What's the best (cheapest) way to call home?

[cruisinbanddirectors]

We are going on our 3rd cruise in June. We've never worried about calling home before, but now we are parents and our son will be staying away from both of us for the first time. We want to check in a time or two while we're on the cruise.

 

What's the best/cheapest/easiest way to call home? International calling card? Cell phone...I hear the rates are rediculous? Other suggestions?

 

If it matters, we're stopping in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Belize, and Roatan.

[wrp96]

Don't buy a calling card from home. Most of the calling cards you buy in the US are only good for calling FROM the US, not TO the US. When you get on the ship, ask your waiters or stateroom attendants about the best places to buy cheap calling cards in each port and where to make phone calls. For example, the pay phones at the piers tend to be the most expensive.

 

 

If your parents are on email, you may want to ask them just to send you daily updates and then you can check your email onboard the ship nightyl.

[Philip217]

Easy answer. The crewmembers always know the least expensive way to call home.

Just ask one of them.

 

Although it may be that their mobile telephone is the least expensive.

It's only those ridiculous cell phones form North America that are so expensive.

The rest of the world has far better telephones that cost next to nothing.

[paul929207]

Email is probably the cheapest way to keep in touch. To really keep the cost down, find an internet cafe in port.

[navybankerteacher]

The ports you listed all have internet cafes - generally within a couple of minutes' walk from the pier -- most offer phone as well as internet service - for far less than international calling cards. Pay phones are very rare - and ship to shore ismost expensive.

[sjcruiser]

Going to the Caribbean, Sprint has a "Mexico" plan that supposedly covers most of the Caribbean. The problem is that the ships communications/telephone system can bounce the system off a satellite over Africa (my calls bounced off one over the Congo), which can lead to a high bill. Email is the quickest, along with buying a calling card in port. As someone suggested follow or ask the crew, or taxi drivers in port.

[FlyerTalker]

Best is using a laptop and in-port (non-ship) internet service with Skype. You can call computer to computer for free. Just pay for the internet connection when in port. Often, restaurants will have free wi-fi for patrons, so you can kill two birds at one time. Or if you won't be toting a laptop, see if the internet cafe has Skype on their machines. You might want to bring your own headset.