Cell Phones or Pay Phones?

[macy]

I've asked this question on the different port boards, but haven't had much luck with repsonses.

 

We will be on the Crown and am wondering about cell phone service in Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Martin or St. Thomas. I would like to call my dad from one of these islands and have Centenniel Wireless-but I'm not sure it will work.

 

Is there anyone out there that was able to use their cell phone on these islands and if so was the cost outrageous?

 

Also, does anyone have experience using the pay phones at the ports and know of places to buy calling cards for these islands.

 

Any help would be appreciated. We're leaving in 17 days and can't wait.

 

Mary

[karena1]

I can tell you have I Sprint and the only places my cell phone works is St Thomas and San Juan. I have no extra charges, it is part of my national plan since those are US territories.

 

You might want to check with your cell company to see if they offer International service and whether you can get service in the other islands. Never have used Calling Cards, so can't help you with that.

[rjack22]

I have Verizon. I called home from St. Thomas for no extra charges....just used minutes. I have the National plan. Couldn't get the phone to work anywhere else.

[envy4u]

Be careful of using a pay phone without a card . We gave our Visa card in Jamaica and got charged 140.00 for 2 short calls. Hard lesson learned.

[fegan01970]

I used the phone on the ship and the charge was reasonable. A few dollars and I was on the phone for about 10 minutes.

[ck53]

We got cell service from San Juan, St Marteen and St. Thomas and there was no additional charges. Call your server and ask them.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

[okbowler]

Most cell phones are free from St Thomas. You need to check with your provider.Usually international calling setup is free. Minute charges will vary from country to country, only your provider can give you the correct info. Bill

[thekids]

Our cell phone worked in Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Martin & St. Thomas (plus all the other islands we visited) and it worked on all of the islands. We have Cingular and I purchased international calling (an additional $4.99/month plus .30-.45/min calling). Without international calling the phone only works in US thus St. Thomas or Puerto Rico.

Again it depends on the service you have.

[hightownCO]

Any experience with Cell phones at Princess Cay? Have Cingular and would be convenient to use there since that stop is the day before returning to port.

[tONYpAL85]

Don't use the pay phones. I called home collect and the bill was outrageous for only 5-10min (like 150 dollars). I bought an international calling card, but alot of the pay phones don't accept them.

[cruznon]

Cell phones are the best option,IMHO. More convenient, easier to use and a lot more sanitary than public pay phones!

[Perl47]

We buy AT&T Prepaid Calling Cards at Sam's Club and use them when we cruise. Then just call the 800 number on the back of the card and ask them how to make calls to the U.S. from the various ports you'll be in. They'll tell you exactly which pay phones to look for and how many units per minute the calls will "cost."

 

When we were in Cozumel, I found the type of phone they told me to use and made 4 phone calls home to parents & kids. Total cost was less than $10. I can't begin to tell you how many people came up to me asking how I did it. This is one case where it really paid off to figure out before we left home.

 

There are also some Internet cafes that have long distance service -- I'm not sure how much it costs but I do remember thinking it was fairly reasonable (especially compared to the horror stories of bills that exceeded $100).

[Admiral Horatio Nelson]

You can use cell phones however it depends on the carrier you have. In the US some of the most popular carriers use bespoke systems like TDMA and CDMA which unfortunately (for the US user) is not used by most of the world. The most popular system (used by more than 70% of the world) is the GSM network.

 

So if you have a GSM phone such as Cingular, T-Mobile or AT&T you will have more chance of using your cell phone. You must remember to call your carrier to activate it for international use before you leave.

 

The most common mistakes I have seen guests make when boarding is:

Wrong type of phone TDMA system for example.

Not activating phone for international use with carrier (pre-cruise)

Not dialling international dialling code for US when abroad: 001 (i.e. 001-973-555-1234)

[macy]

Thank you all for your suggestions and information. I did contact my cell phone carrier and they said that I might have coverage in San Juan and St. Thomas, but that it would cost between $3 and $7 per minute, (international rates).

 

He suggested that I buy an international calling card to use in the pay phones. He said that he has been on cruises and that's what he does as it is much cheaper. He told me that the calls are only like 3 cents per minute and the card can be used from the ship phones for the same price.

I find it hard to believe that it would be that cheap.

 

I think I'll look for the AT&T International calling card that was suggested and try and use that. The cell phones are probably great if you have the International Service available.

 

And thanks for the info about using credit cards on the pay phones. I will definitely not do that!

 

Thanks a lot.

 

Mary

[macy]

I hope this isn't a double post, but if it is I'm sorry. My computer acted up after I hit the submit button.

 

Thank you all for your suggestions and information. I did contact my cell phone carrier and they said that I might have coverage in San Juan and St. Thomas, but that it would cost between $3 and $7 per minute, (international rates).

 

He suggested that I buy an international calling card to use in the pay phones. He said that he has been on cruises and that's what he does as it is much cheaper. He told me that the calls are only like 3 cents per minute and the card can be used from the ship phones for the same price.

I find it hard to believe that it would be that cheap.

 

I think I'll look for the AT&T International calling card that was suggested and try and use that. The cell phones are probably great if you have the International Service available.

 

And thanks for the info about using credit cards on the pay phones. I will definitely not do that!

 

Thanks a lot.

 

Mary