Cell phone in port question

[rjack22]

If my ship is in port.   And I am still on the ship.   And I turn airplane mode off in order to get a cell signal.   Will I pick up the signal from land or will it somehow connect to the ship and thereby cost me a lot of money if I use my phone?    I am thinking that this might be the best time to catch up on email, phone calls, etc.   I have T-Mobile and I will have unlimited text and 5GB of data for free in port.   Voice calls will be $.25 per minute.    But that is assuming a connection to the towers on land and not the shlip.

[LACruiser88]

If you are in port, your phone will link with the land cell sites.

[MissP22]

o

[antsp]

The ships cell network switches off when it's near land or in port. 

[wallyworld583]

Even though the ship system is shut down in port, if you are inside the ship you may not be able to connect because of the mass of metal around you.

[DavidsNana]

When we were in Ocho Rios last March, I made a call to San Diego, CA from our cabin on the Caribbean Princess and I am Spectrum.  It switched to the Jamaica phone system and the call went right through and was very clear.  I was on the phone for about 3-4 minutes and it only cost me 39 cents.  I was very surprised it wasn't more.

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

If you are in port, your phone will link with the land cell sites.

 

  

1 hour ago, antsp said:

The ships cell network switches off when it's near land or in port. 

 

My wife made a call and sent some pictures. We were onboard (embarkation day) in San Francisco. We were still docked and our balcony looked out onto the port facility. She got a message from Verizon that she had just spent a bazillion dollars in data charges. Despite the fact we were in port, docked, and looking out at the port facility the phone had connected to the ship's system. Be very careful and don't just "assume" you are safe.

 

Edit: Fortunately Verizon offered to remove the charges and admonished her to be careful when aboard.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Thrak

[LACruiser88]

16 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

  

 

My wife made a call and sent some pictures. We were onboard (embarkation day) in San Francisco. We were still docked and our balcony looked out onto the port facility. She got a message from Verizon that she had just spent a bazillion dollars in data charges. Despite the fact we were in port, docked, and looking out at the port facility the phone had connected to the ship's system. Be very careful and don't just "assume" you are safe.

 

Edit: Fortunately Verizon offered to remove the charges and admonished her to be careful when aboard.

You were not still in airplane mode?  Never heard of this happening? 🤫

[antsp]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

  

 

My wife made a call and sent some pictures. We were onboard (embarkation day) in San Francisco. We were still docked and our balcony looked out onto the port facility. She got a message from Verizon that she had just spent a bazillion dollars in data charges. Despite the fact we were in port, docked, and looking out at the port facility the phone had connected to the ship's system. Be very careful and don't just "assume" you are safe.

 

Edit: Fortunately Verizon offered to remove the charges and admonished her to be careful when aboard.

So basically you are saying someone who isn't even on a cruise ship, but nearby in a port could accidently connect to the ships network and be charged for it. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

6 minutes ago, antsp said:

So basically you are saying someone who isn't even on a cruise ship, but nearby in a port could accidently connect to the ships network and be charged for it. 

Hmmm..don't know about that.  I would be very surprised if that were the case.  But I *did* make a phone call from a Holiday Inn Express once! 😄

Edited January 7, 2023 by Rick&Jeannie

[Thrak]

We just wait until we are in port before making calls. I could use WiFi calling on my phone but my wife's phone doesn't support that function. (Also doesn't run the Medallion App worth beans. She has a cheapo phone.)

[chubbypiggy]

5 hours ago, rjack22 said:

If my ship is in port.   And I am still on the ship.   And I turn airplane mode off in order to get a cell signal.   Will I pick up the signal from land or will it somehow connect to the ship and thereby cost me a lot of money if I use my phone?    I am thinking that this might be the best time to catch up on email, phone calls, etc.   I have T-Mobile and I will have unlimited text and 5GB of data for free in port.   Voice calls will be $.25 per minute.    But that is assuming a connection to the towers on land and not the shlip.

Sounds like we have the same type of T-Mobile plan.  I do what you described above every time I am at port.  Always immediately switched to T-Mobile plan and always free of charge to use.  Yes, best time to catch up on emails... for free.

[KLM3164]

5 hours ago, rjack22 said:

If my ship is in port.   And I am still on the ship.   And I turn airplane mode off in order to get a cell signal.   Will I pick up the signal from land or will it somehow connect to the ship and thereby cost me a lot of money if I use my phone?    I am thinking that this might be the best time to catch up on email, phone calls, etc.   I have T-Mobile and I will have unlimited text and 5GB of data for free in port.   Voice calls will be $.25 per minute.    But that is assuming a connection to the towers on land and not the shlip.

We have T-Mobile as well and love it for traveling! When we get to a port and are still on the ship we turn off airplane mode AND Princess WiFi. Our phones on T-Mobile have always worked great for us while in port and recently much better than the internet we’ve had on the ship. 

[cr8tiv1]

I have Verizon and never had an issue using my iPhone while in port.  Just look for the LTE (and bars) in the corner to let you know you are on their system.  'I've even made phone calls from inside the ship.  But then again, I haven't tried this outside of the United States.

[MissP22]

When you in any Caribbean port that offers their services,  just take your cell phone off airplane mode and T-Mobile will immediately send you a text message letting you know that texts and data is free (256 kbs) and calls will be billed at 25 cents a minute. 

Edited January 7, 2023 by MissP22

[PaperSniper4]

17 hours ago, antsp said:

The ships cell network switches off when it's near land or in port. 

I never knew that, thanks.

[chabad]

19 hours ago, rjack22 said:

If my ship is in port.   And I am still on the ship.   And I turn airplane mode off in order to get a cell signal.   Will I pick up the signal from land or will it somehow connect to the ship and thereby cost me a lot of money if I use my phone?    I am thinking that this might be the best time to catch up on email, phone calls, etc.   I have T-Mobile and I will have unlimited text and 5GB of data for free in port.   Voice calls will be $.25 per minute.    But that is assuming a connection to the towers on land and not the shlip.

Just remain on airplane mode and use Wi-Fi calling. I also have T-Mobile and Wi-Fi calling works lovely with checking voicemail sending texts or receiving texts as well as the same for phone calls.

[rjack22]

I was really hoping the WiFi calling would work on the ship.   Good to know.   And also good to know that the ship will turn off its cell network in port.  Thanks everyone!

[adstz]

Years ago we were warned to get at least 100 feet away from the ship while in port before using the cell phone. That way you would connect to a land cell tower rather than the ship. Sounds like this may not be true anymore (maybe).

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, adstz said:

Years ago we were warned to get at least 100 feet away from the ship while in port before using the cell phone. That way you would connect to a land cell tower rather than the ship. Sounds like this may not be true anymore (maybe).

I've used the cell phone and my cell service from the cabin while in port many times, so I'm pretty sure this is untrue.  It does give me a chance to use a couple of phrases that seem applicable - one recent and trendy ("fake news") and one old and dusty ("old wives' tale"),

[antsp]

1 hour ago, adstz said:

Years ago we were warned to get at least 100 feet away from the ship while in port before using the cell phone. That way you would connect to a land cell tower rather than the ship. Sounds like this may not be true anymore (maybe).

Not true at all, they maritime at sea network switches off when near land.