Using cell phone on the ship but in US port

[zaylyn2590]

Hi. I was wondering, I will be in Charleston and Port Canaveral on a cruise next week. Would I be able to use my phone while the ship is docked at the port and NOT incur data charges? 

[plethera1]

For my cruises in the past out of Canaveral, you can use your phone until you get out to sea.  I'm guessing you should be able to from Charleston as well.  I then turn on airplane mode so I don't accidentally incur any fees connecting from a foreign country.  

 

I'm going to the US Virgin Islands next summer so I'll need to look if I can connect there for free via my cell provider.

[Charles4515]

24 minutes ago, zaylyn2590 said:

Hi. I was wondering, I will be in Charleston and Port Canaveral on a cruise next week. Would I be able to use my phone while the ship is docked at the port and NOT incur data charges? 

Of course you can. The ship has to be at least 12 miles from land to have their cell service on. They can't have it on in port. They don't have a license for it in the US and there would be the chance non passengers would connect.

Edited December 16, 2022 by Charles4515

[PWP-001]

While in port you most likely would be able to connect with your cell phone provider and incur charges just as you would at home in Philadelphia.

 

However, when you initially board the ship and if you've purchased streaming internet from the ship for your cruise, then it's recommended to place your phone in Airplane Mode to avoid expensive roaming fees while at sea.

 

Furthermore, if you can find your particular phone's "Voice over WiFi" setting to turn it on, then your phone may allow you to make calls through the internet, thereby avoiding charges.

Edited December 16, 2022 by PWP-001

[zaylyn2590]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

Of course you can. The ship has to be at least 12 miles from land to have their cell service on. They can't have it on in port. They don't have a license for it in the US and there would be the chance non passengers would connect.

Thank you!

[zaylyn2590]

1 hour ago, PWP-001 said:

While in port you most likely would be able to connect with your cell phone provider and incur charges just as you would at home in Philadelphia.

 

However, when you initially board the ship and if you've purchased streaming internet from the ship for your cruise, then it's recommended to place your phone in Airplane Mode to avoid expensive roaming fees while at sea.

 

Furthermore, if you can find your particular phone's "Voice over WiFi" setting to turn it on, then your phone may allow you to make calls through the internet, thereby avoiding charges.

I usually put it in airplane mode when we set sail. Thank you!

[Ozark_Kid]

On the Alaska cruise I was able to get 5g on the balcony and in the solarium for awhile after leaving port. 

[Another_Critic]

I connected to Scotland cell service while sailing past the Shetland Islands (en route from Norway to Iceland).  😄

[smokeybandit]

Ships turn off Cellular at Sea 9-12 miles from shore, so you're fine.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

8 hours ago, plethera1 said:

I'm going to the US Virgin Islands next summer so I'll need to look if I can connect there for free via my cell provider.

We did at both USVI and Puerto Rico, works just like at home in CA.  

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

8 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Of course you can. The ship has to be at least 12 miles from land to have their cell service on. 

Maybe a little less.  Last month I could see Miami as we sailed south but got no land based service only AT SEA.  

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

8 hours ago, PWP-001 said:

Furthermore, if you can find your particular phone's "Voice over WiFi" setting to turn it on, then your phone may allow you to make calls through the internet, thereby avoiding charges.

Exactly what we do when we sail.  WiFi calling works great even in port.  If trying to send photos while in a US port I will switch to cellular only because it's faster.  

[Charles4515]

28 minutes ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

Maybe a little less.  Last month I could see Miami as we sailed south but got no land based service only AT SEA.  

US territorial waters are 12 nautical miles. 1 nautical mile equals about 1.15 mile. They can’t turn it on before reaching that. I have read that Cellular at Sea uses GPS to automatically turn on at distance. Probably not easy for passengers onboard to determine that distance.  I don’t wait long after leaving the port to turn on Airplane Mode because I found with everything going on I could forget. Can’t go by still getting your US carrier signal because they have no limit. 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Charles4515

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

5 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

US territorial waters are 12 nautical miles. 1 nautical mile equals about 1.15 mile. They can’t turn it on before reaching that. I have read that Cellular at Sea uses GPS to automatically turn on at distance. Probably not easy for passengers onboard to determine that distance.  I don’t wait long after leaving the port to turn on Airplane Mode because I found with everything going on I could forget. Can’t go by still getting your US carrier signal because they have no limit. 

 I usually go to Airplane mode as soon as we pull away and only use ships wifi calling unless we hit a US port and I can get ATT.  I could see the coast of FL on the horizon and just for research turned on cellular and it came up with AT SEA and not ATT.    

Edited December 17, 2022 by ATSEAMYLIFE

[Ret MP]

I'm going way back to 2017 and earlier here, so it may not apply anymore.  But, here goes:

 

When I was loyal to Rustbucket Cruise Lines, and on Healds Facebook page, the amount of complaints about unwanted charges because people were using their phone on embarkation, in port and debarkation, in port was amazing.  People saying that they were charged thousands of dollars by Rustbucket and were not warned about turning their phones on to "Airplane Mode".  Don't know if that is happening anymore.  But, because of that, I have learned, way back when, to turn my phone on during the transition from terminal to ship and from the ship to terminal.  Fortunately, I never got caught-up in that, I read Rustbuckets FAQ or whatever it was, about that issue, before I ever stepped a foot on their ships.  

 

I don't think it is as much of a problem now, at least with Royal cruisers.

 

Disclaimer:  This post is not intended to change anybody's mind about anything.  It's just a social media discussion.  There is no nefarious intentions. 

[Charles4515]

12 minutes ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

 I usually go to Airplane mode as soon as we pull away and only use ships wifi calling unless we hit a US port and I can get ATT.  I could see the coast of FL on the horizon and just for research turned on cellular and it came up with AT SEA and not ATT.    

Research is fine 😀 but your ship was beyond the US territorial limit if Cellular at Sea was on. 

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

2 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Research is fine 😀 but your ship was beyond the US territorial limit if Cellular at Sea was on. 

 I guess we could have been.  Not that it mattered I'm not paying that per minute price.  

[Charles4515]

22 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

People saying that they were charged thousands of dollars by Rustbucket and were not warned about turning their phones on to "Airplane Mode"

Back in those days passengers were not as savvy about Airplane Mode, data roaming and roaming charges.There are still a lot of confused people.  Many did not understand or know what they needed to do when leaving the US.  Then they got home and got the bill. So they would claim they had turned off roaming to get out of their mistake. I believe though that the cruise lines did not sufficiantly warn passengers and usually the persons carrier would forgive the charges. This was not just on Carnival by the way. It did happened on Royal too. 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Charles4515

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we've used our phones in both PR and St Thomas (ATT) to call and send texts without incurring any extra charges, since they are US territories. Including the times on the ship while still in port. We turn the airplane mode on before the ship leaves the port, though.

[Charles4515]

31 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we've used our phones in both PR and St Thomas (ATT) to call and send texts without incurring any extra charges, since they are US territories. Including the times on the ship while still in port. We turn the airplane mode on before the ship leaves the port, though.

That is the safest course but leaving Manhattan and Bayonne I don’t turn on airplane mode until getting to the entrance to New York Harbor. The ship is not at sea within the harbor.  Cruising out of Baltimore it is hours to the Atlantic ocean so I turned on Airplane Mode before I went to bed. 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Charles4515

[BND]

You can absolutely use your phone in US ports while onboard.  We do it all the time.  We also used ours in San Juan and St. Thomas.  We cruise out of Baltimore all the time and don't turn on airplane mode until we get past the bridge tunnel (rt 13) (at the bay/ocean).  We've also done the SE coast cruise several times and as soon as we're in port in Charleston or PC we turn off airplane mode.  Also do the same thing in New England (Mass and Maine).