Need advice about cell ph international coverage etc

[Aquarian]

We will be traveling on Sunday on Independence of the Seas, Western Caribbean. Should I call Sprint and arrange for international coverage and rates or should I turn off my phone and put it in the safe for a week? I'd be interested in what the rest of you do.

[Clarea]

Hard to answer without how you would like to use your phone.

 

If you don't want to use the phone, then by all means, turn it off and put it in the safe.

[ccletzgo]

I use mine. Verizon. I have international dialing on it and I'm not sure what the currant rates are, but past cruises paid $2.49 a min from the ships cell service. While in port, roaming fee's apply although I do have mexico included in my plan. Sprints web site should have the list of cruise lines and the per min charge.

[Cigar King]

We use Sprint. I usually turn the phone off. I may use wireless.

 

That being said, if you are going to need voice or data services call Sprint. They have some inexpensive plans you can use. For example:

 

http://www.sprint.com/landings/international-value-roaming/#!/

 

Use Google if you want more.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[TBone2K]

Some cell carriers (like mine) consider cruise ships different than "international" so it would be worth giving them a call to check. Don't simply ask for an international plan.

[cb at sea]

We don't use our phone on the ship....no real need to! WE can go a week without being in constant contact! We've found, the world doesn't change a bit! We take a phone ashore, just in case of emergency, but we don't turn it on or use it, unless we're in a port like Puerto Rico, or St. Thomas...where our plan works.

[Doug S]

I turn my phone off and wife sets hers (Sprint)to international plan for the month. We use her phone ONLY to call and check in while in port. Does not apply on ship's cell. At sea hers is turned off in the safe with mine.

 

One note: If you do set it to international. be sure to call and set it off when you get back, and check your bill. Our first time we made it clear when we ordered it was only for the month and they said it would only be billed that one month, but they kept billing us a few months and we had to go through the hassle of calling again to take it off.

[DebJ14]

I have T-Mobile. For most places in the Caribbean, except Belize, Roatan and Nassau, I pay 20 cents a minute for calls, I also get unlimted free texts and data. I don't have to do anything - the service is there when I need it and I don't have to pay extra for the plan.

 

On the ship I keep the phone off and in the safe because the data download charges are very expensive and calls are $4.99 a minute.

 

As soon as we dock I go out on the balcony, turn on my phone and connect to the local cell phone provider and start downloading my e-mails and making phone calls. In April on our Bermuda cruise my extra charges for all the phone calls I made during the 2 days we were docked there were only $6.00.

 

I can also avoid the 20 cent per minute charges by setting my phone to only make WiFi calls. I often will do this in ports when I can find free WiFi at restaurants or hotels.

Edited June 12, 2015 by DebJ14

[kirian]

When I was in the Med in 2013, I got a plan through Skype where I could call a physical phone (landline or mobile) back in the States for $2.99 (unlimited minutes for the entire month). Now of course, to use it, I had to have a wifi signal, but those were easy to come by in every port we were in.

 

I found this worked perfectly for being able to call my dad on his actual cell phone (since he would never be able to figure out how to Skype for free on the computer) and check on him... and my dogs that he was watching :D

 

Only thing you have to remember is to discontinue the service when you get back, otherwise they will keep billing you.

 

Melissa