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Cellphone service while on cruise

HellLawyer

By HellLawyer,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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mking8288 "Live from...." Rare

mking8288

Posted
Posted

Depending on your home carrier & roaming plan - high latency & sub-DSL or dial-up speed, budget for an hourly charge of at least $30 an hour if you enrolled with your mobile operator based on MB data used/transferred - whereas ship's internet plan are billed by the minutes (and, generally to user's disadvantage) to maintain a "live" connection at all times - for "push" emails to work - when satellites are mostly in ranges.

 

Yes, you will most definitely need an international plan and to enable roaming before embarkation. Of course, seeing your username - you can allocate & bill your clients' accounts for email, but FB & Twitter, I dunno ... :D

 

There's probably about 99 prior threads about this for the past 24 months if you just search - been discussed over & over again. BTW, carry spare battery fully charged as it will be roaming regardless of your plan on "Celluar At Sea" and the battery won't last all day onboard.

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roger001

roger001

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Do you get cellphone service while on cruise? Do i need to get international plan? Will be on NCL Jewel going to jamaica, grand cayman and cozumel

 

Mainly want to be able to check emails, facebook, twitter....

 

You can purchase slow wifi time on the ship and use your phone or use the ship's computers. However, do not have you phone "data on" or "data on while roaming". As others said, it will literally cost you a fortune. You can have "voice on while roaming" and be able to text, SMS only. It's probably for your company .05c for each received and .50c for each sent. Voice calls while on the ship are $2.50 a minute. However, you can use the ship's phone for only $1.95 a minute now.

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Tiggertastic

Tiggertastic

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what on earth did we do before we had cell phones - I know relax and enjoy the vacation

 

I completely understand people need to use their phones - my DH tries to deal with work stuff but wait til you are on shore - unless you have as much money as the cruise to pay the bill

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GGBNJ130

GGBNJ130

Posted
Posted
Do you get cellphone service while on cruise? Do i need to get international plan? Will be on NCL Jewel going to jamaica, grand cayman and cozumel

 

Mainly want to be able to check emails, facebook, twitter....

 

Of course it's available, even if you have an international roaming/data plan it's gonna cost ya almost as much as you paid for a single person to cruise.

 

I got a emergency text in San Juan, PR from AT&T to call them immediately, WITH my international plans, and only turning the phone on for 10 minutes at each port to make a quick phone call home and immediately shut it off after the call, AT&T was going to charge me $878 + Tax to what would normally be a $118 a month cell phone bill...I'm still wondering how the hell that is possible, I had the phone OFF right after we got out of NY Harbor until we got to our 1st port in Bermuda and only turned on 10 minutes (if that) at each additional port to make that quick phone call I mentioned. I was wondering, if while I was in NYC if the phone somehow connected to something on the cruise ship, if that's even possible...

 

I've got 11 days until I go on Breakaway, now I have an iPad Air, I'm hoping I can find an open wifi signal while on the ship from someone in NYC, I don't plan on paying NCL for wifi...One of our stops is FL after the first day and a half at sea, when I get well away from the ship, I will turn on the phone, then after that, Great Stirup Cay (no chance of a wifi connection), Nassau (hope to get a connection), and 2 days at sea....

 

I heard their are portable wifi things you can purchase, weather or not they would work out in the middle of the deep blue sea is a diff. story...

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luddite

luddite

Posted
Posted
what on earth did we do before we had cell phones - I know relax and enjoy the vacation

 

I completely understand people need to use their phones - my DH tries to deal with work stuff but wait til you are on shore - unless you have as much money as the cruise to pay the bill

 

We sent twelve guys to the moon. And brought them home alive.

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sdmike

sdmike

Posted
Posted (edited)
Check with your cellphone service provider for rates, etc.

 

Here is NCL's page about it...

http://www.ncl.com/about/staying-connected-sea-cellular-phone-service-texting

 

Best answer :)

 

The short answer is that you CAN hook up to NCL's cellular service and pay international roaming rates through your carrier. These can be very, very expensive. They use a provider called CellAtSea, who I'm sure gets to share in the fees that your provider will slap on your bill. Here is information from Verizon. Cruise information is at the bottom of the page.

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/global/plans-and-pricing.html

 

You will pay $2.50 per minute for calls, and $.50 for each text message. What will kill you is data usage if you don't turn that off. You can pay $25 for a 100MB plan, OR you can roll the dice and pay $20 per MB without a plan. Remember, with smart phones, just updating an app can easily take half of that 100MB allowance. Without a "plan", that 50mb download could cost you $1,000

 

Like others, I turn off data roaming on my phone. I tend to leave my phone on in case of text or an emergency call, but no no no no data.

Edited by sdmike
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VideoTech

VideoTech

Posted
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......

I've got 11 days until I go on Breakaway, now I have an iPad Air, I'm hoping I can find an open wifi signal while on the ship from someone in NYC, I don't plan on paying NCL for wifi...

 

So you're saying you're hoping to ride free on somebody else's use of the ship's cell phone data? Hmmmm. Anyway, it's unlikely that anyone else on the ship will be broadcasting their wifi hotspot..and even if they are, unlikely that you can get near enough, with all the steel walls around you, to pick it up.

 

One of our stops is FL after the first day and a half at sea, when I get well away from the ship, I will turn on the phone, then after that, Great Stirup Cay (no chance of a wifi connection), Nassau (hope to get a connection), and 2 days at sea....

 

The ship turns off its cell phone system when in port, so you don't have to worry about getting away from the ship.

 

I heard their are portable wifi things you can purchase, weather or not they would work out in the middle of the deep blue sea is a diff. story...

 

You're speaking of a "mifi" or wifi hot spot system. If you used one, you'd still have to hook it into the ship's internet and cell phone service, and pay for the data charges. The only advantage it might give you is to allow you to connect more than one device to your cell phone. But unless you secure it, some one nearby may ride free on your wifi signal.....

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GGBNJ130

GGBNJ130

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So you're saying you're hoping to ride free on somebody else's use of the ship's cell phone data? Hmmmm. Anyway, it's unlikely that anyone else on the ship will be broadcasting their wifi hotspot..and even if they are, unlikely that you can get near enough, with all the steel walls around you, to pick it up.

 

 

 

The ship turns off its cell phone system when in port, so you don't have to worry about getting away from the ship.

 

 

 

You're speaking of a "mifi" or wifi hot spot system. If you used one, you'd still have to hook it into the ship's internet and cell phone service, and pay for the data charges. The only advantage it might give you is to allow you to connect more than one device to your cell phone. But unless you secure it, some one nearby may ride free on your wifi signal.....

 

Nope, what i'm saying is there are lots of office buildings, hotels, stores, ect., in NYC, i'm hoping while we sail out of NYC on NY Harbor I can hook into someones wifi signal from land...

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roger001

roger001

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Nope, what i'm saying is there are lots of office buildings, hotels, stores, ect., in NYC, i'm hoping while we sail out of NYC on NY Harbor I can hook into someones wifi signal from land...

 

If you're talking smartphone or ipad with data, then you will still have good domestic data connection, part of your data plan, until you are a short distance out to sea. You can watch you signal and see when it becomes unusable or goes to roaming. That is when you need to turn it off. Until then, you will still have your usual network connection and plan.

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sdmike

sdmike

Posted
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Wifi is only good for a few hundred feet. I guess you COULD find an open signal before you leave port, but it would have to be pretty darned close to you...probably someone on a mifi or similar on the ship.

 

I was surprised at how long my ATT cellular signal lasted when we left Miami. Had to be the open water without obstructed views because I was a signal for at least 10 - 15 minutes after leaving. We were well out to sea before I lost it and turned off my device.

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QuiGonJohn

QuiGonJohn

Posted
Posted
if u don't need it turn it off and lock it in your safe

I'd take the bloody battery out of it as well.

 

Seems some folks here are talking about internet service, wifi, even though this thread was listed to be about actual cell service.

 

Some mentioned the ships cell service system is turned off when in port. Is that an absolute fact and does it apply at port of calls, as well as embark and debark?

 

I am on AT&T, so in Anchorage/Whittier, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchican, would normal AT&T Domestic Rates and Plans apply?

 

I imagine on arrival in Vancouver, that would come under international calling, unless perhaps Canada is considered the same in the calling plans.

 

My point is, I can do without cell service for times underway, and just check voicemail and make any return calls I might need to, when in a port.

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Sparkygirl

Sparkygirl

Posted
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I'd take the bloody battery out of it as well.

 

Seems some folks here are talking about internet service, wifi, even though this thread was listed to be about actual cell service.

 

Some mentioned the ships cell service system is turned off when in port. Is that an absolute fact and does it apply at port of calls, as well as embark and debark?

 

I am on AT&T, so in Anchorage/Whittier, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchican, would normal AT&T Domestic Rates and Plans apply?

 

I imagine on arrival in Vancouver, that would come under international calling, unless perhaps Canada is considered the same in the calling plans.

 

My point is, I can do without cell service for times underway, and just check voicemail and make any return calls I might need to, when in a port.

 

 

The OP is asking about cellular for Facebook, Twitter and e-mail all of which are data use age not strictly international calling cellular use.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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RikkuCat

RikkuCat

Posted
Posted

I like to unplug completely on a cruise, but there's nothing wrong with asking what to expect, particularly if you're new to cruising. I'm sure the OP is just wondering whether it will be possible to do a quick check of email, FB, etc during his/her downtime.

 

If wifi on a cruise was free and reasonably fast, I would probably take a brief look at my email or FB when I was, say, waiting for my husband to wake up. No big deal that it's not - but if it was free, I'd prefer to do it on the ship than in port. I like exploring ports, so the advice to find wifi during port days would be a waste of time for me.

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bbritton81

bbritton81

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I'd take the bloody battery out of it as well.

 

Seems some folks here are talking about internet service, wifi, even though this thread was listed to be about actual cell service.

 

Some mentioned the ships cell service system is turned off when in port. Is that an absolute fact and does it apply at port of calls, as well as embark and debark?

 

I am on AT&T, so in Anchorage/Whittier, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchican, would normal AT&T Domestic Rates and Plans apply?

 

I imagine on arrival in Vancouver, that would come under international calling, unless perhaps Canada is considered the same in the calling plans.

 

My point is, I can do without cell service for times underway, and just check voicemail and make any return calls I might need to, when in a port.

 

Alaska is the US so yes your normal domestic plan would apply. AT&T considers any of the US territories as Domestic Coverage as well. So your normal plan applies to Puerto Rico and the USVI. So all data/cellular charges remain what you would normally pay. I'm sure Verizon and the others probably operate under the same parameters but I've had AT&T for as long as I can remember so I'm not sure there.

 

Canada is most definitely not domestic and would need an international calling plan

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