AT&T Cruise Talk, Text & Data

[mzhibbs]

For seasoned TA cruisers with AT&T Cell, have  you ever used the AT&T Cruise Talk, Text & Data for $100, this is much cheaper then paying for VOOM for 14 days.  If you have experience using the AT&T package, did it work well?

[Hlitner]

Just keep in mind that if you are already getting (or buying) WiFi access on your ship you may not even need to get this package.  

 

Hank

[mzhibbs]

On 3/24/2022 at 4:49 PM, Hlitner said:

Just keep in mind that if you are already getting (or buying) WiFi access on your ship you may not even need to get this package.  

 

Hank

This would be much cheaper then what the cruise is offering, but just wanted to see if anyone here had experience using it.

 

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, mzhibbs said:

This would be much cheaper then what the cruise is offering, but just wanted to see if anyone here had experience using it.

 

Over the decades we have been cruising there seems to cycles when there are big changes that sweep through the industry.  Once upon a time WiFi on ships was either non-existent, very expensive, or did not really work :(.  Then a few cruise lines realized that some folks attached a lot of importance to the Internet so the lines began to improve their onboard service.  Now we are entering another phase where the cost of WiFi has been dropping like a rock and on some lines it is even free or part of various amenity packages.  Advances in satellite technology coupled with lower cost for more bandwidth has also played a big part in onboard WiFi.  On some ships/lines we are now surprised to find that the WiFi (and Internet) actually works most of the time and is usable (although still slow when compared to most connections on land).

 

I think within the next few years WiFi and Internet will be included in most packages and the quality/speed will continue to improve.  The use of onboard Cellular service (often via Cellular at Sea) is still very expensive and quickly becoming obsolete as most folks use the Internet and VOIP to handle phone calls.   

 

By the way, for those of us old enough to remember cruising in the 70s what we have today is amazing.  Back in the 70s  (and earlier decades) there was no onboard cell service or Wifi.  If you needed to make a "ship to shore" phone call it was do ne via radio connections and cost $8 -$12 a minute!  When ships reached most ports there were banks of phone booths (often right on the pier) so folks could call home (not inexpensive but far cheaper than ship to short).

 

Hank

[realtyone]

On 3/24/2022 at 1:49 PM, Hlitner said:

Just keep in mind that if you are already getting (or buying) WiFi access on your ship you may not even need to get this package.  

 

Hank

If I have WiFi access on the ship, Can I receive "text message" from my cell phone?

[Hlitner]

We have usually had no problem sending/receiving text msgs on our iPhones.  But just having "WiFi" access is not necessarily enough as you do need Internet access.  I only mention this because on some lines (such as Princess) it is theoretically possible to have access to the ship's "Intranet" system (which is how their onboard app operates) without having Internet access.  On many lines you must buy some kind of Internet package.  By the way, a good backup texting app is "Whatsapp"  which will work on any phone (iphones or Android) and is free.   Whatsapp also has the capability of being used as a phone or video app.

 

Hank

[Rick&Jeannie]

WhatsApp works great, especially if you are using Android.  Downside is that anybody you wish to communicate with must have the app loaded as well.  Not really a huge deal but it's not considered a "universal" fix for comms with *anyone*.

[Rick&Jeannie]

On 3/24/2022 at 4:39 PM, mzhibbs said:

For seasoned TA cruisers with AT&T Cell, have  you ever used the AT&T Cruise Talk, Text & Data for $100, this is much cheaper then paying for VOOM for 14 days.  If you have experience using the AT&T package, did it work well?

I have to admit...I was not familiar with the AT&T plan you mentioned.  I went and took a look at it just now...and had to LAUGH!  200mb of data is NOTHING for someone who really puts his/her phone or tablet to normal use.  I would be into the overage charge after probably the first day!  No...I'll stick with the ship package, thank you.