Ship Internet vs. ATT cell phone costs

[seaproponent]

Will be doing a 15 day Transatlantic on the Silhoutte in April; would appeciate guidance re the advantages\disadvantages (cost or otherwise) of these two seemingly competitive methods of staying in touch.

 

We are not big data downloaders, rather just wishing to stay in touch with family, visit some websites, etc.

 

Thanks.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I remember basic internet prices being 75 cents a minute. You can buy packages that bring this cost down. A 90 minute package is $49.95. Other packages are available. Internet speeds are a lot slower than you are probably use to.

 

I don't know about using a cell phone but it is I'm told it is more expensive.

 

If you have a loyalty status with Celebrity you can get discounts on packages. Elite members receive the 90 minute package free.

 

Mary Lou

Edited February 3, 2014 by CHEZMARYLOU

[WestLakeGirl]

Are you looking to make voice calls? Send/receive texts? Send emails several times a day? Download your hometown newspaper? Do you have a mobile device that will allow ou to read offline? Right now your question is too broad, with too many variables

[tunaman2011]

Greetings

 

Under no circumstances use your smartphone for data while out to sea. The data charges are $20/Mb. The bill can get very high very fast. Voice is $2.50/minute. Texts are $0.50. Texting is probably the cheapest way to stay in touch.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

Edited February 3, 2014 by tunaman2011

[Denny01]

These are two different uses. If you are only going to be calling, ATT has cruise calling packages for Celebrity (and RCL) for 50min at $30. And $1.00 per minute overage.

 

Texting is $0.50 per sent and free receiving. We use texts and emails mainly.

 

Internet is what was quoted by the earlier post.

 

Without a calling package, it is expensive as mentioned.

 

Den

[neotope]

If you are taking a laptop you might want to consider using gMail to make calls while using the ship's internet. I was on a cruise last summer in the Baltic and found that this was the best way to stay connected.

 

If you are a US gMail user you can call regular numbers in the US for no fee from anywhere in the world. I used a headset with my laptop and while making some calls back home and to work I was able to check my email.

 

Granted the internet on cruise ships is not a very fast connection but I never had any quality issues with gMail. Some popular apps such as Facebook will also let you do calling to anybody else that has the app if you are not taking a laptop so that might be something to look into as well.

[sheffield]

We sailed on the Silhouette in January and had no service when at sea with AT&T iPhones 4 and 5c. There is no contract between OnWaves and AT&T therefore you cannot connect to it. There are several threads about it on this site. It is also a problem on the Reflection which also uses OnWave, it is fine on the other boats which use Cellular at Sea.

[Lsimon]

I'm presuming that you are familiar with the cost of cellular data at sea, the fact that this is super expensive with no package and that the normal international data roaming packages do not include it.

 

Beyond that I'll say that I've never heard of any good experiences using cellular data at sea. The experiences I read about it with other carriers from prior to a year ago indicated that at most times it didn't work and that when it did it was very slow. Overall experience with cellular data at sea with ATT is probably very limited as it is only within the past year that they started offering data roaming packages that included it - prior to that time it was not available at any discounted rate or package so it was too expensive to even try.

 

Worse yet is that on our only Silhouette sailing (a December 2012 transatlantic sailing) we were not able to get any cellular connection on our ATT iPhones at sea so we couldn't even do phone calls or text messages. I have no idea if the problem has been fixed and I believe it relates to the use of a different provider on Silhouette than the company used for the rest of Celebrity's fleet. Here is a link to a discussion of those issues. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1752678

 

My only personal experience using data is with the ship's wifi and with cellular data at ports of call. For the last two or three cruises, both European and Caribbean, we've bought international data packages to use our iPads, and sometimes iPhones, at port and on land. This has worked pretty well with a more reliable and faster connection than the ship's wifi.

 

Our experience with the ships wifi is that the ability to make a connection is not reliable. It works most of the time, but there are times the ship's satellite connection is down completely. When it is working the connection speed is very slow. It reminds me more of the speed we used to get with dial up modems than what we're used to with today's broadband connections. And both the connection and speed problems can be worse on a TA in the middle of the ocean. The speed of the internet connections are also dependent on the number of people online at once since they are all presumably sharing the satellite connection. Speed is much faster late at night and early in the morning and worst late afternoon and early evening.

[waterbug123]

Will be doing a 15 day Transatlantic on the Silhoutte in April; would appeciate guidance re the advantages\disadvantages (cost or otherwise) of these two seemingly competitive methods of staying in touch.

 

We are not big data downloaders, rather just wishing to stay in touch with family, visit some websites, etc.

 

 

Under no circumstances use your smartphone for data while out to sea. The data charges are $20/Mb. The bill can get very high very fast. Voice is $2.50/minute. Texts are $0.50. Texting is probably the cheapest way to stay in touch.

 

I'll second that. The problem with data roaming is that your phone is constantly trying to get an internet connection and there are numerous stories of people unknowingly running up data bills in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars as a result.

 

As someone else said, texting is likely the cheapest way to stay in touch with family and friends. To occasionally check email or visit a random website, get an internet package from the ship. Keep data roaming turned OFF on your phone.

[Denny01]

No, there is no AT&T connections at sea, or in a port without AT&T services. But the International Calling Package I mentioned with AT&T is what AT&T will charge you (50min for $30 and a $1/min after that) when you call frim a cell phone w AT&T acct using the Celebrity cellular system.

 

It can be intermittent, especially on TA's but we've used it and it is the cheapest option when calling when using AT&T.

 

Den

[Tommy3putts]

Agree. When at sea outside of land base cell towers. Ships primarily rely on satellite communications to provide onboard communications services to passengers.

[Lsimon]

...The problem with data roaming is that your phone is constantly trying to get an internet connection and there are numerous stories of people unknowingly running up data bills in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars as a result...

 

Those stories either came up from many years ago when the iphone was first introduced before there was a switch for data roaming or from people who did not understand the function and implications of the data roaming switch and turned it from its default "off" position to on.

 

If you understand a little about this, or just leave data roaming turned off, then you will not inadvertently incur data charges out of your carrier's normal domestic service area.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Lsimon

[tbmrt]

These are two different uses. If you are only going to be calling, ATT has cruise calling packages for Celebrity (and RCL) for 50min at $30. And $1.00 per minute overage.

 

Texting is $0.50 per sent and free receiving. We use texts and emails mainly.

 

Internet is what was quoted by the earlier post.

 

Without a calling package, it is expensive as mentioned.

 

Den

 

I understand that it is best to put ATT cellphone in Airplane mode and also shut off data roaming while onboard. If I do this though, I don't think I can send a text.

 

Question: Do I turn airplane mode and data roaming back on in order to send a text? What if phone messages start to come in when I turn it on? Won't I be charged for these? So electronically challenged here!

[Lsimon]

I understand that it is best to put ATT cellphone in Airplane mode and also shut off data roaming while onboard. If I do this though, I don't think I can send a text.

 

Question: Do I turn airplane mode and data roaming back on in order to send a text? What if phone messages start to come in when I turn it on? Won't I be charged for these? So electronically challenged here!

 

There is no need to turn a cell phone into airplane mode on a ship. All you have to do is spend a little time learning about what charges cost what and how your phone works. We never turn ours on airplane mode and never have a surprise. The one exception would be if you'd expect to receive a lot of phone calls that you'd prefer just go to voicemail in which case turning your phone off or to airplane mode would avoid having the calls ring through.

 

You are correct that you can not send nor receive text messages if your phone is in airplane mode. But you do not need to turn data roaming on for text messages. Text messages are sent through the cellular SMS service which does not use cellular data. If you turn your phone on, or off of airplane mode, you will indeed be charged for incoming text messages. Depending on your carrier these usually cost either nothing or $0.05 per text received. Most carriers charge $0.50 per outgoing text message. Check with your carrier online or through customer service to determine their rates for cruise ships at sea.

[jagoffee]

I understand that it is best to put ATT cellphone in Airplane mode and also shut off data roaming while onboard. If I do this though, I don't think I can send a text.

 

 

 

Question: Do I turn airplane mode and data roaming back on in order to send a text? What if phone messages start to come in when I turn it on? Won't I be charged for these? So electronically challenged here!

 

 

If you and the receiver both have an IPhone/iPad you can send an I message for free when hooked up to WiFi instead of a text.

Edited October 29, 2014 by jagoffee

[Lsimon]

If you and the receiver both have an IPhone/iPad you can send an I message for free when hooked up to WiFi instead of a text.

 

That works fine when you're on your regular home wifi or a place that has free wifi but not so well when you are on the ship where wifi costs $.075/minute for every minute that you are logged in.

[waterbug123]

I understand that it is best to put ATT cellphone in Airplane mode and also shut off data roaming while onboard. If I do this though, I don't think I can send a text.

 

 

If you're phone is in airplane mode there is no need to turn off data roaming. In airplane mode, your phone cannot access any cellular signal and by definition, it cannot "roam." And yes, if it's in airplane mode, you cannot text via cellular signal. You CAN still access wifi (you'll have to pay for it onboard but might find free wifi somewhere in port) and send an imessage, or do anything else you'd do via internet.

[Lsimon]

If you're phone is in airplane mode there is no need to turn off data roaming. In airplane mode, your phone cannot access any cellular signal and by definition, it cannot "roam." And yes, if it's in airplane mode, you cannot text via cellular signal. You CAN still access wifi (you'll have to pay for it onboard but might find free wifi somewhere in port) and send an imessage, or do anything else you'd do via internet.

 

The default setting for data roaming is "off" and it is best to leave it there. There is never a reason to turn it on unless you intend to actively use international data and even then the switch should be used to toggle it on only when actively using it and then off when you're done with a session.

 

Why be concerned with this if you intend to leave your phone in airplane mode? Consider a scenario where something comes up and you need to make or receive a phone calls. You turn airplane mode off to make the call and immediately the apps that run in the background of your phone immediately start using cellular data if international roaming is on. if you do not have an international data plan in place the data charges come in at the shockingly high non-plan rate of $20 per MB of data or more. Phone calls on the ship are relatively expensive but not too expensive to use should the need arise at $2.50/min non-plan rate on AT&T, but the non-plan data rate of $20/min can mount up fast if the phone is left on for a while even if you don't actively use it for the internet and apps.

Edited October 29, 2014 by Lsimon

[wallie5446]

No, there is no AT&T connections at sea, or in a port without AT&T services. But the International Calling Package I mentioned with AT&T is what AT&T will charge you (50min for $30 and a $1/min after that) when you call frim a cell phone w AT&T acct using the Celebrity cellular system.

 

It can be intermittent, especially on TA's but we've used it and it is the cheapest option when calling when using AT&T.

 

Den

 

My CEO just made a trip to China, called ATT and had 2 options added to her plan. Don't remember the exact cost but the $30 sounds right. Call or go into a store and ask.

Edited October 29, 2014 by wallie5446

[jagoffee]

That works fine when you're on your regular home wifi or a place that has free wifi but not so well when you are on the ship where wifi costs $.075/minute for every minute that you are logged in.

 

 

I always have a bucket of free minutes and I just send them out when I am logged in to check my e mail, but mostly I use it when I have free wifi especially when I am in an area that does not have AT&T service. (Even in the US or overseas hotel)

[hawk/hornfan]

Maybe I am the old fashioned crazy one, but when I board a cruise ship my phone is turned off and locked in the safe. Will take it with us while in port for emergencies, but it is still turned off. Oh well to each their own! LOL