Cell phone use?

[Jim_Iain]

40 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Sure we use our phone on cruises (and everywhere in the world), but one does need to understand what they can and cannot do.  On a ship, keep the phone in Airplane Mode, activate its WiFi and, assuming you have included (or paid) WiFi access use what is available.  On most ships you will have the Web, texting ability (or Whats App) and on some ships you will be able to actually make/receive phone calls over WiFi (VOIP).  

 

On (or within about 10 miles) of shore it depends on your cell phone provider and your plan.  If you have T-Mobile (like we do) than it is likely you can use your phone just about everywhere in the world without paying an extra fee other than 25 cents/min for phone calls.  With other plans you need to inquire about your options (you will usually be able to get worldwide use for a monthly fee).

 

When we are in Europe, South America, Latin America or Asia, we use our phone just like at home (we have T-Mobile) including for its GPS / mapping capability.  I

 

Hank

 

I do the same with T-Mobile.    I have been hit with the 25 cents a minute a couple times.   Recently a restaurant called to re-confirm our dinner reservation while we were out of our AirBnB.     Oh well wasn't much money.

 

So far I have only been two two places that did not have T-Mobil Coverage.    One surprised me -  American Samoa wasn't covered while regular Samoa was covered.

[Hlitner]

4 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I do the same with T-Mobile.    I have been hit with the 25 cents a minute a couple times.   Recently a restaurant called to re-confirm our dinner reservation while we were out of our AirBnB.     Oh well wasn't much money.

 

So far I have only been two two places that did not have T-Mobil Coverage.    One surprised me -  American Samoa wasn't covered while regular Samoa was covered.

We learned about the wonder of T-Mobile, while on a HAL Prinsendam cruise off the coast of Stromboli, Italy,  A group of entertainers was in the Crows Nest (bar) late one night and they were all using their phones.  I asked them if they got free Internet on the ship and they explained that they were using a land-based cell (about 10 miles distant).  They told me they all had T-Mobile and it worked just about everywhere.  When I got home, we switched our cell provider from ATT to T-Mobile and have happily used it all over the world.

 

Hank

[CurlerRob]

For those of us not fortunate enough to be able to subscribe to T-Mobile, eSIMs are an excellent low-cost option, especially for data. My preference is Airalo, but there are a number of providers. 🍺🥌

[riversights]

The diversity invested here, and the improvisation, are surely signs of intelligent life on this planet.  We may sail with (reasonable) confidence.  

[lilybug]

We have AT&T and if we use our phones while off the ship, they charge $10 per day for first person, $5 for second if we are both using it.  Many days we don't use it but if we do, we don't mind these charges.   We have a daughter living in the UK so we use WhatsApp regularly and also with other family and friends.  I'm always reminding myself and my husband to keep phone in airplane mode on the ship.

[clo]

On 7/3/2024 at 2:09 PM, Jim_Iain said:

 

I'm sure we all have different opinions on communication and for that matter any subject on CC.   I have a daughter that calls me daily for a 5 minute chat -  She also suffered brain damage during a transplant and occasionally have seizures.    She also finds that Dad (even though she is 38) can talk her through the per-seizure while her meds take effect.   Normally less than 3-4 minutes.  

Beside that living in the hear of Silicon Valley I'm connected and wired via various means 24 hours a day.    Just my preference.  

 

I also usually shoot lots of pictures and Live Post on all my cruises.

 

I on the other hand,  totally respect those that want to disconnect.   Just not for me.

I've not been on my computer for a few days and hate texting. But I want to respond to you. Your situation couldn't be more different and if we were in it we'dd be doing what you do. Not to be melodramatic but you have saved her life. Great Dad. xoc

[willoL]

Like a lot of frequent international travelers, I use T-Mobile. I chose that carrier in part because it offered the best int'l roaming options.

 

My spouse, on the other hand, prefers Verizon Wireless and has his own plan. He needs to call in (could probably do via the website?) to add an international option before leaving the country if he wants to use his phone. They may have an "always on" international option for Verizon, but he doesn't use/want it. He may be on an old plan no longer offered; he hates change!

 

My family also has a horror story about accidental and very expensive roaming. On a road trip in northern Michigan, I believe it was, my mom's AT&T cell phone connected to a Canadian tower. She wasn't paying attention as her phone alerted her to charge after charge (background things refreshing.) I think she racked up many hundreds of (US) dollars in charges over less than one hour of driving. Now, that was over a decade ago, so maybe things have changed, and also AT&T did reduce the charges in her case after she called and spent hours on the phone explaining how this accidentally happened, so it could have been worse. I'm not trying to vilify AT&T as a carrier, just offer a warning.

 

Short piece of advice is: know your plan and what it includes, and be aware of what system your phone is connecting to when you travel anywhere near a border.

 

There are phone settings to disallow roaming, for example, and at least some carriers let you keep international roaming completely switched off and unavailable, like my spouse does if he doesn't call in to activate travel options. (But I don't even want to pretend I should to give specific advice on settings to anyone with a different phone/OS/carrier!)

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, willoL said:

There are phone settings to disallow roaming, for example, and at least some carriers let you keep international roaming completely switched off and unavailable, like my spouse does if he doesn't call in to activate travel options. (But I don't even want to pretend I should to give specific advice on settings to anyone with a different phone/OS/carrier!)

 

I usually just put my phone on Airplane Mode but could probably turn of Roaming.    As an aside I have forgotten to turn on Airplane mode a couple times and received an Alert from T-Mobile reminding me to put my phone on Airplane mode.   Wasn't charged a penny ---thank goodness.

 

T-Mobile recommends that when on a cruise and in a U.S. port you should turn off roaming to prevent your phone connecting to the ships Celluar at Sea while in the port.   I've never done this but will keep in mind in the future.