Cell Phone Towers on Ships?

Has anyone heard anything about this? A friend tells me that RCI has or is in the process of installing cell phone "towers" on some of their ships. This would affect cruisers who use their cell phones as the ship sails out of port. At some point (???unknown) the call would be switched to the ship's tower at a much higher rate than the land tower. Apparently you would not be aware of this until the next bill comes. :eek: We have often made phone calls while sailing out of MIA, Ft. L, Key West, San Juan - all ports which are part of our Verizon plan - so no charges. Anyone hear anything like this? Could be just a rumor - but important to know....

I have TMobile and I called a couple weeks ago to check on international roaming charges and was advised that while on ship, the RC roaming charges would be applied at $4.99 per minute, while in Grand Cayman, Coz and/or Jamaica the roaming charges would be at $1.49 per minute. Was also advised that the $4.99 would apply if your phone was 'on' and even though you didnt answer it. She advised me to keep it off and check voicemail while in port, if possible.

 

Not sure if same for your carrier.

Yes,there is some truth to that...

This all came out a year,or a little more ago..Everyone went nuts,thinking you would have to deal with the usual cell phone "yellers"and things disturbing the peace.Now,I can't even remember exactly when this technology was going to start showing up on ships...I am sure some have them already...Apparently,its not that big of a problem (yet)

Heres some info

http://cruises.about.com/od/cruisenews/a/041203celebrity.htm

 

http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2004/07/004574.htm

Verizon won't sign a deal with RCI so even if they do put towers up you can't use your Verizon phone away from land.

Here is Cingular info.

Royal Caribbean International And Celebrity Cruises Offer Guests New Way To Stay In Touch At Sea

 

Company Teams with Cingular Wireless and Maritime Telecommunications Network

to Provide Cell Phone Service On Ships

 

Service Launched on Majesty of the Seas

 

MIAMI, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Guests on Royal Caribbean International and

Celebrity Cruises ships can soon use their personal cell phones to stay in

touch while at sea.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has teamed with Wireless Maritime Services, a

joint venture of Cingular Wireless and Maritime Telecommunications Network

(MTN), to provide a convenient and affordable new communications option that

allows guests to make and receive calls on their own cell phones -- at their

personal numbers -- while in international waters. Royal Caribbean Cruises

Ltd., which pioneered the use of this service on Island Cruises' Island

Escape, a joint venture with First Choice Holidays PLC, has now begun to offer

this service to guests sailing on its Royal Caribbean and Celebrity brands.

"Our guests know they can count on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity to bring

them the latest innovations, whether in onboard programming, ship amenities or

technology," said Jack Williams, president and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Ltd. "We know many of our guests will welcome this opportunity to stay within

easy reach of their families, check voicemails or make calls."

The new capability is now available on Majesty of the Seas and is slated

to launch in the coming weeks on Navigator of the Seas and the Celebrity ship

Summit. The company plans to extend this service to its 29-ship Royal

Caribbean and Celebrity fleet within the next year.

Most cruise guests with GSM phones will be able to take advantage of the

new service, making and receiving both voice calls and text messages as they

usually do while roaming on land. Guests with data-capable GSM/GPRS devices

may also be able to access data services, such as email and picture messaging.

In addition, the companies intend to expand the offering so that customers of

CDMA carriers also can take advantage of the service.

Guests will be billed by their own wireless phone carrier at the roaming

rates set by that carrier. The new shipboard service will activate when the

ship leaves the range of the closest land-based cell tower. While in port,

cell service will revert to the local, land-based towers.

Earlier this year, AT&T Wireless and MTN announced the formation of

Wireless Maritime Services, a joint venture combining MTN's expertise in

providing satellite services to the cruise industry with AT&T Wireless'

expertise in delivering wireless services to consumer and business travelers.

The joint venture was formed to develop and launch this innovative

communications offering for cruise ships, relying on a combination of

satellite and wireless services. AT&T Wireless was subsequently acquired by

Cingular Wireless, creating the nation's largest digital voice and data

network.

 

About Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that

operates Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, with a combined

total of 29 ships in service and two under construction. The company also

offers unique cruisetour vacations in Alaska, Canada and Europe. Additional

information can be found on http://www.royalcaribbean.com ,

http://www.celebrity.com , or http://www.rclinvestor.com .

 

About Maritime Telecommunications Network

Maritime Telecommunications Network, Inc. (MTN), the leader in maritime

communications, provides broadband solutions for voice, data, Internet and

compressed video services to the cruise and other offshore industries and to

the U.S. Government using state-of-the-art VSAT technology. MTN's Digital

Seas Internet product, the first Information Technology concession, provides

turnkey Internet Cafes and Wi-Fi Hot Spots to the cruise and offshore

industries. MTN is majority-owned by Falconhead Capital, a private investment

firm. More information on MTN is available at http://www.mtnsat.com .

 

 

http://onlinestorez.cingular.com/travelguide/coverage/cruise_ships_rates.jsp?PIDL=IRSD%7CIRWT

 

 

http://www.cingular.com/customer_service/roaming_gen

Yes,there is some truth to that...

This all came out a year,or a little more ago..Everyone went nuts,thinking you would have to deal with the usual cell phone "yellers"and things disturbing the peace.Now,I can't even remember exactly when this technology was going to start showing up on ships...I am sure some have them already...Apparently,its not that big of a problem (yet)

I think the lack of a problem is because the news isn't out yet. Once more people find out they can use their phone, they will use their phone. Then the problems will start.

Thanks for all your information. I think the question origianlly raised by my friend was that the "free" call that he regularly made on his cell as he sailed out of port became a $4.99 a minute call without him knowing it. I guess the question really is - when does the land tower stop?? Hopefully, the ships with the equipment are letting their passengers know as soon as then get on the ship.

During my Alaska cruise on Celebrity last year, I used my cell phone in port thinking I was "roaming" on my current plan only to find out I was charged as using the ships tower at the outrageous rate. I think it's currently the biggest scam at sea. Since the casino is shut down in ports, they need some way to bring in extra money.:D My call was less than 10 minutes. I have heard even if you are in port standing near the ship, your calls can be directed through their tower.

Thank you Rowtyd! That is exactly what my friend had heard, but needed someone to confirm. I wonder if there is a way to know which ships have this technology so that everyone can make an informed decision about their personal cell use!?!

I think the best solution is to just not use your cell phone on the ship.

I know when I'm in my network national area, but outside my home area, my phone shows a certain symbol - roaming but not - as the only thing that shows I've moved in my normal network coverage zone. When I've been in other countries and picked up cell service, my phone displays the name of that network, so I know I'm no longer in my normal network. Shouldn't the ship network cause our phones to do the same thing? Show when it switches from one service tower on land to the next service tower at sea? Just a thought...

Shouldn't the ship network cause our phones to do the same thing? Show when it switches from one service tower on land to the next service tower at sea? Just a thought...

I think it does.

From what I can tell reading the article in the February 2006 edition of "Cruise Travel" magazine about cell phones;

 

1) The service isn't turned on while you're in port, in fact it states (paraphrasing) that the ship sails, then one hour later, they turn it on and you get your messages, the paragraph was referring specifically to Blackberries, but didn't distinguish between that and cell phones.

 

2) You don't have to worry about it with Verizon, Verizon has refused to sign agreements with MTN, the company providing the service, so your Verizon phone just indicates no signal, and I can vouch for that from personal experience at the beginning of April on Mariner.

 

So, I don't think you have to worrry about the MTN charges if you're close enough to land to get service, since it shouldn't be turned on. Based on my experience out to sea, digital phones don't work well beyond about 20 to 25 miles. They just don't have enough output power to talk to the tower. You'll still see the tower bars on your phone, but your phone can't reach the tower with its signal. It depends a little on how high up you are, but not too much. I used to be able to send calls on my old phone that had analog service, since on analog it would shift to 5 watts output, but at 0.5 watts for most digital, it just won't broadcast that far. At least that is based on my personal experience trying to make cell phone calls at sea.

How much is Wi-Fi these days?

 

I know it sounds unrelated, but if cell calls are so inexpensive, I'll just buy the Wi-Fi and use my PocketPC and run Skype on it. It's a very handy computer program that allows you to make calls to others. Calls to people who also have it on their computer are free. You can call other phone numbers (about 10 bucks for 8 hours of calling) and you can also get a phone number for others to call you, and those calls are free. (In addition, you can set up the phone number youself, so those who would try to call me would technically be dialing a local call). Much cheaper if you ask me.

We used our cell phone on theship [ NOS] and in ports. We have cingular. Our charges were $1.99 per minute. We had no problems getting through to whoever we were calling. This was in Nov. Judi :)

How much is Wi-Fi these days?

 

I know it sounds unrelated, but if cell calls are so inexpensive, I'll just buy the Wi-Fi and use my PocketPC and run Skype on it. It's a very handy computer program that allows you to make calls to others. Calls to people who also have it on their computer are free. You can call other phone numbers (about 10 bucks for 8 hours of calling) and you can also get a phone number for others to call you, and those calls are free. (In addition, you can set up the phone number youself, so those who would try to call me would technically be dialing a local call). Much cheaper if you ask me.

 

WI-FI is 50 cents/minute flat rate, or package rates that go down as low as 150 minutes for 50 USD, or 33 cents/minute.

Here is a link to the current Cingular page on RCCL ships and rates.

 

http://onlinestorez.cingular.com/travelguide/coverage/coverage_details.jsp?CIDL=1517%7C1502%7C1519%7C1503%7C1518%7C1516&MNC=CING&DID1=111&DID2=&STEP=5

Anyone have any idea about Sprint/Nextel???

 

~Jen

Anyone have any idea about Sprint/Nextel???

 

~Jen

 

According to the article that I mentioned above, "Cruise Travel" Feb 2006, "Cell Phones at Sea"

 

1) Cingular $1.99/min

2) Sprint $3.00/min

3) T-Mobile $4.99/min

4) Verizon $Priceless (they won't sign a contract, so you can't get it at any price)

Anyone have any idea about Sprint/Nextel???

 

~Jen

 

To my knowledge the ship towers only work with GSM digital services, which I believe Sprint/Nextel are not GSM digital.

To my knowledge the ship towers only work with GSM digital services, which I believe Sprint/Nextel are not GSM digital.

 

Just relying on the magazine article here, but "Cruise Travel" says MTN supplies both GSM (Cingular and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Sprint and Verizon).

WI-FI is 50 cents/minute flat rate, or package rates that go down as low as 150 minutes for 50 USD, or 33 cents/minute.

 

Thanks for the info!

Cool. I do so want to yak on my phone at dinner while wearing jeans.

Yak on the phone in your jeans and let your kids run wild.....go for it.

 

Seriously...just off the jewel - eastern Caribbean. The only time I could get a signal was in St. Thomas. Called from the ship. We have cingular service.