Phone calls on board

Hello all!

I will be onboard the Eclipse during the Christmas holidays. I would love to call home to wish the family a Merry Christmas and maybe a few friends. However on Dec 25, we will be at sea... and from what I can tell, it's $7,50 per minute... ouch!

Therefore I am thinking to call the day before from St-Martin. What would be the best way to reach home? Would it be with a prepaid calling card?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Alex

Ask the crew on the ship where do you get the best deal on a calling card when in port ... they will point you n the right direction.. This is how they call home.

Find wifi in St Martin and call home using Skype. Free.

I agree Skype is first choice (only works ashore on wi-fi, but dirt cheap).

Cell phone on the ship (if your phone has international calling enabled) is $2.49 a minute, plus any additional charge from your carrier. It's an AT&T system, so they don't charge more. I have Sprint and they add 50 cents a minute for themselves. You wouldn't want a long chat, but I've used it in emergencies, and it works well. Also, it can be cheaper than using your cell in foreign countries.

The $7.50 per minute you saw is to use the regular phone in your stateroom. Needless to say, your cell is a better option.

Harris

Denver, CO

Hello all!

 

I will be onboard the Eclipse during the Christmas holidays. I would love to call home to wish the family a Merry Christmas and maybe a few friends. However on Dec 25, we will be at sea... and from what I can tell, it's $7,50 per minute... ouch!

Therefore I am thinking to call the day before from St-Martin. What would be the best way to reach home? Would it be with a prepaid calling card?

 

Thank you in advance for your help!

Alex

I used Skype from the cabin.. Turned the camera off and just used voice. Cheap and easy! Have a great Christmas!

Don't count on being able to use Skype voice. Sometimes it works from the ship but most often it doesn't. You still have to be connected to the ship wifi which costs around 75 cents a minute (less when you buy a bundle of minutes) so cheaper than cell phone calls but not guaranteed to work

Last month on our Royal TA I used my IPad with my internet minutes for calling home (New York) from the ship. Free down load and works on iPhones as well as the iPad, probably other devices as well. So I was able to just call or I could use the call and view as well. Works better than FaceTime as it needs less band width.

In the spring on the Silhouette TA the signal was not as strong so had to use a small booster I bring with me that increases the signal, but needs an Ethernet cable and an computer jack (which is in almost every cabin by the dressing table).

In St. Maarten, if you walk along the beach everyone advertises free wifi but, the usually is a catch-buy a drink ect. The ice cream stand usually has free wifi and you will see people sitting on the benches using it. Remember there is a time difference if your from the East Coast.

Hal

I agree Skype is first choice (only works ashore on wi-fi, but dirt cheap).

 

Cell phone on the ship (if your phone has international calling enabled) is $2.49 a minute, plus any additional charge from your carrier. It's an AT&T system, so they don't charge more. I have Sprint and they add 50 cents a minute for themselves. You wouldn't want a long chat, but I've used it in emergencies, and it works well. Also, it can be cheaper than using your cell in foreign countries.

 

The $7.50 per minute you saw is to use the regular phone in your stateroom. Needless to say, your cell is a better option.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Folks,

The OP is from Montreal, so US based cell phone carriers and their rates have absolutely no bearing on this discussion. OP- I recommend that you contact your carrier and ask them about cell phone use on a cruise ship, the rates, plans, etc.

Good Luck,

Steve

Folks,

 

The OP is from Montreal, so US based cell phone carriers and their rates have absolutely no bearing on this discussion. OP- I recommend that you contact your carrier and ask them about cell phone use on a cruise ship, the rates, plans, etc.

 

Good Luck,

 

Steve

Yes, you are right... my cell phone is with Bell Canada and I found the info online and they charge $7.50 a minute. For one quick call I would not mind... but I want to call my family and close friends for Christmas. It would cost a fortune.

I like the idea of the wifi in St-Martin... but I am having a hard time seeing myself roaming around trying to get a connection! I would feel like I was trying to "steal" something.

I will definitely ask staff on board... they must be familiar what is the best way. If I could get a calling card with a decent rate.. I could simply find a payphone is St-martin... if such thing exist there....:confused:

Thank you all!

You must purchase local calling cards. For the most part, calling cards you purchase in your home country, be it US or Canada, tend not to work for the island pay phones.

Yes, you are right... my cell phone is with Bell Canada and I found the info online and they charge $7.50 a minute. For one quick call I would not mind... but I want to call my family and close friends for Christmas. It would cost a fortune.

 

I like the idea of the wifi in St-Martin... but I am having a hard time seeing myself roaming around trying to get a connection! I would feel like I was trying to "steal" something.

 

I will definitely ask staff on board... they must be familiar what is the best way. If I could get a calling card with a decent rate.. I could simply find a payphone is St-martin... if such thing exist there....:confused:

 

Thank you all!

Bonjour Alex,

A couple of options for you. First, go with the Skype suggestion. There are lots of wifi locations in St. Martin, and you won't have trouble finding one. There's a current thread on the St. Martin ports forum discussing Free/Cheap internet.

Second option: get a calling card from Canada Direct. infocanadadirect.com. I used their card for years when travelling abroad and found them to be the cheapest and very easy to use.

Bonne chance!

Thank you all!

Merci Fouremco!

:)

Don't count on being able to use Skype voice. Sometimes it works from the ship but most often it doesn't. You still have to be connected to the ship wifi which costs around 75 cents a minute (less when you buy a bundle of minutes) so cheaper than cell phone calls but not guaranteed to work

We did it most days! Granted we were calling the UK so it would be an early morning call when people were in bed. But if you have a package it's worth a try! This was on the Eclipse in April doing the same itinerary! Good luck.

Don't count on being able to use Skype voice. Sometimes it works from the ship but most often it doesn't. You still have to be connected to the ship wifi which costs around 75 cents a minute (less when you buy a bundle of minutes) so cheaper than cell phone calls but not guaranteed to work

Actually on one occasion we were sat on the balcony talking to our 7year old granddaughter when I turned the camera round and she shouted she could see our swimming pool!! It was the ocean!! It was a lot cheaper for us than using our phones!!

Hi Alex:

I have a Bell Canada long Distance calling card. In any of the Caribbean ports you dial the 1-800 number from a pay phone and you are connected to Bell Canada. Very reasonable rates apply.

George

Hey there, I call my kids every time we dock in St. Maarten. There are pay phones all around the pier. You just need to ask around to buy a calling card and you will get approx 30 mins of talk time for about $5-$7 US dollars. If I can figure out a way to post a pic I can show you exactly where I usually call from... It is VERY easy, just ask the stores where to get the card, someone will know.

I have also gone to Orient Beach and they have sold me a card and they too have a few pay phones.

If those don't work, there are usually some kind of wifi set up with stores around town, you can go in, pay a standard fee ( usually $10) for an hour or two of time, and then you call through their computer set up.

Honestly, its pretty easy and very very affordable.

Hawaii, well that place was WAY more costly but the islands have always been good. I have called home to Canada EVERY year on EVERY cruise we have taken.

Hope that helps!!!

Find wifi in St Martin and call home using Skype. Free.

Mini tablets even smart phones are easy to use. If they do not have a computer. I do think you have to pay something to call a land line or mobile number. I used Skype in France to call Nebraska and it was about 3 cents a minute. However some places ban VOIP.

You guys are awesome...thank you for the valuable information!!!

Your're the best :)

Hi Alex,

As others have said, there are quite a few wifi hotspots in SXM. At the most it may cost the price of a beer at a bar along the beach to use their connection. If you're taking your phone I suggest you check out http://www.fongo.com.

They have Android and iPhone apps. It's a free service that gives you unlimited calling back to Canada. You can even set up a local (Montreal) phone number for folks to leave you voice messages (free as well). They make their money selling optional add-on services.

I'm not affiliated with them, just a big fan of the service. We've used it for calling home from St.Kitts, St. Maarten, USA and England without issue.

FYI

we have had the skype set up on our phone - rather than use the free internet, it attaches the phone numbers in advance to a local telephone number of where you are ringing from. This way it charges it as a local call. So we don't have to find wifi.

We ring from our mobile to the USA and the phone thinks its dialing a London number. You have to load the credit in advance to do it - it rings the number they attach it through the internet at their end etc etc.

Normally we can do a long distance call for 30 minutes for less than 50p/75c

thanks