T-mobile on ship

[dinna1]

Sorry if this has been asked befor- using a ceel phone while on the ship. I have t-mobile & it did not have any signal last time on the Gem. All I want to do is be able to text only not to call, I'll be traveling with my parents. If we're not in the room or so and need to find each other. Is it possible? What should I ask t-mobile rep. to do?

[simplyben]

You have to have Tmobile turn international roaming on, or your phone won't connect to the towers. This is to keep people from running up HUGE bills without knowing. I have TMobile and was just on the Sky, I assume it is the same. Phone calls are $4.99/min and texting is .40 I believe, but don't quote me on that.

[2inTul]

Sorry if this has been asked befor- using a ceel phone while on the ship. I have t-mobile & it did not have any signal last time on the Gem. All I want to do is be able to text only not to call, I'll be traveling with my parents. If we're not in the room or so and need to find each other. Is it possible? What should I ask t-mobile rep. to do?

 

In order to use T-Mobile on the ship you must have the international service plan. This is from the T-Mobile website:

 

NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE: THE NORWEGIAN GEM

Rate per minute : $4.99

Country code : NA

 

Click on a carrier to see carrier-specific coverage for this country:

 

Carrier

Frequency

Internet

Cingular 1900Mhz YES

 

 

 

 

International roaming rates for text, picture, video, and instant messaging

Share a thought or a sight, anytime, from just about anywhere.

$0.35 per message sent ($0.20 in Canada and Puerto Rico)

$0.20 per message received

If you have a messaging bundle or plan, international messages you send while roaming are not covered by your bundle and will be charged separately. If you have a messaging bundle or plan, international messages you receive will be pulled from your bundle.

 

Accessing IM through your web browser while roaming internationally will incur charges as specified below.**

Internet (GPRS) rate while roaming internationally:

$10 per MB in Canada

$15 per MB in all other countries

 

 

 

I hope this helps.

[dinna1]

Thanks for responding! It does help.

I'll ask the provider to turn on international roaming for one moth during which we'll travel. Hope they can do it

[emsiam]

You have to have Tmobile turn international roaming on, or your phone won't connect to the towers. This is to keep people from running up HUGE bills without knowing. I have TMobile and was just on the Sky, I assume it is the same. Phone calls are $4.99/min and texting is .40 I believe, but don't quote me on that.

 

 

did you get reception on the ship?? i just called tmobile yesterday and they stated they are part of cellular at sea but can not gtd a signal

 

thanks

[garycarla]

If you did not get a signal, you may possibly have been somewhere that could not reach the tower, or you have an OLD phone with the wrong type of service.

 

As mentioned above, T-Mobile charges DOUBLE what every other carrier charges. Rip off company.

 

$2.49 a minute is a bit steep, but at least it works. $5 a minute is uncalled for.

[emsiam]

If you did not get a signal, you may possibly have been somewhere that could not reach the tower, or you have an OLD phone with the wrong type of service.

 

As mentioned above, T-Mobile charges DOUBLE what every other carrier charges. Rip off company.

 

$2.49 a minute is a bit steep, but at least it works. $5 a minute is uncalled for.

 

they said i have the right phone but should i get a signal? and if so is it only certain places on the ship?? thanks i am leaving a 4 yr old home just being a worry wart thanks again

[garycarla]

We seemed to have a signal whenever we checked, but I am sure there were places that were not as strong. Not sure if I could suggest a certain place, but have not really heard this as being a problem. Cell signals vary.

[linnealee]

Does all of the mentioned previously in this thread include T-Mobile prepaid?

[dinna1]

I have a new Nokia phone & it supports 1900Mhz, but right after starting this thread I remembered something. There was a lady on deck talking on a phone while I could't see even one bar on mine, she said her provider was a Verizon & most of her friends (with other providers) used her phone too since theirs weren't working. My T-Mobile is a great phone and always has a strong signal on a land, but why not there in the middle of the ocean;)

[Retired]

Thanks for responding! It does help.

I'll ask the provider to turn on international roaming for one moth during which we'll travel. Hope they can do it

If I remember correctly there is no charge for to have international roming on your cell phone with T-moble. You still pay the going rates what ever they are.

[mking8288]

This is a bit technical for some: Verizon cell uses mostly a CDMA signals except for its global phone (Ev, 1X) whereas AT&T and T-Mo use GSM signals (using the "SIM" card) - thus, your GSM handset might not be a quad-band phone that operate & work on all 850/900, 1800 & 1900 mhz frequencies that the carrier roam on using the ship's satellite tower while at sea.

 

Not all the AT&T and/or T-Mobile phones are quad-band capable or enabled (could be locked to the carrier) - I use VZW (CDMA) phone as primary but while traveling, always take along a GSM quad-band unlocked phone so that when needed, I can insert a local SIM/prepaid SIM if the AT&T or T-Mo SIM from home doesn't work for whatever reasons.

 

Our experience sailing NCL in various ports in North America suggested that AT&T seemed to work better compared to T-Mo, includings its Prepaid SIM cards even while on the ship - most of the time, not always. Coverage for VZW has gotten a lot better and with int'l roamming on, it worked flawlessly in Mexico and while at sea (last month).

[avabrooke]

I called them today. They said that it was $2.49 a minute on the ship and lets say Barbados would be $1.99 a minute. If you take out the internation plan which is $5.99 a month then it would be $1.69 a minute.

[terrymtex01]

I have very limited knowledge in this subject, but I do know any carrier has to "unlock" your SIM card for international roaming. If you call T-Mobile they should be able to do that for you. It might be done through the system just by them adding Internatinal Roaming to your service. Not for sure about that, but I do know the SIM card has to be unlocked by the carrier. Some, who's phones have worked and did not do anything might have had I.R. set up on their service when they activated and didn't even know it.

Edited April 2, 2009 by terrymtex01

[itzmered]

I have Tmobile and used my phone on 2 different trips to Europe. I know it is not the same destination. I just went on line and added international roaming. It is free to add it. I only used it for text messaging and they were the prices stated above a previous post.

[garycarla]

I have Tmobile and used my phone on 2 different trips to Europe. I know it is not the same destination....

 

any calls on the ship are the same, if 50 miles from Miami, off the coast of Rome and rounding Aruba. You are at sea.

 

On the other hand, each country has it's own situation and rates.

 

As to "unlocking" the sim. That may be true for some carriers, but we never called ATT for either of our phones and they worked just fine on land and at sea.

[topaz107]

As of Jan 2018, cruising from LA to Puerto Vallarta, on Norwegian, we had Telstar Maritime, which offered US $0.50/ message and $5.99/min.

 

Also, Norwegian offered calls at $4.99/min from cabin.

 

My .02 cents