Cell Service, internet and such

[dee2673]

Good Morning, All

Going to Alaska from Seattle next Saturday and wondering about the above.

Our trip was planned a year ago and in that time our daughter has conceived our second grandchild. Her due date is right in the middle of our cruise. I would have cancelled but had others involved. Long story but we are still going.

 

I know I can buy an internet package on board but would like to be able to receive a photo or two when "it" happens.

 

If I buy an internet minutes package on board for WiFi, that should do it, correct? I am thinking of turning off cellular on my phone while at sea to avoid the excessive seeming charges. We will have WiFi in port, as I've checked that out already. Forgive me if this is a dumb question. Not as savvy as I'd like to think about all of this

 

I'd disconnect completely if it wasn't for the baby

[dakrewser]

Yes, you can get pictures via Wifi. Was that your question?

[dee2673]

Nutshelled...yes. Curious about leaving cell on though. It's 2.50 a minute to talk and 1.30 per photos. Worth it , me thinks, if that's all it is. We'll get an internet package as well

[bonvoyagebites]

Very important for you to turn off Cellular Data Roaming on your phone, if that is an option. My son misunderstood my instructions on our recent cruise, and just the PUSH data (meaning the emails that came in uninvited, and alerts from his work, etc..) was going to cost well over $120. (for a simple 3-day cruise and a simple mistake)... He wasn't even surfing the internet or using his phone in any other way... and that was for 5MB of data only.

 

I would suggest getting WiFi or using at ports, as mentioned. Even with Roaming data turned off, you SHOULD get text messages... so you can be alerted when to check your email via wifi.

 

Just a thought.. Hope this helps.

[dee2673]

Thank you, this is rxactly was I was thinking. Will stick to wi fi this cruise.

[Fouremco]

We faced a similar situation with our daughter's first child, who was born on my birthday (!) while we were in the Caribbean. We spent a lot of time on FaceTime (Apple), but you could use Skype if you don't both have iDevices. The ship's internet may not support FaceTime or Skype, but your wifi connections ashore should.

[ellieanne]

Check your cell phone. I cannot receive texted photos via WiFi, so I need to use cellular data. Usually, if you are getting an email, than WiFi will work well, but if it's a text photo, then you will have to use Cellular at Sea data and pay roaming data rates, or wait until you're back in your home service area.

 

It's easy enough to run a test while you're still at home. Have someone text you a photo while you have data services turned off on your phone. If you get the photo all's good with WiFi at sea.

 

Edited to add: You can usually send/receive TEXT-based text messages without using data, though you will have to pay roaming charges. But if the photos is sent as part of a text, a Multi-Media Message, then you will not be able to download it without using cellular data. If in doubt, have the photo sent via email.

Edited August 22, 2015 by ellieanne

[liketraveling]

We faced a similar situation with our daughter's first child, who was born on my birthday (!) while we were in the Caribbean. We spent a lot of time on FaceTime (Apple), but you could use Skype if you don't both have iDevices. The ship's internet may not support FaceTime or Skype, but your wifi connections ashore should.

 

I was on the Veendam in November and in February and was able to use FaceTime through my wifi package.

[luvteaching]

If you are going from Seattle on Saturday I'm assuming you are on the Westerdam. They are doing the new pricing for internet which is really quite resasonable. You can get a package that allows for Skype, etc. for $90.00 for the whole cruise for unlimited use. I did the $60.00 package for unlimited use and was able to do photos and all emails and browsing I wanted to.

 

On the ship my phone was in the safe (I have a tracfone and a dumb one at that!). No problem with service in ports and often as you are coming into port.

 

Karen

[Fouremco]

I was on the Veendam in November and in February and was able to use FaceTime through my wifi package.

Good to hear. That cruise was 2.5 years ago, on the Noordam, and they were doing some upgrades at the time. We got into the habit of FaceTiming ashore and haven't tried it aboard since. Nice to know that it might be available on sea days.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Fouremco

[xlxo]

Disney Wonder had a 24Mbps $89 1gb package for me last year. I wonder what the performance will be like on HAL being unlimited. If performance is an issue, you might be limited to emails and pictures.... no streaming vids (ie Skype).

[Lizzie68]

Disney Wonder had a 24Mbps $89 1gb package for me last year. I wonder what the performance will be like on HAL being unlimited. If performance is an issue, you might be limited to emails and pictures.... no streaming vids (ie Skype).

 

I was able to use skype on the Westerdam this year.

[Adoptionmsw]

We cruised to Alaska last fall on the Zuiderdam. We use Verizon. We were able to use our phones in every port except Vancouver with no roaming charges because Alaska is in the US. Signal was good right on the dock. Daughter was making wedding plans and lots of telephone back and forth was necessary. Each town had a library with free internet as well. We don't buy the internet package on the ship because it's expensive and very slow.

[HollandDisneyPrincess]

I was just looking for something about Cellular at Sea for my MIL as her Mother has been in and out of the hospital and MIL needs to be able to get calls about her care. We'll be on an Alaskan RT from Seattle. I've never used it before. Does it cost anything to leave your cell on with Cellular at Sea and how much for phone calls? Is there a set-up fee like for the on-board internet? I saw someone said they were able to use the phone in Alaska's ports, were there any extra charges for that? She doesn't get data, so I'm just asking about phone calls.

 

Sorry for all the questions! Since I've never used it, I have no idea how any of it works. Any help/advice would be great. Thank you all!

 

And congratulations to dee2673! :)

[dee2673]

She should be able to get phone service in port. I don't know about Cellular at sea or if there is an exorbitant charge. Turning cell service off on the boat and back on in port. Wi fi on the boat should be OK. I know it's slow abut I Think it's 50.00 for 7 days. I'm ok with that

[drgrinch]

I was just looking for something about Cellular at Sea for my MIL as her Mother has been in and out of the hospital and MIL needs to be able to get calls about her care. We'll be on an Alaskan RT from Seattle. I've never used it before. Does it cost anything to leave your cell on with Cellular at Sea and how much for phone calls? Is there a set-up fee like for the on-board internet? I saw someone said they were able to use the phone in Alaska's ports, were there any extra charges for that? She doesn't get data, so I'm just asking about phone calls.

 

Sorry for all the questions! Since I've never used it, I have no idea how any of it works. Any help/advice would be great. Thank you all!

 

And congratulations to dee2673! :)

 

Keep your phone set on airplane mode, then turn it on only if you want to make a call or check for messages. The cost for this should be very minimal (at least it has been for me) unless you you actively use it extensively. Also, as noted above, keep your data roaming shut off unless you wish to text a photo, etc.

 

Cell service on a ship can be spotty, you may not have usable service within your cabin.

[HollandDisneyPrincess]

Thank you dee and drgrinch. I'll pass on the info!

[Silflay]

My wife and I are off to 7-day cruise from Vancouver. We use Verizon, and will have 2 iphones and at least one iPad with us.

 

I got the very reasonable sounding International plan covering Canada and Mexico for our iphones ($2/day/device on days used only, using our existing plan's minutes and MBytes.)

 

I see Nieuw Amsterdam's "unlimited wifi" rate is pretty steep -- $250 per simultaneous-use device for the 7 days. We might get one of these to share. The alternative would be get some limited plan and stay careful about logging out, and try to do any heavy wifi-ing in a library ashore. That sounds too hard to remember . . .

 

I am always worried about gotchas, and saw some messages here about $1,000 surprise charges. Mostly this seems to be a danger when phones are connected accidentally to the cellular at sea service, though I can't tell if this can happen even in port . . . I guess we will try to remember to put all devices in Airplane mode unless we are ashore-and also check the phones even then to confirm that it's Verizon providing the cellular connection.

 

Does this sound like a good plan??

[holacanada]

Hi !

 

Maybe I miss somethings.

Why the OP don't Skype instead to pay a too large and inappropriate fees ?

 

Holacanada

[Karennella]

Were in Antalya in Turkey on a cruise five years ago when we got a text telling us that our daughter in London had had our first grandchild four weeks early! What a surprise and we were able to call her but then bridged our call limit and had trouble contacting our provider. We spent the next day in Bodrum looking for Internet cafes so we could see a photo.

Technology has moved on but it is best to have it all sorted before you go. Stories here are common of bills of thousands of dollars when people do not turn off data.

[drlee]

As pointed out, cellular service is available in all Alaska ports and Denali. (not on the park tour, but at the hotel). Pictures can be sent/received this way easily. Remember that ship Wifi is often slower than dial-up, so pictures may take many, many minutes. to receive. We've had people send us pics when on HAL cruises that make it almost impossible to download email messages to any device. Wifi in ports is widely available, sometimes you have to find a McDonald's or Starbucks. Most cell providers offer a Canada add-on for a reasonable charge using your existing cell plan. I think you'd have access acceptable for most of the trip, I just wouldn't rely on ship wifi to be a fast solution. Even with unlimited wifi, picture transfer can take a LOT of time. And, our experience is that there are may facetime and skype users on board, which make the service even slower.

[Wehwalt]

It's wise to turn off data when the ship might turn on Cellular at Sea (or 901-18, as sometimes appears). Many phones use data even when locked.

 

As for leaving the phone on to get calls, take care that you are not charged for phone calls you do not answer. That may count

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Some ports are good and some are far

[dee2673]

I am the OP . My cruise was about a year ago and we did get the Wi-fi package. I could look it up but remember that the cost,to us anyway, was no big deal. We dont Skype..and didn't really want to. I wanted only to know the baby was born and everyone OK. They were , thank you..:). I turned off roaming and data , had no extra cell phone surprises. I did not wind up seeking wifi places in port as I wanted to see everything I could while there. Hope this helps and thank you all for all of yours

[jrblach]

we have T-Mobile cell phone and tablet (connected to T-Mobile like the cell phone).. when cruising and traveling the world, we temporarily increase our data on the tablet to 10GB for $50 per month. where ever there is T mobile service you get FREE UNLIMITED data and text in and out. the data is internet where you can do everything like google translate, email, pay bills at your bank, skype, check facebook & post. we create a WIFI hot spot on the tablet (since it has the big data plan), then connect the phone to the WIFI hotspot and do FREE wifi calling.

we will shut phone and tablet OFF at all times when on the ship unless it is a us port