Cellular service (voice/data) on Silhouette (Verizon, AT&T) - does it work?

[MisterBill99]

I'm going to be on Silhouette in a couple of weeks and was planning to add the international data plan to my phone ($25 for 100mb) as I did last summer on Constellation (where it worked fine). However, I noticed that when I checked their trip planner website, it does not include Silhouette while it seems that every other Celebrity ship is listed. you need to select cruise ships and start typing to see that it's missing.

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/tripplanner/tripplannercontroller

 

I thought this might be an omission, but I just noticed that it's also missing from the equivalent AT&T plan page. Click on the link where it talks about cruise ships to see the list.

 

http://www.att.com/att/global/affordable-world-packages/?cruise

 

That it's missing from one provider could be a mistake. That it's missing from both makes it start to look like it's intentional and not supported.

 

I've read old threads here about people having problems with their cell phones on Silhouette and some other S-class ships (although I think all of the others are listed on those sites). I've emailed the support people at on-waves.com to see what the story is. Can I expect to be able to use my international data plan while on Silhouette? I'm interested to hear any recent experiences.

Edited January 23, 2014 by MisterBill99

[cruza]

I'm going to be on Silhouette in a couple of weeks and was planning to add the international data plan to my phone ($25 for 100mb) as I did last summer on Constellation (where it worked fine). However, I noticed that when I checked their trip planner website, it does not include Silhouette while it seems that every other Celebrity ship is listed. you need to select cruise ships and start typing to see that it's missing.

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/tripplanner/tripplannercontroller

 

I thought this might be an omission, but I just noticed that it's also missing from the equivalent AT&T plan page. Click on the link where it talks about cruise ships to see the list.

 

http://www.att.com/att/global/affordable-world-packages/?cruise

 

That it's missing from one provider could be a mistake. That it's missing from both makes it start to look like it's intentional and not supported.

 

I've read old threads here about people having problems with their cell phones on Silhouette and some other S-class ships (although I think all of the others are listed on those sites). I've emailed the support people at on-waves.com to see what the story is. Can I expect to be able to use my international data plan while on Silhouette? I'm interested to hear any recent experiences.

 

I'd had company Blackberry (AT&T) with international data plan on Silhoutte and I was able to receive emails on the ship.

Hope it helps.

[MisterBill99]

I'd had company Blackberry (AT&T) with international data plan on Silhoutte and I was able to receive emails on the ship.

Hope it helps.

Thanks, that is good to hear. Was it recent? It seems strange that both Verizon and AT&T would not include Silhouette on their list, unless they're using the same source and it's mistakenly omitted there.

[kyriecat]

I was on Silhouette in Oct. 2012 so it's been a while. I have a Droid global phone. When I went to sign up for the data plan, Silhouette wasn't listed on Verizon's website. I signed up for it anyway and was able to use my phone onboard.

 

The main issue I had with my phone was it did not automatically pick up the ship tower. Normally I keep it in "global" mode so it automatically connects to the "prefered" carrier, whether CDMA or GSM. If we sailed close to a GSM carrier, my phone would switch to GSM mode to pick up that carrier but would not switch back to CDMA mode to pick up the ship tower when we got out of range. It would say "No Service." I had to manually switch it to CDMA only mode when onboard to keep it connected to the ship tower. I didn't have that problem when I was on RC's Adventure but I had it on X's Xpedition. I don't know if it is a phone glitch or a Celebrity cell tower glitch. Either way, I figured out how to work around it.

 

The other issue I had was extremely slow data - 1G mostly while onboard. Occasionally I would see a 3G signal, but it was normally only between 11 PM and 6 AM when there were clear skies. I got some free WIFI minutes from X for being a CC member so I used those while onboard and mostly saved the data for when I was ashore. There were a couple times when the WIFI wasn't working onboard and I used the data, but it was slow.

 

I don't know if the above information is helpful since it's over a year old.

[kyriecat]

My husband also had a Droid phone but his was CDMA only. He didn't have any problems with picking up the ship cell tower. He had the same problems I did with data service - too slow!

[sheffield]

Sailed on the Silhouette two weeks ago, unable to connect to On Waves with either an AT&T iPhone 4 or 5S. It is not a new problem, we had the same thing happen a year ago. One poster said he was told by AT&T that they are trying to work out a contract with On Waves so no service with them yet. It is incredibly annoying and will stop me booking a cruise on the Silhouette until it is resolved. I believe that there is the same problem on the Reflection but cannot confirm that for definite.

[MisterBill99]

Thanks, sheffield, that is very disappointing. I'm guessing there is a different cellular provider on Silhouette than on other ships like Constellation (where, as I mentioned, it worked fine)? And yes, I just noticed that Reflection is also missing from Verizon's list.

 

Does anyone know if Verizon picks up the local Haiti service on Labadee?

Edited January 23, 2014 by MisterBill99

[helen haywood]

Sailed Silhouette recently. Iphones with AT&T do not work on Reflection and Silhouette. Do on every other X ship.

[kyriecat]

Just a couple questions for the more recent Silhouette cruisers:

 

Did those having problems have CDMA only phones or global (CDMA/GSM) type? I think all iPhones now are global but not sure about other phone types.

 

If it was a global phone (CDMA/GSM) did you try switching it to "CDMA only" mode to see if it would connect?

 

My Verizon Droid phone would only stay connected to the ship tower in "CDMA only" mode. It was the "On Waves" service provider because that name would show up on my phone screen when it was connected. I would not have thought to switch the mode until I noticed that my husband's CDMA only phone never had a problem with connection.

[sheffield]

We tried everything with no success. We are able to connect with no problem to Cellular at Sea which is the service used on all Celebrity ships other than the Silhouette and the Reflection. We could see On Waves on our phones but just unable to connect.

[MisterBill99]

My Verizon Droid phone would only stay connected to the ship tower in "CDMA only" mode. It was the "On Waves" service provider because that name would show up on my phone screen when it was connected. I would not have thought to switch the mode until I noticed that my husband's CDMA only phone never had a problem with connection.

Did you have the Verizon data package ($25 for 100mb) at the time? Did the on-ship usage get billed as part of that, or separately (at ridiculous non-package rates)? I was thinking that I'd try connecting anyway, but I would get concerned about the usage not being counted as part of the Verizon package.

[MisterBill99]

We tried everything with no success. We are able to connect with no problem to Cellular at Sea which is the service used on all Celebrity ships other than the Silhouette and the Reflection. We could see On Waves on our phones but just unable to connect.

One has to wonder why they switched providers for the last 2 ships. Was it some bean counter who decided they could get a better contract with another provider and to hell with the customers? I guess it benefits Celebrity if you can't use your data plan at sea, since you're reliant on their overpriced WiFi.

 

Maybe it's time for an email to contactmichael@celebrity.com.

Edited January 24, 2014 by MisterBill99

[kyriecat]

When I was on Silhouette, it was a Mediterranean cruise. I got the $25 data package and used it onboard as well as during several of the port stops (Italy, Israel, Greece, & Egypt). I did not use more than 100MB and did have any additional charges for data. All roaming data was included in the package rate, no extra fees.

 

When I am at home, I leave my "background data" switched on so my phone automatically downloads email and other notifications. To prevent excessive data use while traveling, I switched background data and roaming data to "off". When I wanted to download email or view something on the internet, I would switch roaming data to "on" then manually download my email. I would switch it back to off when I was finished.

 

I've bought the $25 data package for several cruises as well as for a couple land trips abroad. I'm usually gone a couple of weeks and have never used more than the 100MB.

 

I'm not sure why Silhouette's service is so problematic. I had read about people having problems before I left, but my husband never had problems with his phone connecting. Once I figured out that I needed to switch mine to CDMA only mode, it connected fine. It sounds like On Waves has changed something if CDMA mode doesn't work now.

[MisterBill99]

When I was on Silhouette, it was a Mediterranean cruise. I got the $25 data package and used it onboard as well as during several of the port stops (Italy, Israel, Greece, & Egypt). I did not use more than 100MB and did have any additional charges for data. All roaming data was included in the package rate, no extra fees.

Thanks, that's good to hear. I'll give it a try.

[kyriecat]

I was having problems with Verizon's website yesterday so I called to add the global data to my phone since I'll be leaving soon. I got a customer service rep who really did not understand the product. Here are a few tips in case someone else gets connected to her:

 

You DO NOT have to add global "Voice Value" for an extra $4.99 if you want the 100MB data plan for $25. The voice plan is worthless unless you are planning to talk on the phone a lot.

 

The data plan is prorated. You can set it up so you only pay for the days you are gone. However, if you ask for a "week's" worth of data (approx. 24MB) and use more than that, they automatically charge you $25 for another 100MB plan.

 

I ask for my global data plan to start the first day of my billing cycle so I have the full 100MB. They only care about the total amount used, not the amount per day.

 

If you use the prorated amount, it's easier to wait a day or two after you return to stop the plan rather than on the day you return. Sometimes it takes a few days for international data to show up on your account. If it shows up after you stop the plan, Verizon will try to charge you the "pay as you go rates" for it. I've been successful in getting them to remove the charges by calling customer service, but it's a pain.

 

Before you leave, if you want to be able to make and receive calls, be sure that you activate international dialing and update your roaming. Dial *228 then press 2.

[Lsimon]

Here is a link to a thread discussing this issue and my problems over a year ago. Celebrity has been aware of it since then. If they didn't know about it before me they would have known it from the several letters and phone calls I sent them and the conversations I had with people responding to those.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1752678&highlight=silhouette+phone

 

I'm surprised this hasn't been corrected yet. On our cruise the problem seemed inconsistent with some phones and not others - even though they all were ATT phones with GSM which had the international frequencies.

 

From what I've read I wouldn't expect too much from the data package on board even if it is covered and works. It will probably work very slow. However, we've bought the ATT data package for our iPad on recent cruises as it works just fine at ports of call. It's great sitting on our veranda with our morning coffee as we pull into port or before we leave and being able to get on line to catch up.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Lsimon

[MisterBill99]

I was having problems with Verizon's website yesterday so I called to add the global data to my phone since I'll be leaving soon. I got a customer service rep who really did not understand the product. Here are a few tips in case someone else gets connected to her:

 

You DO NOT have to add global "Voice Value" for an extra $4.99 if you want the 100MB data plan for $25. The voice plan is worthless unless you are planning to talk on the phone a lot.

 

The data plan is prorated. You can set it up so you only pay for the days you are gone. However, if you ask for a "week's" worth of data (approx. 24MB) and use more than that, they automatically charge you $25 for another 100MB plan.

 

I ask for my global data plan to start the first day of my billing cycle so I have the full 100MB. They only care about the total amount used, not the amount per day.

This is all good information (which I figured out after last cruise). I was very surprised to see the extra $25 charge on my bill since I went over the pro-rated amount and it looked like some of my usage was outside of the plan. I contacted Verizon and they explained it to me and credited me back $12 or so, so I only ended up paying the $25. I think my statement closes in the next couple of days and I was planning to start the package then, as you suggested.

Here is a link to a thread discussing this issue and my problems over a year ago. Celebrity has been aware of it since then.

 

I'm surprised this hasn't been corrected yet. On our cruise the problem seemed inconsistent with some phones and not others - even though they all were ATT phones with GSM which had the international frequencies.

Really disappointing to hear, but I guess not surprising. I'm guessing it has a lot to do with their choosing a different provider for Silhouette and Reflection. I'll bet that they make more money selling you WiFi access, so getting it fixed is probably not be their top priority (or even in their best interest). I used the ship's cellular data on Constellation and while it wasn't speedy, it was acceptable for my use (which was mainly email from my Smartphone, except for one occasion when I needed to tether to my PC to access a website that wasn't working from the phone) and seemed faster than ship WiFi.

[MisterBill99]

We're back and my Verizon LG G2 did not work reliably on the Silhouette (for data, I did not try voice, and did get some text messages). I had problems with data (I tried downloading mail and it seemed to connect, but never downloaded more than a single message) until the last day of the cruise, when it seemed to work well from my cabin on deck 12 but did not work elsewhere on the ship. The same phone worked fine when I got into the ports and connected to the local cellular provider.

 

When I asked the Hotel Director about it at the Cruise Critic party, he claimed that he had heard about there being problems with AT&T, but not Verizon. He had someone contact me, but he left a message and we never actually got to speak. The Hotel Director claimed that they were switching all ships to a new provider and seemed to imply that the provider on Silhouette was going to be the new provider for all ships.

Edited February 17, 2014 by MisterBill99

[heidik]

Forget using AT&T on the Reflection while at sea....I just wasted over 2 hours with AT&T trying to get service - NOTHING. I am so frustrated it is not funny.