Epic in Caribbean is there wifi or phone signal

[Familyfuntimes]

Hi we are on epic for 1 week from 23rd Dec. On Xmas day we will be sailing does anyone know if we will have a phone signal to call family back home?

 

Also will we have wifi in our rooms? Will we have to pay for this?

 

My boys rely a lot on there I pads (2 are autistic)

 

Thanks

[hawkeyetlse]

You will have both phone service and wifi in your room and around the ship, but you have to pay for both. And if your children all need to be online at the same time, you will have to purchase separate Internet passwords for each device. Here are the prices for internet access: Internet Packages

 

I have no idea how much it costs to use your cell phone at sea.

[SuiteTraveler]

Yes you must pay for WIFI. Here are the package prices:

https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/internet-packages

 

On Epic, the internet was pretty good, but not great. Certainly you cannot transmit large files or do gaming. I doubt that you could do FaceTime for example. You can send an email though. The internet worked best at the hardwired ship's computers in the internet cafe.

 

If you are in port on Christmas day, you should be able to call for sure. Most ports have cellular service. (get a roaming package from your provider or it could wind up costing several hundred dollars - I once ran up $400 for about 1 hour of usage per day for a 7 day cruise, (most of which was texting with my parents caregivers.) After that I talked with my cell provider and they explained I should have gotten a international roaming package for the week. They actually take down what islands we are at and provide the package on that island for that day. I guess if the itinerary changes you have to call the provider or be SOL. At sea, there is Freestyle Cellular Service using your own cell phone - but it can be expensive (again get that roaming package.) Otherwise, the other option would be satellite which is very expensive:

https://www.ncl.com/faq#staying-in-touch

Edited October 2, 2016 by SuiteTraveler

[hawkeyetlse]

If you are in port on Christmas day, you should be able to call for sure.

The Epic is scheduled to be at sea on Christmas Day. If the OP can call their family a day earlier (when the ship is at GSC) or a day later (Falmouth, Jamaica) they can use their cell phones there, or try to find free wifi somewhere.

[Lido_Deck]

Hi we are on epic for 1 week from 23rd Dec. On Xmas day we will be sailing does anyone know if we will have a phone signal to call family back home?

 

Also will we have wifi in our rooms? Will we have to pay for this?

 

My boys rely a lot on there I pads (2 are autistic)

 

Thanks

 

It appears you have never cruised before and I think you are in for a shock.

 

Onboard cruise ships the Internet is very slow (think slower than dial-up) and very expensive so your boys cannot be on it...at all. The slow speed alone will drive them nuts and I doubt you want to pay $1,000.00 or so in Internet fees.

 

Once the ship gets into international waters they will power up their own cell tower and you can use your phone, but you will pay the cruise line dearly to use it. Usually about $2.99 per minute.

 

I suggest you take their devices away before the cruise. They'll just have to learn how to entertain themselves like we did in the "Good Old Days."

 

Once you're in port you can probably find some WiFi somewhere in a restaurant, bar or coffee shop, but they will expect you to spend money while you are doing it.

 

.

Edited October 2, 2016 by Lido_Deck

[BermudaBound2014]

It appears you have never cruised before and I think you are in for a shock.

 

Onboard cruise ships the Internet is very slow (think slower than dial-up) and very expensive so your boys cannot be on it...at all. The slow speed alone will drive them nuts and I doubt you want to pay $1,000.00 or so

 

.

 

 

Just to clarify the above statement, the Internet is not slow on ALL cruise ships. In fact, Internet pricing is one thing that has recently gotten significantly CHEAPER and faster on many lines; unfortunately Ncl internet is still one of the most expensive and still slow (with the exception of the breakaway which we found quite perky in terms of speed, but at $30 per day still quite expensive).

 

Rcl currently charges roughly 9.00 per day unlimited for "regular" internet and $12.50 per day for Internet speedy enough to stream to your hearts content as many of their ships are equipped with newer technology. MSC was even cheaper than rcl. This is something to consider in the bottom line of cruise cost if you do want access as the cost for Internet on our last 10 day rcl cruise was $90.00 compared to ncls $300.00. In the case of Internet access, Ncl isn't just nickel and diming - they are actually C-noting our butts :).

 

To the OP; sounds like the cheapest plan for you will be $30 per day unlimited internet (you must purchase on day 1 or 2 for entire duration). If you purchased on day 1 the cost is roughly $210 for the week. On day 2 the cost would be roughly $180 for the week BUT your children must share (both can not be connected at the same time). Double that cost if you want both children to be able to access internet at the same time.

 

As far as Christmas Day, since that is an at sea day, I'd suggest forgetting cell calls entirely and rely on wifi apps for home contact through your unlimited Internet plan.

 

I also can't stress enough to follow the solid advise of the first poster who replied in this thread regarding international calling. It can save you significant change in case of an emergency when phone calling is necessary.

 

I can't speak to availably of cell calling or wifi in great stirrup cay (dec 24th), but there will be very reasonably priced Internet in Falmouth on the 26th right at the pier ($5.00

Per hour). Or free at places like margaritaville (except I've read it is completely unreliable there due to number of people trying to access).

 

Hope this is helpful, and wish I had better news. Unfortunately regarding the internet, this is one area where NCLs reputation is earned.

[BirdTravels]

NCL ships with upgraded internet have decent service.

 

Try FaceTime voice, works on most ships. If you're not apple people, use Skype voice (couple of bucks a month for unlimited calls to the states). Both have worked well for us.

 

Otherwise, roaming rates on the ship are determine by your carrier (not the ship). We have at&t and they just increased from $1.99 to $2.50 per minute. Same on the ship and on land (without a package).

 

On the ship you can use the iConcierge app to make calls to the US for $0.79 per minute.

[Familyfuntimes]

Thanks for the replies. I have cruised before but back in 2009 and wifi wasn't anything to be concerned for. Oh well we will have to see how things get on with the wifi.

[Durbs4521]

Hi we are on epic for 1 week from 23rd Dec. On Xmas day we will be sailing does anyone know if we will have a phone signal to call family back home?

 

Also will we have wifi in our rooms? Will we have to pay for this?

 

My boys rely a lot on there I pads (2 are autistic)

 

Thanks

we on the same cruise 23rd December :) ...its our 3rd Epic trip....You will need 2 internet packages as only one device can connect at a time.....we always used the internet as we are self employed so have to work some on the ships.....it was a little slow but fine to email etc....

[AnalyzeThis]

I had a great wi-fi connection on the Epic where my sister-in-law in a room not far from mine had a horrible connection and would go to the studio lounge (near a router) to get a better connection.

 

Wifi is pretty expensive, though. And remember to log out! I lost a bunch of time when I forgot to logout.

[Familyfuntimes]

Thanks for the replies. Can I buy the same internet packages onboard that I can buy now online? Does anyone know how much the unlimited package is was your onboard? Also if I buy a onboard certificate can I pay for the internet package with that?

 

Thanks

[BirdTravels]

Thanks for the replies. Can I buy the same internet packages onboard that I can buy now online? Does anyone know how much the unlimited package is was your onboard? Also if I buy a onboard certificate can I pay for the internet package with that?

 

Thanks

 

$29.99 per day. Must be bought on the first/second day of the cruise for the duration of the cruise. On smaller packages, you save the activation fee. You can use your OBC for the internet package.

Edited November 2, 2016 by BirdTravels

[kingoftheicedragons]

You also didn't mention what cell service you have.

 

While I can't comment on how much T mobile charges while at sea (as we've never done that), it does have international data at no additional cost to you (so long as you can get service--I've found signal strength to be lacking in some countries) in many countries in the Caribbean, including the Bahamas and Jamaica. It does mean that we just wait until we're in port to connect with emails and social media, etc. (even from the ship) without paying for wifi.

[dporter]

Hi we are on epic for 1 week from 23rd Dec. On Xmas day we will be sailing does anyone know if we will have a phone signal to call family back home?

 

Also will we have wifi in our rooms? Will we have to pay for this?

 

My boys rely a lot on there I pads (2 are autistic)

 

Thanks

 

Depending on what your boys access on their iPads you may be able to download things prior to boarding that can be used without an internet connection that would save some money.

[AlanFromFL]

You also didn't mention what cell service you have.

 

While I can't comment on how much T mobile charges while at sea (as we've never done that), it does have international data at no additional cost to you (so long as you can get service--I've found signal strength to be lacking in some countries) in many countries in the Caribbean, including the Bahamas and Jamaica. It does mean that we just wait until we're in port to connect with emails and social media, etc. (even from the ship) without paying for wifi.

 

We've had very good luck with T-Mobile around the Caribbean; their current plans offer unlimited text+data (albeit 2G-3G speeds) and 0.20/min talk.

[Familyfuntimes]

All our phone networks are on 02.

 

Thanks