Consumer Cellular

I recently switched to Consumer Cellular as my carrier. On their website they say to check with your cruise line to see if their phones will work on-board.

When I called Carnival, they more or less said that any carrier's phones would work, but I'm not sure he was familiar with Consumer Cellular.

Has anyone used a Consumer Cellular phone on-board a Carnival ship?

Thanks for any helpful info.

I suggest you call Consumer Cellular (611). Their consumer service is usually superior, based in Oregon, and it's likely your question has been asked/answered several times.

It will work on the ship. The problem is that you will have to connect to the ships cellular tower. (There are no towers at sea)

To connect to the ships tower will cost you lots and lots of money especially if you are using data, messaging, and voice calling.

How can you bypass the ship tower?

Put your phone in airplane mode. That way your phone is not connecting to anything.

Does your phone have WiFi calling capability? If you don’t know what I’m talking about,,,, Google or YouTube it.

You will have to purchase the ships internet, but WiFi calling is the way to go in today’s technology. Who knows what tomorrow technology will bring

Basically, your cell phone will work at sea, but your cell phone plan will not. You will be billed hefty rates above and beyond what you normally pay for any talk or text you use.

Best way is to put the phone in airplane mode or yank out the sim card, and use the ship's wifi. You have to buy that but it is very reasonable compared to the talk or text rates, which are not reasonable.

Thanks thinfool, klfrodo and salty dingo for your responses.

I've used cell phones for quite a while now and know about Airplane mode and roaming charges. No problem with any of that.

My question is specifically with Consumer Cellular and their statement that you need to check with each individual cruise line (which I have done) to see if their phones will work on-board.

Still hoping to hear from someone who has actual experience with a Consumer Cellular phone on a Carnival ship.

I think the main point is that using any cell phone plan on board a ship is a bad idea because of the high charges you will incur.

You need to either use wifi or wait until you are on shore or use the ship's own phone which all will be less expensive.

No idea about Consumer Cellular.

Are you asking about your specific phone (ie Samsung etc) or your Consumer Cellular Phone plan?

No land based cell service works at sea on Carnival.

Onboard Cellphone calls are charged at $2.49/minute thru Cellular at Sea, Internet is charged by the megabyte and becomes costly.

Calling from the Cabin is a bit cheaper at $1.99/minute. You can buy three different internet plans onboard, depending on your needs one will be right for you. Even the highest plan is very economical.

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My question is specifically with Consumer Cellular and their statement that you need to check with each individual cruise line (which I have done) to see if their phones will work on-board.

I get it - you just want to know if your phone will work or not.

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

The part that matters is:

The WMSatSea mobile network is accessible by most mobile phones, supporting both GSM and CDMA technologies. You must have service with one of the nearly 400 carriers worldwide that have a roaming agreement with WMS. Some prepaid phone plans by some carriers are not currently supported. Please check with your mobile telephone service provider for details.

That would indicate the answer can be found by calling your phone carrier. Someone may come on here and tell you their answer from actual experience, but they could have a different plan than you do. So best advice is to just call your provider and find out, particularly if you have a prepaid plan.

I want to thank everyone who offered advice.

In the past while aboard a Carnival ship I have called home using the $1.99/min ship-to-shore option. For our upcoming cruise I will do that again while on the ship, and I will use my cell phone in ports.

I'm concerned about being in touch with my elderly mother while I am away and I was looking for ways to ease my worry.

Thanks again.

" Even the highest plan is very economical."

I don't find crappy internet at $120 a week economical

I want to thank everyone who offered advice.

 

In the past while aboard a Carnival ship I have called home using the $1.99/min ship-to-shore option. For our upcoming cruise I will do that again while on the ship, and I will use my cell phone in ports.

 

I'm concerned about being in touch with my elderly mother while I am away and I was looking for ways to ease my worry.

 

Thanks again.

Where are you travelling? My consumer cellular plan does not work outside of the US ... at all. They have no coverage. At least in May 2017 that is what I was told. I was travelling to Cuba.

" Even the highest plan is very economical."

I don't find crappy internet at $120 a week economical

Compared to what it used to be? It is very economical. Compared to other cruise lines that still limit amount of minutes used? It is very economical.

DH buys the highest plan for business and rarely has an issue not even middle two days to Hawaii. Doing documents, not video, FaceTime or gaming.

Where are you travelling? My consumer cellular plan does not work outside of the US ... at all. They have no coverage. At least in May 2017 that is what I was told. I was travelling to Cuba.

CruiseGal - I believe that a year or so ago Consumer Cellular did not work outside the US. However, I switched to their plan when international roaming became available. See the link:

https://www.consumercellular.com/Help/international-rates/roaming

While we are in San Juan, no international roaming will be needed as it is part of the US. In our other ports I plan to make short calls to check in at home and the roaming charges will be okay.

The list of countries and roaming charges do not include Cuba.

Where are you travelling? My consumer cellular plan does not work outside of the US ... at all. They have no coverage. At least in May 2017 that is what I was told. I was travelling to Cuba.

I sincerely doubt any US based cellular carrier will have in network coverage in Cuba. Just not gonna happen in the foreseeable future - especially since US citizen travel to Cuba peaked in 2017 and is now only at 50% of last year's volume.

I sincerely doubt any US based cellular carrier will have in network coverage in Cuba.

ATT offers cell service, voice and data, in Cuba.

Having said that,,,it is Not cheap.