cell phones

does your cell phone work onboard the ship, and has anyone done the horseback riding with pinetree stables in the bahamas

does your cell phone work onboard the ship, and has anyone done the horseback riding with pinetree stables in the bahamas

Depends on the provider and the cell phone, some have towers in Bahamas. Most will not work if you are very far land.

Actually it depends on WHICH SHIP. Navigator for instance has a "cell tower" so to speak and your cell phone will work onboard it while at sea. It's a service through AT&T Maritime Services and in the case of my provider (Cingular) it costs $1.49 per minute. This is something they're installing on all ships, but I'm not sure which ones have it now, but it works well on Navigator.

I read a post here from someone who stated that when she was on a cruise, she had her cell phone with her, but turned off.

It seemed that even with her phone turned off, when someone called and left a voice mail, or just made a connection, she was charged for it the international fee, around $1.50 or something, per minute.

I am going to leave mine at home, I don't need a big bill.

Jly

I read a post here from someone who stated that when she was on a cruise, she had her cell phone with her, but turned off.

It seemed that even with her phone turned off, when someone called and left a voice mail, or just made a connection, she was charged for it the international fee, around $1.50 or something, per minute.

 

I am going to leave mine at home, I don't need a big bill.

 

Jly

Something sounds very fishy here. Messages are left with you provider, not with the company serving the ship. Cost is only when you retrieve. There is way more to this one then was posted above.

As the previous poster stated, there was more to that story than the original poster revealed, and she would never answer directly any of the questions that others and myself asked her in order to get the real story. I take my phone on every cruise and have never been charged for voice mails left when I had the phone turned off. I have never even been charged when I had the phone on and was unable to connect to make a call back to the US. If I connected and completed the call then I was charged roaming. That seems fair to me.

Nextels won't work...however, they now have phones that can be used as walkie talkies off-network. So if you and your traveling companions have these phones you can talk between each other on-board or within a 2-5 mile radius no charge.

thanks for your help

thanks

If there is a cell phone tower, do they let people take it in the dining room? I would think that would get loud and annoying.... Do they have rules for where phones are allowed?

Last year on the VOS coming back to NYC froma 9 day western caribbean itinerary i decided to try my phone as we sailed north along the NC coast and, surprise! it worked. Called home to let my ride know that the ship was coming in about an hour early.

We had Cingular when we were in the Eastern caribbean. it worked on every island we were on. The only time it did not work was to retrieve messages. For those we were charged $1.50 every time we tried and sometimes it was twice within 1 minute. When you have 3 small children at home and you get a voice mail when everyone knows you are gone can be scary.

I highly recommend to eveyone to ADD internation calling to your cell phone options before you go and take it off when we get back. It is only a few bucks more for the month.

My husband called to make sure ours would work on the islands he was told yes. He didn't realize that we would be roaming. When we got our bill it was a whopping $500. Bill learning lesson but worth it to keep in touch with the kids.

If there is a cell phone tower, do they let people take it in the dining room? I would think that would get loud and annoying.... Do they have rules for where phones are allowed?

Yes, it states that they're not allowed in the dining room or theatre... Personally I only used mine IN MY CABIN. Hopefully others will as well!

On the last night of our cruise my husband had his cell phone with him in the dining room. It was not for calling purposes, but only to see how the ship was going around in circles (the compass, you know). :p Our phones worked perfectly in our state rooms and all over the ship.

I have Tracfone and it works for us in Puerto Rico, And all the US Virgin Islands. No extra charges just your regular roaming charge same as using back in the states.

I refuse to take my cell phone on a cruise. It's why I cruise - to get away from my everyday world! I was on the HAL Zuiderdam this past April, and while we were in St. Thomas, I returned to the ship early to sit by the aft pool to just relax and chill out, only to discover that several passengers were on their cell phones calling here, there, and everywhere! It was obnoxious, to say the least! And the longer they were on, the louder they talked! I could care less about Little Susie getting to her ballet lesson on time, or Uncle Johnny checking the mail every day to see if the AMEX bill had arrived. Sometimes modern technology is an unwelcome and intrusive thing! I really got the feeling that these folks were just trying to "show off" that they had - gasp - a cell phone! Give me a break!~

...Cruising for cruising's sake!

If there is a cell phone tower, do they let people take it in the dining room? I would think that would get loud and annoying.... Do they have rules for where phones are allowed?

Cruiseinmait: We signed on w/Cingular today and was told anyplace on the map was free. I didn't question in cabin near the islands but Charlotte Amalie is on the map. Were you charged roaming from there also?

I have Cingular as well and use it in St. Thomas and San Juan a couple of times a year. They're no different than anywhere else in the mainland US, no roaming charges since they're American ports.

The non-American ports is where they charge roaming and the cost can add up!

Another place they do charge the international $1.49 per minute is if you use it onboard the ships while at sea. It's coming to all of them soon if not already, but Navigator for instance already has a system where your phone works onboard in the middle of the ocean, but it's billed at $1.49 per minute with Cingular. The cost for other providers varies.

For those of you who stated you would never bring your cell phone onboard with you, I say you may want to rethink that strategy.

Last summer I was on the Navigator during Hurricane Francis. This cruise lasted 9 days instead of 7 due to Hurricane Francis arriving in Florida (great for us, not so great for Floridians). As it became apparant that we would not be docking in Miami as scheduled, you had a ship of 2000 cruisers trying to use the 6 or so lines set up by RCCL to call and arrange for their flights home.

After 7 hours waiting for our turn to call (that's right 7 hours and we were in the middle of the pack), my wife and I gave up and started trying our cell phone.

For a while we couldn't get a signal (I do not believe Navigator had the cell antenna installed as yet), but finally did as we got nearer to land. We were able to arrange for flights and transportation, speak to worried relatives, etc.

So, I guess what I am saying is, it pays to bring it along in case of emergency.

My husband brought his cell phone on our last cruise and it was convenient to use because we also had issues with the hurricanes. We did try to use it only when necessary because I do agree that it is so annoying to hear other peoples converstions especially about stupid things.

Oh, I'll bring mine, but I certainly won't have it turned on when we're on board the Enchantment. The first three ports this cruise are in Massachusetts and Maine, so I'll carry it with me in case I get separated from my "kids." When sailing, it will be OFF OFF OFF.

Carol

I just don't get what the difference is if people are talking on their phones or talking to someone else. I've encountered much louder face to face conversations on the ship vs. cell phone conversations. I really think some of you need to lighten up. It's not just your vacation. You're on a ship with over 3000 people sometimes. Maybe a land based vacation would better suit you. You could just stay in your room and this way nobody would bother you while they were on THEIR vacation also. This board has some of the most intolerant people I've ever come across. Ever think about answering the question at hand and keeping your opinion to yourself? It's a vacation and some of you are so concerned about other people that you dwell on something like this.

Last summer I was on the Navigator during Hurricane Francis. This cruise lasted 9 days instead of 7 due to Hurricane Francis arriving in Florida (great for us, not so great for Floridians). As it became apparant that we would not be docking in Miami as scheduled, you had a ship of 2000 cruisers trying to use the 6 or so lines set up by RCCL to call and arrange for their flights home.

We had a similar situation too! Due to Jeanne, we were spendin an extra-day onboard, and of course everyone was trying to call and reschedule flights etc. It was so easy just to switch on one's cell phone and mwere ready to contiake the phone call. It took about five minutes, after which we could continue our vacation, while some people stood in lines for almost the whole day waiting for their turn to call home.

I just don't get what the difference is if people are talking on their phones or talking to someone else. I've encountered much louder face to face conversations on the ship vs. cell phone conversations. I really think some of you need to lighten up. It's not just your vacation. You're on a ship with over 3000 people sometimes. Maybe a land based vacation would better suit you. You could just stay in your room and this way nobody would bother you while they were on THEIR vacation also. This board has some of the most intolerant people I've ever come across. Ever think about answering the question at hand and keeping your opinion to yourself? It's a vacation and some of you are so concerned about other people that you dwell on something like this.

You sound like one of the rude cell phone talkers that I have to deal with daily. Since this is a message board anyone can voice their opinion. Nothing wrong with common courtesy.