If you can't live with out a cell phone

[richstowe]

Since this thread has wandered far away from original post ,I will add my 2 cents.

I love people using the Carnivals internet & phones. The same way I like people drinking and gambling to excess.

It adds to Carnivals bottom line and makes my ticket cheaper. Thankyou.:D

[lroche_nf]

One of the things I love about vacation is unplugging completely. No cell phone, facebook, e-mail...you miss it first but after a day you get over it.

[Disneycruisers]

One of the things I love about vacation is unplugging completely. No cell phone, facebook, e-mail...you miss it first but after a day you get over it.

 

I agree.

 

The minute I step on-board I'm a completely changed person. I don't think about home, emails, facebook, or my cell-phone. I know everyone's different though, and that some people still have to work and/or need their phones.

[BallFour4]

While reading about the high cost of using your cell phone on the boat I thought why just not rent a sat phone and pay the .99 a min

 

We all forgot the answer to your question.

 

Motorola Iridium is the only true reliable phone for satellite communication. It is also "line of sight" and requires you to be on deck, antenna pointed at a somewhat precision place in the sky. That restricts the ability for incoming calls. Renting a phone like this costs from $150 to $250 depending on which company you use.

With my iPhone I can feel it vibrate in my pocket or nightstand and take care of the need quickly. Text messages are also convenient, but sometimes a delay exists in transmission.

 

When you look at the actual cost of cruising per day, per cabin the add-on of a $50 to $100 cost of a handful of phone calls is quite a bargain versus land based vacations.

 

.

[amy_ammo]

I am one of those 'type a' people with a job that demands 24/7 commitment. Cruising (or AI somewhere in Mexico) are the only times I think it's ok for me to disconnect. If I'm on vacation, I send an email to my co-workers letting them know that I'm out of the country and unavailable. However, my mom also works with me so it's easy for me to call her and tell her something fun and get a brief work update at the same time (and THEN I get to expense that call :-))

 

Thanks OP for providing an option. Thanks to the others who try to tell others just to leave their phones at home. I mean, you know everything and every reason I might or might not need to travel with a phone. Why does this even freakin' matter to anyone but the individual who makes that decision?!?

[ChelleBee]

my dh's "crackberry" worked even out in the middle of the ocean. its a company phone. they knew he was on vacation. it was work related stuff he recieved via email and a couple calls, so they didn't care what the cost was to talk to him. we were both irritated, but such is life. i turned my phone off once we left ft. lauderdale and didn't turn it back on until we had returned to ft. lauderdale.

[hubofhockey]

how did people survive a cruise before cell phones and internet bcame along :rolleyes:

 

Possibly, a cruise may never have been a vacation that certain people could have taken before these communication devices became available. In the past, I never would have taken anything longer than a 7-day cruise. I took a 12-day cruise and was out of the country for 17 days last summer. It would have been unthinkable for me to have taken such a vacation before cell phones and the internet.

 

Those SAT rental prices seem high. I'll stick with the iPhone and laptop and wait until we are docked and can leverage a 3G from my international plan and make the most of the 100-minute internet plan. The $2.49 per minute cellular at sea will remain for emergencies only.

[zqvol]

I don't understand folks that can't leave things behind and enjoy a vacation? I just don't get it? I heard people on our last cruise talkign that they had to work for a few hours on such and such night while on the ship?

 

Not everyone, especially professionals cannot be out of touch for a week at a time. They can get out of the office but sometimes there are decisions that only they can make. They have a choice, work a little on vacation or stay home. What would you do?

[megmno]

Small business owners make up a significant part of the population, and if you strike up a dinner conversation or two you will find they take cruises as well.

 

My parents owned a small business and all throughout my childhood we never ever went on vacations, not because they couldn't afford it, but because my dad never wanted to leave the business with our employees.

 

Unfortunately, both of my parents passed away at the relatively young ages of 69 and 70, without having taken a vacation in decades.

 

Now, I am running the same family business and I have made it a priority that for at least one week a year we get away on a family trip (the last two on Carnival cruises). I have several trusted employees who take over that week (and I pay them extra money).

 

I discourage people from calling, but I do check my voicemail every day in case there is a problem. The only time they have ever called me was once when it was 100 degrees and the air conditioning unit failed. (I told them to do exactly what I would do -- call the repair guy! (They really could have figured that out on their own!) Occasionally they make decisions I don't agree with, but I make mistakes too sometimes.

 

 

[conchead]

Why do you have to understand it? Live your life the way you do and let others do the same.

 

I don't concern myself with what others are doing on their cruise. I only concern myself with ME.

 

This is so much like the people that get upset about people bringing

things onboard they will never need.:confused:

If they want to bring the kitchen sink, let them.:)

[shwabob]

Not everyone, especially professionals cannot be out of touch for a week at a time. They can get out of the office but sometimes there are decisions that only they can make. They have a choice, work a little on vacation or stay home. What would you do?

 

I have to say I'm in this boat. I'm the support manager for a small software company. Even though I only have a few people to manage, there are situations where something requires my expertise that happen quite often. On previous cruises, I've usually purchased an hour of internet access package so I can check my work webmail twice a day (usually during the period where my GF is in the shower/getting ready) so if there is a 'fire' or important question, I can quickly answer it and get back to my cruise. My staff also knows what to expect of me and usually don't bother the whole time - this was the case on my last cruise.

 

I leave my personal droid and work blackberry in the safe until I get out to port. I can't see paying ridiculous rates for international, so I usually turn on my BB wi-fi in port and try to latch onto an open AP. Most of the time I can get on and make use of the BB wi-fi calling feature (at least on T-Mob) which lets me make voip calls with no extra cost. This was just nice to be able to call a few people and send a picture or two.

[PhxRain]

While reading about the high cost of using your cell phone on the boat I thought why just not rent a sat phone and pay the .99 a min

 

That's what we plan to do on our cruise in Europe. If there is an emergency while we are in port on a 8+ hour tour, we won't hear of the emergency until we get back & we would feel terrible about the delay in getting back to our family. Also, even though I am calling my bank to let them know where I'll be & when so they allow me to charge things on my debit card or using an ATM, I can see them blowing this, blocking my card and me needing to get to a phone so I can call them to straighten it out. They did this to me when I went to another state & I had told them beforehand,:rolleyes: so I just don't trust that they'll get it straight for Europe. LOL

 

We've been completely out of touch with the family just knowing our hotel phone # and room # but that was when we were only 4-6 hours drive from home and for 4-5 days. That's just not something we are willing to do while in another country for 2 weeks.

[G'ma]

I don't own a cell phone...don't want one...never had one.

 

And...I've managed to raise a housefull of kids (who also didn't have them), take road trips, cruise, go shopping, handle flat tires and have a completely anonymouse social life.

 

When I leave on a trip....I let those who need to know where I am and how to reach me.

 

If there is anything urgent anywhere "back home" folks know how to reach me.

 

Cell phones, to me, are annoying. No one is so darned important that they simply must be in touch at any given moment.

[USNUZULOOSE]

I know someone who goes on vacation and still check their phone for emails and what not. That is called a job runs your life and no priority for your spouse. To me my husband is more impotant than that job. When we go we turn off phone while on the ship. The only purpose of leaving it on is if the person watching the animals has a need. Other than that no need for it.

[Shelbyjane56]

I don't understand folks that can't leave things behind and enjoy a vacation? I just don't get it? I heard people on our last cruise talkign that they had to work for a few hours on such and such night while on the ship?

 

 

I pretty much agree with you, hubby tells the guys who work for him that not to call him unless its an emergency that they feel is extremely important. When our kids were younger and we went on cruises, grandparents watched the kids, and no we did not call home, its important to have mom and dad time alone (even if its on a ship lol) grandparents were quite able to take care of their grandkids and they had the ability to get ahold of use if we were needed, it was good for us and good for the kids

[conchead]

--. .----. -- .- .. .- -- -. --- - ... ..- .-. .--. .-. .. ... . -.. .- - .- .-.. .-..

I love google

[BallFour4]

I don't own a cell phone...don't want one...never had one. Cell phones' date=' to me, are annoying. No one is so darned important that they simply must be in touch at any given moment.[/quote']

 

And when the call is for information and opinion about a 27 week neonate and what technique for surfactant to save their life it's just not that important, the drug interactions and all.

 

I do however take those calls, I take them at dinner, in the middle of the night and at church where I walk outside to talk to who is calling.

Yea, you are right.

.

 

[mjl1960]

Thats WHY I go on vacation, to get away from life as I know it....why take it with you? Give it a break, man!!! :)

[Mrs.C05]

We shut ours off and put it in the safe after we leave port.

[Martini Mom]

I only use my cell phone to snap some pics when we first get on the ship and send them to friends and family :p, then I turn it off before I get tempted to call the kids and rack up a huge bill.

[kbmeow]

While reading about the high cost of using your cell phone on the boat I thought why just not rent a sat phone and pay the .99 a min

 

 

What about getting the internet on the ship, and installing skpe on your phone and use that for calls.

 

 

We always have our phones with us. But 90% of the time the phone is off. On the cruise we leave them in the safe. We do take them into port. We also put the international calling on our phones. The price is not bad with At&t. we used the phones , calling each other, checking in etc in Italy. And aside from the charge for international it was maybe $20 in calling for 10 days

Everybody knows we are on vacation and can not reach us. But, anything longer than 5 days away I do call and check on the cats and hubby checks email because someone may have broken something and his work back up is one of the " that's not what I was hired for" people. So sometimes he need to fix stuff via the computer.

Also we have to get permission for him to go out of country and log our vacation itinerary, so if it is really that urgent they can pay and call a land line or the cruise ship ( fed DOT). And no I am not joking. He really has to get permission to go from work

[BallFour4]

What about getting the internet on the ship, and installing skype on your phone and use that for calls.

 

Skype is really cool, however the internet connection speed does not support it with much quality.

 

I can share that Skype is great in ports where wifi is available! I have a Skype phone number and used it at the pier in Cozumel and in Grand Cayman at the beach excursion we went to with great success. The coffee shops will share the wifi code with a purchase.

 

Even cooler, if you have an iPod Touch and a Skype number all you need is a iPhone or compatible headphone with microphone and you have a phone. We use ours at home and in wifi spots to make calls and not give out our cell number.

 

.