AT&T cruise package

Have any of you ever used this and does it actually work? They have one for like $60. We would just like to have some connection back home since my mom will be watching our 2 year old and first real time away from her this long.

Have any of you ever used this and does it actually work? They have one for like $60. We would just like to have some connection back home since my mom will be watching our 2 year old and first real time away from her this long.

Yes, it actually works. However, whether it saves money depends on exactly how you will "connect" back home. Voice calls, simple texting, texting with photos and videos, email, Facebook, etc.

Have any of you ever used this and does it actually work? They have one for like $60. We would just like to have some connection back home since my mom will be watching our 2 year old and first real time away from her this long.

Yes, it actually works. However, whether it saves money depends on exactly how you will "connect" back home. Voice calls, simple texting, texting with photos and videos, email, Facebook, etc.

FWIW, after using it twice in 2014, the most recently in November aboard Independence, I have to say that it "sorta" works. We had the $60 package, which is texts and voice, but no data. First thing we discovered is that despite the fact that the website clearly says that the texting includes sending/receiving pictures, it definitely does NOT, without some kind of data package in addition.

Second, we found that our ability to make calls to specific phones, mostly family's cell phones back home - was variable. About half the time it wouldn't go through, although I could text and have them call me and THAT would go through!

I called AT&T after we returned and complained rather strongly, and had part of the $60 refunded. I'd probably still get it again next time to stay in touch for emergencies, but just know that its not quite what the website bills it as.

Used it in January on Independence. Voice worked well. We had good signal. I only had the $30 plan. I did not need more. I did not choose the in-port plan because I did not want to search for eligible hotspots. I would by the cellular at sea plan again.

...First thing we discovered is that despite the fact that the website clearly says that the texting includes sending/receiving pictures, it definitely does NOT, without some kind of data package in addition. ....

Unfortunate that they mislead people that way. Not only do you need data to send/receive MMS texts, it must be cellular data. WiFi data won't help in that case.

Used it last March and will be using it again next week. Worked great for us! And it was nice to be able to check in each day with the kids to make sure all was well. Helped me to be able to relax and enjoy!

Have any of you ever used this and does it actually work? They have one for like $60. We would just like to have some connection back home since my mom will be watching our 2 year old and first real time away from her this long.

We've purchased it a few times, and I found the voice only package at $30 to be the best value (50 minutes) if you just wish to call home and check in periodically. The additional $30 for text messaging is not a great value in my opinion. You would have to send 60 test messages over the course of 7 days to break even, and remember incoming texts are free on AT&T.

I found the voice plan of $30, along with 2-3 text messages a day tops (maybe $10) was the way to go...

Used it on FOS and it was spotty at best. We got the cheapest plan (with voice only) thinking we could pick up our messages on our office phone. Not so much. Plan did include the Islands we visited and we had much better luck once docked rather than going through cellular at sea. We connected to office phone but could not dial in code to collect messages when at sea.

I use it. And LOVE it. Brothers and sisters take a yearly cruise. I call my now 12yr DD every night to say our prayers. It was costing me $2.49 a min. and would have over $100 at the end of the cruise. If you plan on talking more then 12 mins while on the cruise. The AT&T plan is they way to go. The only time I couldn't use the phone was when the ship was in port. Had to wait till we got out to sea for them to turn their tower back on. Hope this help. Happy Sailing!!!!

Cannot do photo texts...if you are in "dead zone" not "at cellular sea" could not text. While on Serenade last week was very spotty. People have to SMS text back on iPhone cannot MMS text. Took my husband three days to figure out before we were able to text. We were not told this. Make sure you get all directions on how to use. :(:confused::(

We used it two years ago on Mariner and it worked great. We had a new GD born while gone (she couldn't wait a few days for us to get back) and we got text photos with no problem. As long as we had "Cellular at Sea" it worked great. We turned the phones off while in non-US ports just to be safe.

Only thing that we found was strange was that some (not all) voice messages wouldn't come through until we got back to Galveston. So don't count on them showing up. I assume if you call in they would be there, but they didn't show as waiting on the IPhone.

We are leaving in a few days and with the newer unlimited WiFi on Oasis I think I am going to try and just communicate using that and $10 a day.

Unfortunate that they mislead people that way. Not only do you need data to send/receive MMS texts, it must be cellular data. WiFi data won't help in that case.

Agreed - although when I called and complained after returning home, they tried to tell me that WiFi data would have been acceptable - which I was definitely skeptical about!

Here's the chart on their website - pretty misleading, it says "Texts Sent Allowance: 100

Overage:

$0.50/message sent

(text, picture, video)"

That's for the $60 package which doesn't include any data!

Agreed - although when I called and complained after returning home, they tried to tell me that WiFi data would have been acceptable - which I was definitely skeptical about!

 

Here's the chart on their website - pretty misleading, it says "Texts Sent Allowance: 100

Overage:

$0.50/message sent

(text, picture, video)"

 

That's for the $60 package which doesn't include any data!

I guess having customer service reps who make up stuff is not limited to cruise companies.:rolleyes:

You should be dealing with Comcast as I am currently if you want to see bad customer service.

Agreed - although when I called and complained after returning home, they tried to tell me that WiFi data would have been acceptable - which I was definitely skeptical about!

 

Here's the chart on their website - pretty misleading, it says "Texts Sent Allowance: 100

Overage:

$0.50/message sent

(text, picture, video)"

 

That's for the $60 package which doesn't include any data!

The thing is, yes you must have a cellular data connection to send MMS but it is not billed as data, so theoretically you do not need a data plan to send MMS but you do have to enable data on your phone. Unfortunately, once you enable data, most smart phones will start using data and without a data plan, you will be billed at $20 per mega byte.