Cellular / Wi-Fi Service

I apologize in advance if these questions have been asked and answered many times already. I have reviewed Carnival and Sprint's web sites and spoken with both on the phone as well, and I am no more clear on the situation than I was when I began.

1) Regarding cellular service aboard the Miracle:

I have a US-based cell phone on the Sprint network - a Treo 700p (CDMA 800/1900 MHz Dual Band). Does the shipboard cellular service qualify as "Roaming" or as "International Roaming" for US-based cellular customers? If it's roaming, I am all set; if international roaming, I would have to look into a suitable plan upgrade.

2) Regarding Wi-Fi service:

Is it free or is there a charge for this service? If charged, is it per minute or per cruise? And how much?

I apologize in advance if these questions have been asked and answered many times already. I have reviewed Carnival and Sprint's web sites and spoken with both on the phone as well, and I am no more clear on the situation than I was when I began.

 

1) Regarding cellular service aboard the Miracle:

 

I have a US-based cell phone on the Sprint network - a Treo 700p (CDMA 800/1900 MHz Dual Band). Does the shipboard cellular service qualify as "Roaming" or as "International Roaming" for US-based cellular customers? If it's roaming, I am all set; if international roaming, I would have to look into a suitable plan upgrade.

 

2) Regarding Wi-Fi service:

 

Is it free or is there a charge for this service? If charged, is it per minute or per cruise? And how much?

Yeah, you'll encounter international roaming aboard ship. I added international roaming to one of my phones (Treo 650) for four bucks. There's a $2.49/min charge for calls.

Wifi, there are a few charges. There's a one time set up fee of $3.95 and a per minute charge of $.75. If you purchase a block of 100 minutes it will cost you $55. A block of 250 minutes costs $100.

Be advised that the connection can get pretty doggy as everyone on board is sharing a fairly small pipe, around 900 K. If you can delay using going online until very late evening or perhaps early morning the connect speed will probably be better. Most people compare the connection to dial up.

They also offer discounts for WiFi on port. Sometime up to 50% off the bill.

About your Sprint Treo, SMS and data services may not work. Here's a post I made about my experience with my Sprint BlackBerry. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=625966

Yeah, you'll encounter international roaming aboard ship. I added international roaming to one of my phones (Treo 650) for four bucks. There's a $2.49/min charge for calls...

Well, I am more convinced than before that either no one (no "official" source, that is) really knows the answer, or they are deliberately obfuscating the truth.

I spoke with Carnival yesterday and the rep insisted that the cruise line does not charge anything at all - at most, he said, it would be an issue of whether or not my carrier charges for roaming, and he specifically said that it would not be "international roaming".

On the other hand, I spoke with Sprint's International Servie Rep a short while ago (since there is nothing at all on their web site concerning service at sea) and was told that Sprint would not charge me anything but the cruise line (in particular, Carnival aboard the Miracle) would charge me $2.99 per minute for outgoing calls and for any incoming call which was actually answered.

So, in short, I am still not certain what the actual charges may be...

Well, I am more convinced than before that either no one (no "official" source, that is) really knows the answer, or they are deliberately obfuscating the truth.

 

I spoke with Carnival yesterday and the rep insisted that the cruise line does not charge anything at all - at most, he said, it would be an issue of whether or not my carrier charges for roaming, and he specifically said that it would not be "international roaming".

 

On the other hand, I spoke with Sprint's International Servie Rep a short while ago (since there is nothing at all on their web site concerning service at sea) and was told that Sprint would not charge me anything but the cruise line (in particular, Carnival aboard the Miracle) would charge me $2.99 per minute for outgoing calls and for any incoming call which was actually answered.

 

So, in short, I am still not certain what the actual charges may be...

They are all possibly correct at the same time. Probably the money goes to the company that operates the cell service at sea, not the cruise line, not your carrier. I have Verizon. In their brochure they wrote that on a Carnival ship my charges would be $2.49 per minute. Who gets that money? Who is charging it? Who is billing it? I don't know, and it really doesn't matter much at the end.

So, in short, I am still not certain what the actual charges may be...

Stick with the rate Sprint is telling you. ($2.99 right?) I work for a small cell phone company and I'm very familiar with 3rd party billing agreements. WMS will bill Sprint for your calls, but Sprint may mark up WMS's rate. Ultimately, its Sprint who is adding the charge to your bill. WMS or Carnival will not respond to billing inquires or disputes.

The cruise line is definitely out of the picture. They probably get a percentage of WMS billing or they just charge leasing space for WMS's equipment.

So, just so that we can all see how ridiculous this has become, early this morning I used Sprint's online "Contact Us" form to send the following:

I grew tired of waiting for a response and called them instead; the results of that phone conversation are above in an earlier post. Meanwhile, a short while ago I received a reply to my electronic query:

Grrrrr....

Grrrrr....

Update: I just received my Sprint bill covering the period of my Miracle cruise (9/16 - 9/24). I made 11 minutes of at-sea calls for which I was charged $2.49 per minute, $27.39 total.