular network to which you connect (a particular land service provider or the ship's cellular service). I use this when in port (and sometimes a few miles out to sea) to avoid connecting to the ship's system and incurring unexpected roaming charges.