cell phones

[espmass]

I'm sure this question must have been asked but I can't find it now. How far out do cell phones work? The ship will be following the coast from Port Liberty toward Florida and then across to the Bahamas. No, I don't plan to stay on my cell phone but wondered if I'd be able to call home and describe how the cruise is since I am leaving my husband home for the first time this time. Thanks.

[phtktz3]

We were never without service. Even out at sea on the Summit. My stepmoms Blackberry even worked the whole time. We do not pay roaming charges on our plan , but if you don't have a plan that includes no roaming charges I've heard it can be quite expensive.

[canderson]

I'm sure this question must have been asked but I can't find it now. How far out do cell phones work? The ship will be following the coast from Port Liberty toward Florida and then across to the Bahamas. No, I don't plan to stay on my cell phone but wondered if I'd be able to call home and describe how the cruise is since I am leaving my husband home for the first time this time. Thanks.

Before that prior post befuddles you entirely (one of us, anyway), be advised that Celebrity has been installing shipboard "repeaters" for satellite cell phone system. At present, it works only with GSM phones or other devices that use GSM technology for their connection. That could well be why the poster above reports service "at sea".

 

If you don't have a GSM phone, it might be worth getting one with a no-roam or cheap roam service. Added to the $1.79 a minute or whatever they're charging from the ship, it's going to be cheaper than their own in-cabin phone service.

 

If the question has to do with connecting to LAND based cell sites, you'll be lucky to maintain a connection once you're more than about 3 to 5 miles off shore. Much depends upon your phone and your cell provider's equipment, especially antenna siting and orientation. Many providers don't set up these systems to propagate a lot of signal out to sea. Further, you'll want to be outside and as high as you can get on the ship. I recommend the forward "antenna farm" area on Millennium class X ships -- forward of the sports area in the "topless sunbathing" section.

 

Also, as you wander away from Florida and into the islands, be sure you're provide offers you international service. It's a feature that comes turned off by default with some providers, and you'll need to ask them to enable it.

 

Good luck.

[phtktz3]

Before that prior post befuddles you entirely (one of us, anyway), be advised that Celebrity has been installing shipboard "repeaters" for satellite cell phone system. At present, it works only with GSM phones or other devices that use GSM technology for their connection. That could well be why the poster above reports service "at sea".

 

I apologize if my post was unclear. I honestly don't know my GSM from my GPS :rolleyes: My son is the technical wizard....all I know is that I was able to receive and make calls from out at sea on his phone which is Sprint, the only reason I know is due to a bad storm at home our tree in the front yard fell on his new car while we were on our cruise and we recieved a call about it. Thank goodness we got the call because I sure would not have wanted to pull into the driveway and find that when we came home:eek:

[canderson]

I apologize if my post was unclear. I honestly don't know my GSM from my GPS :rolleyes: My son is the technical wizard....all I know is that I was able to receive and make calls from out at sea on his phone which is Sprint

Sounds like you had a valuable resource with you there!

 

This reminds me of a warning as well. As far as we've been able to discern, the ship does not turn off its GSM system when in port. If true, it's entirely possible that someone could inadvertently get a rude surprise thinking they were making a land based connection when in port, only to find themselves racking up ship charges instead. Until the facts are confirmed, I'd recommend that when at port, if a person wants to make a call using their cell phone at what they believe to be a lower priced land based rate, they get off the ship to do so such that their call isn't captured by the ship's GSM/satellite system!