Rare ggo85 Posted October 16, 2023 #1 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Would love to hear from anyone who has called the US while the ship is at sea outside U.S. waters - and especially outside North America. I may need to do calls for work during my cruise and would like to know: (1) how easy it is, and (2) how much it costs. Also, would love to hear about ability to videoconference while at sea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare fudge Posted October 16, 2023 #2 Share Posted October 16, 2023 I can only speak for Regent, I made a call at sea to the US while sailing to Japan, it was 6 dollars a minute, easy to call from your suite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canderson Posted October 16, 2023 #3 Share Posted October 16, 2023 This would probably be a good time to bring up using one's own phone for WiFi calling, and query those familiar with how it goes (or doesn't) on SS, being careful to specify which ship - since it does seem to matter. I do know that I've had good luck on Celebrity ships using WiFi calling provided I was on their upper tier data plan, but that was a year ago. @ggo85 You don't say where you'll be - what itinerary? If always more or less in sight of land, what you'll want is a cellular phone and plan to deal with GSM in Europe. At a minimum, you'll always be able to make calls while in port. Attempts to video conference are going to be a function of both what ports SS blocks on their shipboard network and the bandwidth available to you. There's some chance that with the right VPN, the upper tier data plan, and not too much competition for satellite time, you could make it work. If any of the above sounds foreign to you, either get your IT folks on this for you or consider not using video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJN1 Posted October 16, 2023 #4 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Any cellular network plan will be on the expensive side, especially if you are away from land and in the satellite network. Making calls using WhatsApp and the (free) WiFi on board (or a public WiFi system on land) is much better and cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carefreecruise Posted October 16, 2023 #5 Share Posted October 16, 2023 You have three ways to call. First - is in your room, you can call directly to the US and it will be on your shipboard account. The cost has come down a lot over the years and check with reception on that ships current cost per minuet. Second - is to use standard ships WIFI and you will need to be competent in how to set up your cell phone to use WIFI calling. NOTE ( If in bad areas you will need to upgrade to Premium WIFI Plan to eliminate dropped calls) Third - is to upgrade the premium WIFI and use video calling on Facebook, apple or Skype. Also its best to let people and customers know to not Text you. Texting onboard is a lot more complicated and deserves its own thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted October 16, 2023 #6 Share Posted October 16, 2023 6 hours ago, carefreecruise said: Also its best to let people and customers know to not Text you. Texting onboard is a lot more complicated and deserves its own thread. I've always just received text messages fine using the ship's WiFi; I put the phone in airplane mode first to prevent it from connecting to the onboard cellular network first. Is there another way to do it? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carefreecruise Posted October 16, 2023 #7 Share Posted October 16, 2023 17 minutes ago, jpalbny said: I've always just received text messages fine using the ship's WiFi; I put the phone in airplane mode first to prevent it from connecting to the onboard cellular network first. Is there another way to do it? Its a little complicated due to different carries. Most texting is passed on from the cellular side and when traveling, most people will turn off roaming, cutting off the cell connection. If, lets say someone has T-Mobile that includes international travel, they will still receive texting. If someone or most carriers when at sea for day after day will lose connection and get no texting. Forcing or replying to a text will connect to the ships cell connection or connect to the closest land base, causing a roaming fee. It is possible while at sea to trick the phone by temporally turning off airplane mode and turning on WIFI calling. this will usually make the phone think it is in connection to a cell tower and download all your texts and you can send texts during that time also. Of course an app like whatsapp will always work because it relays on WIFI only but the other person must have whatsapp also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saminina Posted October 17, 2023 #8 Share Posted October 17, 2023 Call from room was about $1.79/minute last year. Very surprised. My satellite phone is useless on SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canderson Posted October 17, 2023 #9 Share Posted October 17, 2023 3 hours ago, saminina said: Call from room was about $1.79/minute last year. Very surprised. My satellite phone is useless on SS. Iridium? On an open deck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saminina Posted October 17, 2023 #10 Share Posted October 17, 2023 Not saying it does not work. Less hassle and cost effective to use phone in suite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canderson Posted October 17, 2023 #11 Share Posted October 17, 2023 1 hour ago, saminina said: Not saying it does not work. Less hassle and cost effective to use phone in suite. Ah. Had me going there with "useless". Our plan runs $1.39 a minute. There's a monthly fee, but that's a sunk cost whether we use it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_K Posted October 18, 2023 #12 Share Posted October 18, 2023 If you’re on ATT or Verizon you might want to look into Cellular at Sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A Tucson Guy Posted October 19, 2023 #13 Share Posted October 19, 2023 On 10/18/2023 at 3:15 AM, Mark_K said: If you’re on ATT or Verizon you might want to look into Cellular at Sea Thanks as I just signed up with AT&T for the Nov. 18 Nova cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ggo85 Posted October 19, 2023 Author #14 Share Posted October 19, 2023 Thanks for the help. I have a cheap plan for calling and texting that works in port. And the WiFi on the ship covers everything else. However, I may need to do work calls while at sea out of range of port. Does Cellular at Sea work for phone calls from sea. Is it better /cheaper than paying the per minute fee mentioned above. We will be in Asia on Muse. I have ATT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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