iPhones and International Calling in the Caribbean

[edgee]

Just now, basor said:

Purchase???  You will receive 2 free WIFI accounts per cabin to which you connect your phones (in Airplane mode) and can do everything including WIFI calling.

I am on Vista which has Starlink. Cannot do "everything." In my experience we have needed to pay ten bucks a day extra for our wifi connection to allow video streaming or even reliable audio streaming such as  listening to podcasts which sometimes work and sometimes do not unless you upgrade. 

[basor]

31 minutes ago, edgee said:

I am on Vista which has Starlink. Cannot do "everything." In my experience we have needed to pay ten bucks a day extra for our wifi connection to allow video streaming or even reliable audio streaming such as  listening to podcasts which sometimes work and sometimes do not unless you upgrade. 

We just got off Vista and were able to do everything we needed but we do not video stream..  We were able to use Game Changer to watch our grand daughter play softball....I was just answering that you can make WIFI calls with the free WIFI accounts.  You are correct you can not do everything you can do from a land based WIFI....thank you for the correction.

[harryw]

Oops. I forgot that O provides free internet. I was thinking in error about our 

HAL cruise, where we were nickeled and dimed for many amenities, including internet.

[robbie21]

For android users consider Google Fi.   International calls 0.20/min.  texts are free world wide.  Data is $10 a Gig anywhere.  Seamless to use - just use your phone as you would at home.  At sea use wifi calling.

[khuselid]

AT&T has a new plan. For an additional 10.00 a month one can add Mexico and South America to one's plan, includes unlimited text and calls. Previously we paid 65.00 a month and then had the international plan of 10.00 per DAY when we travel. So, this is a good deal when we travel next month to Central and South America.

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, khuselid said:

AT&T has a new plan. For an additional 10.00 a month one can add Mexico and South America to one's plan, includes unlimited text and calls. Previously we paid 65.00 a month and then had the international plan of 10.00 per DAY when we travel. So, this is a good deal when we travel next month to Central and South America.

My old AT&T plan includes Canada, Mexico and South America without $10 a month additional for that. It also includes MAX. I have a feeling that their new plan would cost more than I am paying now. 

[khuselid]

17 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

My old AT&T plan includes Canada, Mexico and South America without $10 a month additional for that. It also includes MAX. I have a feeling that their new plan would cost more than I am paying now. 

Wow, sounds like you've got a great deal then. My old plan included Mexico and Canada but not SA. 65.00 for the old one and 75.00 for the new. 

[Iamthesea]

On 11/12/2023 at 3:50 PM, harryw said:

Oops. I forgot that O provides free internet. I was thinking in error about our 

HAL cruise, where we were nickeled and dimed for many amenities, including internet.

 

We have always received "free" Internet on HAL.  It's included in the HIA (yes, we purchase the HIA with the booking so that there is no "nickeled and dimed" involved. 😁) 

 

When we cruise with Oceania, we also pay for our "free" Internet because the cost (comparable cruise destination and number of days) is higher on Oceania. 😉

[harryw]

What is HIA?

[Iamthesea]

Have It All.  Similar to O'Life or Simply More.   

 

[harryw]

Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind if we ever sail with HAL again. O is our line of preference. It was so annoying being charged for every bottle of water in the cabin!

[Iamthesea]

Sorry for getting off topic on this thread.  Probably more information than you wanted, but here is a cruise line comparison. 😀

 

For our most recent booking with HAL, we purchased the HIA for $1,000 pp extra. 

 

Includes:

- 2 Shore Excursions per person

- 2 Specialty Dining Reservations

-The Elite Beverage Package + service charges (Elite is the highest package that can be purchased) 

- Premium WiFi (which is Starlink for 2 devices)

- Crew Appreciation (all gratuities paid)

 

We also purchased Club Orange ($420 for 2), which is a smaller dining room with fabulous service and food.  Club Orange also includes other amenities such as upgrading, at no cost, your booked stateroom to the highest in that category.  (Saved us more than $2000 on stateroom!)  Priority boarding and tendering, plus a few other perks are also included.  

 

We booked a 14-Night cruise in a VH category (GTY Veranda) and upgraded, free, to the highest Spa Veranda.  The cruise starts and ends in the Netherlands, and covers Britain, Scotland & Ireland.   Cruise is on HAL's newest ship.  We were on the sister ship last May and had a similar reservation.

 

Total cost for us on the upcoming cruise is $8,328.  That includes taxes, fees and port.  Additionally, we are getting $1,125 combined OBC from HAL and our TA. 

 

I looked around the Oceania webpage for a similar cruise and the closest that I could find was for a 12-Night to many of the same ports.  I priced the B4 to include Simply More, but no air or transfers (we book our own) and the cost came to Total Fare: $13,598.00.  From our experience, there are pro's and cons to both cruise lines.   We enjoyed one of our two Oceania cruises, and have booked another for next spring, but the overall value is better on Holland America.  And you can have all the "free" bottled (now canned) water you desire!!! 😁

Edited November 14, 2023 by Iamthesea

[sanger727]

You have two choices which will dictate how to set your settings. Are you happy having connection while connected to the ship's wifi only, or do you want connection in the ports too? 

 

If you are happy with the ship's wifi connection; put your phone in airplane mode and turn the wifi on. You will have no additional charges

 

If you want connection in ports, you'll have to confirm that you sign up with your carrier's international day pass. Then leave your cellular service on and turn on roaming. You will need to turn airplane mode back on when you are at sea so you don't run into any cellular roaming charges.

 

Using the wifi only connections is the safest and easiest way to do this. Otherwise you have to be really careful about turning cellular on and off. Personally, we signed up for the international day pass and also leave our phone in airplane mode. It only charges you if your phone connects to the network. That way if there is an emergency, we can turn cellular on and use our phone in port for a $10 fee. But are sure to turn airplane mode back on once we are finished using our phones.