Cell/Mobile service in Alaska

[CGYCruisingFamily]

Can anyone tell me how good it is?

 

My kids (5&9) are going with their grandparents for a week long Alaska cruise and we want to stay in contact with them on occasion. Is there good service in the ports (Ketichan, Juneau and Skagway)? Funny question, will the cell work onboard if you are close to land going up the inside passage?

 

My parents are looking at adding a roaming package to cover the States but I just want to see if it will work so we can touch base with them.

 

Thanks

[sherryf]

Depends on your carrier. I have AT&T and have had great coverage in all ports.

 

I put my phone in airplane mode on the ship. Calls through the ship's satellite are quite pricey. You aren't always very close to land, and even when you are, there's not much cell coverage in those remote places.

[geekypenguin]

I have a Verizon Android phone and had excellent coverage in all ports. Passengers on our ship last week with Verizon iPhone said their phone didn't work at all.

[ricklepickle]

Anyone have experience with T Mobile? Anchorage, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway?

 

Same issue, but a 13 year old nephew with his mom. :)

 

 

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[Potstech]

Seems strange an Iphone wouldn't work. Wonder if they had roaming turned off? Or a limited service package like a pay as you go on something like Straight talk?

Edited June 10, 2014 by Potstech

[CGYCruisingFamily]

They are on a Canadian carrier but can pick up either ATT or Verizon.

 

 

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[geekypenguin]

Seems strange an Iphone wouldn't work. Wonder if they had roaming turned off? Or a limited service package like a pay as you go on something like Straight talk?

 

I have no idea why - we were on the bus in Juneau and he mentioned his didn't work as my Galaxy S5 was downloading all my work emails at 4G speeds. If this family can pick up Verizon, they should be fine in port.

[jamminlion]

AT&T has excellent coverage in the inside passage ports- Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau. We used our phones while on the ship , but still in port. Once you get out of port, you rely on the ship's service, which you only would want to do in an emergency because of the prohibitive cost.

 

We were able to text, email, surf while in port. Otherwise, phone was in airplane mode.

[sept10dsm]

I had no problem with the phone/text while in port with Verizon and a blackberry. The email was not being received though

[Casey12]

AT&T has excellent coverage. My Verizon worked great in ports with the exception of data in Whittier. Voice worked fine in Whittier.

[Alberta Quilter]

I just returned from an Alaskan cruise. I'm on Telus for my phone. I got the $25 roaming package for the US; the cheapest package they have. I did not try to use it on the ship unless we were docked. There was one time, on the ship in port, we had to go outside to get the signal to complete the call.

 

Upon my return home, I received my bill and I only had the cost of the roaming package on top of my regular charges.

 

It worked really well for us.

[alwayscoldmom]

It is going to depend on your carrier and who they have contracts with for roaming. ATT works just fine (it is who I have my cell service through). Sprint doesn't work very well. It is also going to depend where they are. My contractor has Verizon but it is hit or miss if he gets his call at my house in Anchorage when he is visiting.

 

As a side note make sure you send a notarized letter with the grandparents saying you are ok with them taking the children out of the country.

[Lisichka]

It is going to depend on your carrier and who they have contracts with for roaming. ATT works just fine (it is who I have my cell service through). Sprint doesn't work very well. It is also going to depend where they are. My contractor has Verizon but it is hit or miss if he gets his call at my house in Anchorage when he is visiting.

 

As a side note make sure you send a notarized letter with the grandparents saying you are ok with them taking the children out of the country.

 

I don't know why one provider would work better than another. Every provider roams to a competitor's tower if they do not have a tower themselves.

[Traveller20074]

my daughter, son in law and I ALL have StraightTalk prepaid phones. Most of the time, even on the ship close to land, my daughter and SIL were getting service. They were even posting pictures on Facebook lol I never got through one time on my phone. I think it might be the phone, not the service? I never got anything even off the ship IN the ports, and my daughter and SIL did. Weird.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Traveller20074

[lighthouse3]

Does anybody have experience with US Cellular in Alaskan ports? Sounds like the big carriers work fine, but wondering about my "smaller" carrier.

Thanks!

[Bernie and Ert]

What kind of packages did you find to call the "lower 48"?

[CGYCruisingFamily]

They are on Bell and usually have no issues in the States when they travel. Sounds like it might work fine in the ports.

 

Thanks about the note about the notarized forms. They are already signed, notarized and ready to go :)

[grobma]

I don't know why one provider would work better than another. Every provider roams to a competitor's tower if they do not have a tower themselves.

 

Not necessarily. AT&T and Verizon will not roam to each other.

[Ed]

Haven't seen anyone weigh in on the cell service for T Mobile in Alaska ports?

 

Thanks

[sherryf]

What kind of packages did you find to call the "lower 48"?

 

Packages?? You don't need anything special. It's all the United States. I just called and texted. No issues.

[marysb]

Remember you will be travelling the inside passage through a lot of Canada.

You will not get coverage everywhere, but I found you will get a Canadian signal along Vancouver Island, near the Queen Charlottes, near Prince Rupert.

... so good news - no roaming charge :) and you can use it on the ship. Just make sure you can see you have a Canadian connection before you call.

 

 

With telus, in the ports, we had no reason to buy a package as is worked out cheaper to just do short calls or texts @ $1.50/min calling, or @$.65/text.

(and I believe the package only gives you reduced prices on text and calling, not free).

 

Turn off your data roaming, though!