Cellphone service while on cruise

[SteveH2508]

It's a vacation - don't let that stupid little plastic slab rule your life - switch it off -stick it in the safe and chill out (or chuck it overboard, which is the best solution IMHO).

 

Guess what - I hate mobile phones with a passion...

[Norwegianlatvian]

My god man... Are you serious?

 

 

Are you?

[VideoTech]

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...

 

Gotcha. My apologies for misunderstanding. FYI, Wifi in and of itself is not a long distance broadcast medium. I doubt any system in a building on shore will have the range for you to connect reliably from the ship, once you pull away from the dock into the middle of the river & harbor.

[VideoTech]

It's a vacation - don't let that stupid little plastic slab rule your life - switch it off -stick it in the safe and chill out (or chuck it overboard, which is the best solution IMHO).

 

Guess what - I hate mobile phones with a passion...

 

Don't hate cell phones, but I sure do agree with your sentiments.

[mking8288]

Smartphones and/or tablets, in general, can be optimally configured to quickly download email headers, stripped of attachments & block graphics, to minimize data usage on the move - same for twitter's 160 characters feed. FB is graphics intensive and for high latency & low speed connections such as those via satellite links - would be impractical from a cost-benefits standpoint.

 

Most recently up on the cruise ship @ MCT's Pier 88 or 90, etc. - I've managed to scan & pickup average to poor (land-based) WiFi signal from open decks - WPA+ secured from nearby businesses. It's not usable & you cannot login without proper credentials. Outdoor WiFi signal will dropoff from its broadcast locations somewhere between 225 ft. to 450 or 500 ft. effectively, that less than half a ship's length. http://www.speedguide.net/faq_in_q.php?qid=330

 

Cellular signals broadcasted by towers, depending on the radio bands used by the carrier, do bounced off open waters and can travel several miles or more - so the "home" signal is generally usable pass the VZ Bridge coming down the Hudson but will begin to fade by/nearing Sandy Hook on the lower Hudson Bay as the ship head out further away from land.

 

OP's should be prepared for paid access at specified foreign ports for broadband access and not assume/rely on any free WiFi options as those are unsecured connections prone to data hacking & security breaches.

 

Have yet to come across any fellow travelers (on land & at sea) with an open or unsecured WiFi hotspot & a free signal for the benefits of anyone else - and I restrict the # of devices that can be tethered to mine (lately, using about 3GB month on a 5GB 4G LTE bundled plan) at any given time.

 

While vacationing on a cruise, my devices are either (airplane mode) turned off or in voice/SMS only mode for bona fide emergencies. Tech geek's tip - set up conditional email forwarding filters it is "stripped" of non-essential ones and only populate inbox with priority ones from the office, family & friends, etc.

[MsShel330]

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....

 

I didn't care about service but my sister has three adult kids who she was concerned about (only one came on the cruise) and one granddaughter and she wanted to check on them. We had service on day one, while we were in NYC space but after that, we didn't have service again until we hit San Juan and St. Thomas.

 

I thought that I read that you could use your home Wi-Fi password to get service on the ship but I may have read that wrong.

[che5904]

It's a vacation - don't let that stupid little plastic slab rule your life - switch it off -stick it in the safe and chill out (or chuck it overboard, which is the best solution IMHO).

 

Guess what - I hate mobile phones with a passion...

 

I never understood this logic. You do realize that people enjoy vacations in different ways...right? Go on vacations for different reasons? Some adventure with ziplining and some just chill and do nothing on a beach. Some spend their money on booze, others to keep in contact with their loved ones.

 

I actually do throw my phone in the safe because I only own an old flip phone but I do use my laptop with internet (same thing). DH for work because we always take working vacations. But my vacation isn't about getting away from the ones I love or to escape, therefore, yes of course I keep in contact with them, the same as I do at home. My vacation is a break from regular chores, my job but the biggest reason is to go different places and see different things.

 

Please don't just assume that everyone takes a vacation for the same reason.

 

OP why not just get a small internet package and use the computers in the internet café.

[che5904]

Tech geek's tip - set up conditional email forwarding filters it is "stripped" of non-essential ones and only populate inbox with priority ones from the office, family & friends, etc.

 

Very good tip, I'll have to research how to do that. Thanks. Won't help or save much with DH's work emails but will certainly help with mine.

[roger001]

I thought that I read that you could use your home Wi-Fi password to get service on the ship but I may have read that wrong.

 

No. Not at all. To access the ship's wifi, you will have to subscribe (buy the minutes package plan you wish) then you will be given a password to access the service then.

[luddite]

Twenty-one, actually. Though only 12 went down and walked there.

(Hmm...have I actually "been to" an island if I don't get off the boat?") :confused:

 

Twelve to the moon. Others near the moon. The most exclusive club in the world. Without cel-phones. Without facebook. Without I-anythings.

It IS possible to get through a day without them.

[thatjoeguy]

Twelve to the moon. Others near the moon. The most exclusive club in the world. Without cel-phones. Without facebook. Without I-anythings.

It IS possible to get through a day without them.

 

It's possible to get through a life without a cruise; that doesn't mean I want to try it.

[ClaireAndMike]

I normally don't need my phone but on our last cruise, my dog had been under the weather the week before I left (I had fully planned on not going on the cruise if she wasn't better) and had appeared to be on the mend in the days before. My husband stayed home with her and I called to check on her. I've never used it on the ship but I bought an international package to use in port.

 

Why do people care so much whether or not people use their cell phones on a trip? I can easily live without social media for a week but I don't think twice about anyone who chooses to use it.

[che5904]

It's possible to get through a life without a cruise; that doesn't mean I want to try it.

 

Why do people care so much whether or not people use their cell phones on a trip? I can easily live without social media for a week but I don't think twice about anyone who chooses to use it.

 

Agree

[Out to sea!]

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...

 

Just left Nassau. Free wifi at the Burger King 3 blocks from the ship (right next to the Tortuga Rum Cake outlet). Worked great. you can make calls and check things on the Internet while the wife samples rum cakes! :D

[nutley chick]

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

 

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?.

 

Taken from NCL website....

 

Q: Is CellAtSea® Service available in port?

A:The CellAtSea® service will automatically shut down when a ship is entering port. When connected to CellAtSea®, GSM phones will either display "MCP" or "90112". CDMA phones will display "Roaming" or "Digital Roaming".

[Sir_Randy]

Someone gave me these instructions that we will be trying in February:

1. Go to System Settings

 

2. Turn “Airplane Mode” ON. This will automatically kill all connections using any type of Verizon network….phone, text, data, etc….and turn the phone into a really expensive calculator!

 

3. Turn “Wi-Fi” ON. This will allow the phone to only pick up Wi-Fi.

 

4. Will have to go into Wi-Fi to pick a network to connect to.

[roger001]

Someone gave me these instructions that we will be trying in February:

1. Go to System Settings

 

2. Turn “Airplane Mode” ON. This will automatically kill all connections using any type of Verizon network….phone, text, data, etc….and turn the phone into a really expensive calculator!

 

3. Turn “Wi-Fi” ON. This will allow the phone to only pick up Wi-Fi.

 

4. Will have to go into Wi-Fi to pick a network to connect to.

 

Correct. The alternative for us is to turn data off (that is the money killer), but leave "voice on while roaming". That allows us to use the "cellular at sea" texting ability, .05c for each received and .50c for each sent (SMS only). If you do get calls during that time, if you don't answer or listen to voice mail, there is no charge for them.

[VideoTech]

Someone gave me these instructions that we will be trying in February:

1. Go to System Settings

 

2. Turn “Airplane Mode” ON. This will automatically kill all connections using any type of Verizon network….phone, text, data, etc….and turn the phone into a really expensive calculator!

 

3. Turn “Wi-Fi” ON. This will allow the phone to only pick up Wi-Fi.

 

4. Will have to go into Wi-Fi to pick a network to connect to.

 

And from that point, if you want to use the internet on your phone while at sea, you will still have to sign up and pay for an internet package through the ship.

 

When in some ports you may find free wifi connections to the internet. A good give-away is to look around the port building for crew-members on their laptops. They all know which ports offer free wifi!

[jlajr]

No. Not at all. To access the ship's wifi, you will have to subscribe (buy the minutes package plan you wish) then you will be given a password to access the service then.

 

Hi.

 

There is an exception, from recent experiences on both the Norwegian Spirit and the Carnival Glory.

 

You can use the ship's onboard wifi without subscribing to a plan, BUT you can only use it to access the cruise line's website(s).

 

Sent from my Asus Fonepad using the Cruise Critic Forums app.

Edited December 24, 2013 by jlajr

[garycarla]

The cell phone and internet questions come up often. Rarely have I seen so many people blasting away instead of just answering the question.

 

Cell phone calls are $2.49 a minute. We always leave ours on and spend maybe $25 per cruise, give or take. Some do not. Their choice.

 

Internet to do things like email, etc runs $.75 to $.40 per minute for somewhat slow connection.

 

Texts are cheap, but not free.

 

All of the above is in addition to any international plan. They do not cover shipboard calls/internet or texting.

[kingoftheicedragons]

I'll admit that I skimmed over most of the comments here, and people were talking mostly about AT&T and Verizon. I'm sure that T-Mobile users may already be aware, but if you use T-Mobile, you have free international data usage as a perk (assuming that you have the right plan, which I think most people probably would) in a lot of different places.

 

You would have to check with T-Mobile as to what countries exactly are covered and which are not...on our Caribbean cruise in January, Mexico and Grand Cayman are covered, Belize and Honduras are not.

 

You would want to make sure you turn your data off while you are cruising, but if NCL turns off the Cellular at Sea signal in ports, you could safely be on the ship in port and still have access to your email, twitter, and facebook. Having T-Mobile and this sort of plan would save you the hassle of needing to find some place in port that offers wifi.

[HokiePoq]

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...

 

 

Wow. The only time we connected our phones on our recent cruise was in Puerto Rico. On with my el cheapo Trac phone and we were able to call everyone from San Juan as it is part of the US.

We give our family the ship emergency number as well as one email address that we check. Our son had to use the number once for a problem he had buying his house and it was something like $10 a minute.

[garycarla]

...We give our family the ship emergency number as well as one email address that we check. Our son had to use the number once for a problem he had buying his house and it was something like $10 a minute.

 

FYI as to using the ships number. If someone calls the ship, the ship now has to find you. Think about how often you are NOT in your cabin and therefore not reachable. Just a word of warning.