Tmobile (Sprint) - Service in Alaska

[dalesyang]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just wondering if anyone has Tmobile or Sprint and have used their cell phone on an Alaskan cruise?    

 

Did it work at sea?   Did it work in Juneau,  Glacier Bay,   Sitka,   Ketchikan?   

 

Just wondering if i need to get wifi or not.   Better if i can skip out on it altogether.

 

Thanks!

[Mary229]

I used it in port, I used WiFi for texting and FaceTime on the ship.   Ship cell phone calls are expensive, if available . 

[YourWorldWithBill]

23 minutes ago, dalesyang said:

Hi Everyone,

 

Just wondering if anyone has Tmobile or Sprint and have used their cell phone on an Alaskan cruise?    

 

Did it work at sea?   Did it work in Juneau,  Glacier Bay,   Sitka,   Ketchikan?   

 

Just wondering if i need to get wifi or not.   Better if i can skip out on it altogether.

 

Thanks!

We're T Mobile, in Alaska last September. Even if they tell you it might work at sea, better not enable it, but remember to go to airplane mode. Otherwise, as @Mary229said, you might find a surprise. But in the ports it worked, if I remember correctly (we didn't use it much in ports, just in case).

[DesertRat46]

We had a T Mobile chip from Consumer Cellular in Alaska last summer and it did not work well in most ports.  We've switched to an AT&T chip for our Sept. cruise to Alaska and hope it is better.

[dockman]

Mine worked semi ok in Juneau Ketchikan Sitka and Skagway....on shore and sometimes a little out on deck while in or very near port.

 

Other places no.

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, DesertRat46 said:

We had a T Mobile chip from Consumer Cellular in Alaska last summer and it did not work well in most ports.  We've switched to an AT&T chip for our Sept. cruise to Alaska and hope it is better.

I have used AT&T for a number of years in Alaska ports for both calling and hot spotting for my laptop with very good service.  Upon first docking with so many phones connecting to the local cell towers, cell service with any carrier will be less than optimum.  As cruisers begin dispersing on excursions and using other cell towers, cell service will be normal. 

 

Note that WiFi onboard is free to use the Navigator app.  You only pay for an internet connection to interact with resources  not on the ship. 

[dockman]

1 hour ago, Crew News said:

I have used AT&T for a number of years in Alaska ports for both calling and hot spotting for my laptop with very good service.  Upon first docking with so many phones connecting to the local cell towers, cell service with any carrier will be less than optimum.  As cruisers begin dispersing on excursions and using other cell towers, cell service will be normal. 

 

Note that WiFi onboard is free to use the Navigator app.  You only pay for an internet connection to interact with resources  not on the ship. 

 

I found the navigator app to be pretty horrible...somedays it worked ok to find travel mates etc...other days with me doing absolutely nothing different not at all...overall i would give it a D....one would think after 5? years that they would get the bugs out but it appears one would be wrong.

[YourWorldWithBill]

48 minutes ago, dockman said:

 

I found the navigator app to be pretty horrible...somedays it worked ok to find travel mates etc...other days with me doing absolutely nothing different not at all...overall i would give it a D....one would think after 5? years that they would get the bugs out but it appears one would be wrong.

I've seen lots of reviews of the Navigator similar, but for us on the Rotterdam recently it was pretty decent, working almost all the time. Maybe the newer ship has better connectivity. 

[crystalspin]

6 hours ago, dalesyang said:

Did it work at sea?   Did it work in Juneau,  Glacier Bay,   Sitka,   Ketchikan 

As others have said, you do not want to have your phone out of airplane mode at sea. "Cellular At Sea" is very expensive. 

 

Glacier Bay is a remote national park, you should not expect any non-ship coverage (and even the ships coverage may be flakey so far north away from the satellites path). Sitka is pretty remote as well, but I can not speak from experience as I was sailing with all of the people I would have contacted! 

[dalesyang]

Thanks everyone!   Very helpful comments!

[USN59-79]

We have TMobile and not only did it work in the Alaska ports on our recent Westerdam cruise from Yokohama to Seattle, it also able to use it for email in all the Japanese ports also.

Ray

[jackinelgin]

Anybody have any experience with Verizon on an Alaskan cruise?

[fsufancc]

Just back from Alaska inside passage (on RCL).  T-Mobile worked in Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau in 4G.  I don't think there is 5G service yet in those areas.  We had a Wi-Fi package, again with Royal Caribbean, and used Wi-Fi calling while onboard.

 

T-Mobile will warn you via a push notice if you are not in Airplane Mode about Cellular at Sea which is very expensive (so I have been told).

 

Also, your phone clock will be all over the place as it draws signal from cell towers and you will be out of range a bunch. Once in town, it will synch up with the local time.

[cruisequeen4ever]

T-Mobile itself is not offered in Alaska, but they may use the Alaska company, GCI, for their cell service.

[Music Man290]

On 6/20/2023 at 2:25 PM, dockman said:

Mine worked semi ok in Juneau Ketchikan Sitka and Skagway....on shore and sometimes a little out on deck while in or very near port.

 

Other places no.

No T-Mobile coverage in Juneau, Skagway, had ok coverage  in Ketchikan on T-Mobile network.  Not roaming.

[Music Man290]

On 6/25/2023 at 10:56 AM, cruisequeen4ever said:

T-Mobile itself is not offered in Alaska, but they may use the Alaska company, GCI, for their cell service.

This is not correct information, T-Mobile does offer coverage in some parts of Alaska.

[Mary229]

I use TMobile and usually do have coverage in the towns.  

[Haljo1935]

22 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I use TMobile and usually do have coverage in the towns.  

Same.

[RuthC]

2 hours ago, Music Man290 said:

This is not correct information, T-Mobile does offer coverage in some parts of Alaska.

Perhaps it was correct info at the time it was posted? You bumped up a very old thread, you know.