Looking for cellular service workaround from Vancouver to Anchorage

[eyern1]

I have Mint mobile and they don't have any coverage at all in Alaska, even in port. The only workaround I know is to use wifi while in port at a cafe or something. Is there another way? I'm only looking to make calls to check in back home anyway.  Mint also does not do Canada but I bought International credits with them to use while there and I'll keep the data roaming feature off while there to keep from using it all up with texts and stuff. 

[AKStafford]

I think Mint Mobile works off of T-Mobile towers and T-Mobile doesn't have a presence in Alaska. What about a pre-paid burner phone? AT&T & Verizon both have Alaska towers.

[eyern1]

Burner phone passed through my head but I don't need to stay in touch that bad. Thanks.

[n4w]

burner prepaid ATT sim card? just install that in your existing phone.  I'm hoping that would solve my situation exactly same as yours.

[latebuyer]

Amazon sells prepaid at&t sim cards. That was what i was planning to do.

[Alaska-vegan]

I'm another Mint mobile user, so in the same boat.

 

Was also thinking to purchase a pre-paid SIM card. Would the AT&T ones work in both Alaska and Vancouver?

[n4w]

13 hours ago, Alaska-vegan said:

I'm another Mint mobile user, so in the same boat.

 

Was also thinking to purchase a pre-paid SIM card. Would the AT&T ones work in both Alaska and Vancouver?

Probably not, but there should be plenty of wifi available around town.  Onboard, it'll be like a sea day.  And for us, Vancouver is embarkation day, so there'll be many more exciting things to do than worry about the phone.

[martincath]

In Vancouver there's a free city-provided wifi network (look for #VanWiFi broadcasting all over downtown, even in much of Stanley Park) so you can make VOIP calls, message etc. just fine.

 

In Alaska - follow the crew to find free WiFi access while in port, but if it's just an occasional check-in you should be able to find somewhere conveniently near the ship that you can sit and buy a beer or coffee to get the WiFi code without having to go out of your way to find a local library or somewhere else free.

[wolfie11]

At just about any bar in Alaska, the price of a coke or beer will get you free Wi-Fi.  Stay away from the coffee shops.

Edited May 16, 2023 by wolfie11

[eyern1]

Thanks y'all

[RedbirdFLCruiser]

19 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

Stay away from the coffee shops.

Why?

[eyern1]

Deleted

Edited May 17, 2023 by eyern1

[wolfie11]

3 hours ago, RedbirdFLCruiser said:

Why?

They frequently charge for internet even if you are buying something.  A few years ago the one in Ketchikan charged me $6 for a coffee and another $5 for 1/2 hour of internet.  

[chiguy67]

We have T-Mobile and we had reception in the ports. Juneau was the best with 5G but Sitka and Skagway were 3G and extremely slow.

[dolphin8888]

Which ship are you on? I tried using  3UK's pay as you go sim. It has coverage in Alaska, and 71 other countries with its roaming, but not including Canada.

$12/10GB a month.

 

I also tried US mobile(verizon sim). It has coverage in Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan amd Skagway but not in Canada.

 

And since my phone supports eSim, I got myself an eSim. $40, 35GB good for 1 year. Works in USA, Canada and New Zealand.

Edited August 4, 2023 by dolphin8888

[DaveOKC]

The Juneau library is right off the pier and has free wifi plus computers to use.  Lots of cruisers use them.

[Alaska-vegan]

We are back from our Alaska cruise and I will say that I wish we had gotten a SIM card for Vancouver and Alaska.

 

Both my husband and my phone carriers did not work in either place. We were able to get Wifi in most of Vancouver, but not most of Stanley Park where we spent a lot of time.

 

It was more of pain not having anything in Alaska because booked all of our excursions third party and twice needed to get in touch with the tour companies about last minute cancellations and time changes. We ended up spending $50 on the ship's Wifi, which is more than a SIM card would have been and once had to borrow a phone from a bus driver in Juneau to confirm our helicopter tour was cancelled (looking at the sky at least gave us some clues).

 

So if I ever go again, I'll either get a temporary SIM card or a different carrier with better coverage.

[Coral]

I have 2 cell phones. One has Verizon and I had great coverage. The other had Mint Mobile and I had zero coverage (in May). Instead of bars, it said "SOS" in all the ports. I have since switched the second cell to Visible.

I had Mint Mobile for 3 months and I can't believe how poor of coverage I had anywhere. I know things are regional but my life is so much better with Visible on that phone. I will never touch Mint Mobile again. Their service was horrible (coverage and contacting them for any assistance). I can't say Visible is great but Mint was just horrible.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Coral