Phone/Data while on ship

[travelbaybee]

I'm taking the Century (Panama Canal) in March 2014 and would love any info re: phone service / data service while on the ship. Would love to stay in touch with the rest of the world at a fairly affordable price... (does that exist?). Any info much appreciated!!

Thanks in Advance!!!!

 

:confused:

[gold1953]

Turn your data and roaming off . The ship's fees are very high. You can buy an internet package but it is slow and pricey . WE usually find wifi in each port and check in.

[Kamloops50]

I'm taking the Century (Panama Canal) in March 2014 and would love any info re: phone service / data service while on the ship. Would love to stay in touch with the rest of the world at a fairly affordable price... (does that exist?). Any info much appreciated!!

Thanks in Advance!!!!

 

:confused:[/quote

 

You could easily get a $1000 bill on your cell by the end of the cruise.

Cellular at Sea costs about $3 per minute plus the international roaming charges . Cost can be up to $6 per minute . Phone calls from the cabin phone are $9 per minute even if you don't talk to anyone at the other end.

[Iluvcruising2]

Very expensive.

 

Also, the ship's internet connection is very slow.

 

Well, take the opportunity to disconnect from the virtual world and enjoy the seas!

[stevea36]

I'm taking the Century (Panama Canal) in March 2014 and would love any info re: phone service / data service while on the ship. Would love to stay in touch with the rest of the world at a fairly affordable price... (does that exist?). Any info much appreciated!!

Thanks in Advance!!!!

 

:confused:

 

Contact your carrier for their recommendations. US Based carriers vary on their pricing and features.

 

AT&T does have cruise packages for the RCI family of cruise lines, others do not.

 

STeve

[Kathie44]

I don't use my phone when cruising except in San Juan before we sail and that's only to let family know I arrived safely. I have taken calls from people who didn't know I was traveling and once, after my neighbor at the lake called to say my propane tank was empty, I had to call the propane company for a fill. I've also texted relatives for scoring updates from my UD Flyers game that was taking place. I had coverage for about 2 hrs after we sailed. The cost wasn't much, but I didn't use the phone again till we were at the airport of our connecting flight home.

Once I got to the Elite level in the Captain's Club, I was entitled to 90 mins of free internet time. As the above poster said, the computers are very slow and unreliable, at least on M-Class. I use them mostly to print off the boarding passes for the return flights (which hasn't worked the last 2 cruises), but every now and then I can access my E-Mail and give short messages to one of my kids to pass on to the others. I don't know how they can teach computer classes with those computers.

7 weeks from today I am leaving for Ft. Lauderdale with my SIL and 2 other friends for a W. Carib. cruise on Silhouette--the first cruise for all of us on that class of ships. Maybe the internet will be better, but I'm not holding my breath. It's not that important for me.

We had 5-6 ins of snow here in Dayton yesterday, so Jan. 25th can't come soon enough, lol. :D

[Azulann]

do you have a smart phone or Iphone?

 

On the Panama Canal cruise, there is free wifi at Colon port, Puerto Queztal, and many cafes have free wi fi at ports of call.

Send and check for emails there if you do not want a package through the ship.

[Lsimon]

No offense to some of the posters above, but there is no reason to be afraid to turn your phone on; no need to put it in airplane mode, and there are steps you can take to use your phone for voice, text and data and still have no fear of a $1,000 bill or anything enormously high when you return. But you do have to learn a little and familiarize yourself with some of your phone settings. You'll also have to buy an international data roaming package if you want to use cellular data at port or on land (it doesn't work good at sea as described below). We have no issues using our iPhones for voice, data and text messages in the Caribbean, at sea (even on transatlantic cruises), and in Europe.

 

Please tell us what kind of phone you have and what carrier you use. This will make a big difference in some of the costs and instructions.

 

For USA ATT iPhone service, as an example, phone calls are $2.50 minute on the ship and roughly half that from land based cellular service out of the country. Exact rates for land based can be obtained for each country from ATT's website under "international roaming".

 

Text messages are $0.50 for outgoing messages and no charge for incoming messages if you have unlimited messaging at home.

 

Cellular Data services are more complicated. International data roaming is the item that is prohibitively expensive unless you take steps to control it. You'll want to find the "data roaming" switch on your phone and make sure data roaming is off. Once it is off you will not have any unexpected charges from data roaming - you'll be able to use voice and text with the phone set this way but not cellular data. You can buy an international data package will work OK on land or in port and very poorly, or not at all at sea. But these packages are for far less data than your home data package so you should use the data roaming switch to turn data on only when you need it and then turn it off when done, and figure out how to monitor your usage (iPhones have a built in meter you can read). You can find details of these packages and their cost by searching for "international data" on your cell phone carrier's web site.

 

Your other option for data when at sea is to use the ship's Wi-Fi service. This is relatively expensive at $0.75/minute with discounts for buying blocks of time in advance. This is billed by the ship while other services are billed by your cell phone company. You can also search for free, or lower cost, Wi-Fi connections at ports of call.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

Edited December 8, 2013 by Lsimon

[Keith1010]

Contact your carrier for their recommendations. US Based carriers vary on their pricing and features.

 

AT&T does have cruise packages for the RCI family of cruise lines, others do not.

 

STeve

 

Steve, excellent advice.

 

I too recommend contacting the cell phone carrier.

 

Keith

[travelbaybee]

THanks! Was wondering.... much help!

[travelbaybee]

No offense to some of the posters above, but there is no reason to be afraid to turn your phone on; no need to put it in airplane mode, and there are steps you can take to use your phone for voice, text and data and still have no fear of a $1,000 bill or anything enormously high when you return. But you do have to learn a little and familiarize yourself with some of your phone settings. You'll also have to buy an international data roaming package if you want to use cellular data at port or on land (it doesn't work good at sea as described below). We have no issues using our iPhones for voice, data and text messages in the Caribbean, at sea (even on transatlantic cruises), and in Europe.

 

Please tell us what kind of phone you have and what carrier you use. This will make a big difference in some of the costs and instructions.

 

For USA ATT iPhone service, as an example, phone calls are $2.50 minute on the ship and roughly half that from land based cellular service out of the country. Exact rates for land based can be obtained for each country from ATT's website under "international roaming".

 

Text messages are $0.50 for outgoing messages and no charge for incoming messages if you have unlimited messaging at home.

 

Cellular Data services are more complicated. International data roaming is the item that is prohibitively expensive unless you take steps to control it. You'll want to find the "data roaming" switch on your phone and make sure data roaming is off. Once it is off you will not have any unexpected charges from data roaming - you'll be able to use voice and text with the phone set this way but not cellular data. You can buy an international data package will work OK on land or in port and very poorly, or not at all at sea. But these packages are for far less data than your home data package so you should use the data roaming switch to turn data on only when you need it and then turn it off when done, and figure out how to monitor your usage (iPhones have a built in meter you can read). You can find details of these packages and their cost by searching for "international data" on your cell phone carrier's web site.

 

Your other option for data when at sea is to use the ship's Wi-Fi service. This is relatively expensive at $0.75/minute with discounts for buying blocks of time in advance. This is billed by the ship while other services are billed by your cell phone company. You can also search for free, or lower cost, Wi-Fi connections at ports of call.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

Hi!

 

Ok..yes! I have an iphone thru Verizon. I'm painfully aware of not doing this correctly (smile) - not sure if there is ANY solution really...the reason I ask is because I have a business and do need to be "somewhat" in touch while I'm gone. If there is actually some type of solution I'd just be THRILLED to know! Thanks so much!

[Lsimon]

Hi!

 

Ok..yes! I have an iphone thru Verizon. I'm painfully aware of not doing this correctly (smile) - not sure if there is ANY solution really...the reason I ask is because I have a business and do need to be "somewhat" in touch while I'm gone. If there is actually some type of solution I'd just be THRILLED to know! Thanks so much!

 

Look up the above info on Verizon's web site. Verizon iPhone should work fine for phone calls and text messages. I've read Verizon has a special data plan for data on board the ship at sea but I've heard differing things on whether this works adequately or not so while you might try it you shouldn't get your hopes up.

 

Verizon will have some place on their web site you can look up each port and see if your phone works there or not (I've seen this page but don't know the address off hand). Look at this then decide if you an international data package to use at ports of call.

[fussylady]

I'm an iPhone AT&T customer. I've been told that in ports like San Juan and St. Thomas, because they are US territory, I would be charged according to the same plans I have at home.

 

Is this correct?

 

I already have experience with Internet on board the Equinox and it was painfully slow. It took about 45 minutes to print out 1 boarding pass. This next cruise on Reflection I will not bother buying any Internet minutes. Instead, I will wait for the ports and maybe see where the crew goes for free wifi !!

 

Thanks

[MyDogRudy]

I'm an iPhone AT&T customer. I've been told that in ports like San Juan and St. Thomas, because they are US territory, I would be charged according to the same plans I have at home.

 

Is this correct?

 

I already have experience with Internet on board the Equinox and it was painfully slow. It took about 45 minutes to print out 1 boarding pass. This next cruise on Reflection I will not bother buying any Internet minutes. Instead, I will wait for the ports and maybe see where the crew goes for free wifi !!

 

Thanks

 

Although I have US Cellular when I called pre-cruise to ask about service in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas I was told data/text would be fine to use as usual but cell calls had a slightly increased rate attached (which seemed reasonable but can't remember what it was). We used plenty of data with no additional costs on our bill. So, if you were told this info from your carrier I would trust it. If it's just something you heard in passing I would verify further, especially about the calls but most likely at least data/texts in those ports fall under your plan.

[Lsimon]

I'm an iPhone AT&T customer. I've been told that in ports like San Juan and St. Thomas, because they are US territory, I would be charged according to the same plans I have at home.

 

Is this correct?...

 

It is correct that Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including St. Thomas, are USA territory.

 

Puerto Rico and the USVI, including St. Thomas, are included in the ATT home territory. If you look at the ATT coverage map (click here) you can confirm this.

 

Other carriers do vary and not all USA carriers include these areas in their home territory. You can find this information on your carrier's web site or call customer service to confirm you have coverage there.

[fussylady]

Thanks so much for these very helpful replies.

 

Lsimon, thanks for including the AT&T coverage map.

 

Before I leave I will be contacting AT&T to discuss all options and to verify verify verify.

 

I was reading the posts here on CC about improved Internet service on board if you have a laptop and Ethernet connection....that the staterooms on S-class have Ethernet connections.

 

If I do this, how is it billed to me by X ? Is it the same packages as for wifi ?

 

As I said before, the wifi service on equinox was so terrible I wouldn't waste any more money on it.

 

Thanks again for the replies and explanations.

[goose30]

Just remember you cell carrier will most likely tell you the cost per minute. They cannot tell you how many minutes you will use. Most newer phones constantly check for new data and use a lot og time in the background. Hence very high bills.

[Lsimon]

...I was reading the posts here on CC about improved Internet service on board if you have a laptop and Ethernet connection....that the staterooms on S-class have Ethernet connections.

 

If I do this, how is it billed to me by X ? Is it the same packages as for wifi ?

 

As I said before, the wifi service on equinox was so terrible I wouldn't waste any more money on it.

 

Thanks again for the replies and explanations.

 

I got the impression that the Ethernet connection was not "official" but it was used in a couple isolated instances for people who couldn't get a good wifi signal in their cabins. In any event I think that while it improved the connection to the ship's network the path from the ship's internal network to the internet is the same and not any faster nor more reliable than connecting via wifi (if you have a good signal) or the ship's internet café. My understanding is that it still goes through the exact same system on the ship, with the same billing and cost, you'd have if you connected via wifi or a computer in the ship's internet café.

Edited December 13, 2013 by Lsimon

[cle-guy]

No offense to some of the posters above, but there is no reason to be afraid to turn your phone on; no need to put it in airplane mode, and there are steps you can take to use your phone for voice, text and data and still have no fear of a $1,000 bill or anything enormously high when you return. But you do have to learn a little and familiarize yourself with some of your phone settings. You'll also have to buy an international data roaming package if you want to use cellular data at port or on land (it doesn't work good at sea as described below). We have no issues using our iPhones for voice, data and text messages in the Caribbean, at sea (even on transatlantic cruises), and in Europe.

 

Please tell us what kind of phone you have and what carrier you use. This will make a big difference in some of the costs and instructions.

 

For USA ATT iPhone service, as an example, phone calls are $2.50 minute on the ship and roughly half that from land based cellular service out of the country. Exact rates for land based can be obtained for each country from ATT's website under "international roaming".

 

Text messages are $0.50 for outgoing messages and no charge for incoming messages if you have unlimited messaging at home.

 

Cellular Data services are more complicated. International data roaming is the item that is prohibitively expensive unless you take steps to control it. You'll want to find the "data roaming" switch on your phone and make sure data roaming is off. Once it is off you will not have any unexpected charges from data roaming - you'll be able to use voice and text with the phone set this way but not cellular data. You can buy an international data package will work OK on land or in port and very poorly, or not at all at sea. But these packages are for far less data than your home data package so you should use the data roaming switch to turn data on only when you need it and then turn it off when done, and figure out how to monitor your usage (iPhones have a built in meter you can read). You can find details of these packages and their cost by searching for "international data" on your cell phone carrier's web site.

 

Your other option for data when at sea is to use the ship's Wi-Fi service. This is relatively expensive at $0.75/minute with discounts for buying blocks of time in advance. This is billed by the ship while other services are billed by your cell phone company. You can also search for free, or lower cost, Wi-Fi connections at ports of call.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

 

I took all these steps on my Transatlantic, with iPhone on AT&T, bought a data package from AT&T in advance of my trip for $100, and I used my phone, texted friends and used data occasionally and my bill was only the $100 data I pre bought plus about $50 more for there trip. But I was careful on using the data plan.

[bludevil]

Sprint calls/data is free in St. Thomas, USVI

[HS2BS]

Those of you with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod should down load the free app for Viber and have family and friends you want to keep in touch with do the same. On ship, purchase you internet package and find an area that has a good signal and Viber or even FaceTime will work. We used it on out RoyalL TA and earlier this year on the Silhouette TA. I have an iPad 4 and voice and picture were both working on both cruises as well as ashore.

If you find a hot spot with free wifi on shore your golden! look where the crew is grouping and you'll probably find free wifi.

 

Hal

[Lsimon]

Those of you with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod should down load the free app for Viber and have family and friends you want to keep in touch with do the same. On ship, purchase you internet package and find an area that has a good signal and Viber or even FaceTime will work. We used it on out RoyalL TA and earlier this year on the Silhouette TA. I have an iPad 4 and voice and picture were both working on both cruises as well as ashore.

If you find a hot spot with free wifi on shore your golden! look where the crew is grouping and you'll probably find free wifi.

 

Hal

 

Perhaps this works for some but I've heard others have found such services blocked. So while it might be OK to try such VOIP services I wouldn't rely on them.

On a cruise last year we saw this sign in the internet café:

 

Edited December 13, 2013 by Lsimon

[Fouremco]

Those of you with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod should down load the free app for Viber and have family and friends you want to keep in touch with do the same. On ship, purchase you internet package and find an area that has a good signal and Viber or even FaceTime will work. We used it on out RoyalL TA and earlier this year on the Silhouette TA. I have an iPad 4 and voice and picture were both working on both cruises as well as ashore.

If you find a hot spot with free wifi on shore your golden! look where the crew is grouping and you'll probably find free wifi.

 

Hal

Any particular reason you prefer it to Skype? Most of the reviews I've read still view Skype as the better product.

 

My experience is that ship-based internet is too slow and temperamental for reliable VOIP.

[ECCruise]

Any VOIP, whether SKYPE or whatever, is an incredible bandwith hog.

 

If you do get service, and are exchanging those pretty smiles with those back home, you are gumming up the pipes and causing everyone else on the network to take forever to read/send a simple email.

 

The services usually are blocked, as they should be.

[Kevnzworld]

I sailed on a B2B from Harwich to Miami on the infinity a month or so ago. I signed up for the Verizon overseas data plan, 100mb for $25. It works on RCL ships , and Celebrity. The service is not 3 G. It says 1x on the phone , but though slow , it worked much of the cruise and throughout Europe. I uploaded pics, and looked at FB and data constantly. My total bill for six weeks was $75.

You get a text alert each time you use up 100mb ( 25$ )

It's much more cost effective than ship wifi for most functions like email.