Mobile phone use at sea

[waitingforrhapsody]

Sailing on Explorer 30 March. As much as I would like to completely switch off from the office I can't - I have responsibilities. My mobile is with Optus. Do text messages work everywhere - even in the middle of the ocean - from memory 3 years ago we had "cellular at sea". Any recent experience with this?

 

Also - with RCI - do they still have any "pay as you go" internet? How much?

[ozdevil]

you may need roaming and using a network at sea could be expensive as you will have to bounce of satellites as no mobile towers in the middle of an ocean

[The_Big_M]

you may need roaming and using a network at sea could be expensive as you will have to bounce of satellites as no mobile towers in the middle of an ocean

 

As above, if you're away from land you can - but it will be pricey.

 

As for RCL their minimum package is now by the day. No longer per minute.

[Brisbane41]

If you are on holidays simply refuse to take the office phone calls. The sheer never of companies to infringe on peoples personal leisure time when they are not on the company dollar is astounding. Did you know it is illegal for this to happen if you live in Germany. Once you are on holidays it is against the law for your firm to contact you.

 

I for one will lock my mobile phone away and not care about who or what is calling me. Could not care less if someone died, I will find out when I get home. My holiday time is my time and my holidays revolve entirely around me. Everyone else who tries to contact me by phone can simply wait.

[wolfegizmo]

No idea how Optus works. Call them and see.

We have Sprint from U.S.

We recently were on Ovation of the Seas between Australia and New Zealand. We bought an internet package from RCCL. When we were away from land, we then had "sprint wi-fi" and our calls back to the US were free. Calls on or near land when we weren't on Sprint wifi were 20 cents a minute and texting was always free. Hopefully, your provider has something similar.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Wastegirl]

Recently when my Telstra connection changed to Cellular at Sea on a cruise they sent me a text stating:

• Airline or Cruise Ship or Satellite Services is not an eligible Travel Pass destination. Calls are $5 per minute to make or receive and SMS are $0.75 to send and free to receive. MMS are $0.75 to send plus data charges. Data is charged at $3.00 per MB, Message Bank is $5.00 per minute and to access dial #101#. For more details etc.....
  

I don't know if Optus is similar but it is worthwhile asking. If you are not sending many Texts its not too bad. However if you need a lot of contact email and an onboard data package might be best.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Optus rates for Aerospace and Maritime are:

$4 per minute to make or receive calls

SMS $1.00 to send and free to receive

Data $2 per Mb

Travel packs don't apply.