internet access with an iphone on princess

[jmarks]

Hi, just wondering if anyone has used their iphone on a cruise. We're going to be doing a Southbound Alaska cruise and wonder if the iphone would work for checking email, etc. If so, do you know if Princess would charge for those minutes? Thanks.

[satxdiver]

Your iPhone will work on the Princess. They have a cell tower that works with AT&T (and others) cellular phones. The cell tower belongs to CellAtSea, an independent cellular provider who will bill AT&T wireless for the time you use both voice and data. AT&T wireless will in turn bill you on your next bill. It sometimes takes several weeks for the charges to show on your bill. The rates can be found on the AT&T wireless website. The charges are $2.49/minute voice, $.50/text message and $.195/KB. iPhones can run up quite a large bill so be careful. Their have been many postings about iPhones and the charges.

[VibeGuy]

The data from the CellAtSea system is EDGE, (2G) not HSPDA/UMTS (3G). So you're paying $19.50/MB for the data, and it's slowwww. Additionally, there are geographic restrictions on the service - the vast majority of the time we were on Sapphire during both a north- and southbound Alaska sailing (with Glacier Bay), we were *not* connected to CellAtSea. There was a brief period on the Vancouver-to-Ketchikan sea day, and then on the last night while en route to Whittier. That was *it*.

 

On a happier note, it's free to receive text messages!

[DeltaOne]

iPhones can run up quite a large bill so be careful. Their have been many postings about iPhones and the charges.

Any smart phone can run up a large bill when traveling, the iPhone isn't any different in this regard.

[upontheCs]

i remember reading an article a while back about someone who racked up a huge bill in roaming charges. turned out, even though they were not making a call the phone was 'updating' without them know it.

 

to be safe, take the battery out.

[Coral]

I have an ipod touch and used it with the ship's wireless on the Star Princess to do email a few weeks ago. It worked wonderfully.

 

So - maybe use the wifi connection as opposed to the phone connection.

[kikithe1c]

Can you turn the IPhone on "airplane mode" to keep it from transfering data? Then in port, turn it back on and let the calls/messages/updates come through. Hopefully this will work. It was my plan.

[-Lew-]

I used my iPhone on the Grand over wifi last winter with no problems at all. It actually worked better in my cabin that in the ship's atrium...different wireless network there.

 

I was able to surf the net, retrieve and send email, and make calls over Skype using Fring. Skype for iPhone was not available then. There was slight delay when talking...too bad.

 

Lew

[Coral]

 

I was able to surf the net, retrieve and send email, and make calls over Skype using Fring. Skype for iPhone was not available then. There was slight delay when talking...too bad.

 

Lew

 

A friend tried to use Skype on the Star this month and he thought it was blocked from the ship as he was not able to use it.

[shellbeachjim]

Hi, just wondering if anyone has used their iphone on a cruise. We're going to be doing a Southbound Alaska cruise and wonder if the iphone would work for checking email, etc. If so, do you know if Princess would charge for those minutes? Thanks.

If you're looking for internet access, then yes, Princess will charge for the minutes as part of their wi-fi internet plans. The iPhone works as a laptop or netbook would, and we used ours on our last cruise. AT&T has very limited coverage in Alaska, so you won't be able to use your phone much to make calls, nor will you find much 3G (let alone EDGE) coverage.

 

Here' a link to the AT&T Mobility website. At the top of the page is the link to their coverage maps - click on "Coverage Viewer".

 

https://www.wireless.att.com/olam/loginAction.olamexecute?goto=welcome

 

As others have noted, the CellAtSea service is also limited and quite expensive.

 

For the part of your trip in Canadian waters you might want to get an additional calling plan for Canada. The phone roaming charges could get pricey - the data even more so.

[shellbeachjim]

i remember reading an article a while back about someone who racked up a huge bill in roaming charges. turned out, even though they were not making a call the phone was 'updating' without them know it. to be safe, take the battery out.

The battery is not removable on an iPhone. :)

 

With the exception of Canada, there isn't international roaming on Alaskan cruises, unless of course the 49th state seceded from the US recently. :rolleyes:

[Colo Cruiser]

The cell service provided onboard is MCP.

[Pam in CA]

i remember reading an article a while back about someone who racked up a huge bill in roaming charges. turned out, even though they were not making a call the phone was 'updating' without them know it.

 

to be safe, take the battery out.

Errr... the idiots weren't putting their phone in "Airplane" mode. You can also turn off the Push technology. AT&T has very clear instructions on how to use the phone and avoid big data charges. Obviously, the person referred to in the article didn't read that page. As has been said, the iPhone battery isn't removable (something else the article obviously didn't do research on).

 

I use my iPhone all the time when on a cruise and plan to take it with me on Thursday. I'm able to log into the ship's wireless and use email and Internet normally. Since the OP is going to be in Alaska, it's doubtful they'll incur roaming charges but they may have data charges if they use the phone for reading a lot of email or checking websites. That'll depend on their plan.

[-Lew-]

A friend tried to use Skype on the Star this month and he thought it was blocked from the ship as he was not able to use it.

That's interesting...

 

I was also told by the Princess crew member on the Grand in the Internet Cafe that Skype was blocked. When I tried it while in my cabin, it worked just fine. When I tried it while sitting just off the atrium, it was very staticy and unusable.

 

There are a number of wireless networks on the Grand. The one serving our cabin did not block Skype when used via Fring. We'll be on the Grand again in September and I intend to try Skype; if it doesn't work, I'll give Fring a try.

 

Lew

[-Lew-]

 

Errr... the idiots weren't putting their phone in "Airplane" mode. You can also turn off the Push technology. AT&T has very clear instructions on how to use the phone and avoid big data charges.

You're right, Pam...

 

Here's a link to AT&T's web page containing a number of suggestions for those traveling internationally.

 

Lew