T-Mobile on HAL ships

[The-Inside-Cabin]

I recently switched to T-Mobile from ATT - I will have my first cruise on HAL in Jan with T-Mobile.

 

A few questions:

 

The T-Mobile website lists the following HAL ships as working with T-Mobile

 

 

This is obviously not a current list as the Amsterdam and Prinsendam are no longer with HAL.   I suspect

T Mobile will work with Cellular at Sea on any HAL ship - Please confirm.

 

ATT has no charge for incoming SMS text and charges 50 cents for outgoing without media and $1.30 for a SMS text with a photo attached.   T-mobile says outgoing texts are 50 cents but doesn't address texts with photos.   Does anyone know what T-Mobile charges for outgoing SMS texts using cellular at sea with photos.  I called T- Mobile and they didn't know but assumed it was 50 cents cuz that's what is says  (I know that sending imessages and WhatsApp are different and that's not my question)

 

ATT does not charge for  phone calls that ring on the ship but go to voice mail.   Tmobile is less clear.  Some people on the Tmobile forum - say they have had mixed results - some set their phones to autoforward all calls to voice mail to prevent this possibility.   What are other people experiencing?

 

ATT sells a cruise ship package with unlimited phone calls for $100 a month - T-Mobile doesn't offer any cruise ship packages and charge $5.99 a minute for phone calls.  I know about wifi calling, using airplane mode and turning off data roaming when necessary - don't need any info about those subjects.. 

 

We have the Magenta MAX plan

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by The-Inside-Cabin

[jettaleea]

1 minute ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

I recently switched to T-Mobile from ATT - I will have my first cruise on HAL in Jan with T-Mobile.

 

A few questions:

 

The T-Mobile website lists the following HAL ships as working with T-Mobile

 

 

This is obviously not a current list as the Amsterdam and Prinsendam are no longer with HAL.   I suspect

T Mobile will work with Cellular at Sea on any HAL ship - Please confirm.

 

ATT has no charge for incoming SMS text and charges 50 cents for outgoing without media and $1.30 for a SMS text with a photo attached.   T-mobile says outgoing texts are 50 cents but doesn't address texts with photos.   Does anyone know what T-Mobile charges for outgoing SMS texts using cellular at sea with photos.  I called T- Mobile and they didn't know but assumed it was 50 cents cuz that's what is says  (I know that sending imessages and WhatsApp are different and that's not my question)

 

ATT does not charge for  phone calls that ring on the ship but go to voice mail.   Tmobile is less clear.  Some people on the Tmobile forum - say they have had mixed results - some set their phones to autoforward all calls to voice mail to prevent this possibility.   What are other people experiencing?

 

ATT sells a cruise ship package with unlimited phone calls for $100 a month - T-Mobile doesn't offer any cruise ship packages and charge $5.99 a minute for phone calls.  I know about wifi calling, using airplane mode and turning off data roaming when necessary - don't need any info about those subjects.. 

 

We have the Magenta MAX plan

 

 

 

 

 

We have T mobile and only use our phones while in port. We keep them in airplane mode onboard. We haven't done any international calling 

[REOVA]

We also couldn't get correct Info from customer service so didn't want to use it at sea. We have Magenta 55+ and I guess we  could have called someone while onboard or sent a photo and tested and checked if/what they charged, but my understanding is using cellular at sea adds their fees (roaming / data charge) even if T-mobile "works" with the ship. I dIdn't think data is part of their ship plan. 

 

After a few years of good service we just ordered my DW updated phone that was supposed to arrive days ago to the store. Tracking says the address was not found because the sales person typed the store"s address wrong. Phone is in transit and customer service online chat said they need to call courier to reroute phone and callme back (cickets). When I called the dealer/store, they said there is nothing they can do as phone is sent back and we would need to come in and reorder/repay for a phone. Two different responses and no real answers (like my response here 🤷‍♂️)

 

When you turn off airplane mode, does it give you a welcome text (like in Countries) for Cellular At Sea and give rates? I assume adding photos would charge some type of data rate in addition to text cost on ship, even with unlimited data plan at home. 

 

[jettaleea]

Just now, REOVA said:

We also couldn't get correct Info from customer service so didn't want to use it at sea. We have Magenta 55+ and I guess we  could have called someone while onboard or sent a photo and tested and checked if/what they charged, but my understanding is using cellular at sea adds their fees (roaming / data charge) even if T-mobile "works" with the ship. I dIdn't think data is part of their ship plan. 

 

After a few years of good service we just ordered my DW updated phone that was supposed to arrive days ago to the store. Tracking says the address was not found because the sales person typed the store"s address wrong. Phone is in transit and customer service online chat said they need to call courier to reroute phone and callme back (cickets). When I called the dealer/store, they said there is nothing they can do as phone is sent back and we would need to come in and reorder/repay for a phone. Two different responses and no real answers (like my response here 🤷‍♂️)

 

When you turn off airplane mode, does it give you a welcome text (like in Countries) for Cellular At Sea and give rates? I assume adding photos would charge some type of data rate in addition to text cost on ship, even with unlimited data plan at home. 

 

We get a welcome text from the country but nothing about Cellular at Sea. We have unlimited data and texting. No extra charge for uploading photos.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

2 hours ago, REOVA said:

 

 

When you turn off airplane mode, does it give you a welcome text (like in Countries) for Cellular At Sea and give rates? I assume adding photos would charge some type of data rate in addition to text cost on ship, even with unlimited data plan at home. 

 

With ATT I would get a text like this each day when I connected to Celluar at Sea.  Does T Mobile send out something similar?

 

[wesport]

I have T-Mobile. Just got off the Oosterdam. When on the ship always keep in airplane mode. I had the surf internet, and was able to make phone calls via the what’s app app over ships internet. Not a great connection, but it did work. When in port , you have data , calls at 25 cents a minute.  You can buy a day pass for faster data for the day at I believe $5. Have been very satisfied with T-Mobile. 

[NCTribeFan]

I switched to T-Mobile (Magenta Max) just before my trip to Rome in October and a B2B2B to Tampa on Carnival Pride.  I did NOT try to use the phone on the ship except for what was included in my purchased wi-fi plan.  So only photos I sent were via FB.

 

I'll have wi-fi on the Rotterdam TA (booked HIA) but on the following two 5-night sailings, I don't have wi-fi.  Would be nice to know if I can use my phone on those sea days to send w/o incurring extra charges.  Typically, I'll just wait until the next day while in port.

[PACD_JG]

T-Mobile: Welcome to The Caribbean! Your plan includes coverage that gives you unlimited data On Us now at faster speeds up to 256Kbps, plus unlimited texts at no extra cost. Calls are $0.25/min. Want high-speed data and unlimited calling? Get an International Pass: t-mo.co/intl-pass1. Enjoy your stay!

[travelers07]

Hi all! Have loved T-Mobile and used since they started the Simple Global plan. Have recently been adding the international mobile pass for 30 days- faster speed and no cost for phone calls. The first time I use the international data, I have gotten the offer for the add on with choices. Cost for 39 day pass was $50. Been working for me.

 

Here is the text after I purchase the pass-

 

T-Mobile: Welcome to Canada! Your plan includes coverage that gives you 5GB/mo. of high- data On Us, plus unlimited calls and texts to and from the US at no extra cost. Enjoy your stay!

 

I looked back through my texts and found one while on the Zaandam in July. Sometimes I forget to turn airplane mode back on and this is what I get from T-Mobile. 

 

 Caution- Airline/Cruise Ship is NOT covered in your T-Mobile plan!  Data is $15/MB+ tax, $.50/text. It adds up quickly- dial #763# to disable data and switch to Wi-Fi to browse the internet or check emails.

I then quickly turn back to airplane mode so can’t say how the charges add up.

Good luck with the new plan. Always a learning curve with new technology!  

[AryMay]

7 hours ago, REOVA said:

 

When you turn off airplane mode, does it give you a welcome text (like in Countries) for Cellular At Sea and give rates? I assume adding photos would charge some type of data rate in addition to text cost on ship, even with unlimited data plan at home. 

 

 

A few years ago we had a late night in port and I went to bed without switching my phone back to airplane mode. About 2 am I woke up when I heard a text message come through on my phone saying "Welcome to Cellular at Sea". Thank goodness I got the alert and got the phone switched off ASAP!

 

It is fun looking back through my old text messages welcoming me to so many countries! 

 

 

[Fred321]

Curious what you are doing since you will be out of the country for more than 3 months. Know there was a lot of discussion about this on the zoom calls. We also have t Mobile and use it very rarely but it seems that once you are out of the country for 3 months they will threaten to stop service. Best advice we could get from stores and customer service was to suspend service on my phone for two months and only use m wife's and then suspend hers for the final two months and begin to use mine. Have you gotten any other advice?

[Hlitner]

We actually switched to T-Mobile after talking to some HAL staff on the Prinsendam (who all had T-Mobile).  But we do always leave our phones in Airplane Mode with Wifi enabled.  We also buy (or get free) onboard WiFi/Internet.  We can than text from our phones which is free since it goes through the Internet and not Cellular at Sea.  As to phone calls, it depends on the cruise line.  On some cruises we can make VOIP phone calls using WiFi.  WhatsApp is a decent option (for connecting with folks) over the Internet.   Since we have not been on HAL for some time (HAL cancelled our last 3 cruises) we do not know if HAL's onboard Internet blocks VOIP options.

 

T-Mobile works in over 200 countries so we use it when ashore (or close enough to land to connect to a land tower).  

 

No way do we turn off Airplane Mode, when at sea, as we do not want to take a chance on the device connecting to the ship's Cellular at Sea system and perhaps doing things in the background at a great expense.  While it is possible to manually shut down all the background stuff on a device, it is a little complicated and one always wonders if they forget to turn something off.  You can find nightmare stories about folks who inadvertently ran up bills of hundreds and even thousands of dollars because they turned off airplane mode and their devices did things in the background (such as upgrading apps).

 

Hank

[travelers07]

4 minutes ago, Fred321 said:

Curious what you are doing since you will be out of the country for more than 3 months. Know there was a lot of discussion about this on the zoom calls. We also have t Mobile and use it very rarely but it seems that once you are out of the country for 3 months they will threaten to stop service. Best advice we could get from stores and customer service was to suspend service on my phone for two months and only use m wife's and then suspend hers for the final two months and begin to use mine. Have you gotten any other advice?

I have thought about this just in case I do a longer cruise. I did the VOV in July/August and was out of US about 7 weeks. Should have been just fine but I got a warning when I got back. Can’t find the text now but it was something about too much international usage and they could cut off my plan if it continues. 
 

Since my daughter lives in Germany I sure don’t want to lose my plan! In researching this, I found that people who seem to know said it is based on cellular service and not WiFi. Suggestion was to use more cellular in US since that is what T-Mobile looks at to compare. So now when I am home I sometimes turn off WiFi and use cellular. I really don’t know if this will help but cellular is free and it can’t hurt. 

I like your suggestion about 2 phones. I travel solo now since my DH passed away last year, but I do still have 2 phones with service. I keep one turned off but is available if needed. Is that too paranoid? 😊

 

Keep us informed with any other ideas please! 

 

[travelers07]

Just to confirm- What’s App works on HAL and Princess- assuming you have WiFi coverage.  In fact, What’s App is what I use to talk, text, or video with my daughter in Germany when I am in the US. She tells me that is the preferred method at least in her area or other places she travels in Europe. Works on WiFi or cellular. Keep in mind- cellular rates are charged according to your plan. 

[Hlitner]

5 minutes ago, travelers07 said:

Just to confirm- What’s App works on HAL and Princess- assuming you have WiFi coverage.  In fact, What’s App is what I use to talk, text, or video with my daughter in Germany when I am in the US. She tells me that is the preferred method at least in her area or other places she travels in Europe. Works on WiFi or cellular. Keep in mind- cellular rates are charged according to your plan. 

We also use Facetime (for voice and video calls) with no problem.  But this is only an option if both parties are using Apple devices.  Whatsapp works on any phone which is always a nice backup for us.

 

Hank

[mcrcruiser]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We also use Facetime (for voice and video calls) with no problem.  But this is only an option if both parties are using Apple devices.  Whatsapp works on any phone which is always a nice backup for us.

 

Hank

Hank  on a Android Samsung phone using T Mobile is the airplane mode on when the  on button is Blue in color ?  TIA

[Hlitner]

5 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Hank  on a Android Samsung phone using T Mobile is the airplane mode on when the  on button is Blue in color ?  TIA

Have no clue.  Only use iPhones

[richwmn]

15 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Hank  on a Android Samsung phone using T Mobile is the airplane mode on when the  on button is Blue in color ?  TIA

On Samsung A12 and S10e Airplane mode is active when icon is blue

and a small airplane appears on the status line

Edited December 9, 2022 by richwmn

[mcrcruiser]

15 minutes ago, richwmn said:

On Samsung A12 and S10e Airplane mode is active when icon is blue

and a small airplane appears on the status line

Thanks appreciate your help    The icon is blue  so it is on airplane mode & that means no info coming into the phone from the ships cell tower ,,correct ?

[The-Inside-Cabin]

3 hours ago, Fred321 said:

Curious what you are doing since you will be out of the country for more than 3 months. Know there was a lot of discussion about this on the zoom calls. We also have t Mobile and use it very rarely but it seems that once you are out of the country for 3 months they will threaten to stop service. Best advice we could get from stores and customer service was to suspend service on my phone for two months and only use m wife's and then suspend hers for the final two months and begin to use mine. Have you gotten any other advice?

Some people have had issues after 3 months, others haven't.  If I have an issue, I will be ready with my GLOCALME Hotspot for the last month.   T-Mobile was cheaper than ATT - include Apple +  Netflix and Inflight wifi - plus I will save $150 a month for at least the first 3 months...  https://www.glocalme.com/

 

ATT has cruise ship plans, which are nice if you want to make a lot of calls.   My phones are unlocked - so if they hassle me to much I can switch back to ATT in a couple of hours - with an Esim - its pretty easy. 

 

The key to avoiding roaming charges on a cruise ship - is to have DATA ROAMING OFF - then airplane mode doesn't matter.   This way you can still receive SMS texts etc..

 

I also learned that if you swipe down when your phone starts ringing, you can see if the incoming call is via WiFi - Free or via Cell - not free  - if you see T-Mobile WiFi - you should be good to go.  If you see Celluar at Sea - Danger !

 

 

[REOVA]

1 hour ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

 

 

The key to avoiding roaming charges on a cruise ship - is to have DATA ROAMING OFF - then airplane mode doesn't matter.   This way you can still receive SMS texts etc..

 

 

 

 

Pete, are you able to send photos via text with data roaming off? I don't have an IPhone and I know Apple uses 2 different messaging networks. I thought sending or receiving a photo/file would use some data using MMS. SMS allows a link sent, but adding photo would need data, doesn't it? 

[socalcruisers2]

5 hours ago, travelers07 said:

Just to confirm- What’s App works on HAL and Princess- assuming you have WiFi coverage.  In fact, What’s App is what I use to talk, text, or video with my daughter in Germany when I am in the US. She tells me that is the preferred method at least in her area or other places she travels in Europe. Works on WiFi or cellular. Keep in mind- cellular rates are charged according to your plan. 

I used Messenger recently on a Zuiderdam- Fr. Poly trip after the antenna used for WiFi was damaged in Papeete.  The cruise home was fought with connectivity problems for all onboard the ship from the bridge down, but I was able to message family in the USA and Portugal without problem.  I saw no change to my phone billing.  I had been on a ship premium WiFi plan before service konked out and became mostly unusable until 3 days out from San Diego

[socalcruisers2]

Just now, socalcruisers2 said:

I used Messenger recently on a Zuiderdam- Fr. Poly trip after the antenna used for WiFi was damaged in Papeete.  The cruise home was fought with connectivity problems for all onboard the ship from the bridge down, but I was able to message family in the USA and Portugal without problem.  I saw no change to my phone billing.  I had been on a ship premium WiFi plan before service konked out and became mostly unusable until 3 days out from San Diego

I too have Tmobile

[travelers07]

Yes, I have also used Messenger but I am more familiar with What’sApp.

 

I was on Sky Princess last March and they actually sent us an email before the cruise that everyone’s WiFi was being credited because the ship would not have WiFi at sea. Can’t quite remember their wording was but we all knew it was the fault of Princess because we had no WiFi even at the dock in Ft Lauderdale. 
 

Funny thing happened after about 5 days at sea and no outside contact- one of my table mate’s phones actually rang. This was at a table for 10 and we all just stopped and were shocked that someone from the outside world was calling! The gentleman left the table to take the call and when he returned we all wanted to know how it happened. His friend had called him using What’s App and it worked. As I found out later, several of these new apps use much less bandwidth and can actually work even on a ship with WiFi issues. 
 

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

11 minutes ago, REOVA said:

Pete, are you able to send photos via text with data roaming off? I don't have an IPhone and I know Apple uses 2 different messaging networks. I thought sending or receiving a photo/file would use some data using MMS. SMS allows a link sent, but adding photo would need data, doesn't it? 

I was charged $1.30 by ATT for an SMS last month when I was on Wonder of the Seas.   Data Roaming was off - but I was connected to WiFi  -  

 

Hmmm- I thought that pictures had to use some data - but I was connected to wifi.    Here was my bill.   50 cents for text  1.30 for one with a picture.....Not sure how this actually works....but data roaming was OFF - I was connected to WIFI and Celluar at Sea - Unless - part of the surcharge for a photo text is to pay for your snippet of data or something..  I was using an Iphone

 

hmmmmm