Question about using cell phone on Alaskan cruise..

[big al]

Hi guys- We will be going on the Crown Princess in several weeks and I was wondering what the charges are for using your cell phone while in Alaska..I would think while IN PORT in the towns, you don't get charged for roaming ( Cellular At Sea), but maybe when the ship leaves port, maybe you do? I have AT & T..maybe I should call them? Anybody with experience with this? I know in the Caribb, you will pay $2.50 per minute and $.50 per text...

 

Big Al

[paul929207]

When in any US port you will be able to use the cell phone if coverage is provided where you are. In the towns you will usually be OK. Outside, you will often find no coverage.

 

While on the ship at sea, you sill usually be out of range to any land based cell tower, so you will be going thru Cell At Sea and incurring their charges

[moki'smommy]

While in port, just be sure that the little "roaming" icon does not show up. We had no problem while in the port towns, but if you do an excursion you may go to Canada or be in a place where a Canadian tower is the closest...and then you would be charged for international roaming. We also had AT&T and had no issues or problems.

 

Sorry, we didn't use it while at sea.

 

Remember that if you are departing from Vancouver or porting in Victoria, that is Canada....which means international charges if you use the phone there.

Edited May 1, 2016 by moki'smommy

[rockdoctor]

As long as you have data roaming turned off, and push setting for message and internet turned off you should be OK. Your phone will tell you whether what your voice provider is. Just shut down.

[Pam in CA]

Alaska is a US state so your cell will work the same in port as at home, even if you're on the ship. Once the ship sails, turn on airplane mode and only turn on WiFi if you want to use your phone.

[VibeGuy]

Check the AT&T coverage maps. The ports have decent enough coverage, but you don't have to be very far away before coverage disappears.

 

AT&T finally has a compelling Canada offer if you're on a Mobile Share plan. Call and demand the Canada Roaming Bonus. It's free, and give you 1GB of data and unlimited US/Canada voice, with free unlimited texts. Extra data is $20/GB. It's quite an improvement. This will cover you in Victoria. You may have to ask a couple of agents as it's not well-publicized.

 

When at sea, it will either be the MCP cell at sea (free incoming texts, $2/minute for voice, 50c incoming text) *or* there will be no coverage as the ship is too close to US soil (so the MCP service is inhibited) but there's no coverage on land either. This is pretty common for Alaska itineraries.

 

Whatever you do, do not let them sell you the "cruise ship package" as it doesn't include Princess.

[4cats4me]

We always use our phones in Alaskan ports and have been fine. We also surf the net while onboard ship while in port and have no issues

We have ATT

 

 

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[idahospud]

Within a few miles of port you can continue to use your cell phone until it no longer picks up a local tower. We've used the if we can see the town we can leave it on guideline. But then put it into airplane mode. If an excursion takes you into or near Canada you'll want it in airplane mode there, too.

[ChiefSealthCruz]

AT&T worked fine for us in Alaskan ports. You can akso dial 611 from your cell phone at home to talk to customer service and ask your questions. They would have access to your account and coverage maps.

[Elitein85days]

Check the AT&T coverage maps. The ports have decent enough coverage, but you don't have to be very far away before coverage disappears.

 

AT&T finally has a compelling Canada offer if you're on a Mobile Share plan. Call and demand the Canada Roaming Bonus. It's free, and give you 1GB of data and unlimited US/Canada voice, with free unlimited texts. Extra data is $20/GB. It's quite an improvement. This will cover you in Victoria. You may have to ask a couple of agents as it's not well-publicized.

 

When at sea, it will either be the MCP cell at sea (free incoming texts, $2/minute for voice, 50c incoming text) *or* there will be no coverage as the ship is too close to US soil (so the MCP service is inhibited) but there's no coverage on land either. This is pretty common for Alaska itineraries.

 

Whatever you do, do not let them sell you the "cruise ship package" as it doesn't include Princess.

 

Can you post a pic of where to find this or what it looks like on your bill? I can't find anything on AT&T's website about it and the customer service reps don't seem to know about it.

[ChiefBoats]

We have AT&T and in or close to the major ports you get the regular ATT service. We normally call our daughter here in Houston a number of times during the cruise. Never had a problem.

 

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[KruzPrincess]

You should definitely check with your carrier to confirm your plan. At one time, I had a plan through Verizon that only covered the continental US. When I started sailing to Hawaii and Alaska more often I upgraded to a plan that included those states. Better to be safe than sorry. I turn off roaming and I put my phone in airplane mode while at sea. Ask them if they have any cruise ship plans. My carrier has added some new affordable add-ons for travel.

[big al]

Thanks for ALL your tips & responses!! Looks like I'll be fine....

[VibeGuy]

Can you post a pic of where to find this or what it looks like on your bill? I can't find anything on AT&T's website about it and the customer service reps don't seem to know about it.

 

Yeah, as I said, it's a giant PITA to sign up for.

 

I've posted a screenshot from the MyATT app at the Flickr link below. It's found under My Account, My Devices Plans And Features, AT&T Canada Roaming Bonus.

 

https://flic.kr/p/GJK6zA

[Lucky TGO]

Can you hear me now? My cellphone worked fine in port.

Tony

[Cruiserkenn]

As others have said, AT&T cell phones work great in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Seattle.

 

Enjoy!

[cruisequeen4ever]

We have AT&T, too, and on all of our Alaska cruises we've been able to use our phones easily in port (not in Vancouver, though, because that's Canada) because those are all U.S. Towns and widely served by AT&T. We have never tested the waters so to speak at seas to be safe, though. My mother-in-law was able to use hers all down the Ketchikan channel with no roaming.

 

 

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[Jetswdo]

re Canadian ports? I understand that Alaska may be included with plan- I will certainly check that out....

[paul929207]

Most US plans do not include Canada

[VibeGuy]

This post has info about Verizon in Canada and the magic thing you need to get the good deal.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48511360&postcount=15

 

Note that the AT&T info up thread is more current than this archival posting, but the Verizon, Sprint and Tmob is still good.

[cruisequeen4ever]

re Canadian ports? I understand that Alaska may be included with plan- I will certainly check that out....

 

 

We were charged over $1 per text while in Vancouver with AT&T. Alaska is considered U.S. Plan, not Canada unless you have Canada added. I say this as an Alaskan.

 

 

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[olesiabr]

Sprint has fantastic global roaming rates that are free in Canada!

[Nhsaltshaker]

Sprint has fantastic global roaming rates that are free in Canada!

 

Is that with an International Plan?

[mjmalino]

When we were on our Alaskan cruise back in 2007 (just in case things have changed) while in the inside passage we were able to receive reception from ATT, even when the ship was at sea, a lot of time as we were close enough to shore. However, that also depended on how close the nearest town was to our location.