AT&T Cell Phone Service

[richwmn]

I happened upon this page Cruise Ship Plans while searching for something else.

 

Last time I called (in December) I was told that the best plan I could get would be the "Passport" plan that would work on the islands, but this seems better.

 

 

Plan prices are for 30 days and expire automatically.

 

 

Talk only:

$30

50 Minutes of voice calls, $1/minute overage

 

Talk and Text

$60

50 Minutes of voice, $1/minute overage

100 text messages, $.50 per message sent overage

 

Talk, Text and Data

50 Minutes of voice, $1/minute overage

100 text messages, $.50 per message sent overage

100 mb data, $10 per 10 mb data

 

Non Plan Prices

Voice $2.50 / minute

$.50 per text message sent

$1.30 per picture sent

$8.19 / 10 mb data

[Charles4515]

I happened upon this page Cruise Ship Plans while searching for something else.

 

Last time I called (in December) I was told that the best plan I could get would be the "Passport" plan that would work on the islands, but this seems better.

 

 

 

I can add unlimited voice, text and data to my AT&T plan for $10 a day. It only gets added if I use it. This is a new option since December if you have a Share plan.

[Crew News]

I can add unlimited voice, text and data to my AT&T plan for $10 a day. It only gets added if I use it. This is a new option since December if you have a Share plan.

 

This is a great deal. The only downside is that it is triggered whenever you call OR receive voice/text.

[USN59-79]

I happened upon this page Cruise Ship Plans while searching for something else.

 

Last time I called (in December) I was told that the best plan I could get would be the "Passport" plan that would work on the islands, but this seems better.

 

 

Plan prices are for 30 days and expire automatically.

 

 

Talk only:

$30

50 Minutes of voice calls, $1/minute overage

 

Talk and Text

$60

50 Minutes of voice, $1/minute overage

100 text messages, $.50 per message sent overage

 

Talk, Text and Data

50 Minutes of voice, $1/minute overage

100 text messages, $.50 per message sent overage

100 mb data, $10 per 10 mb data

 

Non Plan Prices

Voice $2.50 / minute

$.50 per text message sent

$1.30 per picture sent

$8.19 / 10 mb data

Thanks for this. There are some severe limitations, like it is only good in the Caribbean Islands. For the rest of the world the Passport plan seems to be better and less expensive; there is a link to it on the website. It is clear that the Passport plan works on land, not at sea. It is not clear it this plan will work at sea. Incidentally, we use AT&T and I have a sim chip in my iPad. Worked great for wifi when we were in port or within a few miles of any of the ports in Alaska.

[richwmn]

Thanks for this. There are some severe limitations, like it is only good in the Caribbean Islands. For the rest of the world the Passport plan seems to be better and less expensive; there is a link to it on the website. It is clear that the Passport plan works on land, not at sea. It is not clear it this plan will work at sea. Incidentally, we use AT&T and I have a sim chip in my iPad. Worked great for wifi when we were in port or within a few miles of any of the ports in Alaska.

from the linked page:

Save on talk, text, and data usage over pay-per-use rates while at sea and on land in Canada, Mexico, and some Caribbean islands.

As far as the limitations, when using the ship's cell service it might be available any time the cell service is on, ie "at sea", since the sat link is always connected via the same ground station.

 

for Charles4515 - I believe the plan you are talking about is International Day Pass Plan which does not work with the ship's cell tower.

[mame42]

A Verizon rep advised me that if I wanted a truly international phone, AT&T was the only way to go. I have received calls and texts in exotic and strange locations, including a hometown tornado alert at 2:00 AM on a ship somewhere in the middle of the southwest Pacific.

[Charles4515]

 

for Charles4515 - I believe the plan you are talking about is International Day Pass Plan which does not work with the ship's cell tower.

 

Right. The other person mentioned using the Passport Plan on the islands. I mentioned the new International Day Plan because I think it is better than the Passport Plan for the islands. While at sea I use WiFi calling with the ships internet package.

[sailorgirl]

from the linked page:

As far as the limitations, when using the ship's cell service it might be available any time the cell service is on, ie "at sea", since the sat link is always connected via the same ground station.

 

for Charles4515 - I believe the plan you are talking about is International Day Pass Plan which does not work with the ship's cell tower.

 

Yes, it's my understanding the $10 a day plan is for countries - not on the cruise ship.

[CruiserBruce]

This is a great deal. The only downside is that it is triggered whenever you call OR receive voice/text.

 

If you are referring to the International Day Pass, this statement is not true. The fine print says if you call or receive a call, use data or send a text.

 

We know...DW accidentally had her phone turned on in Aruba last month, and got a text from ATT welcoming her to the International system. She immediately shut down here phone. No $10 charge.

[Talex831]

If you are referring to the International Day Pass, this statement is not true. The fine print says if you call or receive a call, use data or send a text.

 

 

 

We know...DW accidentally had her phone turned on in Aruba last month, and got a text from ATT welcoming her to the International system. She immediately shut down here phone. No $10 charge.

 

 

 

Messages from AT&T do not count. They send you a warning message to let you know you've gone onto a different network/roaming, etc.

 

If you have the International Day Pass and get calls, text, etc., the $10 day starts.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[CruiserBruce]

Messages from AT&T do not count. They send you a warning message to let you know you've gone onto a different network/roaming, etc.

 

If you have the International Day Pass and get calls, text, etc., the $10 day starts.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I am just telling you what the fine print says. Literally, in the phone bill that was waiting for us when we got home was a handout on the International phone program. The fine print I mentioned in my post was a quote from that handout.

[SusieKay]

I was on the Koningsdam a few weeks ago and used the International Day Pass Plan. Only place service was a bit iffy was Amber Cove. I knew it wouldn't work on the ship so just turned phone off while at sea.

No surprise charges, just the $60 I was expecting.

[themerle]

Thanks for sharing this information.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

You might want to look into Skype.

[greyfoxrepublic]

We are doing a b2b in Dec 2017 on Norwegian originating in Miami, thru the canal, around the horn and dismbark in Buenos Aires. While looking at communications for our needs, AT&T International Day Pass looks like clearly the best deal and about 1/2 the cruise are port days. We'll keep the phones (Samsung S7 and 6) in airplane mode until in port. My general plan is this:

 

1)Connect with one of the phones and make it tether (to provide a personal wifi cloud)

2)We have laptops and we'll connect to that cloud and sync email (I use thunderbird) and hangouts etc.

3)Connect to websites as necessary - e.g. to pay a bill or whatever.

4) oh, make a phone call or two.

 

I'd want to use a VPN particularly for any banking.

 

I spoke with what seemed to be a knowledgeable AT&T person who said that a) tethering will work ok and b) the vpn will be ok.

 

Does anyone know differently?

[WisRiver]

The Verizon rep who suggested AT&T should consider T-Mobile. We have been using T-Mobile internationally for the past ten years, especially in Mexico and Europe. There is no additional cost and texts are free. Voice calls are $.20 a minute. There is also free data, but speeds can be slow (2G). You need a quad band GSM phone (iPhone SE works perfect). T-Mobile's domestic coverage is not as extensive at AT&T's.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

We are doing a b2b in Dec 2017 on Norwegian originating in Miami, thru the canal, around the horn and dismbark in Buenos Aires. While looking at communications for our needs, AT&T International Day Pass looks like clearly the best deal and about 1/2 the cruise are port days. We'll keep the phones (Samsung S7 and 6) in airplane mode until in port. My general plan is this:

 

 

 

1)Connect with one of the phones and make it tether (to provide a personal wifi cloud)

 

2)We have laptops and we'll connect to that cloud and sync email (I use thunderbird) and hangouts etc.

 

3)Connect to websites as necessary - e.g. to pay a bill or whatever.

 

4) oh, make a phone call or two.

 

 

 

I'd want to use a VPN particularly for any banking.

 

 

 

I spoke with what seemed to be a knowledgeable AT&T person who said that a) tethering will work ok and b) the vpn will be ok.

 

 

 

Does anyone know differently?

 

 

Be cautious when tethering a laptop to a mobile access point. Laptop data use can far exceed what you may expect. Your VPN will work, but eat up the data quickly

 

Once I blew thru 1 GB very quickly doing this. Laptop browsing will often auto pull down video etc....experiment at home before you go to adjust settings and check usage.

 

I use Glocalme. I buy the cheapest ATT passport and augment with Glocalme. Buy it on Amazon.

https://www.glocalme.com

[Baseball fan]

This is a great deal. The only downside is that it is triggered whenever you call OR receive voice/text.

 

 

 

This is great to know. I was looking into this plan for my <48 hours in Barcelona before boarding my ship. I will turn my phone on upon my arrival in Europe.....

 

Years ago their plan was per calendar day (12am to 1159pm) not rolling 24 hours.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Charles4515]

We are doing a b2b in Dec 2017 on Norwegian originating in Miami, thru the canal, around the horn and dismbark in Buenos Aires. While looking at communications for our needs, AT&T International Day Pass looks like clearly the best deal and about 1/2 the cruise are port days. We'll keep the phones (Samsung S7 and 6) in airplane mode until in port. My general plan is this:

 

1)Connect with one of the phones and make it tether (to provide a personal wifi cloud)

2)We have laptops and we'll connect to that cloud and sync email (I use thunderbird) and hangouts etc.

3)Connect to websites as necessary - e.g. to pay a bill or whatever.

4) oh, make a phone call or two.

 

I'd want to use a VPN particularly for any banking.

 

I spoke with what seemed to be a knowledgeable AT&T person who said that a) tethering will work ok and b) the vpn will be ok.

 

Does anyone know differently?

 

I don't think you need a VPN when on a cell network connecting to your bank. Your bank will be using a secure connection. A VPN is useful at WiFi hotspots because the hotspot likely is not secure, particularly hot spots that don't have a log on password. Public WiFi hotspots can not be trusted. Cell networks should not be open that way.

 

On my Europe trip and cruise I got back a week ago the AT&T International Day Pass worked quite well. I only used it on port days. On sea days I put the phone in Airplane Mode and used 150 minutes of free WiFi I had from Princess as a loyalty perk. I actually only used 90 minutes of it because the Princess WiFi sucked. Also my VPN did not work on Princess,

 

Tethering worked most of the time but one day it didn't. It might have been an issue on the network I was roaming on.

 

My friend who has Verizion used their day pass. One day he got a text saying he went over a 1GB a day limit and was being slowed down that day. I don't know anything about Verizions limits as I don't have their service but I didn't get anything like that from AT&T. I have an unlimited AT&T plan.

[Reagan0712]

AT&T has a cruise ship plan that I asked about on another thread. Has anyone tried this? If so, does it work at sea.

Don't want to be on phone all time, but need to check in at least once a week and the first 9 days of upcoming cruise are at sea.

[Tampa Girl]

Right. The other person mentioned using the Passport Plan on the islands. I mentioned the new International Day Plan because I think it is better than the Passport Plan for the islands. While at sea I use WiFi calling with the ships internet package.

 

Why do you think the new International Day Plan is better than the Passport Plan?

[Tampa Girl]

I happened upon this page Cruise Ship Plans while searching for something else.

 

Last time I called (in December) I was told that the best plan I could get would be the "Passport" plan that would work on the islands, but this seems better.

 

 

Plan prices are for 30 days and expire automatically.

 

 

Talk only:

$30

50 Minutes of voice calls, $1/minute overage

 

Talk and Text

$60

50 Minutes of voice, $1/minute overage

100 text messages, $.50 per message sent overage

 

Talk, Text and Data

50 Minutes of voice, $1/minute overage

100 text messages, $.50 per message sent overage

100 mb data, $10 per 10 mb data

 

Non Plan Prices

Voice $2.50 / minute

$.50 per text message sent

$1.30 per picture sent

$8.19 / 10 mb data

 

If the above rates refer to the Passport Plan, the rates have apparently changed since December. The $40 for thirty days, one-time or recurring charge includes unlimited talk and text messages. Check the AT&T International Plans site.

[Charles4515]

Why do you think the new International Day Plan is better than the Passport Plan?

 

 

 

It is better for me because for $10 per 24 hours I get the same unlimited voice, data and text as my US plan. I don't have to worry about going over. The day pass only kicks in if you use it. So on the seven day cruise the cost was $40. Three days pre cruise in London $30.

[greyfoxrepublic]

Charles et al., I kind of like the $10/day plan that only triggers if you use it. For me, and incentive to stay on vacation and not make that call, email etc. :)

I think a behavioral economist would suggest we tend to eat more at buffets. Well, I do anyway.

jim

[Wants to cruise]

Interesting thread, good info. However, discussion seems centered on Carribean and Europe. What has anyone tried in the Asia, SE Asia, Australia, pacific region? Will away for 80 days (first trip to Pacific Rim countries) and would like a plan works there. Thanks in advance! (Please keep it simple, I'm not a techie!) :D

Edited September 11, 2017 by Wants to cruise
spelling error?