Signal on ship, whilst at Port @ Norway

[gteach]

Hi all,

 

It is known that the WiFi on board P&O ships is very expensive, and it is also known that if you try and use your roaming data whilst at sea it will cost you a lot.

 

What about if the ship is docked at Port and you remain on the boat, if you turned your roaming data on will it connect to the maritime roaming data which costs a lot or will it connect to one of Norway providers?

 

(my phone package includes roaming data in Norway)

 

Asking as we are planning to stay onboard at one of the ports!

[CCFC]

The ship provides a WiFi signal, if you turn on roaming it will connect to a phone signal (as opposed to WiFi) as its data you want. Should be fine, I have done it several times.

 

Data and WiFi are two separate connections, you will sign into WiFi.

Edited September 19, 2022 by CCFC

[gteach]

43 minutes ago, CCFC said:

The ship provides a WiFi signal, if you turn on roaming it will connect to a phone signal (as opposed to WiFi) as its data you want. Should be fine, I have done it several times.

 

Data and WiFi are two separate connections, you will sign into WiFi.

Yes but I also read that there is maritime roaming charges? 

I just want to make sure that when docked, I can connect to norway providers and not the maritime roaming charge 

[Thejuggler]

Depending on the port you may be to get Port Authority wifi.

 

Otherwise you need to go into the mobile data network and and the phone should identify the mobile network providers available, select the Norwegian one which offers free data roaming.  Just remember its only free roaming until your plan inclusive data runs out.

[cbjroms]

I keep roaming switched-off when the ship is at sea and switch it on when we get into port. It then connects to local provider.

[gteach]

37 minutes ago, cbjroms said:

I keep roaming switched-off when the ship is at sea and switch it on when we get into port. It then connects to local provider.

Even if you stay on the ship in port? 

[FangedRose]

30 minutes ago, gteach said:

Even if you stay on the ship in port? 

Yes.

[terrierjohn]

34 minutes ago, gteach said:

Even if you stay on the ship in port? 

Yes, the maritime service is switched off when in port.

[CCFC]

Turn your WiFi off and you wont be able to connect to the ship.

[AlanCruise]

Turning off WiFi will not affect what network you connect to!
On P&O you can connect to the ship WiFi free of charge for the MyHoliday "App" but this does not conect to the outside internet.
You normally get a text when you connect to a network and many UK service providers will not connect to the maritime network unless you specifically opt in.

[terrierjohn]

41 minutes ago, CCFC said:

Turn your WiFi off and you wont be able to connect to the ship.

You don't need to switch wi-fi off, the ships internet is different to the maritime service, and when in port the maritime service is switched off, leaving you able to connect to any local mobile phone service.

[bobstheboy]

23 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

You don't need to switch wi-fi off, the ships internet is different to the maritime service, and when in port the maritime service is switched off, leaving you able to connect to any local mobile phone service.

Are you sure ?

 

We were on a MSC ship 6 years ago in an Italian port, onboard ship. My wife made a phone call, believing she was roaming and ok. When we returned home we had £17 charge for connecting to the maritime service.

 

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, bobstheboy said:

Are you sure ?

 

We were on a MSC ship 6 years ago in an Italian port, onboard ship. My wife made a phone call, believing she was roaming and ok. When we returned home we had £17 charge for connecting to the maritime service.

 

Ìi was specifically referring to P&O, although I think that Princess and RCI  and Celebrity operate in a similar fashion.

[sleepingcat]

We were cruising earlier this year and used our uk included roaming provision to connect in to local in country network providers.  when you get to a port (or sometimes while still at sea) your phone will let you know with a txt which network it has found (if any). If you've got roaming data in your phone contract then you ll have the internet as soon as you find a network. I use O2 which has not introduced roaming charges at all yet.  I switched mobile data off while on the ship and did not use the maritime network.   

 

as far as free wifi is concerned, just follow the crew ashore, they always know where the free wifi outlets in or near the port are located. sometimes you have to get off into the cruise terminal before you get a decent signal, its not usually good enough from the ship deck.

[Host Sharon]

Just note that in the fjords, phone signals can be hit and miss. 

[Fitzplumbago]

As others have said, just make sure your phone is connected to a non maritime network before switching roaming on, and always switch back off after use to be on the safe side. I was actually surprised how well roaming worked for me in Norway. Be careful though as one of the local networks is Telenor, which is fine for roaming , but has the same name as the ship’s maritime network, Telenor Maritime.
 

I find that as long as I can see land from the ship and am near that side, I can usually manually hunt for land signal and switch over from the maritime network. But that is usually to satisfy my wanting to identify nearby ships! 🤓