Mobile Phones

Hi all! My first post on here so I apologise in advance if this has been asked before, or if it's a stupid question!!! We are cruising on the Spirit later this year and would like to know what the mobile phone charges are like. We will be taking an old unlocked PAYG so does it matter which provider we use and what are the ship charges? Thanks in advance. :)

not sure of the rates but will cost a fortune at sea as you have to piggy back on some maritime system (am sure a boffin can explain better than i) , however when in port you can usually pick up a local signal and then costs will be as per your provider advises for travelling abroad

Thanks Iain!

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Phone charges at sea are very very high.

I agree with these comments. Do not use the phone to text or phone when at sea. We tended to switch our phone of because people phoning from the UK and you receiving calls tend to be charges. Switch the phone on when on land and you will get a message from your provider "welcome to Spain etc" It should detail the cost of texts and mobiles. MY Talk talk phone texts cost 6p? or was it 8p a text.

Mrs. G - as above, avoid using your mobile at sea at all costs.

When you get near land your handset will pickup a local network.

A PAYG sim card is ideal.

One of the strange aspects of mobiles abroad is that handsets on the same UK network often lock into different local providers.

'Er indoors and I are O2, and sitting next to each other onboard we've had connections to two separate local networks.

Although I don't think it's not an issue on Thomsons european cruises - a basic dual band handset (as used in UK) will not work further afield in many countries.

I have an old 4 band 'phone for holidays, just to be sure.

best to use use skype or facebook video calling and use local free wifi hotspots (often available in port terminals) although the signal can be slow in some ports for video calling but a voice call will usually work ok

you can buy skype credit to send texts (to your contacts mobiles) from anywhere in the world (over wifi) costs about 5p per txt

ISTR the "on waves" rate was 49p per minute.

When you are in port, you should be able to use your UK minutes for cell and 3G if you opt in to your carrier's euro roaming package (eg Vodafone's Eurotraveller for £2 per day).

I received a text from Vodafone when I left the UK to tell me the that I had used a disproportionate amount of data for the month. That meant that my days in port meant trawling for free wifi. I was always able to check email and do a quick Facebook check-in.

I have never bothered with phone or text when on cruises. I switch the roaming off on my phone to make sure it is not going to connect me to something I don't want, and have always found free wifi at ports and keep in touch with family and friends ok on facebook and by email without problems.

Thanks all! Happy cruisin'!

I'm just back from a trip on Spirit and still have the text from my provider (Orange) telling me how much it would be if I use the ships network. I believe these charges would be same regardless of the UK network you use.

It comes up as 'Cellular at Sea' and is classed as a USA network. The charges are:-

£1.20 per min to make a call or check voicemail

£1.20 per min to receive a call

50p to send a text

£1.50 per picture message

£8.00 per Mb for internet (yes EIGHT pounds per Meg)!!!!

Needless to say, I didn't use the ship network and made sure the data was turned off on my phone! So like others have said, best not to use the ship network unless completely desperate.

However in the EU if you use a local network when in port, the prices aren't too bad, in fact they were recently reduced, for me the prices were as follows (so I imagine other networks would charge similar) :-

15.6p per min to make a call or check voicemail

4.1p per min to receive a call

4.9p to send a text

16.5p per picture message

16.5p per Mb for internet

Thank you very much! I think I can do without my phone while at sea and catch up with my family when firmly on land :) I'm very grateful for all the comments. As a first time cruiser this is something of an adventure for me ;)

Thank you very much! I think I can do without my phone while at sea and catch up with my family when firmly on land :) I'm very grateful for all the comments. As a first time cruiser this is something of an adventure for me ;)

Hi MrsGyp, welcome to Cruise Critic :) I'm sure you will love the Spirit, when are you going?

I switch the data roaming off when I leave the country and only use my phone for texting and calls. I use my tablet or Dell Mini for wifi.

I have a question for the technical minded of you for our next Caribbean cruise. Last year I contacted Vodafone to ask if my phone was good to go for the Caribbean and was told it was enabled for international usage. When I got to the Caribbean, I couldn't use it to phone at all and could only use it intermittently for txts. Can anyone advise me how to avoid a similar situation next time around?

it depends on which network you are on? and which network your network may be trying to connect to? (sorry if this isnt making much sense)

not all uk service providers will connect to all the local networks on all the different islands

best to checkout which islands are covered by your network

i think?? that the caribbean's major network is lime....which most of the uk networks (o2/vodafone/virgin etc) have agreements with but lime only covers the english speaking parts of caribbean

also not great coverage (towers/masts) on some of the islands (mountains in the way etc)

I'm not an expert?....but have also noted that calling/txting is a bit hit & miss in caribbean

some have advised to buy a local payg sim (if your phone is unlocked) but that wont allways work on all of the islands either and still costs a lot to call UK

it depends on which network you are on? and which network your network may be trying to connect to? (sorry if this isnt making much sense)

 

not all uk service providers will connect to all the local networks on all the different islands

 

best to checkout which islands are covered by your network

 

i think?? that the caribbean's major network is lime....which most of the uk networks (o2/vodafone/virgin etc) have agreements with but lime only covers the english speaking parts of caribbean

 

also not great coverage (towers/masts) on some of the islands (mountains in the way etc)

 

I'm not an expert?....but have also noted that calling/txting is a bit hit & miss in caribbean

 

some have advised to buy a local payg sim (if your phone is unlocked) but that wont allways work on all of the islands either and still costs a lot to call UK

Thanks, Geo. What you have described pretty much mirrors my experience. I now understand the reasons why. I will just use my phone for texting next time and forget about the phone calls.

I was further frustrated by the fact I couldn't access my e mails on my tablet either but I think that was due to my provider, Talktalk. I will be changing this anyway before we go back.

ooo talktalk...if you have an older contract with talktalk you may still have 'all you can eat' data....none of the uk networks do this anymore...may be worth keeping

ooo talktalk...if you have an older contract with talktalk you may still have 'all you can eat' data....none of the uk networks do this anymore...may be worth keeping

Sorry, Geo, misled you with that.

My mobile phone network is Vodafone. I use AOL's server for my e mail via talktalk and it just wouldn't work on my tablet in the Caribbean. I can't send an e mail from my phone at home, although I can receive them. Works fine on my lap top mini but didn't take that to the Caribbean.

For general info only, because it's not directly relevant to Thomson cruises.

TalkTalk customers who have the international call plan (costs very little) can call mobiles (and landlines) in North America for free, for up to an hour.

I don't think any other service provider can offer free calls to mobiles anywhere ?

So, if your family have that service, and you're in Canada or the USA, buy a local PAYG sim card, pop it into your unlocked handset and text the loved ones your number for a no cost call back.

It also applies to landline calls in many countries, including the popular Med fleshpots - ideal for a call to the hotel room.

Nell.

I think it could be to do with your phone.

You will need a tri-band or quad-band phone to get coverage in the states and Caribbean.

Have a look at this page:

http://selfhelp.carphonewarehouse.com/SelfHelp/request.do?view%28%29=c{06748ad0-d047-11de-e56d-000000000000}

We have a tri-band and it works on some islands but not others.

Nell.

 

I think it could be to do with your phone.

You will need a tri-band or quad-band phone to get coverage in the states and Caribbean.

 

Have a look at this page:

http://selfhelp.carphonewarehouse.com/SelfHelp/request.do?view%28%29=c{06748ad0-d047-11de-e56d-000000000000}

 

We have a tri-band and it works on some islands but not others.

I have a Galaxy S3. It says it has a 1.4 Ghz quad core processor. Is that what you are talking about, Joe?

A couple of Apps which people may be interested in using on their mobiles.

For those on FB there is a new Messenger App which will allow free PMs on wifi to others in your address book who use the Messenger App or alternatively there is an App from Playstore called Whats App which allows free messages on wifi to those in your address book who use Whats App.

I have installed both on my phone and will use them in the Caribbean but would still like to fix my e mail :(

Nell,

There are four major cell 'phone frequencies used across the world.

Without going into specifics, the two used in the UK are different from the two used in the Americas.

A dual-band 'phone purchased here will not operate in the USA etc., and vice versa.

A tri-band handset should work fine in most of "The New World" (for want of a better description) but a quad-band is best to cover all possible frequencies and networks.

That's for voicecalls and texts - not sure about email/apps, we don't use them.

Nell,

 

There are four major cell 'phone frequencies used across the world.

 

Without going into specifics, the two used in the UK are different from the two used in the Americas.

 

A dual-band 'phone purchased here will not operate in the USA etc., and vice versa.

 

A tri-band handset should work fine in most of "The New World" (for want of a better description) but a quad-band is best to cover all possible frequencies and networks.

 

That's for voicecalls and texts - not sure about email/apps, we don't use them.

Thanks WCM for explaining that in detail. The only thing I don't understand is what band width I have :D

Thanks WCM for explaining that in detail. The only thing I don't understand is what band width I have :D

Nell,

You can check out your make and model of handset here - and tell if its dualband, triband or quadband etc.

http://www.gsmarena.com/

Find manufacturer from list on the left column.

Good luck.