Cell Phones while Cruising

I have heard that use of a cell phone while on a cruise ship is something outrageous (like $7 per minute). Is this true? We will be leaving Port Canaveral and stopping in Freeport and Nassau. Is it the same while on land in the Bahamas? My kids would like to know we are all right, but that sounds crazy high!!

You should arrange with your carrier for a package of international roaming minutes that will work in the Bahamas. Verify whether they are for voice and text or also include data. You may want to have data roaming blocked if there is a charge for that even with voice/text roaming enabled.

All ships have their own towers and cell service, which will not be included in any carrier's international roaming plan. Texts could be as little as .05 to receive but .50 to send. Calls are in the neighborhood of $2 to $2.50/minute with most carriers--but be sure to check first. Don't even think about using any apps that would consume data onboard, that is what produces the heart attack inducing bills that you read about.

(Just incase you were thinking about it, don't switch to a prepaid plan or buy a disposable phone to use on the ship; they won't work at all).

I have heard that use of a cell phone while on a cruise ship is something outrageous (like $7 per minute). Is this true? We will be leaving Port Canaveral and stopping in Freeport and Nassau. Is it the same while on land in the Bahamas? My kids would like to know we are all right, but that sounds crazy high!!

Check with your carrier as they all charge differently and some offer overseas packages, but generally o/s rates are high.

When calling from the ship you are going over the ship's satellite and they will charge whatever they want. You are better off finding wifi on land and calling via that, it will be cheaper that way. I wouldn't even purchase the internet on board, too slow and too expensive. Your emails can wait til you're home.

Although not easy for the average kid of today, they will likely need to disconnect for most of the cruise. Best bet is to find a place to eat in port that has free or cheap wifi. Hopefully the kids will be having such a good time they will not miss being out of touch with friends.

Although not easy for the average kid of today, they will likely need to disconnect for most of the cruise. Best bet is to find a place to eat in port that has free or cheap wifi. Hopefully the kids will be having such a good time they will not miss being out of touch with friends.

Re-read the OP. The kids are back at home. :)

Check with your cell phone company for their pricing and the plans they offer.

It won't be that high per minute but I wouldn't spend a lot of time on the cell phone either.

Keith

How about Wifi connections for contact. Cruise lines are offering cheaper options all the time. For this, the answer varies not just by cruise line, but by ship. They are update the capabilities almost daily. Check the section for your cruise line to see what is available on your ship. There is usually free wifi in most ports. Follow the crew or look for a starbucks.

I have heard that use of a cell phone while on a cruise ship is something outrageous (like $7 per minute). Is this true? We will be leaving Port Canaveral and stopping in Freeport and Nassau. Is it the same while on land in the Bahamas? My kids would like to know we are all right, but that sounds crazy high!!

You're talking about 2 different things here.

Phone on land in Bahamas

This is International and International roaming.

Not only are you paying your cell provider, you're also paying to use the cellular towers in the Bahamas.

Your cellular provider can temporarily move you to an International plan that will allow you to call home from the Bahamas. Data (facebook, e-mail, texting, reading home newspaper, games, etc) could be very expensive. Again, talk to your provider.

On the ship

There are no cellular towers at sea.

Therefore, the cruise lines have gone into business with a company that will place a device on the ship that acts like a cell tower, then transmit your cell call to a satellite, then route it back down to the cellular network.

This costs BIG money and the cruise line and the provider want a piece of your pie

Not only will your provider charge you normal roaming charges, you'll also get hit with a charge for connecting to the ships cellular network. I believe the latest is $2.99 per minute. On top of that, you get hit with additional data roaming charges.

My advice

Put the phone away unless it's part of your livelihood (and you can write off the expense).

Children have survived for thousands of years while mommy and daddy go away for a week. Usually moms are the ones having a hard time.

They've rate you'll pay to make or receive calls at sea depends on the line and your carrier. If it's Carnival and Verizon you can get a package from Verizon that gives you a certain number of calling minutes and a limited amount of data for $40 or so while calls without the package will cost around $3 per minute. If your carrier is T-Mobile the same calls are $6 or $7 per minute. So check with your carrier about the rate for that ship because the costs will vary.

Calls while in ports away from the ship are another variable. In this case with most T-Mobile plans you'll only pay 20 cents per minute, except for the Bahamas which is expensive. Other carriers might charge a dollar or two per minute unless you have bought some sort of roaming package.

Bottom line - the cost varies but your carrier should be able to tell you your options.

I have heard that use of a cell phone while on a cruise ship is something outrageous (like $7 per minute). Is this true? We will be leaving Port Canaveral and stopping in Freeport and Nassau. Is it the same while on land in the Bahamas? My kids would like to know we are all right, but that sounds crazy high!!

IF you are not all right-- the cruiselines will be contacting your family.

Let them know that by not hearing from you-- all is good and can expect to hear from someone if its NOT all good.

IF you should accidentally forget to turn that phone off when you get back to the ship you can expect to come home to a very big bill

They've rate you'll pay to make or receive calls at sea depends on the line and your carrier. If it's Carnival and Verizon you can get a package from Verizon that gives you a certain number of calling minutes and a limited amount of data for $40 or so while calls without the package will cost around $3 per minute. If your carrier is T-Mobile the same calls are $6 or $7 per minute. So check with your carrier about the rate for that ship because the costs will vary.

 

Calls while in ports away from the ship are another variable. In this case with most T-Mobile plans you'll only pay 20 cents per minute, except for the Bahamas which is expensive. Other carriers might charge a dollar or two per minute unless you have bought some sort of roaming package.

 

Bottom line - the cost varies but your carrier should be able to tell you your options.

that is exactly the info I got from Verizon too, someone else posted about the additional charges from the cruise ship too and I found that to be odd.

I may want to use my tablet for maps and directions that I have downloaded. What do I do to insure that I'm not receiving internet messages while not meaning....ie how do I disable the internet? Sorry, very new to technology.

I leave phone, any electronics at home. Too many horror stories. But your cell will work in US countries, like Hawaii. Maybe the US Virgin islands.St Thomas, St John, St Croix.?

I leave phone, any electronics at home. Too many horror stories. But your cell will work in US countries, like Hawaii. Maybe the US Virgin islands.St Thomas, St John, St Croix.? Use ship Email if you must.

I may want to use my tablet for maps and directions that I have downloaded. What do I do to insure that I'm not receiving internet messages while not meaning....ie how do I disable the internet? Sorry, very new to technology.

Look for 'airplane mode' - On Android 5.x it's on the middle of the quick menu [pull down from top of screen twice].

It should be a top level choice off 'settings' in an Apple device [My original iPad is stuck at iOS 5, may not be the same place on later devices]

You can let them know that they should assume that you are all right if you do not contact them to let them know you are not all right. If they trust you enough to let you travel without them, they should trust you enough to believe that you will contact them if necessary.

For periodic checking-in, the best bet is the free wi-fi found in many bars and restaurants in virtually every port cruise ships hit. Most crew members can let you know where they are in each port.

Text messaging is alot less expensive. We would leave our phones in airplane mode and turn off airplane mode once or twice a day to text back and forth to daughter.I think it was .05 to receive and .50 to send (maybe opposite that) on our Verizon plan. A text a day to be sure all was well at home worked just fine.

Text messaging is alot less expensive. We would leave our phones in airplane mode and turn off airplane mode once or twice a day to text back and forth to daughter.I think it was .05 to receive and .50 to send (maybe opposite that) on our Verizon plan. A text a day to be sure all was well at home worked just fine.

I agree. I have Verizon, and every day on the ship, I even got a pop up from them telling me what the Verizon rates were. (I didn't tell Verizon I was on a ship...they know.) I do not remember voice rates (pretty high, but if you HAD to make a call, just do it quick. You won't go bankrupt). But texts weren't horrific. 0.05 to receive, 0.50 to send. So compose one long message, maybe every two or three days, and send. Your kids can write you back in a few messages, and the whole exchange will cost you a buck.

It's impersonal, but it's only for a few days. DON'T SEND PHOTOS. That's data, I believe and would be pricey.

Just my opinion, and I have no idea what other cell companies do.

Look for 'airplane mode' - On Android 5.x it's on the middle of the quick menu [pull down from top of screen twice].

 

It should be a top level choice off 'settings' in an Apple device [My original iPad is stuck at iOS 5, may not be the same place on later devices]

Thanks!

A lot of you guys need to do some googling. LOTS of wrong answers in here. Cell phone service has totally changed in recent years. Cellular at sea no longer handles the cell services on ships and most major cruise lines no longer have anything to do with the cell service either.

click this link and read it.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1129/~/cellular-phone-service.

then click this link and scroll down to "Cruise Ship Rates"

http://www.verizonwireless.com/landingpages/international-travel/

This is what you pay if you have Verizon. Nothing more, no surcharges from the cruise line or Maritime Services. its all included in the international calling package. Say your cruising on Carnival. you sign up for Verizon's cruise ship plan at $40 per line. you get 100 talk minutes, 100 sent texts and unlimited received and 100mb data. Once your limits run out you pay what Verizon says in that paragraph for cruise ship rates. there is also a rate for more minutes for $80 a month per line. Again there is no extra surcharge that the cruise ships charge for using the tower on the ship. they don't own the tower, maritime services does and through partnerships with most all major cell carriers you pay international service rates shown in that link for Verizon or who ever your carrier is.

Best of all, when your away from the ship at a port on a shore excursion your phone should still work as long as there is local cell service around the port of call.

Now about data, If you get this international calling plan and worry about the little 100mb of data you get, shut off your phone data and/or roaming data. this will still allow you to receive and make phone calls and texts messages but not picture messages or multimedia texts. Your phone is full of apps like weather, email updates, maps, and other data using apps that use data in the background to constantly update your phone. That 100 mb of data will disappear before you you even realize it. you need to send a picture text? turn on your phones data, send te picture text and once its sent turn off your phone data. average picture text that most phones send is about 1mb or less so its not much.

Again that $40 per line on Verizon's plan is for the entire billing month. once your back from your cruise call your carrier up and cancel the service so you dont end up getting charge the plan again the next billing month.

this is what the wife and I will be doing when we go on our cruise in April. on the ship we'll be carnivals $5 a day social media package to talk to our kids through Facebook messenger. Facebook messenger also does voice calls and video calls. there is a delay in sound but not much and most people work with it pretty good. also you can send picture texts through FB messenger.

hope this helps. $40 is a small price to pay to be able to keep in touch with your kids while your away in-case of an emergency.