cell phones

Will I be able to use my cell phone while on the ship (Pearl)? If not what is the best way to stay in touch with home? ($$$$ money wise)

WE had Cingular and had service in Juneau Skagway and Ketchican

Used Verizon from Juneau with no problem....the ship ( golden Princess) was sappose to have cell service buy I don't think it worked.

For good price communication by e-mail...try Seaboard Cyber...in Ketchikan the office was near the pier & they have service in assorted ports...you buy a card that lets you use it from the ports.

I had Verizon service in Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Victoria. Nothing works while you're out at sea:( .

I have SprintPCS. I also have a plan that includes roaming for $5.00 a month. I tried to get it taken off as I never roam but it's just part of the plan.

I was able to get service in Juneau just fine. But had to go to roaming in Sitka, Ketchikan and ,surprisingly, Victoria, BC! I used the roaming to call home but only briefly as a) it wasn't great reception and b) I didn't trust Sprint to not charge me more. I just got my bill and was NOT charged anymore for the roaming calls:D So while Sprint coverage sucked at least I had the roaming plan and was able to stay in touch.

I had TrackPhone service in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Denali & Mt McKinley. Worked great-with no roaming minutes used!

Did the TracPhone work while you are at sea?

Celebrity has Cellular at Sea service. My AT&T Phone rang during a sea day and it was my dau. in GA. I quickly told her we were at sea and I would call the next day. I read that the price for Cellular at Sea is $6.95 per min. I will know for sure when my bill comes. AT&T service was available on the ship and off while we were in all ports.

aug2007alaskacruise-I didn't try the phone while at sea, because I thought it would be mucho $$$$!

We just got back from Alaska on the Sapphire Princess and had Verizon service almost everywhere. No problem in the ports (Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway) and my nephew was even getting service while cruising Glacier Bay. We also took a land tour to Fairbanks, Denali, Mt. Mckinley Princess Lodge, and Anchorage and had cell services at all of these places. Roaming is included in our plan so that was no problem for us. The only times we were out of touch was the at-sea day off the coast of Canada (and we didn't try to get service there because our plan is not international) and cruising to College Fjord.

Our Alltell "free to roam" which cost $10 per month extra while on vacation will take care of Alaska, but not Canada and the rates would be very hight, as per Alltel. So are y'all using calling cards for Canada service (the type you can buy at WalMart)??? gg

I had T mobile last year in Alaska and got charged big bucks for checking voice mail after it rang while at sea. The response from T mobile, ... Alaska is not a state!