Calling Home

[scteacher31]

Due to family circumstances, it's important we call home during our cruise. What's the cheapest way to call home? From our cell phone... ($2.49 per minute) or by using a calling card at the ports? And if its a calling card, which one? Thanks!!

[wrp96]

What are your ports? Cheapest will probably be the calling cards that you can buy in each individual port - ask the crew onboard the ship for advice on where to buy one and where to call from as the phones nearest the piers will be the most expensive. Don't buy a calling card before you leave for your cruise as the calling cards you buy in the US typically will not work outside the US, they are only good for calling from the US.

[cb at sea]

You can always use the ship's e-mail---that's probably the cheapest way. And there is an 800 number if those at home have to reach you for an emergency...

[kitty9]

Calling cards purchased in the US usually cannot be used in foreign countries. You would have to purchase separate cards in each port of call.

[eandj]

If you ask your waitors or room stewards, they will tell you where to buy the phone cards at port and where the quietest and least busy public phones are. Definitely the cheapest way to call home.

[tlbuckingham]

If you need to call home I recommend using a calling card as its separate from your cell phone account. I just hate having those additional charges on my phone bill. Buy a good size phone call and you're good to go.

[KSCPA]

I have a phone card I purchased at Sams Club...Its like 5 years old. I called and had 675 minutes still. I called the number on the back and they told me the exchange rate.

The islands closest to US...St Lucia, Antigua, and St Kitts...were charged like 14 minutes for 1 minute of actual time. BUT when I asked about Barbadoes it was 50 minutes for 1 minute of time..The cards from the US should work....you have to call and get the access #.

Hope this is helpful...

Kris

[chris2597]

We needed to check in while on our cruise on a daily basis. We used text messaging and found that to be the least expensive way to communicate. We called home on the cell when we got to the islands. We signed up for International calling for the duration of our cruise and cancelled when we got home. The IC gave us a better rate while out of the US.

[scteacher31]

Thanks everyone for the tips! I will talk to the crew about where to purchase phone cards and call from.

 

Chris2597, when you sent texts, were you also charged roaming charges? Sprint said that texts are 20 cents each, but I forgot to ask about roaming charges. Thanks!!

[thinfool]

Due to family circumstances, it's important we call home during our cruise. What's the cheapest way to call home? From our cell phone... ($2.49 per minute) or by using a calling card at the ports? And if its a calling card, which one? Thanks!!

 

If you will be in a US port your cell phones will work...this includes Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

 

When our TA travels with us, he has his laptop loaded with Skype. On port days he finds an Internet cafe and uses Skype to make his calls. As far as I know they are free. This is from any foreign port....Europe, etc.

 

I will confess that I have never watched him do this. He may even have Skype loaded onto something as simple as a thumb drive....that he plugs into a computer in an internet cafe.