Cell phone service along the eastern seaboard

[xlivin0naprayerx]

I'm leaving rom NY, cruising to Florida (and beyond). Does the ship cruise close enough to shore (that is, just outside the 3 mile limit) so that land based cell phone service is available??

 

I know that NCL has cingular cell towers on board, so I don't know if I'll be forced to use their roaming rates of almost $5/min for non cingular phones.

[Seago2]

Well on the off chance you read this on the day of departure: I had cell service (Cingular) the whole way from NYC to Miami. After that my phone said "Bahama Net" and I'm sure it costs major $$$- but you do have service.

[dforeigner]

I'm leaving rom NY, cruising to Florida (and beyond). Does the ship cruise close enough to shore (that is, just outside the 3 mile limit) so that land based cell phone service is available??

 

I know that NCL has cingular cell towers on board, so I don't know if I'll be forced to use their roaming rates of almost $5/min for non cingular phones.

 

I am pretty sure the ship will cruise further away than 3 miles as the international line is usually 12 miles but that is just my perspective. If you have Cingular, simply get the International plan and cancel it when you come back. Here is a thought. Even if you are sailing along 3 miles from the shore, if the ship has its own cell tower, your phone will probably pick the strongest signal and you will still have to pay the ship's cellular fees. If you need to stay in touch with someone, e-mail may be a cheaper option. At the same time, the on-board internet is not always reliable.

[bhaglund]

As long as your carrier is good you should have no problem getting service all the way up and down the eastern seaboard. Int'l minutes might get costly when you reach the Bahamas, though.