bortman23 Posted August 13, 2023 #1 Share Posted August 13, 2023 (edited) Hi all, Anyone have experience with cell phone reception in Eastern Canada? I'm Canadian and have a cruise out of Quebec City to NYC. How good or bad is reception while sailing between Quebec, Nfld, NS? I have a plan that give me (basically) unlimited roaming. So I'm wondering if I'll have reception or if there will be dead spots. TY! Edited August 13, 2023 by bortman23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
em-sk Posted August 13, 2023 #2 Share Posted August 13, 2023 6 hours ago, bortman23 said: Hi all, Anyone have experience with cell phone reception in Eastern Canada? I'm Canadian and have a cruise out of Quebec City to NYC. How good or bad is reception while sailing between Quebec, Nfld, NS? I have a plan that give me (basically) unlimited roaming. So I'm wondering if I'll have reception or if there will be dead spots. TY! That is going to depend on who your carrier is. Here is the map for Bell. https://www.bell.ca/Mobility/Our_network_coverage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted August 13, 2023 #3 Share Posted August 13, 2023 Do you need roaming coverage if you can connect to the ship's WiFi? Are you looking to be able to make and receive calls while on the ship that are inside your monthly package? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-Airbalancer Posted August 13, 2023 #4 Share Posted August 13, 2023 I think all Canadian plan are unlimited national roaming once you are more than a couple kms from shore you will be in a dead zone nice post ‘em-sk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bebe08 Posted August 13, 2023 #5 Share Posted August 13, 2023 We've done 2 similar cruises and don't remember any dead spots. We did have the ships wifi plan as well as our own cellphone coverage which we relied on while in port. We did need to use our cellphone to make phone calls and always did this while in port with one exception...see below. Be very careful not to make phone calls using your cell in Canadian waters when you are not in port. We made that mistake on a cruise a few years ago. Made a phone call from the ship while saling on the St Lawrence towards Quebec City. First time I've ever made a phone call from a cruise ship and I learned the hard way It was not covered by roaming...it was Cellular at Sea which is very expensive. FWIW we typically try to say more unplugged while cruising, however in this case there was a fair amount of flooding happening at home while we were cruising and we needed to be in touch with family. Enjoy your cruise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magicat Posted August 13, 2023 #6 Share Posted August 13, 2023 I remember having cell reception on a recent TA while passing NFLD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 13, 2023 #7 Share Posted August 13, 2023 we have only used our cell in ports no problem in Saint John, Corner Brook, Halifax 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted August 13, 2023 #8 Share Posted August 13, 2023 Also you have to be careful while you are sailing that you are not connecting to US cell towers. It is possible. We have friends on Lake Simcoe and you have to be careful that your phone is not connecting across the lake. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Middleager Posted August 13, 2023 #9 Share Posted August 13, 2023 At port no problem. At sea as you get a bit away from shore, you'll lose coverage. Years ago when the phone companies were charging long distance even within Canada (yes that was that time), a friend and her daughter were with us on cruise. While at port, the daughter spends a few chatting with a friend back in Toronto. The girl didn't know there is long distance charge when in east coast. It racked up >$3000 of long distance charges. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d9704011 Posted August 13, 2023 #10 Share Posted August 13, 2023 42 minutes ago, CDNPolar said: Also you have to be careful while you are sailing that you are not connecting to US cell towers. It is possible. We have friends on Lake Simcoe and you have to be careful that your phone is not connecting across the lake. Ontario is 'across the lake' no matter where you are on Lake Simcoe. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fouremco Posted August 13, 2023 #11 Share Posted August 13, 2023 You will definitely have dead spots once you hit the Gulf of St. Lawrence. No problems in port, but for much of the Gulf and then the Atlantic once past Cape Breton, ships cruise too far from shore to enable cell coverage. Here's the Rogers coverage map: https://www.rogers.com/mobility/network-coverage-map Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 13, 2023 #12 Share Posted August 13, 2023 1 hour ago, CDNPolar said: Also you have to be careful while you are sailing that you are not connecting to US cell towers. It is possible. We have friends on Lake Simcoe and you have to be careful that your phone is not connecting across the lake. Why ? If they have Canada wide calling it will not be a problem Maybe Lake Erie or Lake Ontario it could be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bortman23 Posted August 13, 2023 Author #13 Share Posted August 13, 2023 (edited) Thanks for all who responded. I was mainly asking of times when I'm not in port. Basically I'm debating whether or not I'm going to pay for the unlimited wifi (I'm on NCL so I have the 150min). Our ship leaves on a Wed from Quebec City, with two sea days during the week, where I'll need to be connected for work. I have a great roaming plan that gives me a huge amount of roaming coverage in Canada and the USA. I guess the real question is how far coverage usually extends off shore in Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Thanks for sharing all the coverage maps, seems like I might have to bite the bullet and buy the package even though I only need it for a couple days... TY! Edited August 13, 2023 by bortman23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bortman23 Posted August 13, 2023 Author #14 Share Posted August 13, 2023 1 hour ago, CDNPolar said: Also you have to be careful while you are sailing that you are not connecting to US cell towers. It is possible. We have friends on Lake Simcoe and you have to be careful that your phone is not connecting across the lake. Thanks! Luckily I have USA roaming inc! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare gnome12 Posted August 13, 2023 #15 Share Posted August 13, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, CDNPolar said: Also you have to be careful while you are sailing that you are not connecting to US cell towers. It is possible. We have friends on Lake Simcoe and you have to be careful that your phone is not connecting across Edited August 13, 2023 by gnome12 Deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango99 Posted August 14, 2023 #16 Share Posted August 14, 2023 6 hours ago, bortman23 said: Thanks for all who responded. I was mainly asking of times when I'm not in port. Basically I'm debating whether or not I'm going to pay for the unlimited wifi (I'm on NCL so I have the 150min). Our ship leaves on a Wed from Quebec City, with two sea days during the week, where I'll need to be connected for work. I have a great roaming plan that gives me a huge amount of roaming coverage in Canada and the USA. I guess the real question is how far coverage usually extends off shore in Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Thanks for sharing all the coverage maps, seems like I might have to bite the bullet and buy the package even though I only need it for a couple days... TY! Unlimited wifi is only going to cover you for excess minutes. It’s not a guarantee of quality or uninterrupted or hi speed service for work. Chances are your days at sea are the days that (not quite) everyone else is on line catching up. Your at home roaming plan is not a guarantee. I live in Ottawa and my home cell tower is in Quebec. Other times I’ve been in Cornwall and picking up signals and roaming on the US side of the St Lawrence river. That was Bell and Telus. I don’t want to be a downer but I’m thinking you might best upgrade to top tier service if there is one….or take a couple of days off an enjoy yourself. Just my 2CW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bortman23 Posted August 14, 2023 Author #17 Share Posted August 14, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Tango99 said: Unlimited wifi is only going to cover you for excess minutes. It’s not a guarantee of quality or uninterrupted or hi speed service for work. Chances are your days at sea are the days that (not quite) everyone else is on line catching up. Your at home roaming plan is not a guarantee. I live in Ottawa and my home cell tower is in Quebec. Other times I’ve been in Cornwall and picking up signals and roaming on the US side of the St Lawrence river. That was Bell and Telus. I don’t want to be a downer but I’m thinking you might best upgrade to top tier service if there is one….or take a couple of days off an enjoy yourself. Just my 2CW Thanks! I'm aware, i've used their wifi for work before, and it got the job done, I don't need anything too high quality 😉 Edited August 14, 2023 by bortman23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango99 Posted August 14, 2023 #18 Share Posted August 14, 2023 19 hours ago, bortman23 said: Thanks! I'm aware, i've used their wifi for work before, and it got the job done, I don't need anything too high quality 😉 Gotcha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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