Not getting a clear answer on the cell phones

[jwoap]

Hi there -

 

I called AT&T my carrier and asked them:

 

"When I am on my cruise when do the international crazy expensive charges begin"

 

Their answer - "Well it depends on when the ship turns its tower on and off"

 

So my question for those of you who have cruised to Alaska -- when we are in port, regardless of which one, Seattle, Juneau. Ketchikan, (sp) Skagway, etc...should I turn my phone OFF the moment I board the ship, or is it just when they pick up anchor and set sail.

 

I am going to turn my data roaming off, and turn my airplane mode on so no calls in or out, no texts in or out.

 

I'd like to have the ability to take photos and turn the phone on when in port, but don't want a huge bill at the end of the cruise from AT&T.

 

That would suck.

[JerseyGem]

I am going to turn my data roaming off, and turn my airplane mode on so no calls in or out, no texts in or out.

We also have AT&T. As long as you turn off the above features, you can just look at the wording on the phone- if it says "Cellular at Sea" or something else equally revealing, you don't want to make or receive a call. If it says your regular "phrase" you are free to make calls (assuming you have national coverage, etc.).

 

As for when, it varies. I've been on cruises where the ship's cell tower is turned off as soon as we dock or even slightly before, and not turned on again until after we leave the dock. However, other times I've still seen Cellular at Sea long after docking and well before All-aboard time. I'm guessing that the action to turn the tower on and off is a manual switch rather than an automated action; whenever the person responsible to throw that switch remembers to do so, it's turned on (or off).

[russianmom]

Since you will be in Alaska the international part will not apply to you and you can use your phone as you normally would at home including data and texting as long as you have a natiowide plan. The only time you would have to worry is when the screen of your phone says "Cellular at Sea" then calls are about $2.49/minute. When I am traveling I turn off the data portion and can still make/receive calls and text (incoming are free outgoing are .50)

You could also check the Alaska port of call board as I know free wi-fi spots have been mentioned there.

[DAGVBSB]

Also be careful when you are along the coast of Canada or in Victoria. If you pick up a Canadian Tower, you could have great expenses. My friend lives in Blaine Washington (border city with Canada) and she has AT&T. They usually have to make a monthly trip to the local AT&T store to have their bill adjusted as sometimes they will hit a Canadian tower as opposed to the US tower and the extra costs kick in. (she says that the AT&T store there does more business in fixing bills than in selling phones...lol)

[garycarla]

If you turn data off, and go to airplane mode, it is no longer a phone. No calls or texts at all.

 

As mentioned, your phone will always say which carrier you are connected to. With calls, you pretty much have control. Data takes place without your knowledge, so important to turn that off when not connected to domestic towers.

[DeltaOne]

I am going to turn my data roaming off, and turn my airplane mode on so no calls in or out, no texts in or out.

 

On many smart phones you can turn data roaming off, put the phone in Airplane Mode -- and then turn WiFi back on. Then you can take advantage of low-cost or free WiFi hotspots. It's a great way to go.

 

Don't forget that you may also be able to reset the usage meter before your trip. Then you can occasionally check the usage meter to ensure no data is being transferred.

[ParrothdJH]

Hi there -

 

I called AT&T my carrier and asked them:

 

"When I am on my cruise when do the international crazy expensive charges begin"

 

Their answer - "Well it depends on when the ship turns its tower on and off"

 

So my question for those of you who have cruised to Alaska -- when we are in port, regardless of which one, Seattle, Juneau. Ketchikan, (sp) Skagway, etc...should I turn my phone OFF the moment I board the ship, or is it just when they pick up anchor and set sail.

 

I am going to turn my data roaming off, and turn my airplane mode on so no calls in or out, no texts in or out.

 

I'd like to have the ability to take photos and turn the phone on when in port, but don't want a huge bill at the end of the cruise from AT&T.

 

That would suck.

why not use a camera for taking pictures and not have to worry about it?

[MetalManCPA]

I have Verizon Wireless, so I'm not sure if AT&T has something similar, but here's what I did to Bermuda & back:

 

I have a data plan with my phone. For $40 extra per month (prorated for the one week on my cruise) I switched to the international data plan. I had unlimited email and internet use from my phone while at sea (intermittant service) and in Bermuda. Phone calls would have been $2.49 per minute on board and $1.99 per minute in Bermuda. I thought for the $20 prorated for the week to have unlimited internet and email so I would not have to get an onboard internet service was sweet.

[Husney]

I say enjoy your vacation and shut the phone off!

[Hikini]

I say enjoy your vacation and shut the phone off!

 

I agree - but much easier said than done. My DH always says, "What did we do before cell phones and computers? We got something done, that's what we did!":rolleyes:

 

We have cruised to AK 5 times - 6th time coming right up - and we have T-Mobile. I have an international plan. I don't remember the exact numbers but my 'extra' costs from cruising, even in Canadian waters has been very minimal. Prior to adding the international plan (which we didn't do because of cruising but rather because we have friends in Canada) I still didn't having any huge bills from texting or calling while on the ship. I've never had a charge as a result from the ships tower, but I'm guessing that might be because I've never knowingly used it.

 

When we are in Seattle, and then cruise out of Seattle and head north along the coastline I had my normal service well into the first night. The cell phone chirped a few times during the night to tell me that I had service, I didn't have service, I had service, I didn't have service, and so on. I was surprised at how far into the night I did have service before that started.

 

The next day, in the inside passage it was the same thing. Probably half a dozen times or more, the phone let me know that I had service. And it's not that I NEEDED service either, but it was interesting to know that I had it.

 

My DH's phone (same service provider) doesn't have the international plan, and he wasn't getting the same notifications that I was. We have 4 phones on a family plan but mine is the only one with the international service on it.

 

I did send/receive a few texts during that time, as well as a few phone calls and the charges were minimal, as I said.

 

Good luck, have fun and enjoy your cruise!:D

[Hikini]

I wanted to make sure I was giving correct information about what I actually paid from the calls I made and received, as well as the texts I sent and received during our cruise to AK last September. So I pulled up the bill that contained those charges.

 

I said that my charges were minimal, but I couldn't remember what they were. Well, I stand corrected....my charges weren't minimal, they were ZERO.

 

I went through the itinerary and knowing when we would have been in Canadian waters, as well as Alaska, I had a few calls in Canada (one for over an hour) and several texts. Way more than I remembered. And I had NO charges from any of the calls or texts. But as I said I do have an international plan on my phone. T-Mobile is our service provider.

[BruceMuzz]

Hi there -

 

I called AT&T my carrier and asked them:

 

"When I am on my cruise when do the international crazy expensive charges begin"

 

Their answer - "Well it depends on when the ship turns its tower on and off"

 

So my question for those of you who have cruised to Alaska -- when we are in port, regardless of which one, Seattle, Juneau. Ketchikan, (sp) Skagway, etc...should I turn my phone OFF the moment I board the ship, or is it just when they pick up anchor and set sail.

 

I am going to turn my data roaming off, and turn my airplane mode on so no calls in or out, no texts in or out.

 

I'd like to have the ability to take photos and turn the phone on when in port, but don't want a huge bill at the end of the cruise from AT&T.

 

That would suck.

 

Your telephone service provider gave you a very good answer. That's the way it works.

You may be surprised to learn that the little screen in your telephone is used for things other than looking at the pictures you take.

 

When the ship leaves port, there is a sniffer antenna onboard, checking for land-based mobile telephone service. So long as that antenna can detect service from land, the power to the ship-based roaming service stays off.

As soon as the sniffer antenna can no longer detect land-based service, the power to the ship-based roaming goes on. That's when the price for your call goes up - and it could happen right in the middle of a call.

 

The display screen on your mobile telephone always tells you which service provider is charging you for your calls. You only need to pay attention.

[bakedjake]

So my question for those of you who have cruised to Alaska -- when we are in port, regardless of which one, Seattle, Juneau. Ketchikan, (sp) Skagway, etc...should I turn my phone OFF the moment I board the ship, or is it just when they pick up anchor and set sail.

 

Something like 3 miles offshore - I often leave my phone on an hour into the voyage and just flip it off once I notice a "weird" cellular network identifier (on some ships it's just the GSM number that appears - no name).

 

I've never sailed to Alaska, but a good conservative rule of thumb that you can use is if the casino is open, best to turn off your phone or switch to airplane mode.

 

There's a few things you can do as you've mentioned:

 

1. Turn data roaming off. This will cut down on just about all expenses other than unsolicited texts. If you don't answer the phone you won't get charged for voice.

 

2. Turn on airplane mode. This shuts the radio down in the cell phone completely.

 

3. Turn your network selection mode to "manual" before you leave, and switch it to AT&T. That way you can leave it on but if it can't find an AT&T tower, it won't connect, so you won't get charged. **

 

Of course, just make sure you've actually done one of these things properly before taking random advice from persons unknown on the internet ;-)

 

** [This is how my BlackBerry works. Verify this is the case with your phone before you use this method.]

[Don Haynes]

I say enjoy your vacation and shut the phone off!

 

I leave my phone at home... I let everyone I know I am going on a vacation and will be out of reach. Even if there is an emergency, I don't have the funds to fly home immediately. I say whatever happens, I will be home on "a certain day." You can reach me then...

 

And when my friends squeal, I ask them to pay for our trip insurance... They stop squealing...

 

While I enjoy talking to my grandchildren as much as anyone, good things are worth waiting for... Our one week vacation isn't the end of the world...

 

Frankly, I look forward to not having a phone call during the week of our vacation... When I return, my grandchildren inform me of what happened during the past week anyway...