Cell Coverage - Alaskan Ports

[4hunters]

Hi everyone. I would like to know if anyone has an idea of what type of cell coverage I can expect to receive (NOT via the ship's wifi) while the ship is docked in the following ports:? Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Victoria, British Columbia?

 

I'm with T-Mobile, but coverage tends to be the same for all four major carriers - so if you're with another cell company I'd still like to hear from you regarding your experiences in these ports.

 

I'm trying to decide if I should buy an internet package from the ship or just wait until these ports to take care of some stuff I need to do online from my phone.

 

Thanks in advance. :)

[elliair]

I have a Tracphone and the carrier(s) are Verizon, Alltel and US Cellular. and I did not have service in any Alaskan port. I saw some people talking on their cell phones but no idea who their carrier is.

[Sea Hag]

I've had coverage in different years with Sprint and Verizon.

[CruiserBruce]

If you do a search on the Alaska board, (as this really doesn't have anything to do with Princess) you will see many threads on the topic. The summary- coverage is generally good within the port cities, but as Alaska is huge, very rural and lightly populated outside of the cities, coverage there is frequently sketchy.

Edited August 30, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[4hunters]

Thanks Elliair and Seahag. I appreciate any and all responses addressing my specific question. :D Please, keep 'em coming!

[azbirdmom]

We have AT&T and just returned from taking the Denali Explorer cruise - tour. We had service in all places on our land tour and in port. It was a little slow in Skagway, but a friend with Verizon had no problems at all there. Just make sure to shut off your phone or put it in airplane mode while sailing as you'll end up paying quite a bit for using the ship's cellular service. Unless you really need to stay in touch on a daily basis, you can skip the ship's wifi.

[towhee]

In Victoria be sure to stand on the "US" side of the ship when making a call. You'll get US service that way. If you are on the "Canada" side of the ship, you'll get hit with foreign roaming charges.

[Murphey]

With T-Mobile, you get cell service included in Canada, Mexico and the US. We just got off a 7 day Alaskan cruise and had service in each port. When you get to Canada, you will get a text from T-Mobile.."Welcome to Canada, you can text, call etc.....the same as at home. Hope this helps.

Edited August 30, 2016 by Murphey

[masterty]

Verizon.

Works in all AK ports visited except Icy Straight Point.

[SadieN]

Back in 2007 got the best ATT signal at ISP, better than home. The locals were 'upset' with me.

 

Had no problems in the other ports, though we never went to Skagway.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[calisilent]

Verizon.

Works in all AK ports visited except Icy Straight Point.

 

Did you get roaming charges or any extra charges for calls, texts, or internet when you used your Verizon in an Alaska port?

 

Cathy

[masterty]

Did you get roaming charges or any extra charges for calls, texts, or internet when you used your Verizon in an Alaska port?

 

Cathy

 

No roaming charges or extra fees while using Verizon in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. Cellular, texting, and data were all included as normal charges. There was no surprise bill when getting home and we spent significant time sharing photos on social media and texting family while in and around AK ports. There was WiFi at Icy Straight Point but no Verizon.

 

Your phones will warn you when on the ship using their internationally based cellular system or when initiating any international based cellular network. You have to really want to roam on these modern phones. They will not just access international cell towers without you going through a couple "Are you sure" warning prompts on your phone. Keep international roaming off and you will be fine. Other than speed being slower in AK, my phone service with my Galaxy S5 in AK is no different than my phone service in San Francisco.

I kept my phones in Airplane mode when not docked in a US port. I hope this helps.

Edited August 30, 2016 by masterty

[peety3]

I had no trouble in port using AT&T.

 

One tidbit to note: be aware of timezones. I was making arrangements to book a tour in Ketchikan once, and took my phone out of airplane mode. Quickly my phone shifted from PDT to ADT (-1 hour). On the final day, I set an alarm on my phone so we'd wake up properly for disembarkation. That morning, I woke before the alarm, and took my phone out of airplane mode again. Quickly my phone shifted from ADT to PDT, and it reacted by setting off the alarm since all of a sudden it was past-due, which of course woke up my wife (Bad Husband!). So, just be aware of timezones...

[calisilent]

No roaming charges or extra fees while using Verizon in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. Cellular, texting, and data were all included as normal charges. There was no surprise bill when getting home and we spent significant time sharing photos on social media and texting family while in and around AK ports. There was WiFi at Icy Straight Point but no Verizon.

 

Your phones will warn you when on the ship using their internationally based cellular system or when initiating any international based cellular network. You have to really want to roam on these modern phones. They will not just access international cell towers without you going through a couple "Are you sure" warning prompts on your phone. Keep international roaming off and you will be fine. Other than speed being slower in AK, my phone service with my Galaxy S5 in AK is no different than my phone service in San Francisco.

I kept my phones in Airplane mode when not docked in a US port. I hope this helps.

 

Thank you Masterty! You helped so much!

Cathy

[AZJerry]

We have T-mobile and had no problems in any of the ports where the phone roams on MCI, I think it was. No extra charges for any calls, texts or data. In Vancouver, test and data are free and calls are 20 cents/minute, at least with the plan we have.

 

As you, no doubt, already know, never connect to the ship's cell coverage while not in port.

Edited August 30, 2016 by AZJerry

[JerseyShore]

I have AT&T and had wonderful cell service in all of our Alaska ports.

[Parrottdizes]

Both the spouse and I use Verizon and until a month before our cruise to Alaska this summer we also had the same plan.

A month before the trip my cell phone went berserk and I had to replace it. I was informed that the plan I had was no longer offered, so I had to get a different plan than the spouse has. Well in Alaska, the spouse's cell phone didn't work, (kept saying that there was an error in dialing) but my new cell phone worked fine.

So moral of the story, just because you use the same carrier as someone whose phone works in Alaska, you may not have the same plan.

[4hunters]

Thank you all! Your replies to my question were extremely helpful. :) I've now decided to just use my phone while in port(s) to take care of the online stuff I need to do.

[PescadoAmarillo]

With AT&T, we had coverage in all the ports. In fact, we had coverage for quite a bit before arriving and after leaving some of the ports. In Glacier Bay, when the ship was by the headquarters/ranger station where it picked up the rangers, I also had cell service, albeit weak and short-lived.