Communicating With Family Aboard Ship

[Colorado Klutch]

I'm booked on an Alaska cruise on Koningsdam in early May. On this trip with be Mrs. Klutch, Mom, Dad and the Mrs. Klutch sister. 

Last night my dad called worried about how we would communicate once we are on the ship. I had assumed we would simply use the Navigator app. But then Dad pointed out that we only recently convinced my mom to turn her phone on and there is just no way she is going to text. Furthermore, I've been reading some reviews for Navigator app and it seems to be pretty awful for someone who is phone savvy. Sounds like a no-go for Mom. 

I was hoping to avoid buying Internet packages for everyone just so we can call each other. Mom and Dad never use the Internet on their phone. Wife, sister and I rarely use Internet on our phones. But do we have any other option?

Thanks.

Edited March 15, 2023 by Colorado Klutch

[fusion927]

Before the navigator app, my wife and I would plan our day (activities, pools, meals, etc.), and arrange check in spots if we were going separate directions.

 

Also, there are telephones in all cabins and scattered in public areas would be a lower tech possibility.

 

[Colorado Klutch]

6 minutes ago, fusion927 said:

Before the navigator app, my wife and I would plan our day (activities, pools, meals, etc.), and arrange check in spots if we were going separate directions.

 

Also, there are telephones in all cabins and scattered in public areas would be a lower tech possibility.

 

 

Thanks! Low tech is good. 

Edited March 15, 2023 by Colorado Klutch

[Hllb]

Our family will use the app, but with cabin phones and perhaps agreeing to meet for lunch/dinner and deciding on schedule, it should be fine.

[Catlover54]

Isn't Mom going to be spending a lot (or any?) of the time with Dad, i.e., when Dad could do the needed texting (if any)?

 

For those days she may want to do stuff herself (spa?), just write down the plan.

 

Some of us did ocean voyages before there were cell phones, texts, and apps, and if we were not going to be together, we just talked about our plans, wrote a few things out, and  set up rendez-vous areas.  No one got lost! 🙂  It just took a little planning, pen and paper.

 

[0106]

You are going to be in Alaska.  If you all have US cell phone numbers you can just call each other like if you were home in Colorado.

[Colorado Klutch]

8 minutes ago, 0106 said:

You are going to be in Alaska.  If you all have US cell phone numbers you can just call each other like if you were home in Colorado.

 

I wouldn't expect to have cell service when underway. And, if we did, wouldn't there be punishing roaming fees?

[0106]

Your phones will work while you are in an Alaskan port.  When you are cruising, it will depend on how far you are from a US cell phone tower.  As a US state, you can use your phone in Alaska just like you can in Hawaii and the lower 48 for no additional roaming charges. Calls within the US are included, as is texting. Data comes from your plan . In some areas you may see ROAMING on your phone but it is not an additional charge.  This info is from my provider, Verizon.  I would check with your carrier but I believe you will be able to use your phone with no roaming fees while in port.

[Colorado Klutch]

18 minutes ago, 0106 said:

Your phones will work while you are in an Alaskan port.  When you are cruising, it will depend on how far you are from a US cell phone tower.  As a US state, you can use your phone in Alaska just like you can in Hawaii and the lower 48 for no additional roaming charges. Calls within the US are included, as is texting. Data comes from your plan . In some areas you may see ROAMING on your phone but it is not an additional charge.  This info is from my provider, Verizon.  I would check with your carrier but I believe you will be able to use your phone with no roaming fees while in port.

 

Thank you. Mrs. Klutch and I have Verizon. Mom and Dad have Consumer Cellular. Sister likely has whatever Walmart sells. I will have to look into this. 

[FlaMariner]

We don't mess with our cell phones or email or anything electronic when we sail.....But we do give this to our adult children in case there is a MAJOR emergency.  For those that enjoy keeping in touch, perhaps this is good insurance if they have an emergency and cannot reach you any other way.  We use this as the contact of last resort.....because it is expensive:

 

Additionally, you can call the ship directly from the shore. We recommend that you use this for the most critical emergencies only: Connecting to a Holland America Line vessel at sea is simple by using Ship Dial Service. A credit card is required for all inbound phone calls to a ship. The rate is $USD16.00 per minute and billing begins at the time specified. Please have the ship's name, your party's name and stateroom number before you call. Instructions:

1. Dial 1-800-993-5483 (US). From outside the U.S. access 1-321-837-6106.
2. Listen to the announcement.
3. Listen to the menu and select the number that corresponds to the ship you are calling.
4. If you receive a busy signal or message, please hang up quickly and try your call again.

Please print this page and give it to whomever you wish for dialing instructions.

[lissie]

15 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

We don't mess with our cell phones or email or anything electronic when we sail.....But we do give this to our adult children in case there is a MAJOR emergency.  For those that enjoy keeping in touch, perhaps this is good insurance if they have an emergency and cannot reach you any other way.  We use this as the contact of last resort.....because it is expensive:

 

 

Additionally, you can call the ship directly from the shore. We recommend that you use this for the most critical emergencies only: Connecting to a Holland America Line vessel at sea is simple by using Ship Dial Service. A credit card is required for all inbound phone calls to a ship. The rate is $USD16.00 per minute and billing begins at the time specified. Please have the ship's name, your party's name and stateroom number before you call. Instructions:

1. Dial 1-800-993-5483 (US). From outside the U.S. access 1-321-837-6106.
2. Listen to the announcement.
3. Listen to the menu and select the number that corresponds to the ship you are calling.
4. If you receive a busy signal or message, please hang up quickly and try your call again.

Please print this page and give it to whomever you wish for dialing instructions.

I've had so many arguments with my partner about this -"how do people contact us in an emergency" . I'm firmly of the camp - they don't.  If an emergency happens at home and you are at sea on a cruise ship - what can you do about it? Absolutely nothing. House burnt down? Someone sick or worse? Still absolutely nothing you can do about it - send me an email - I'll get it when I next connect and maybe can do something about it. If I'm in a port  I can come home - can't do it in the middle of the sea. 

 

He can never give me a decent argument about why it matters. Is it just a security blanket for others? I think it sets up false expectations.

 

Its the same when we travel independently - I set expectations - tell people they won't hear from us for a week or 2. I  usually do update faster than that but it works really well.  We had the opposite happen - my partner ended up in a Chinese hospital seriously ill. It was all very stressful - but at least it 2/3 days (it all blurred together) before I actually had to tell anyone outside of a couple of close family members. Took so much stress off. 

 

 

 

[VermeulT]

I was just on the Nieuw Statendam for a week.  There were 5 of us.  My brother in law had a prepaid phone where we couldn't get the Navigator app to download.  The rest of us used the chat feature built into Navigator.  Make sure to check your preferences settings to make sure it will alert you to new messages (this is in settings on the iphone - not sure where on Android).

If my BIL was not with my sister, we would leave him notes in the room where he could find us or we just would find him somewhere.

 

Yes you can use your cell phone in Alaska - just be mindful when on board that you might be considered roaming and you'll pay dearly for it - if you loose the land connection and connect to the ship's signal.

[Moriah]

When I cruised with my no-tech 90 year old Mom, I came equipped with post-it notes and markers and always put a note on the bathroom mirror and near the doorknob of the cabin telling her where I would be and until what time, and when in doubt, the plan was always to meet at the cabin.  In reality, we were almost always together and when we weren't, we just agreed to come back to the cabin to collect one another.  I confess it was kind of a pain... I prefer texting... but even when I sailed with my 31 year old daughter, who constantly texted me, she complained I didn't see her texts because I'd forget to check! The Navigator does not give you any sound notification of incoming texts so it's easy to forget!

[Moriah]

31 minutes ago, VermeulT said:

I was just on the Nieuw Statendam for a week.  There were 5 of us.  My brother in law had a prepaid phone where we couldn't get the Navigator app to download.  The rest of us used the chat feature built into Navigator.  Make sure to check your preferences settings to make sure it will alert you to new messages (this is in settings on the iphone - not sure where on Android).

If my BIL was not with my sister, we would leave him notes in the room where he could find us or we just would find him somewhere.

 

Yes you can use your cell phone in Alaska - just be mindful when on board that you might be considered roaming and you'll pay dearly for it - if you loose the land connection and connect to the ship's signal.

Alaska is NOT considered roaming.  It's part of the US. You can turn on your phone when you dock anywhere in Alaska and get your provider's signal.  Remember though, that Victoria is in Canada...as is Vancouver... and be careful.

[Moriah]

33 minutes ago, VermeulT said:

I was just on the Nieuw Statendam for a week.  There were 5 of us.  My brother in law had a prepaid phone where we couldn't get the Navigator app to download.  The rest of us used the chat feature built into Navigator.  Make sure to check your preferences settings to make sure it will alert you to new messages (this is in settings on the iphone - not sure where on Android).

 

 

Oh wow! I just this minute posted that there is no sound notification for Navigator texts!  Can you please post instructions on how to get it to make a sound on iPhone? That would be a lifesaver for me on my cruise next week! 

[FlaMariner]

1 hour ago, lissie said:

I've had so many arguments with my partner about this -"how do people contact us in an emergency" . I'm firmly of the camp - they don't.  If an emergency happens at home and you are at sea on a cruise ship - what can you do about it? Absolutely nothing. House burnt down? Someone sick or worse? Still absolutely nothing you can do about it

 

I so agree with this!!!!  There is absolutely nothing we can do about much of anything....and there is really no need to know.......This emergency ship call at $16 a minute helps affirm that it is only in a dire emergency and the house burning down is not one of them.......Also, if someone goes to the hospital, the doctors take care of that, not me.....What else?  The dog broke his leg?  Again....the vet will handle.....

 

We are not one of those families that have to check in twice a day and report on our trip to the grocery.........and our adult kids get the emergency contact info and they know not to try to find us and to solve stuff themselves......and they understand the ground rules.  And I am confident they will only call us if it is truly a life threatening situation that must have us stop everything and take the first flight home...(although none of us are sure what that event might be and hope we never find out)

 

We enjoy not being tied to a phone/email/computer/tablet/telephone while cruising...and we fine that we "enjoy the journey" better that way.....I realize others are wired differently and I'm glad we have choices w/communications....but don't call us!

 

....with that said, our plan is to give the emergency contact information to the kids and enjoy the journey.....

 

 

 

 

[0106]

The topic of this thread is about how to communicate with others when on the ship, not emergency contact by people who are not on the ship.

[FlaMariner]

3 minutes ago, 0106 said:

The topic of this thread is about how to communicate with others when on the ship,

 

LOL, my bad.  Please disregard my rants about emergencies....LOL.

 

Answer:  Use navigator on the ship, purposely get lost from others when in port. 

[LVinTennessee]

We went on an Alaskan cruise with extended family (16 of us) and none of us bought the internet plan. I don’t remember my phone ever working properly to text anyone when we were underway (I had Verizon).
Here is what worked for us - we had two side-by-side lido cabanas rented for the week. It was the “go to” place for everyone all week and worked extremely well (our cabins were on 4 different decks so leaving post it notes would not have worked for our group). When we were not at an activity, we went to the cabana to see who was there or to to see if anyone had left a note there. Plus it was really enjoyable to relax in the cabana to watch the scenery, or relax and read a book, or eat lunch, etc.  It always seemed like someone was there to hang out with or someone had heard where someone else was. 
Another idea is to have different color highlighters and mark your daily activity planner with the events that various family members are interested in (you are yellow, parents are blue, sister is pink, etc) and you would know, in general, where people will likely be when you’re not together.  

[Radbooks]

4 hours ago, Moriah said:

Alaska is NOT considered roaming.  It's part of the US. You can turn on your phone when you dock anywhere in Alaska and get your provider's signal.  Remember though, that Victoria is in Canada...as is Vancouver... and be careful.

If you are ON THE LAND in Alaska, it wouldn't be roaming, but when you are sailing it is definitely roaming once you get a mile or two from shore.

[Essiesmom]

Keep in mind that once you leave Seattle/Vancouver you are in Canadian waters, the shore is Canada almost until Ketchikan so definitely roaming and Canadian towers, scarce as they may be.  
  As far as receiving notifications goes…I’m wondering if they would come through an Apple Watch?  I know I often don’t feel/hear texts when they come in on my phone,  but I feel them first on my wrist from my watch.  Now, I have no way to test this as I currently cruise solo and at the moment only on Carnival (because I can drive to the port).  EM

Edited March 16, 2023 by Essiesmom

[PalmSprings]

Check your carrier’s specific coverage rules - with my T-Mobile plan, calls/texts to and from Canada and Mexico are included.

[auntmeg]

6 hours ago, PalmSprings said:

Check your carrier’s specific coverage rules - with my T-Mobile plan, calls/texts to and from Canada and Mexico are included.

Included on my Verizon plan too.

[VermeulT]

14 hours ago, Moriah said:

 

Oh wow! I just this minute posted that there is no sound notification for Navigator texts!  Can you please post instructions on how to get it to make a sound on iPhone? That would be a lifesaver for me on my cruise next week! 

 

Go into Settings.  Scroll down to NAVIGATOR.  Click on that.  click on notifications and choose if you want sounds on and/or notification on your lock screen.

[VMax1700]

14 hours ago, Moriah said:

 

Oh wow! I just this minute posted that there is no sound notification for Navigator texts!  Can you please post instructions on how to get it to make a sound on iPhone? That would be a lifesaver for me on my cruise next week! 

There is a notification but no sound nor vibration, only a visible notification.