Mediterranean cruise and cell service?

[Mikiejag]

Was going to get a Euro eSim, but any one ever been on a med cruise?  Does the Cell at sea ever come on or does the ship stay within coastal reach of the towers?  Within reason of course.

[d9704011]

12 minutes ago, Mikiejag said:

Was going to get a Euro eSim, but any one ever been on a med cruise?  Does the Cell at sea ever come on or does the ship stay within coastal reach of the towers?  Within reason of course.

You're unlikely to have a connection to a shore tower.  Sometimes, but not often.

[Mikiejag]

2 hours ago, d9704011 said:

You're unlikely to have a connection to a shore tower.  Sometimes, but not often.

So they do run the cell at sea service.  Dang, not that it matters but has some wifi, just looking to do some photos and a call or two.

[d9704011]

2 minutes ago, Mikiejag said:

So they do run the cell at sea service.  Dang, not that it matters but has some wifi, just looking to do some photos and a call or two.

???

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, Mikiejag said:

So they do run the cell at sea service.  Dang, not that it matters but has some wifi, just looking to do some photos and a call or two.

Not sure what you are saying here. When I go to Europe (cruise or not), I have an international plan from my provider so I can use my cell phone just as I can at home. It is $10 a day. When on a ship, I put my phone in airplane mode and can take as many photos as I want. If I needed to make a call, I would use What'sApp but mostly I wait until on shore to make calls. 

[IAcruising]

I can't speak for Euro service, but I know of no service that includes "at sea". 

[Maanio]

Just use your international plan at port, and in the evening use your free at sea wifi credits if necessary. At sea day: throw phone in the sea and enjoy the sun 🙂

[Mikiejag]

Priobably not using the right wording.  The Cruise ship usually has a cell service they provide, curious as to is that is on while there or if too close to the coast.  I am just picking up a Sim for data use only while on land, but would plan on using the data while on the ship, instead of the wifi package.

 

[bluesea777]

Won’t work when at sea.

 

We use Airalo and it works only when in ports.

 

 

[Mikiejag]

1 hour ago, bluesea777 said:

Won’t work when at sea.

 

We use Airalo and it works only when in ports.

 

 

That’s what I needed to know.  Thanks so much.

[Laszlo]

13 minutes ago, Mikiejag said:

That’s what I needed to know.  Thanks so much.

Depending on your cell provider you might just want to spend the $10 a day for the international plan. We have Xfinity and its really easy to do 

[BirdTravels]

15 hours ago, Mikiejag said:

Was going to get a Euro eSim, but any one ever been on a med cruise?  Does the Cell at sea ever come on or does the ship stay within coastal reach of the towers?  Within reason of course.

Like most cruises (including Alaska and Hawaii), you are out range of land-based cell towers shortly after leaving ports. And the ship turns on it's cell tower. If you have wifi, you can use wifi calling on your phone (needs to be set up before you leave). We have AT&T and they offer an International Day Pass for a flat rate of $10/day (works in most countries). Buying a SIM seems excessive for a short cruise. 

Edited February 12 by BirdTravels

[bluesea777]

51 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Depending on your cell provider you might just want to spend the $10 a day for the international plan. We have Xfinity and its really easy to do 

 

$10 per day, no thanks! Our cell provider does the same but we found Airalo to be much cheaper!!

 

 

[dexddd]

Just some general info.  Verizon used to sell a plan for Cell at Sea but it is long gone and now Ala carte.

 

POA does not have cell at sea if someone doing Hawaii.

[cruiseny4life]

18 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

 

$10 per day, no thanks! Our cell provider does the same but we found Airalo to be much cheaper!!

 

 

Do you not use data when on Airalo? It seems all their prices are based upon usage. I'd be spending a lot more than $10/day if I used an eSim.

 

I'd have to spend at least $37 for one day in Europe for 10 Gigs of data. And, I'd probably use even more than that.

 

Source: https://www.airalo.com/europe-esim

[BirdTravels]

27 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

$10 per day, no thanks! Our cell provider does the same but we found Airalo to be much cheaper!!

The OP's stated intent is to be uploading photos. Would that be much cheaper too?

[Mikiejag]

26 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Just some general info.  Verizon used to sell a plan for Cell at Sea but it is long gone and now Ala carte.

 

POA does not have cell at sea if someone doing Hawaii.

They still do, but the cost is out of this world, and it costs $20 for the privilege. 

[Mikiejag]

24 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The OP's stated intent is to be uploading photos. Would that be much cheaper too?

Yeah quite a bit.  Not going via Airalo, but Simly, A data only for all of Europe is 50gb for $40, data only.  A little more for a european number.  Just going for GPS, upload the photos and the passes for the stops.  Verizon is $10 a day, but an 11 day cruise would go $110, the monthly is $100, and an esim is $30.  I was just hoping to keep cell while on the ship, but goes out far enough they will turn on the cell service on the ship.  Seems prices have gone up a little.  Airalo us usually around the same price.  Just need to find a promo code or something

Edited February 12 by Mikiejag

[Asawi]

25 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Do you not use data when on Airalo? It seems all their prices are based upon usage. I'd be spending a lot more than $10/day if I used an eSim.

 

I'd have to spend at least $37 for one day in Europe for 10 Gigs of data. And, I'd probably use even more than that.

 

Source: https://www.airalo.com/europe-esim

You'd use 10GB in a day??? Wow! That would last me a whole cruise! And then some...

[SoloAlaska]

eSIM is the way to go in Europe. Pay from 15-25 euros to get all the data I need for a trip. Much cheaper than using your home plan. We use WhatsApp when traveling for text, photos, video chat, and audio. I find 10G is plenty for a week plus but I don’t do a lot of video chat.

[schmoopie17]

We have T Mobile and they have service in most foreign countries, included at no extra charge. When we were in Italy, Spain, France and Portugal a year ago the service worked great. As soon as we docked we'd switch off airplane mode and we'd get a message "Welcome to _______".

Can't use it at sea, though.

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, Asawi said:

You'd use 10GB in a day??? Wow! That would last me a whole cruise! And then some...

Absolutely possible! I use it for maps, photo upload/download, social media, travel recommendations for where I am, including video. If I'm stuck somewhere (say waiting for a cab, on a bus, etc.) I might stream a show. Streaming one thirty-minute show could be three to seven GB's, per Google.

 

From 2/1 - today, I have used 6 GB's of data and 60.5 GB's of Wi-Fi data. That's just in regular life - now imagine me on vacation looking up travel blogs, hints and trips about wherever I am/am going, etc. So yup, I could definitely see myself doing that.

[mking8288]

Both wife & I use Google Fi's global services (with T-Mobile USA as the primary and 5G carrier at home) and its network of ISP/carrier in over 200 countries (started out 5+ years ago in 130 countries) with roaming 5G, 4G LTE services - data, text/SMS and of course, voice & WiFi calling, and advance features limited by one's hardware (Android being the preferred platform and iOS supported ... limited satellite connectivity coming soon)   

 

In E.U. countries, land cellular towers have a usable range of 5 up to 7 miles from coastal shorelines, sometimes further out to more than 10 miles on reflected & deflected signals on one's balcony and/or open decks ... i.e. off the Portugal/Spain waters and north Africa (Morocco) ... picked up solid cellular signal sailing thru Gibraltar toward Motril in the busy sea channel lanes with lots of regional ferry services.  Left Palma for Barcelona and we held a signal as we sail southwest around the island before turning north, and used a sizable chunk of 4G data for several hours before it gradually faded ... if it was satellite at sea being relayed by ship's cellular roaming towers, didn't cost anything extra, arms & legs intact with our monthly billing.  All that "extra" costs for being on the road last year, came to about $20 USD in total with our 2 Androids. 

 

There are a number of eSims that you can add and use, for a nominal costs & easily activated, all done online, no physical sim card needed - 7 days pass, 14 days and 30 days passes, priced accordingly with a set number of MB or GB data allowance ... not as expensive as US carrier's add on fees by-the-day, plus taxes & other surcharges.  Siri, Alexa, Google & CoPilot for the latest details and options, after checking with your "home" carrier to compare options, choices & availabilities.  

 

If you are flying into EU, on arrivals - airport shops (and, major train stations & transport centers) will have DIY, self-service kiosk as well as stores/service centers selling these traveler's e/Sim services, inexpensive & transparent in costs.  

 

This is the plan used last year by CC friends of ours, it worked well and easy to use once set-up, and additional data allowance easily done once payment is set-up.  Have it configured before leaving home & upon connection, more or less self-activate with the timer running.  eSim is free and slightly less than Airalo's offered plans - 

https://knowroaming.com/#plans

 

 

 

P.S.  Always have a backup or Plan B, one of our secondary line is on AT&T prepaid, and in emergencies, we can quickly switch on those $10 daily plans ... keep in mind, nowadays 2FA and/or passcodes, etc. via a registered/confirmed mobile number is often required and needed for "suspicious" credit card charges & foreign transactions, depending on the bank & card issuer's.  

[DCGuy64]

20 hours ago, Mikiejag said:

Was going to get a Euro eSim, but any one ever been on a med cruise?  Does the Cell at sea ever come on or does the ship stay within coastal reach of the towers?  Within reason of course.

Hi, there. When we were on the Breakaway last November, I *did* see "Cellular at Sea" pop up in my iPhone settings, so the answer to your question is "yes." We were in the Med, as well.

 

4 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

eSIM is the way to go in Europe. Pay from 15-25 euros to get all the data I need for a trip. Much cheaper than using your home plan. We use WhatsApp when traveling for text, photos, video chat, and audio. I find 10G is plenty for a week plus but I don’t do a lot of video chat.

I agree with @SoloAlaska. I purchased an eSim prior to sailing, from a Spanish company called Holafly, and it was super easy. I could toggle it on and off at will. Worked great, always connected right away. This was on land, however. I used T-Mobile's roaming on land, too, since the eSim was only for internet browsing, not phone calls or texts. WhatsApp is fantastic, everybody in Europe seems to use it.

[SoloAlaska]

5 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Absolutely possible! I use it for maps, photo upload/download, social media, travel recommendations for where I am, including video. If I'm stuck somewhere (say waiting for a cab, on a bus, etc.) I might stream a show. Streaming one thirty-minute show could be three to seven GB's, per Google.

 

From 2/1 - today, I have used 6 GB's of data and 60.5 GB's of Wi-Fi data. That's just in regular life - now imagine me on vacation looking up travel blogs, hints and trips about wherever I am/am going, etc. So yup, I could definitely see myself doing that.

You can also turn down your streaming settings. I just checked on my Prime account and a 45 minute show is less than 300mb. If your watching something on your phone you definitely don’t need the top quality on.