Cell service

I haven't cruised in 8 years and will be on Caribbean Princess January 2018. I have a smart phone and AT&T is my provider. Will I be able to text and use internet on my phone?

Only if you buy the ships internet service... or if you go to the USVI or Puerto Rico, they are part of the states and your att phone will work normally with no extra charges

While onboard you can access the ships internet- you will need to purchase an Internet package. The internet onboard tends to be a bit slow at times so you can go through minutes quickly if you aren't careful. Through the Internet you can send and receive IMessages but not standard texts.

We have ATT and I frequently purchase an ATT passport plan when I travel outside the US. This gives us e texting and data that we need while on shore. It may be worth checking out to see if that meets your needs.

I am on a 15 day cruise that since they changed the itinerary, we will be at sea 10 days. I have Verizon..I guess it would not be worth their plan since you cannot use on the ship. Is this correct?

I am on a 15 day cruise that since they changed the itinerary, we will be at sea 10 days. I have Verizon..I guess it would not be worth their plan since you cannot use on the ship. Is this correct?

I just checked the Verizon website and they cruise plans that work on some Princess ships. It might be worthwhile for you to check out the plans offered by Verizon to see if they are worthwhile for you.

I just checked the Verizon website and they cruise plans that work on some Princess ships. It might be worthwhile for you to check out the plans offered by Verizon to see if they are worthwhile for you.

Check with Verizon. We used to get a rental phone from them to use internationally on cruises. Now that I have an iPhone we get an international plan that can be used in ports and at sea. We generally have pretty good service although we take a lot of ta's, and sometimes on the crossing it can be difficult get a signal.

OP-are you on the CaribbeanP ta? We're on that one, too.

We have Verizon, but I do not believe there is a difference with AT&T.

You can connect your smart phone while on board. It will have slow but full functionality. HOWEVER, it will be connecting through the ship internet and your charges will make a high speed diesel pump look slow. If you are not in the Owner's Suite with a personal butler do not do this. You can use the ship Intranet with your phone in airplane mode to have access to the patter, billing and a rudimentary messaging system that beats Post-It notes.

Rather, buy minutes (or get them based upon your level) and turn your smart phone on sparingly to download messages. Then back on airplane mode while you read your messages. Do not use it for calls.

You can buy a package from Verizon and AT&T for $10 per day in most ports for full smart phone service.

On our last 15 day cruise with ten sea days, we had the $10 package for each of our phones in all ports except Mexico, where our plan already covers. We were billed for, but got the charge removed, for Guatemala because we came close to a Guatemala tower. DW used her 250 free minutes. I used my 250 free minutes plus bought two more packages. We both had business reasons and were reimbursed. I also had to call home and my neighbor to deal with a security issue; about $50 in long distance charges from the ship phone.

Otherwise, you are on vacation. Since I spent a fair amount of time growing up having to walk 1.5 miles to use a pay phone, I assure you that you will not die if you are disconnected from the world for a few days.

You can connect your smart phone while on board. It will have slow but full functionality. HOWEVER, it will be connecting through the ship internet and your charges will make a high speed diesel pump look slow. If you are not in the Owner's Suite with a personal butler do not do this. You can use the ship Intranet with your phone in airplane mode to have access to the patter, billing and a rudimentary messaging system that beats Post-It notes.

 

Unless you bring your own butler with you, you will not find a personal butler on a Princess ship.

We have Verizon, but I do not believe there is a difference with AT&T.

 

You can connect your smart phone while on board. It will have slow but full functionality. HOWEVER, it will be connecting through the ship internet and your charges will make a high speed diesel pump look slow. If you are not in the Owner's Suite with a personal butler do not do this. You can use the ship Intranet with your phone in airplane mode to have access to the patter, billing and a rudimentary messaging system that beats Post-It notes.

 

Rather, buy minutes (or get them based upon your level) and turn your smart phone on sparingly to download messages. Then back on airplane mode while you read your messages. Do not use it for calls.

 

You can buy a package from Verizon and AT&T for $10 per day in most ports for full smart phone service.

 

On our last 15 day cruise with ten sea days, we had the $10 package for each of our phones in all ports except Mexico, where our plan already covers. We were billed for, but got the charge removed, for Guatemala because we came close to a Guatemala tower. DW used her 250 free minutes. I used my 250 free minutes plus bought two more packages. We both had business reasons and were reimbursed. I also had to call home and my neighbor to deal with a security issue; about $50 in long distance charges from the ship phone.

 

Otherwise, you are on vacation. Since I spent a fair amount of time growing up having to walk 1.5 miles to use a pay phone, I assure you that you will not die if you are disconnected from the world for a few days.

Although I run a small business and use my smart phone and Internet almost continuously, I found the real vacation in just disconnecting for the entire vacation with the exception of reading but not replying to emails when we arrived in st Thomas. I had prepaid for a large internet package, but never even used it. After the first week they just credited back my account the amount I paid for the 240 minutes. Being away from the internet was really one of the best things for true relaxation and getting away from it all:)

Although I run a small business and use my smart phone and Internet almost continuously, I found the real vacation in just disconnecting for the entire vacation with the exception of reading but not replying to emails when we arrived in st Thomas. I had prepaid for a large internet package, but never even used it. After the first week they just credited back my account the amount I paid for the 240 minutes. Being away from the internet was really one of the best things for true relaxation and getting away from it all:)

Amen! Finally some sanity.

Although I run a small business and use my smart phone and Internet almost continuously, I found the real vacation in just disconnecting for the entire vacation with the exception of reading but not replying to emails when we arrived in st Thomas. I had prepaid for a large internet package, but never even used it. After the first week they just credited back my account the amount I paid for the 240 minutes. Being away from the internet was really one of the best things for true relaxation and getting away from it all:)

It seems like there is a comment like this every single time someone asks for info on using phones/internet on a cruise. The OP wasn't asking for opinions on whether or not to use the phone; the question was if it would work. People have many reasons for needing to use technology on a vacation, and I'm sure they can make that decision on their own.

I appreciate all the helpful info. After much research I see that as a platinum member I get 240 free internet minutes and can purchase more if needed. I only really need to check emails daily and use fb messaging to keep in contact with family back home so don't need AT&T just wifi. It's just a matter of changing my perspective and fomo on. Fb. :cool:

I appreciate all the helpful info. After much research I see that as a platinum member I get 240 free internet minutes and can purchase more if needed. I only really need to check emails daily and use fb messaging to keep in contact with family back home so don't need AT&T just wifi. It's just a matter of changing my perspective and fomo on. Fb. :cool:

For your 14 day cruise as a Platinum member you will receive 250 internet mins. If you are a couple and both are Platinum then each will receive 250 mins. If you use up mins. for one then you just log in as the other person.

For your 14 day cruise as a Platinum member you will receive 250 internet mins. If you are a couple and both are Platinum then each will receive 250 mins. If you use up mins. for one then you just log in as the other person.

Wow, did not know that. Thanks so much. :ship:

For your 14 day cruise as a Platinum member you will receive 250 internet mins. If you are a couple and both are Platinum then each will receive 250 mins. If you use up mins. for one then you just log in as the other person.

Good idea to activate both accounts early in the cruise. We used to use them one at a time but on a few cruises the activate account page didn't show up for our second account when we tried activating halfway through the cruise. And make sure you log out each time (logout.com or through the logout link) so you get to the minutes used page.

I haven't cruised in 8 years and will be on Caribbean Princess January 2018. I have a smart phone and AT&T is my provider. Will I be able to text and use internet on my phone?

The ship has a cell tower which for AT&T is $.50/message sent. If you do not want to use the ship cell tower be sure to put your phone in airplane mode. Billing will be done through your AT&T account at home. WiFi will still be accessible but you have to turn it on your phone and create a shipboard account to use it. Intranet is always available for free as Princess@Sea.

It seems like there is a comment like this every single time someone asks for info on using phones/internet on a cruise. The OP wasn't asking for opinions on whether or not to use the phone; the question was if it would work. People have many reasons for needing to use technology on a vacation, and I'm sure they can make that decision on their own.

If you would take the time to read the entire thread, you would see that I d answer th OP's question. In the post you're referring to I was replying to someone else's post and relating my experience to them, not the OP. I never said not to use your phone, that's a personal choice everyone has to make for themselves. I just found that for me unplugging was a great source of freedom and relaxation that because I run a business I'm not able to do that the rest of the year. For that matter I didn't even watch the news in our cabin. For all I knew we could have gone to war or the economy collapsed;) all that mattered to me was the local weather, where we were and what was on the princess patter.... pure peace and enjoyment:) some may enjoy staying connected, but for me the rest of the world was put on hold as soon as I walked up that gangway:)

I agree dis connecting from the internet is a amazing feeling and actually enjoying your life and time off is mentally deserving and not appreciated until you do, however we did this last minute 3 day cruise and did not tell anyone just snuck away and Verizon had a plan for on ship coverage this worked while we had fun on our sick days from work....

Since that trip Verizon no longer offers the package. So I would verify with phone plan exactly what the charges are and what you get before using your phone. Each cruise has areas that are DEAD cell service and no internet or phone use in certain areas while aboard the ship.

T-Mobile will sell phone service for .30 per minute overseas. Call them. For Wi-Fi, use the ship's service. T-Mobile provides no-charge data if you have the right plan for Europe.

I haven't cruised in 8 years and will be on Caribbean Princess January 2018. I have a smart phone and AT&T is my provider. Will I be able to text and use internet on my phone?

Yes but it's incredibly expensive. I would suggest getting the internet and then calling people at home using Skype. That way you won't incur the huge cellular at sea charges. you could also wait until you're in port to contact people.

I pay the internet fee myself but that's because I can't imagine not having the internet. What if I miss something important like news and current affairs and want to keep in touch with my friends? Last cruise I spent $1500 on internet. I won't my next two as I won't be working on them and needing to keep in touch, so any communications will be purely for pleasure.