Using cell phone service

[KrazyDogLady3]

Hello,

 

Sprint now offers free international text and data with no roaming charges.  Will we still need to purchase a data plan from the ship in order for this to work?

 

I've always put our phones in airplane mode and never attempted to use them or the ship WiFi before.

 

Thank you for any help!

[klfrodo]

Yes

you need to connect to either WiFi or cellular.

wifi will be much cheaper

[KrazyDogLady3]

Thank you.  I'm sorry if I sound naive or plain stupid, lol.  When you say cellluar, do you mean my personal cellular plan or does Carnival have a cellular plan?

 

Not getting a straight answer from Sprint or Carnival.

 

Thanks again.

[Kevin]

The ship cellular system is usually not part of any roaming included with your plan.

 

For Sprint 

https://www.sprint.com/en/support/solutions/international/cruise-ship-roaming.html

which leads you to

https://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp?isIntlTravel=true

There is a link at the bottom of that page that says Cruise Ships.  Click that link and start typing Carnival and finish with your ship.  It will tell you the cost/options.

 

Voice looks to be $2.50 a minute, texts are $0.50 each, and you can buy a data package from Sprint for $60 for 100MB and $100 for 250MB.

 

It is generally best/cheapest to put your phone in airplane mode and purchase a WiFi package from the ship if you need to remain connected.

 

 

[Schoifmom]

Just remember that there are no cell towers at sea.  In order for you to use your cellular service at sea, it will cost you an arm and a leg (see the previous poster's breakdown).  If you put your phone into airplane mode and connect to the ship's wifi service (using whichever package you decide is right for you), the cost of the wifi is all you will have to pay.  Your international plan will work on land at the ports when you are able to connect to cell towers.

[CruisingViper]

Yes I have tmobile and we've had free international cell service and calling on our last few cruises. It does not connect at sea, but works great in port. I usually have to get up to the Lido deck or higher for it to work, but it works the whole time you're in port. If you need internet access during sea days, get the wifi. I'm not sure if it's reliable enough for wifi-calling to work or if that would be blocked somehow.

[klfrodo]

2 minutes ago, CruisingViper said:

Yes I have tmobile and we've had free international cell service and calling on our last few cruises. It does not connect at sea, but works great in port. I usually have to get up to the Lido deck or higher for it to work, but it works the whole time you're in port. If you need internet access during sea days, get the wifi. I'm not sure if it's reliable enough for wifi-calling to work or if that would be blocked somehow.

I have T-Mobile also (who will soon merge with Sprint) wifi calling works great on the ships.

[KrazyDogLady3]

Thank you everyone!  Very helpful!

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

We have T-Mobile and do not purchase wifi. I am not one who is married to my iphone. When we get to a port I will send some pictures and a text to our son and daughter. Do some texting between them for a few and that is it. No charges.

[SC Beachlover]

I have Verizon and just got off Horizon and Sunshine. I left cell off until I was in port and away from ship. Verizon has a $10.00 per 24 hour charge at each port. Funny thing, in the ports that I did not make or receive calls, but did receive and send text, I did not get charged. This was really cheap.

[coevan]

8 hours ago, twodaywonder said:

We have T-Mobile and do not purchase wifi. I am not one who is married to my iphone. When we get to a port I will send some pictures and a text to our son and daughter. Do some texting between them for a few and that is it. No charges.

 

 

T-Mobile charges $10 a day like the other networks. Where are you getting free service? Are you wifi calling and texting from a hotspot?

[CruisingViper]

15 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

T-Mobile charges $10 a day like the other networks. Where are you getting free service? Are you wifi calling and texting from a hotspot?

they've been including talk, text, and data to canada and mexico in their plans for a few years now.

https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/magenta?icid=WMM_TM_19MGNTAPLN_33EAS45BUENRVK87L17311

Unlimited talk, text, and up to 5GB high-speed data in Mexico & Canada.

After 5GB of high-speed data, speeds up to 128Kbps.

 

In other countries, they offer free text and 2G data, not sure if that includes Belize though.  Do you have an old plan or were you thinking of calls and 4G data to non-Mexican ports?

Edited July 10, 2019 by CruisingViper

[coevan]

I have AT&T and know about Canada and Mexico, but not about free in other countries, not AT&T

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

16 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

T-Mobile charges $10 a day like the other networks. Where are you getting free service? Are you wifi calling and texting from a hotspot?

Sorry you are incorrect. We have the senior plan. $70.00 for two phones all taxes included. Almost totally unlimited. T-Mobile 55+ Unlimited Plan Check it out. When we enter a port we get a text from T-Mobile reminding us of free texting available at the port. Talk is not included for free.  Just send and receive texts and pictures along with the texts.

[coevan]

6 minutes ago, twodaywonder said:

Sorry you are incorrect

it was a question, how can I be incorrect? T-Mobile definitely has a international $10 a day service. We are seniors sick of AT&T, so we might check it out. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Just now, coevan said:

it was a question, how can I be incorrect? T-Mobile definitely has a international $10 a day service. We are seniors sick of AT&T, so we might check it out. 

Thinking you were saying I was paying $10.00 sorry for the misreading. We had a great service at $68.00 a month for 3 phones. However. This plan offers a lot, lot more for the money. Using 2 phones is not a problem. We have one as our home phone that connects to all the standard phones in our home. The other, my wife or I take it when we go somewhere. Retired and only one vehicle now also. Check it out. A great deal for us. I think you need to go to the store to get it. You need to show proof of age.

[coevan]

we have 2 iPhones and one iPad

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

You can add it to the plan. I do not know how much.

[PelicanBill]

On 7/9/2019 at 10:58 AM, KrazyDogLady3 said:

Hello,

 

Sprint now offers free international text and data with no roaming charges.  Will we still need to purchase a data plan from the ship in order for this to work?

 

I've always put our phones in airplane mode and never attempted to use them or the ship WiFi before.

 

Thank you for any help!

 

Not sure anyone understood your question.  Yes, Sprint has better international roaming than other carriers at no additional charge - if you have a GSM capable phone (most Sprint phones are CDMA or must be unlocked. CALL).  

 

But this does not extend to cruise ships.  Go to the sprint site and the roaming page (linked above) then choose CRUISE SHIPS and then type in your cruise ship name and select it.  Sprint offers plans on many cruise lines but for data you will do better with a WIFI Internet access plan.  Enable VOIP calling on your phone before you set sail to get and make phone calls using it.  You will be able to roam in many ports at no additional cost if you have a GSM phone.