Need to phone home

[RetiredRich]

We are going on the November 9th Rotterdam out of Fort Lauderdale and my wife wants to keep our family in Kentucky informed and hear news from home.  She spent an hour on the phone with someone at AT&T  that cannot speak plain English trying to see if there is a special package she can buy to let her do that.  I told her she could probably have no problem on the phone while the ship is in port.  I see Holland offers a big package for over $150 which I think is slightly above ridiculous.  She ended with a $10 a day package that told her she could phone home from the ship while at sea.  I don't think that will work at sea.  Is it true that just a phone call or text will work only in a port ??

[SusieKIslandGirl]

We have Comcast Xfinity Mobile and they also have a $10/day plan but it states that it does not include calls from cruise ships. It's only for while we're in port. We did opt to use the pay-as-you-go plan which is 30 cents/minute phone and 10 cents per text. 

[CruiserBruce]

The $10/day would be in port only. That plan is active any day you need it, butnot until you actually touch a cell tower in those countries. Depending on the phone plan and the ports you are visiting,  you most likely be able to call from Puerto Rico and St Thomas for free as part of your regular plan. Possibly from any Mexican port as well.

[tupper10]

Many people now use Messenger on Facebook or What's App to communicate as long as you have wifi.  

[FlaMariner]

Remember if you are going to Puerto Rico or St Thomas, It's just like being in the good ole USA. Phones work the same as if you were in Cleveland.

[rkacruiser]

Not inexpensive to do, but very convenient with an excellent connection:  use the phone in your stateroom to make a ship to shore phone call.  I have done this 3 times and have been pleased with the convenience and the connection quality.  

[Banditswife]

We have used texting & emails while on board using the ship's WIFI.  Yes very slow, but ok to check in with my pet sitter.  

On a Carnival ship, we got an emergency message from 1 of our adult kids, but couldn't figure out exactly what it was saying.  So we went to guest services & the person working there allowed us to make a quick phone call to home for free.  It really helped ease our worry being able to talk to them.

[Mary229]

If you have WiFi and an apple device you can text and FaceTime any other apple device users.  

[Ilovesailaway]

1 hour ago, FlaMariner said:

Remember if you are going to Puerto Rico or St Thomas, It's just like being in the good ole USA. Phones work the same as if you were in Cleveland.

Huh, I wasn't aware of that. So when in those ports take the phone off airplane mode and I can make a call? Do I need to change roaming settings? Is the call made in regular cellular mode?

Thanks for the info

[Hlitner]

With T-Mobile we can simply make phone calls, for Free, over the ship's WiFi or wait until we are in port and use the local cell towers (that would cost us 25 cents a min).   No roaming an no extra fees (other than the 25 cents per min for phone) in over 200 countries.  In order to use the ship's WiFi one most have some kind of WiFi package.  On many cruise lines we get that free, but on HAL one needs to buy a package or WiFi program.

 

Hank

[*Miss G*]

3 hours ago, RetiredRich said:

We are going on the November 9th Rotterdam out of Fort Lauderdale and my wife wants to keep our family in Kentucky informed and hear news from home.  She spent an hour on the phone with someone at AT&T  that cannot speak plain English trying to see if there is a special package she can buy to let her do that.  I told her she could probably have no problem on the phone while the ship is in port.  I see Holland offers a big package for over $150 which I think is slightly above ridiculous.  She ended with a $10 a day package that told her she could phone home from the ship while at sea.  I don't think that will work at sea.  Is it true that just a phone call or text will work only in a port ??

 

AT&T has a couple of packages available using Cellular at Sea.  LINK

 

[Arizona Wildcat]

14 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

AT&T has a couple of packages available using Cellular at Sea.  LINK

 

The package is the way to go if you have AT&T.  Everything else probably a bit confusing if both are not a bit tech savvy.

[CruiserBruce]

36 minutes ago, Ilovesailaway said:

Huh, I wasn't aware of that. So when in those ports take the phone off airplane mode and I can make a call? Do I need to change roaming settings? Is the call made in regular cellular mode?

Thanks for the info

If your plan is "all of the US"...those areas are part of the US. Yes, you can make a call just as if you are in your front yard. You don't need to alter your phone in any way.

[Laminator]

34 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

With T-Mobile we can simply make phone calls, for Free, over the ship's WiFi or wait until we are in port and use the local cell towers (that would cost us 25 cents a min).   No roaming an no extra fees (other than the 25 cents per min for phone) in over 200 countries.  In order to use the ship's WiFi one most have some kind of WiFi package.  On many cruise lines we get that free, but on HAL one needs to buy a package or WiFi program.

 

Hank

T-Mobile...The best for frequent international travelers!

[Wakepatrol]

 

Edited November 3, 2022 by Wakepatrol

[fsufancc]

Wifi calling or WhatsApp (free) is the solution.  Probably 90% of all phones are Wifi calling capable. There are a few outliers (Consumer Cellular).  We live in a rural area and only use Wifi calling from the house. You need to have an internet wifi package from HAL.  If your phone is not wifi capable, use WhatsApp.  It is an app that lets your call and text via wifi.  So if you have wifi on the ship, you can call. If you get to port and find a bar or restaurant that has wifi, you can call.  No need to spend money for special plans. Companies that are selling these plans are just gouging you for not knowing the other options.

 

Google up "how to make a wifi call from your (android or iPhone) phone".

[aliaschief]

On our recent river cruise in France we faced timed with family while on ship WiFl.

[Iamthesea]

My understanding is that Verizon no longer supports WiFi Calling.  Does anyone know if this is so?  We have used it in the past while on a river boat, but not on the ship.  We usually just email or use iMessage on my iPad from the ship.  When land based out of the country, we use email, text, and call with the $10 a day Verizon plan.  Very reasonable in my opinion.  I think we used it 6 days out of our 11 day trip.  So $60 for 3 of us sharing a phone plan.

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, Iamthesea said:

My understanding is that Verizon no longer supports WiFi Calling.  Does anyone know if this is so?  We have used it in the past while on a river boat, but not on the ship.  We usually just email or use iMessage on my iPad from the ship.  When land based out of the country, we use email, text, and call with the $10 a day Verizon plan.  Very reasonable in my opinion.  I think we used it 6 days out of our 11 day trip.  So $60 for 3 of us sharing a phone plan.

If you have an apple phone you can bypass Verizon and use iMessage or FaceTime as long as the recipient also has an apple device 

[Iamthesea]

I do, and both my daughters have iPhone's.   That's what I do on the ship when a connection to WiFi is strong enough (Facetime), but have never tried it on land.  I guess I just prefer to have the option to pick up the phone and call them without having to find a place with WiFi.  

[Naismith]

On 11/2/2022 at 8:44 PM, Hlitner said:

With T-Mobile we can simply make phone calls, for Free, over the ship's WiFi or wait until we are in port and use the local cell towers (that would cost us 25 cents a min).   No roaming an no extra fees (other than the 25 cents per min for phone) in over 200 countries.  In order to use the ship's WiFi one most have some kind of WiFi package.  On many cruise lines we get that free, but on HAL one needs to buy a package or WiFi program.

We also have T-Mobile, and it is indeed seamless and super-easy.  

 

But I admit, I kinda miss the cruises of 20 years ago, when we could truly be unplugged for days at a time....so relaxing....

[Hlitner]

Just now, Naismith said:

We also have T-Mobile, and it is indeed seamless and super-easy.  

 

But I admit, I kinda miss the cruises of 20 years ago, when we could truly be unplugged for days at a time....so relaxing....

ROFL.  I go back to the 70s with cruising and remember the days when we would get to a port and passenger/crew would rush off the ship to get to the nearest phone booths (often on the pier or in the terminal) where they could use phone cards or make collect calls.  That was crazy but kind of fun.

 

But times have really changed.  I no longer need to carry 20 pounds of Michelin Map books when we go to Europe (we do a lot of self driving) or drag along my Gar.man Nuvi (with European Maps).  Now, all I need is my iPhone which handles GPS duty, tour guide duty. lets me make or change reservations, etc.  And anyone from home who needs to reach me has to simply dial my regular number (having T-Mobile means it will work in over 200 countries).  We can Facetime with our grandchildren no matter where we happen to be in the world (although the time zone issues can be problamatic) and even control our home thermostat!  Being away for months at a time is now so much easier because of electronic banking. bill payer, etc.   I love the technology because it makes long trips so much easier, but on the other hand I miss the good ole days when I would get angry at DW because she was a lousy map reader :).  It is almost too easy to drive anywhere in Europe.  If I get desperate it is just a matter of asking Siri!  

 

Hank

[Naismith]

15 hours ago, Hlitner said:

But times have really changed.  I no longer need to carry 20 pounds of Michelin Map books when we go to Europe (we do a lot of self driving) or drag along my Gar.man Nuvi (with European Maps).  Now, all I need is my iPhone which handles GPS duty, tour guide duty. lets me make or change reservations, etc.  And anyone from home who needs to reach me has to simply dial my regular number (having T-Mobile means it will work in over 200 countries).  We can Facetime with our grandchildren no matter where we happen to be in the world (although the time zone issues can be problamatic) and even control our home thermostat!  ......It is almost too easy to drive anywhere in Europe.  If I get desperate it is just a matter of asking Siri!  

We spent a month this summer driving around Macedonia-Albania-Bulgaria.  Our rental car had built-in GPS, but didn't always recognize our English spelling.  However, Google maps is not quite as reliable in that part of Europe.  We regularly got sent off to goat paths.  And since some of the real streets can appear like goat paths, just the cobbles a bit smoother, it was frustrating.  

 

Our upcoming cruise is a vacation from the vacation.  

[fatcat04]

We switched to GoogleFi for our phones and use the international Unlimited + plan (200+ countries). It has been exceptionally reliable for data, texts, and calls all over and the hotspot off my phone is great for the 5 year old (or me) using a tablet just about anywhere. With 4+ lines it is $40 a month per device and well worth the peace of mind for us when we are travelling. 

Edited November 6, 2022 by fatcat04

[Hlitner]

53 minutes ago, Naismith said:

We spent a month this summer driving around Macedonia-Albania-Bulgaria.  Our rental car had built-in GPS, but didn't always recognize our English spelling.  However, Google maps is not quite as reliable in that part of Europe.  We regularly got sent off to goat paths.  And since some of the real streets can appear like goat paths, just the cobbles a bit smoother, it was frustrating.  

 

Our upcoming cruise is a vacation from the vacation.  

Lots of interesting things happen with GPS whether it is on a phone or a Garman unit.  We once were driving around the Burgendy region of France, and using our Garmen Nuvi.  We were trying to get to a specific town and the Garmen routed us right through the middle of a large vinyard on a dirt road.   The main road was less than a mile distant, but we decided to stick with the Garmen directions.  It was a real hoot.  I do think that Google or Microsoft maps are an improvement since they are updated on a regular (sometimes real time) basis whereas the old Garman maps were at least a year old.  But when driving off the main roads of Europe we often look forward to getting delightfully lost which is when we often have our most fun and make interesting discoveries.

 

Hank