AT&T Cell Phone - Internet at Sea

[Snowball]

Does anyone know if AT&T phones (specifically the iPhone) are able to get internet service while at sea?

 

I am considering signing up for an international data roaming plan before my cruise, then cancelling it after I get back, rather than pay for the ship's internet use. According to my calculations, it will be much cheaper that way (provided I stay under the 20mb allowance under the data roaming plan. I only plan to use it in order to check e-mail and stay in touch with my hubby and daughter, who aren't going on th cruise, so staying under the 20mb limit shouldn't be a problem.

 

Has anyone else done this, and how did it work out for you?

[SoCalCruzzing]

That wont work on board, if you use data on board you have to pay RC fee whether you have a plan or not. That will only work if you wait until you are in port to make calls and use data. RCL calso charges $2.49 a minute for voice no matter what.

[uksimonusa]

That wont work on board, if you use data on board you have to pay RC fee whether you have a plan or not. That will only work if you wait until you are in port to make calls and use data. RCL calso charges $2.49 a minute for voice no matter what.

 

Are you sure about that, friends of mine from England have unlimited international data and do not pay any more for using internet on the ship

[bionicman97]

Are you sure about that, friends of mine from England have unlimited international data and do not pay any more for using internet on the ship

 

As far as I know, it is additional, regardless of whether your plan is international or not, but I may be wrong. Maybe it depends on the carrier (England having different carriers than the US)

[irishgirl]

That's right, you will be using Cellular at Sea while on board the ship. The international roaming plan is only good on land while off the ship.

 

http://www.cellularatsea.com/

[Daghis]

More details about the features and cost of using the iPhone on the ship can be found on this page.

 

Note that according to this, if you have a text message package, receiving text messages doesn't cost any extra. That's good to know.

 

Oh, and 20 MB of cellular data usage would cost about $400 at the rate listed.

[noche_caliente]

I did this with my verizon blackberry in Jan as well as my kindle. I paid the prorated $7 or whatever it was for the international data package through verizon and that was it. The cellular at sea fees were for voice, not data, and since I didn't make any calls, it wasn't a big deal. I was also able to check e-mail through my kindle absolutely free.

[Snowball]

I did this with my verizon blackberry in Jan as well as my kindle. I paid the prorated $7 or whatever it was for the international data package through verizon and that was it. The cellular at sea fees were for voice, not data, and since I didn't make any calls, it wasn't a big deal. I was also able to check e-mail through my kindle absolutely free.

 

Thanks! That was my understanding as to how it works. I'm still hoping that someone that has AT&T will pipe in and let me know for sure. :o

[gogy]

What are the international roaming charges when you are in European ports?

[Sequim88]

One advantage of the iPhone is it is a GSM system phone which is the system found at most port locations. An international plan from AT&T will work in the ports. Verizon (regular USA phones anyway) are CDMA system and will not work in ports but can access Cellular@Sea because they provide both GSM and CDMA on the ship. Main thing with GSM phones would be to make sure which carrier you are hitting...port or ship.

[gogy]

One advantage of the iPhone is it is a GSM system phone which is the system found at most port locations. An international plan from AT&T will work in the ports. Verizon (regular USA phones anyway) are CDMA system and will not work in ports but can access Cellular@Sea because they provide both GSM and CDMA on the ship. Main thing with GSM phones would be to make sure which carrier you are hitting...port or ship.

I'm in the U.S. I do have the GSM system but once I turn on my cell phone, am I not subject to that country's roaming network?

 

Thank you so much, I'm so confused.

[SoCalCruzzing]

I'm in the U.S. I do have the GSM system but once I turn on my cell phone, am I not subject to that country's roaming network?

 

Thank you so much, I'm so confused.

If you are close to the ship the transmit/receive signals from the ship maybe stronger than the cell site at the port so if not careful you could still be on the cruiseatsea network rather than the local port network.

 

Samething can occur if close to US/Mexico border, when drivinh hwy 8 from San Diego, there are times when cell will jump from US carier to Mexican carier. A cell phone is always hunting for the strongest signal.

[NCLSEA123]

There actually is a data plan that can be used on the ship and in any other international country. It's called "International Plan for Smartphone, BlackBerry, or iPhone" and it costs $64.99 and should even give you international data. I don't know if they offer it anymore, but you should call AT&T customer service, mention the plan exactly by that name and price, and the should be able to give it to you. http://www.wireless.att.com/businesscenter/popup/dataconnect-comp-table.jsp I know the footnote says that it is only available to business customers, but it has been reported that they will give it to you even as a individual consumer. Also this will replace your domestic plan if they are still able to do it. This may have changed recently though due to AT&Ts new policy on data plans. If the first rep you call won't give it to you, hang up and try another just to be sure.

[csoud]

That wont work on board, if you use data on board you have to pay RC fee whether you have a plan or not. That will only work if you wait until you are in port to make calls and use data. RCL calso charges $2.49 a minute for voice no matter what.

is that why my texts from my dad all had his room number attached. i thought that was way strange since he would never do that

[don23fan]

I am going to be on my honeymoon...14 days in the Mediterranean in a couple of weeks and I was planning on prepaying on my Skype app on iphone for international calling .... Thoughts from anyone who may or may not have done this?

[silentbob007]

I am going to be on my honeymoon...14 days in the Mediterranean in a couple of weeks and I was planning on prepaying on my Skype app on iphone for international calling .... Thoughts from anyone who may or may not have done this?

 

With Skype it's the data that you have to be concerned about. If you find a free wifi hotspot in port or pay for an international data package that will be covered when you are off the ship, otherwise if you use the phone networks you will be paying per kb downloaded ... and trust me when I say that you don't want to know how many kb a Skype voice call will use up.

[Kellie Poodle]

One advantage of the iPhone is it is a GSM system phone which is the system found at most port locations. An international plan from AT&T will work in the ports. Verizon (regular USA phones anyway) are CDMA system and will not work in ports but can accessCellular@Sea because they provide both GSM and CDMA on the ship. Main thing with GSM phones would be to make sure which carrier you are hitting...port or ship.

 

If you have a Verizon phone and will be gone less than 3 weeks, they will rent you a global phone for a very reasonable fee and you can keep your own phone number on it. The only cost is per minute and that varies between countries. Unlike AT&T, Verizon does not charge for just leaving the phone on. I did check out getting an AT&T phone for a 7 week trip to Europe and even if I got one (with a mandatory 2 year contract), they would charge for roaming when the phone was turned on and no calls were being made or received. Their per minute charges were two to three times the Verizon charges. The salesman at the AT&T store told me to stick with Verizon as it was cheaper than their plans.

 

Verizon also offers global phones from the Blackberry "Tour" to their own branded handset which is quite reasonably priced. If you plan to do a lot of traveling to areas with GSM coverage, you might want to pick up one of these little global phones and use it when you travel then switch back (very easy) to your regular handset when you come home.

 

You can check out what Verizon has to offer on their web site by putting "global phone" or "international service" into the search box.

 

Whenever I am leaving the US, I call their customer service and tell them what countries I'm going to visit. They send me an email with the proper country codes and dialing instructions. The phone also greets me with a free text message with the same info.

 

The main thing about a cell phone is being able to make and receive calls and I want one that gets a signal wherever I am. In my opinion, AT&T just doesn't cut it. I back up this statement by the fact that I lived in an RV for 9 years and I had a signal on my Verizon phone while the AT&T users right next to me did not. There were many times when I lent my Verizon phone to subscribers of other companies in an emergency.

[Kellie Poodle]

If you are close to the ship the transmit/receive signals from the ship maybe stronger than the cell site at the port so if not careful you could still be on the cruiseatsea network rather than the local port network.

 

Samething can occur if close to US/Mexico border, when drivinh hwy 8 from San Diego, there are times when cell will jump from US carier to Mexican carier. A cell phone is always hunting for the strongest signal.

 

The Cellular At Sea is supposed to be turned off when the ship is in port. I have made calls from my balcony and there was no Cellular at Sea message, just the regular roaming that I expected.

 

If the Cellular at Sea is still on when the ship is in port and you get a bill, I suggest you speak to RCI as they are responsible.

 

You should check your phone for the roaming service before making a call anyway.

[ehfl]

While you may save money by using the international plan in port, it won't save you any money on the ship. RCL has to pay for the satellite connection you are using, and they don't give away that bandwidth for free.

[NCLSEA123]

Unlike AT&T, Verizon does not charge for just leaving the phone on.

 

AT&T does not charge for just leaving the phone on. You are only charged for making/receiving calls, sending texts, and data usage. Plus you can avoid any incoming phone charges by forwarding all calls to voicemail before you leave. You can do this on AT&T or any other GSM carrier (like TMobile) by doing the following before you leave the country. You must do this method, because forwarding calls from your phone menu will still usually result in charges.

 

1)Dial *#67# to check the number used to forward calls to voicemail then exit the screen. (Write down that number to use for next step)

2)Dial *21*number# to forward all your calls to your voicemail then exit after the screen pops up.

3)When you get back to your home country, dial ##002# to restore your setting and turn off call forwarding.

[teaysvalley]

AT&T does not charge for just leaving the phone on. You are only charged for making/receiving calls, sending texts, and data usage. Plus you can avoid any incoming phone charges by forwarding all calls to voicemail before you leave. You can do this on AT&T or any other GSM carrier (like TMobile) by doing the following before you leave the country. You must do this method, because forwarding calls from your phone menu will still usually result in charges.

 

1)Dial *#67# to check the number used to forward calls to voicemail then exit the screen. (Write down that number to use for next step)

2)Dial *21*number# to forward all your calls to your voicemail then exit after the screen pops up.

3)When you get back to your home country, dial ##002# to restore your setting and turn off call forwarding.

 

 

I was told by an AT&T rep that if we left our phones on and didn't answer calls, we'd still get charged for voice mails that had to be routed through the system to International. So, we just shut ours off and left them in the safe until we returned to home port. It was the best part of the cruise. no cell phones.

[NCLSEA123]

I was told by an AT&T rep that if we left our phones on and didn't answer calls, we'd still get charged for voice mails that had to be routed through the system to International. So, we just shut ours off and left them in the safe until we returned to home port. It was the best part of the cruise. no cell phones.

 

There is no charge using that method I described. It's called immediate call forwarding. Basically, that code I posted before is an instruction to AT&Ts network to immediately route your calls to voicemail and not through to your phone. You can't use the forwarding feature on your phone to do that though because then you will be charged, so you must use the method I explained earlier before you leave the country. Of course AT&T doesn't want to promote this because they make money the other way.

[cookieeater]

I have an iphone and placed it in airplaine mode . . . didn't receive any texts or calls :)

that makes for a happy cruiser!

[pamstravels]

We have a group of 20 going on an RCL cruise to Cozumel and our company phones are AT&T and Sprint. From reading these posts it sounds like we will be charged $2.49 per minute when using the voice service, incoming texts are free but outgoing texts are not (data). So if we use our blackberry's what would the data charge be for sending emails? (top sales reps on cruise, it will be almost impossible to stop them!)

[SoCalCruzzing]

We have a group of 20 going on an RCL cruise to Cozumel and our company phones are AT&T and Sprint. From reading these posts it sounds like we will be charged $2.49 per minute when using the voice service, incoming texts are free but outgoing texts are not (data). So if we use our blackberry's what would the data charge be for sending emails? (top sales reps on cruise, it will be almost impossible to stop them!)

 

I f they must use there Blackberrys while at sea on the boat make sure you buy a data package from RC, otherwise the per KB price gets real expensive and you will have a couple of hundred dollar bill for emails. Best bet is to buy international roaming data package and wait until you are in port.