cell phones

I know this question has been asked before, don't flame me, I want to know from recent cruisers on the Mariner if Cingular cells work out at sea?

I read somewhere that RCCL hooked up with Cingular and all ships will have this access.

Thank you for all the info I get here on the boards and from those responding to this thread.

MAO

We were on the Navigator in Nov. and we used our cell phone at sea. We have cingular. I think it also works on Mariner. Maybe someone else knows for sure. Judi :)

We were on the Navigator in Nov. and we used our cell phone at sea. We have cingular. I think it also works on Mariner. Maybe someone else knows for sure. Judi :)

What were the charges for this??

You must have a phone with "GSM". Cingular offers it. If Cincular is you carrier I believe it is $1.49/minute. If you have another carrier and a GSM phone it is likely higher, due to additional charges by your carrier. Just for anyone that is interested, Verizon does not offer a GSM phone.

Thanks for the info. I can verify that our Verizon phones do not work at sea or in most ports :( (except St. Thomas and San Juan, of course)

Thanks for the info. I can verify that our Verizon phones do not work at sea or in most ports :( (except St. Thomas and San Juan, of course)

What were your Verizon charges in St. Thomas, if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks!

Chet

Does anyone know about Sprint? My daughter's fiance is going to be in Iraq while we are gone. She can not call him, but he can call her. They are trying to coordinate when her Sprint phone might be able to receive the call. We will be on Eastern trip.

Chotton It cost us $1.99 per minute. Judi :)

What were your Verizon charges in St. Thomas, if you don't mind me asking?

 

Thanks!

Chet

I didn't answer the original question, but we have Verizon and made calls. I don't believe it was very expensive, maybe roaming charges and usage if anything.

Do you need to enter a code when in Cozumel? I read somewhere that you had to enter a code to get past local wireless connection:confused:

I guess I could call my wireless but there's so much info and experiance here:)

Thanks

I was just talking to Sprint yesterday, crusinKimmie. They said something about needing a phone with a tri-way connection or something, but they looked up my phone and it has it. So it can't be very special, because I have a bare-bones Nokia that came free with the subscription back in summer 04.

Anyway, you call Sprint and ask them to enable the connection or something (that part's free) and you'll be able to send and receive calls aboard RCI ships. For $3 a minute. Ouch, but sounds like it would be worth it for her to be able to talk to him!

No roaming for Cingular on a nationwide plan in San Juan or US Virgin Islands...

Why would anyone take a cell phone or walkie talkie on a vacation. when you are on vacation you are gone, not available for anyone, for any reason. thats why it is a vacation. If uncle bob dies he won't care that i missed his funeral!

Why would anyone take a cell phone or walkie talkie on a vacation. when you are on vacation you are gone, not available for anyone, for any reason. thats why it is a vacation. If uncle bob dies he won't care that i missed his funeral!

How about children at home?

Children at home ? Just make sure they are well taken care of before leaving. How could you help them anyway that far off ? I agree with the previous poster that this is a vacation and cell phones disturb other passengers. I wish more people would be considerate. PS: I heard that someone on my last cruise ended up with a $575.00 cell phone bill in the W.Carribean, ouch, but on the other hand they could have left it at home.

PS: If you have an emergency at sea leave the ships toll free phone number with them and then they can contact you on your ship.

Children at home ? Just make sure they are well taken care of before leaving. How could you help them anyway that far off ? I agree with the previous poster that this is a vacation and cell phones disturb other passengers. I wish more people would be considerate. PS: I heard that someone on my last cruise ended up with a $575.00 cell phone bill in the W.Carribean, ouch, but on the other hand they could have left it at home.

 

PS: If you have an emergency at sea leave the ships toll free phone number with them and then they can contact you on your ship.

I'll make you a promise. I won't talk on my cellphone in any public places on the ship. The youngest I'll have at home is 19, also 20 and 25 and going to school. Our youngest, who is 11, we'll be taking with us. I'll be calling to check in with my kids because my family is important to me. If you can't understand that....that's ok.

Mark

we have cingular and a GSM phone and it did not work at sea but last time we were on mariner was in july so maybe they have added it since?? we had herd that on a couple of the voyager class they were adding that option but it was not on mariner when we were on... we could however use our phone in every port.. With cngular you need to call them and tell them where you will be and when and they can set it up for you so that your phone will be able to be used when you get to specific ports.. (they enter some code or something and your number that works with teh local provider)

I didn't start this thread to start a debate on whether or not it's ok to use a cell phone at sea!!! Please refrain from offering your opinions, you could find a thread with the question "Is it ok to bring a cell phone on vacation?" I use my cell phone in my cabin for my own personal reasons.Thanks.

As to the original subject at hand, thank you all for your input and experiance using cells at sea. Ruttie

I originally started the post cuz I had read that RCCL was making accesss possible. I think I will call cingular and see if i need to add anything to my nation wide plan. I will elt you all know what I find out.:)

Thanks

I said I'd post whether or not I got any info from Cingular...so here's what I found out

The rep I spoke to today told me that RCCL does have a contract with them to use Cingular cells at sea, there is a roaming charge of $2.49 per minute.

If you have trouble getting thru local services dial their direct # 611. We'll see if it all pans out in a few more weeks!:)

Thanks again to those of you offering you experiances and input!

Happy Sailing.

MAO

We have Verizon cell phones and they were usable in San Juan, but no where else in the Southern Caribbean. After an emergency situation occurred on a cruise a couple of years ago and the difficulty our kids had contacting us, we opted to by a world wide use cell phone. We got it from Modal. It cost $99, one time fee, no monthly charges. We are billed only when we use it. We have used it in the Caribbean and Mexico, at a cost of $1.69 per min, and in Spain at a cost of $1.99 per min. It really was a life saver in Spain, we were stranded in Barcelona because of a strike and it was a lifeline to home.

Could you provide me with some more information about this world wide use phone? We normally use Nextel (which will not work anywhere) and we have a cingular phone just for vacation...if the world wide phone works...it would be a much better idea than paying 35.00 per month just to have a phone to use while on vacation.

it would be a much better idea than paying 35.00 per month just to have a phone to use while on vacation.

Our sentiments exactly. You can get the information at http://www.mobalrental.com

The phone is a Nokia, not very sophisticated by current standards, but it worked perfectly for us in Barcelona. They have several prices, starting at $49. We got the $99 one because it was compatible withe Caribbean, Mexico as well as Europe.

Cingular Wireless:

http://onlinestorez.cingular.com/travelguide/coverage/cruise_ships_rates.jsp?PIDL=IRSD%7CIRWT

T-Mobile

http://www.t-mobile.com/international/roamOverview.asp

Is this service available fleetwide now, does anyone know? Thanks!

I was just talking to Sprint yesterday, crusinKimmie. They said something about needing a phone with a tri-way connection or something, but they looked up my phone and it has it. So it can't be very special, because I have a bare-bones Nokia that came free with the subscription back in summer 04.

 

Anyway, you call Sprint and ask them to enable the connection or something (that part's free) and you'll be able to send and receive calls aboard RCI ships. For $3 a minute. Ouch, but sounds like it would be worth it for her to be able to talk to him!

I was able to use my Sprint phone (a freebie) in San Juan and in St Thomas to call Kansas City-no roaming or charges other than regular minutes. I just spoke with a friend yesterday who is vacationing in St Thomas, Sprint PCS to PCS, so no minutes were charged. Wasn't able to use on the ship when at sea last May. I know Sprint has a plan for purchase that enables one to make calls from abroad if you need to keep that connection. :cool: