No cell sevice when we were on Reflection

[jkgourmet]

When my father was aging, I would try to get him to write down the emergency numbers for our cruise ships, hotels, etc. He refused.

 

His reasoning was pretty blunt. "If I get so sick that I'm in the hospital, what are YOU going to do that the doctors won't already be doing? And if I croak, it won't make a damn bit of difference to me if they hold up the memorial until you get home. Why ruin your vacation? Why lose all that money? Go. Enjoy."

 

 

 

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[amalitta]

We're sailing the Reflection in a couple of weeks, and when I was on the phone making a change to my minute plan, I figured I'd ask the rep a few questions about the cell service on the Reflection. I won't be using my phone while on the ship, but I thought the answer I'd receive may be helpful for other cruisers.

 

He actually had quite a bit of information! Here it is:

 

1) There IS cell service on the Reflection, but it is not serviced by AT&T. Which means that you can turn on your phone, there will be a signal, but it will be $2.50/minute for service for incoming/outgoing phone calls. Text messages are $0.50/text and picture texts are $1.30/text.

 

2) There is data service on the ship (not the same as the internet package from Celebrity) and it is a per MB charge. Sorry I can't remember the price, I do remember it was more expensive that what the ship charges!

 

3) When you are in port in San Juan and St. Thomas, your phone functions the same as if you were in the US. You will not be charged for minutes, texts or MB usage.

 

For the OP, you can leave your phone turned on while on the ship. It would just be $2.50/minute. The AT&T rep did mention that sometimes, depending on where the ship is located on the ocean, you may not get any signal or it may be a poor signal.

 

I hope this helps! :D

Edited February 25, 2014 by amalitta

[cle-guy]

We're sailing the Reflection in a couple of weeks, and when I was on the phone making a change to my minute plan, I figured I'd ask the rep a few questions about the cell service on the Reflection. I won't be using my phone while on the ship, but I thought the answer I'd receive may be helpful for other cruisers.

 

He actually had quite a bit of information! Here it is:

 

1) There IS cell service on the Reflection, but it is not serviced by AT&T. Which means that you can turn on your phone, there will be a signal, but it will be $2.50/minute for service for incoming/outgoing phone calls. Text messages are $0.50/text and picture texts are $1.30/text.

 

2) There is data service on the ship (not the same as the internet package from Celebrity) and it is a per MB charge. Sorry I can't remember the price, I do remember it was more expensive that what the ship charges!

 

3) When you are in port in San Juan and St. Thomas, your phone functions the same as if you were in the US. You will not be charged for minutes, texts or MB usage.

 

For the OP, you can leave your phone turned on while on the ship. It would just be $2.50/minute. The AT&T rep did mention that sometimes, depending on where the ship is located on the ocean, you may not get any signal or it may be a poor signal.

 

I hope this helps! :D

 

For whatever Reason, AT&T (maybe iPhone specific) can't get on to the roaming signal of the carrier on the reflection. been there, tried, it, no avail. Had purchased the AT&T cruise ship package in advance hoping to use but it wouldn't work.

 

Friends on other networks were fine. No roaming charges nothing. just "no service" it wont grab on to whatever cell service is in use. No phone calls or texts or data would used as it couldn't use the signal from the cell provider. Once on land or near land, I could pickup land-based cell service however.

[jkgourmet]

How fortunate for you however with elderly parents and young children I need to be reached on a regular basis...hanging out in my cabin waiting for the ship's phone to ring is not practical . Not being easily reachable makes a vacation more stressful not less...for me and my husband.

 

 

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I do wonder what how you managed before cellphones, but no matter. Your solution is pretty straightforward: don't sail on the reflection until they get this fixed.

 

There are PLENTY of other choices!

 

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[Lsimon]

I always dislike it when threads move away from answering a question and toward how someone should change their circumstances and habits to match those of someone replying to the thread.

 

For whatever reason some of us like, or need, to remain in contact while cruising. Others dislike the idea of remaining in contact and don't have the need as their circumstances are different. To answer a request for information about cell phone service with a response that contact with the outside world isn't necessary or desirable is not helpful at all. If someone likes to remain in contact then why is that preference any less valid than another poster's opinion that contact is not desirable? And while some of us might not have an important need to keep in contact with relatives and work others have a pressing need.

 

We are all different and have different circumstances and preferences in our lives and those should be respected.

[helen haywood]

I agree with Larry.

 

The unfortunate reality is that iPhones supported by AT&T will not work on the Silhouette and the Reflection. This is due to the fact that AT&T does not have a contract with OnWaves. If you must use your cell phone then do not sail those two ships.

 

Yes, it would be nice if somehow Celebrity let you know about this in advance....but it would be buried in FAQs somewhere anyway. If you are reading this thread, you know the answer.

[amalitta]

For whatever Reason, AT&T (maybe iPhone specific) can't get on to the roaming signal of the carrier on the reflection. been there, tried, it, no avail. Had purchased the AT&T cruise ship package in advance hoping to use but it wouldn't work.

 

Friends on other networks were fine. No roaming charges nothing. just "no service" it wont grab on to whatever cell service is in use. No phone calls or texts or data would used as it couldn't use the signal from the cell provider. Once on land or near land, I could pickup land-based cell service however.

 

Thanks cle-guy! I guess the AT&T rep wasn't as accurate as I would have hoped :/ Sorry to provide members with inaccurate information. I'm hoping that you received a refund for the cruise ship package you purchased? :o

[sheffield]

Well said Lsimon, everyones circumstances are different and I personally need to have cell phone service while traveling. We only sailed on the Silhouette again in January as I had been told by Celebrity that the problem had been resolved. However we quickly found it it hadn't and it did not make for very relaxing sea days. What annoys me the most is that Celebrity must know whats happening so why can't they be up front about it instead of acting as if you're the first person to bring it up with them.

[BKFlowerMound]

I always dislike it when threads move away from answering a question and toward how someone should change their circumstances and habits to match those of someone replying to the thread.

 

For whatever reason some of us like, or need, to remain in contact while cruising. Others dislike the idea of remaining in contact and don't have the need as their circumstances are different. To answer a request for information about cell phone service with a response that contact with the outside world isn't necessary or desirable is not helpful at all. If someone likes to remain in contact then why is that preference any less valid than another poster's opinion that contact is not desirable? And while some of us might not have an important need to keep in contact with relatives and work others have a pressing need.

 

We are all different and have different circumstances and preferences in our lives and those should be respected.

 

Have any of Larry's 12,561 posts been bad ones? I don't think so!

[cruzemaven]

I do wonder what how you managed before cellphones, but no matter. Your solution is pretty straightforward: don't sail on the reflection until they get this fixed.

 

There are PLENTY of other choices!

 

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Absolutely the right advice...Point was that Celebrity didn not inform us that there would be a problem and these two ships...and they should let people know what to expect.

By the way, before cell phones existed we managed just fine because my parents were not elderly. But thank goodness we have them now...we were on a cruise on Sep. 11 and were stranded in Europe on The Rotterdam...fortunately our cell phone worked and we were able to get in touch with family as well as our travel agent without difficulty and able to make arrangements to get home...it was a very different scenario for those that left their cell phones home. The passengers who did not bring or have cell phones did not manage well at all. Some were stranded for days after the cruise was over. On the ship they had access to only the Internet which was excruciatingly slow and the ships phone service which was very expensive. We definitely managed much better having a cell phone.

[Christine Frances]

I think people should check with their cell provider rather than relying on the cruise ships regarding service. Before I board I know exactly what the costs would be on board for texting or calls. If AT & T is saying their cruise pkg is good on all ships they are giving misinformation.