Cell phone service on Nieuw Amsterdam northbound from Vancouver to Whittier

[motravelerken]

Taking a trip with 8 of us in July. Taking the NA Northbound from Vancouver to Whittier. My wife and I have iphones and we share a plan. Others in our group will have iphones. Will we be able to text and call each other while on the ship? Does it matter if we are in Canada or not? When on land in Alaska, we should be ok, I think. Just wanting to be able to communicate with each other via our cell phones. When my wife and I went overseas to Europe a few years ago, we got a temporary international plan, and we could communicate with each other and everyone at home while on land. But we could not while on our cruise ship. I don't honestly remember if we could text and call each other while on the cruise ship. Also wanting to know while in Vancouver (on land) if we will be able to contact each other without an international plan, or if we will get charged extra? Looking for guidance. I would like to avoid getting an international plan. I don't care too much about calling people back home, I just want to be able to communicate with our phones with the 8 people we are traveling with. 

[Mary229]

If you have WiFi apple users can text each other anywhere in the world.

[CruiserBruce]

First of all, who is your cell phone carrier? Many vendors now include cell coverage in Mexico and Canada with their standard US plans.

[Mary229]

PS. They can FaceTime also.   You can try it on your iPad 

[Essiesmom]

You need to ask your plan provider about Canada.  In Alaska, it depends on the availability of cell towers.  Alaska is sparsely populated, so likely there won’t be cell towers to connect, and they might not be from your providers.  Sailing the Gulf of Alaska you will be too far from land for any tower but the one on the ship.  EM

[CruiserBruce]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

If you have WiFi apple users can text each other anywhere in the world.

Not sure that is true. You would need to access the internet to be able to text anywhere in the world, which on a ship would require an internet plan.

[Mary229]

Just now, CruiserBruce said:

Not sure that is true. You would need to access the internet to be able to text anywhere in the world, which on a ship would require an internet plan.

Exactly or at an Internet cafe.  But if you have WiFi you can FaceTime and iMessage any apple user anywhere in the world - that is a fact 

[CruiserBruce]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

Exactly or at an Internet cafe.  But if you have WiFi you can FaceTime and iMessage any apple user anywhere in the world - that is a fact 

No, WiFi is simply a radio frequency that takes you to a router/server. You need to have internet access from that router/server, which means an internet plan, costing money, on a ship, in some hotels and other businesses.

[Mary229]

Just now, CruiserBruce said:

No, WiFi is simply a radio frequency that takes you to a router/server. You need to have internet access from that router/server, which means an internet plan, costing money, on a ship, in some hotels and other businesses.

Ok, it still stands that if you have WiFi, no matter how you have it, you can communicate with other Apple users by FaceTime and iMessage.  I am not quibbling about how someone gets WiFi but that IF you have it you are good to go. 

[motravelerken]

Our carrier is AT&T. We have the internet plan on our cruise, it is part of the "Have it all" package if I am not mistaken. 

[Mary229]

I have never had an issue using my cellular service onshore in Alaska.  

[motravelerken]

Therefore, it sounds like we will be good on communicating with each other while on the cruise ship. 

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, motravelerken said:

Our carrier is AT&T. We have the internet plan on our cruise, it is part of the "Have it all" package if I am not mistaken. 

Then you are good to go for texting and FaceTime while connected to the WiFi 

[CruiserBruce]

Just now, Mary229 said:

Ok, it still stands that if you have WiFi, no matter how you have it, you can communicate with other Apple users by FaceTime and iMessage.  I am not quibbling about how someone gets WiFi but that IF you have it you are good to go. 

The point is, on a HAL ship, if you turn on the WiFi on your device, you connect to the INTRANET, which allows you to see menus, daily schedules, book excursions and restaurants, etc. But, without an purchased internet plan, you go no further.

[Mary229]

As far as Vancouver, with no international plan, you will be silent unless you hook up to wifi at a local establishment.  

[CruiserBruce]

2 minutes ago, motravelerken said:

Our carrier is AT&T. We have the internet plan on our cruise, it is part of the "Have it all" package if I am not mistaken. 

AT&T includes cell and data in Canada as if it was in the US in most their plans. Thus you can use your phones in Canada without any extra charge. We have used our AT&T phones in Canada (and in Mexico) without any special plan or extra cost.

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

The point is, on a HAL ship, if you turn on the WiFi on your device, you connect to the INTRANET, which allows you to see menus, daily schedules, book excursions and restaurants, etc. But, without an purchased internet plan, you go no further.

That was not their question.  They were trying to get a workaround using cellular service on ship or buying an international plan. They have HIA 

[3Shelaghs]

Cruiser Bruce is correct all round. To my understanding if you turn your phone on while on the ship, it connects to the ship satellite, not your internet provider. The ship Intranet and Internet is different then cell service on your private phone. To save on the big bucks, you need to NOT connect to cell service until you are in a port, OR have oodles of $$ to spend calling via satellite.

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, 3Shelaghs said:

Cruiser Bruce is correct all round. To my understanding if you turn your phone on while on the ship, it connects to the ship satellite, not your internet provider. The ship Intranet and Internet is different then cell service on your private phone. To save on the big bucks, you need to NOT connect to cell service until you are in a port, OR have oodles of $$ to spend calling via satellite.

If you are on WiFi, which they are, you can communicate with iMessage and FaceTime with other apple users even in airplane mode.  Have you ever wondered how people get texts and phone calls during a flight?  Try it

Edited May 6, 2023 by Mary229

[auntmeg]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

If you are on WiFi, which they are, you can communicate with iMessage and FaceTime with other apple users even in airplane mode.  Have you ever wondered how people get texts and phone calls during a flight?

What you are saying is still wrong.

 

WiFi give you nothing but a connection to an internal network. You need WiFi that is connected to the INTERNET in order for iMessage and FaceTime to work.

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, auntmeg said:

What you are saying is still wrong.

 

WiFi give you nothing but a connection to an internal network. You need WiFi that is connected to the INTERNET in order for iMessage and FaceTime to work.

They have WiFi!  They have HIA.  Read the thread .  Answer the questions people ask 

Edited May 6, 2023 by Mary229

[auntmeg]

3 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

They have WiFi!  They have HIA.  Read the thread .  Answer the questions people ask 

I did read the thread. And yes, they will be able to use iMessage and FaceTime in this situation.

 

However, continuously saying that WiFi is needed when INTERNET service is what is actually needed is incorrect and serves to confuse people who might be reading and don't have HIA.

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, auntmeg said:

I did read the thread. And yes, they will be able to use iMessage and FaceTime in this situation.

 

However, continuously saying that WiFi is needed when INTERNET service is what is actually needed is incorrect and serves to confuse people who might be reading and don't have HIA.

Maybe so but common usage of WiFi is as I indicated.  I think many don’t know they can use their iPhone as described and they spend a lot of money trying to communicate when it is already there.  If you wanted to be thorough you could add that on the ship intranet you can text via the app

[terrydtx]

4 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

First of all, who is your cell phone carrier? Many vendors now include cell coverage in Mexico and Canada with their standard US plans.

Our AT&T account includes Mexico and Canada.

[terrydtx]

On the Oosterdam last year in Italy and Greece, once I upgraded to the premium Wi-Fi, I was able to make and receive phone calls and text messages though the "Wi-Fi Calling" mode on my Samsung phone. The surf Wi-Fi that came with HIA was useless and did not work for Wi-Fi calling. I was able to use the Wi-Fi calling feature to call my wife on the ship too. The messaging app in the HAL app is totally useless.

 

In 2019 when we did the same cruise the OP is asking about, we had our AT&T cell service when we got to cities in Alaska and some very spotty service while we cruised the inside passage.

Edited May 6, 2023 by terrydtx