communication home??

[paige1014]

DH & I are going on our first cruise in 4 weeks. We are leaving behind our 2 children with relatives. Can someone tell me how I can communicate back home just once or twice to check in? We were not planning on taking a laptop, but could if we needed to. We will be going to Roatan, Santo Tomas, Belize and Cozumel.

[Ally's Mom]

I have the same question (but only 1 child at home) and trying to figure something out too. I plan to purchase an international calling card to use when we are in port. I know it will work from Cozumel. However, our cruise is also going to Grand Cayman, and the cards I have researched online do not list GC as an eligible location to call home from. Does anybody know anything about these calling cards?

[Fishbait17]

You can use the computers in the Internet Cafe (or whatever it is called). You can either send/receive email or arrange a time ahead to communicate on instant messenger, by purchasing a time block. Also, look through you documents, there will be a personal email address for you on the ship that your children can use to get a message delivered to you. There should also be a number in case of emergency to reach the ship directly. Call you home phone carrier ahead of time to get an international calling card/number that you can have your calls from port charged back to you home phone. We find this easier than buying calling cards that you might not use up or need more time on. Plus, you can put the card in your travel documents case for later travels. Or you can check with your cell carrier to see if you have an international chip or can have one installed in your phone. Hope this helps; we have a difficult time staying in touch at sea ourselves. On our last cruise, we had a family emergency at home (thank God not serious) and didn't get our email messages until we returned to Miami.

 

Robin

[Bigdog49]

Most cost effective is text messaging from your cellphone onboard. Cheaper then one minute of connect time in the internet cafe.

[CarolynB]

In most ports, you will find internet cafes that you can use too. I have found them less expensive than the ship. I have been online in the ports and have caught whom I am wanting to email, and just did the instant message conversations.

[Fishbait17]

Most cost effective is text messaging from your cellphone onboard. Cheaper then one minute of connect time in the internet cafe.

 

Unless your cell doesn't work onboard. Out of 5 of us on last cruise, only one cell worked, and that one only intermittently.

 

Robin

[DMRick]

We used internet cafe's at each port. We saved a lot of money (we do use the ship as well, but not for long messages) using them while in port, and found them in places I would never have believed, such as Guatamala. My phone card worked in some ports, and didn't in others.

My granddaughters trac phone was the cheapest way to go, when it had a signal.

[Bigdog49]

Unless your cell doesn't work onboard. Out of 5 of us on last cruise, only one cell worked, and that one only intermittently.

 

Robin

 

You do need to plan ahead and have your carrier activate your service for international roaming. If you have Nextel forget it. I crossed the atlantic on the Gem and data and text worked 7x24. There were times voice calls became choppy.

 

Details by carrier can be found here

http://www.wirelessatsea.com/endusers.htm#custinfo

[DMRick]

You do need to plan ahead and have your carrier activate your service for international roaming. If you have Nextel forget it. I crossed the atlantic on the Gem and data and text worked 7x24. There were times voice calls became choppy.

 

Details by carrier can be found here

http://www.wirelessatsea.com/endusers.htm#custinfo

 

That was our plan..we paid a little extra to have Verizon put on the international roaming (a lot less at each port to call home) and then left the phone on the table at home..yikes, how dumb was that.

[Fishbait17]

That was our plan..we paid a little extra to have Verizon put on the international roaming (a lot less at each port to call home) and then left the phone on the table at home..yikes, how dumb was that.

 

Verizon does not offer GSM/G3 technology, but has a sort of half-azzed service that (supposedly) works on the ship and a handful of countries (just not in most of the countries we visit lol) through CDMA tech. For example, it will only work in 3 of 6 ports on our next cruise and never works in Europe or Africa, where we need it most. This is a problem with US technology in this area; it's kinda like they are using BETAMAX when the rest of the world is on VHS. Mine (Verizon) was activated for the ship, but I was unable to access voice mail or call out any time I tried (only about 5 times). Hubby's phone was GSM/G3 equipped, but did not work most of the time he tried it in our cabin (he has AT&T/Cingular). But he did receive emails on it in bunches once in a while, so it DID work sometimes lol. In other words, I wouldn't count on either in case of emergency, or for a scheduled call, you just never know when you will have a signal.

 

Robin

[scvgirl]

We leave for the Mexican Rivieria in a few days. I called Verizon today and they said that the international roaming will cost $.99 per minute while in ports. The alternative is $2.49 per minute on the ship, only when it is at sea. We used the $2.49 per minute option in Europe a few months ago and it worked fine, as long as we were at sea. My DH's blackberry only worked while we were in port, and only in certain countries. I hope Verizon is right about the Mexican ports, because the ship internet is slow and sometimes there are lines to use the computers. It would be easier to just call home when we are docked. Anyone else with Verizon that can confirm this for Mexico?

[JWestShuh]

I was thinking that texting could be a cheap way to get messages that say things like "All is well" from our dog/cat/house sitter. I have heard that it is relatively inexpensive. Anyone have any experience with text messaging while on a cruise?

[DCAM]

You do need to plan ahead and have your carrier activate your service for international roaming. If you have Nextel forget it. I crossed the atlantic on the Gem and data and text worked 7x24. There were times voice calls became choppy.

 

Details by carrier can be found here

http://www.wirelessatsea.com/endusers.htm#custinfo

 

 

Bigdog40 ~ Is there a reason you said forget it with Nextel, I wouldn't want to waste time contacting them if its a no go with them anyways! Thanks!

[Bigdog49]

Bigdog40 ~ Is there a reason you said forget it with Nextel, I wouldn't want to waste time contacting them if its a no go with them anyways! Thanks!

Check out the link above - not one of the carriers that works onboard

[Ally's Mom]

Verizon does not offer GSM/G3 technology, but has a sort of half-azzed service that (supposedly) works on the ship and a handful of countries (just not in most of the countries we visit lol) through CDMA tech. For example, it will only work in 3 of 6 ports on our next cruise and never works in Europe or Africa, where we need it most. This is a problem with US technology in this area; it's kinda like they are using BETAMAX when the rest of the world is on VHS. Mine (Verizon) was activated for the ship, but I was unable to access voice mail or call out any time I tried (only about 5 times). Hubby's phone was GSM/G3 equipped, but did not work most of the time he tried it in our cabin (he has AT&T/Cingular). But he did receive emails on it in bunches once in a while, so it DID work sometimes lol. In other words, I wouldn't count on either in case of emergency, or for a scheduled call, you just never know when you will have a signal.

 

Robin

 

 

Robin, how much did Verizon charge you to add internat'l roaming to your plan? We have Verizon, and I hate to change anything on our plan because it takes several months and a minor miracle for them to get our plan back to what it was. I'm wondering if it would be worth it to try though. Did you happen to try your phone in either Grand Cayman or Cozumel? If so, did it work? I know I can get a calling card in Mexico to call home, but I don't know about GC. I just want to know in advance that I will be able to call home and check on my daughter while I'm away. Thanks for the info!

 

Kara

[Fishbait17]

Robin' date=' how much did Verizon charge you to add internat'l roaming to your plan? We have Verizon, and I hate to change anything on our plan because it takes several months and a minor miracle for them to get our plan back to what it was. I'm wondering if it would be worth it to try though. Did you happen to try your phone in either Grand Cayman or Cozumel? If so, did it work? I know I can get a calling card in Mexico to call home, but I don't know about GC. I just want to know in advance that I will be able to call home and check on my daughter while I'm away. Thanks for the info!

 

Kara[/quote']

 

I don't exactly remember how much it was, or if there was even a cost, I will ask hubby later. Mexico is one of the countries that CDMA works in, but I didn't try it there. Hubby's phone worked in Cozumel with GSM. And yes, Verizon charges 99c per minute in Mexico. They do NOT show Grand Cayman as a CDMA country, so I don't think their regular phones work there. They told me $2.49/minute on the ship, but I was unable to get a signal on the Sun when I tried. They also show Thailand as a CDMA country, but my daughter was unable to use her phone there either, but this could be because she was fairly remote.

 

Just a disclaimer: Verizon DOES offer GSM technology, but when we looked (in June, Sept, and again in Dec), it was only available on one single model phone (blackberry) that they offered. Since we did not have that model phone (and had no intention of buying it), we could not get the GSM tech, therefore, no use in Europe and most other countries. Perhaps they might be adding more GSM phones now or in the near future.

 

Since at least one member of our family is abroad at almost any given time, we are considering buying a phone with GSM technology just for travel. The ultimate would be a prepaid phone that we could charge up when needed. Does anyone know of such a phone (not a rental)? That way we could use it ONLY for travel and emergencies, and it wouldn't be ringing off the hook with chit-chat calls and hundreds of texts (does anyone out there have teens :D). Such a phone would have saved us much money in the last few months, and made things MUCH more convenient. My daughter rented a phone in South Africa recently, and while the cost wasn't too bad, renting phones 10 times a year would be too much.

 

Robin

[DMRick]

Robin' date=' how much did Verizon charge you to add internat'l roaming to your plan? [/quote']

 

Just to make my phone work internationally, they said was no charge. To make it so the costs in port were a lot lower, I think it was about $3.99 for the month. Because I forgot my phone, they removed the charge for me, and it doesn't show up at anymore, so I can't tell you for sure. It cut the cost of the minutes to about half at the places we were going to. Finding someone at Verizon who knew about this service was not easy.

They do sell about 4 phones that will work more places, or you can rent them for short periods of time. But there are also inexpensive phones in town, that we were able to use...often right in the port building.

[Ally's Mom]

That's what I was wondering about. I'd rather not have to change my Verizon plan and have to worry about them messing up our service again. I'd much rather buy a calling card in each port, but I wasn't sure if this was an option in GC. Of course, I would prefer to buy one calling card in advance that I could use in GC and Cozumel, but I don't know if such a card exists.

[linwood77]

Bigdog40 ~ Is there a reason you said forget it with Nextel, I wouldn't want to waste time contacting them if its a no go with them anyways! Thanks!

 

Nextel uses iDEN, Freestyle Cellular operated by WMS Wireless Maritime Services http://www.cellularatsea.com/ uses GMS, GPRS and CDMA technology.

[crazydaisy90]

We are going on the Norwegian Sun 1-19, Honduras, Belize, Mexico. I contacted Sprint today who told me we could use our cellphone per the following: Honduras, no service, Belize, $3.49/min, Mexico, $1.49/min, and while the ship was underway, $2.49/min. They did have to add the service and software update in order to use it for int'l roaming.

 

They claim there was no add'l charges other than per minute. After reading so many different horror stories about the ship charges, I'm a little nervous about this info and will call Sprint a couple more times to make sure this representative was correct.

Does anyone have any Sprint info or add'l info?

[billytom]

Does anyone know how much they charge on the Sun for wireless (if I bring my own laptop). Also, if you are in a suite, do you get free computer time (I know you do on Princess... not sure about NCL). Appreciate any info. Thanks

[Fishbait17]

Does anyone know how much they charge on the Sun for wireless (if I bring my own laptop). Also, if you are in a suite, do you get free computer time (I know you do on Princess... not sure about NCL). Appreciate any info. Thanks

 

No free service in suites. Can't remember exactly how much our package was, something like $50 for 100 minutes (very rough memory).

 

Robin

[mrcamp]

Your phone working abroad or on the ship depends on a number of factors.

 

If your carrier uses GSM vs CDMA. Tmobile and AT&T use GSM (also used in just about the rest of the world), while Sprint and Verizon use CDMA (used in North America and a handful of other countries).

 

If the ship is equipped with phone service (most ships have both CDMA and GSM) then you just need to make sure your provider has international roaming turned on for your account. Just about all the countries visited by the cruise ships use GSM. Very few of them use CDMA. So, the chances of verizon/sprint phones working in port is very slim.

 

The GSM bands are 850/1900 used in North America and some caribbean countries, and 900/1800 used i the rest of the world and some caribbean countries. To get full coverage with your AT&T cingular phone or any gsm phone fo rthat matter, make sure you have a quadband phone with all 4 bands.

 

Verify roaming costs with your carrier. It's definitely more expensive to roam on the ship's network.

[mrcamp]

Your phone working abroad or on the ship depends on a number of factors.

 

If your carrier uses GSM vs CDMA. Tmobile and AT&T use GSM (also used in just about the rest of the world), while Sprint and Verizon use CDMA (used in North America and a handful of other countries).

 

If the ship is equipped with phone service (most ships have both CDMA and GSM) then you just need to make sure your provider has international roaming turned on for your account. Just about all the countries visited by the cruise ships use GSM. Very few of them use CDMA. So, the chances of verizon/sprint phones working in port is very slim.

 

The GSM bands are 850/1900 used in North America and some caribbean countries, and 900/1800 used i the rest of the world and some caribbean countries. To get full coverage with your AT&T cingular phone or any gsm phone for that matter, make sure you have a quadband phone.

 

Verify roaming costs with your carrier. It's definitely more expensive to roam on the ship's network.