Cell Phones on Cruise Ships

Author Message   Ken Graalum New member Username: Dakdoc45 Post Number: 4 Registered: 07-2008 Posted on Monday, December 28, 2009 - 05:27 am:    Iphone not Ipod - you are correct slip of the mind on my part. My Ipod is on my Iphone.   John D. Moderator Username: John_d Post Number: 3707 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Sunday, December 27, 2009 - 07:26 am:    Ken, Do you mean roaming with an Iphone (not an Ipod)??   Ken Graalum New member Username: Dakdoc45 Post Number: 2 Registered: 07-2008 Posted on Saturday, December 26, 2009 - 07:07 am:    Just returned from 24 days with two cruises. $100 for 240 min is standard on several lines as most use MTN as their computer/phone net. Skype was limited due to low bandwidth available. In 24 days I was given 100 additional min at no charge you have to be checking the internet cafe or whatever the hot spot on the ship is called for specials or promotions. AT&T cell worked for about $2.00/min - If you have an Ipod check your settings or you may get data roaming - very expensive.   Lane Heath Member Username: Heathlb Post Number: 38 Registered: 02-2008 Posted on Tuesday, June 02, 2009 - 11:17 am:    I don't know why, but our rates on the last cruise were significantly below the ones Mr. Curry mentioned. We sailed from Baltimore at the end of April 2009. We subscribed to Carnival's largest block of time, which I remember as 250 minutes. I'm sure the "per minute" cost was $.40 (which I thought was pretty expensive.) There was no charge for daily access. My budget Compaq sensed the network and connected. The ship's brochure indicated that they would rent a wireless modem for $10/day for those whose computers didn't have them. Most people would not need so much internet time in a week, and I don't remember the prices of smaller units of time. When we signed up on the first day of the cruise, 20 additional minutes were added to our package to bring the price slightly lower than the $.40/minute. Lane   Roger Curry Senior Member Username: Rcurryastro Post Number: 497 Registered: 05-2008 Posted on Tuesday, June 02, 2009 - 10:35 am:    I took a Carnival cruise from jacksonville, FL to the Bahamas early in June. The rates we saw were: $7/minute for cellular (roaming at sea) and $24/hr for internet use. I was happy to remain incommunicado for a few days! Roger in Jacksonville, FL   Lane Heath Member Username: Heathlb Post Number: 37 Registered: 02-2008 Posted on Tuesday, June 02, 2009 - 03:49 am:    Yes, reception was excellent, as good as I get ashore. We were able to dial out without significant difficulty. If I remember correctly, all except one of our calls out went through on the first try. That one call took three tries, but it connected on the third attempt. Also, we never had a call "dropped." An unexpected family matter caused us to be on the phone several times each day,with each call lasting over 20 minutes. I feel we tested the system on CARNIVAL PRIDE pretty thoroughly. It should be noted that the ship was not booked to capacity, and I suspect that few of the passengers used computers significantly. If the reason the supervisor of the ship’s internet café told me that Skype didn't work aboard ship was related to the bandwidth Skype requires, there might be a problem if too many passengers are using the internet at the same time. Have a great cruise!   dinotars Senior Member Username: Dinotars Post Number: 5607 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Monday, June 01, 2009 - 01:57 pm:    Lane, Did you have good reception with Skype on the cruise?   Lane Heath Member Username: Heathlb Post Number: 35 Registered: 02-2008 Posted on Monday, May 04, 2009 - 08:02 pm:    If you're taking a laptop, consider using either Skype or MagicJack to reduce the cost of making phone calls. My husband and I just returned from a six day cruise to the Bahamas on Carnival. Before we left, Verizon told us that our phones were compatible with the ship’s system and with the system in the Bahamas. They said their international roaming charges were $1.49/minute or $1.99/minute, depending on whether we were ashore or at sea. Since I took my laptop, we used Skype aboard ship, which brought the cost down to the amount the ship charged for internet access, ranging from $.40/minute, to $.75/minute, depending on the plan you purchase. One of my fellow passengers warned me that Carnival prohibits the use of Skype, but I couldn’t find that prohibition anywhere in their literature. The supervisor of the ship’s internet café mentioned that Skype wouldn’t work aboard ship, but he volunteered that MagicJack worked well aboard. By the time he told me this, I had successfully used Skype several times. I continued to use Skype for the rest of the cruise and experienced no difficulty with it. Have a great trip! Lane   Phil Doubleman Senior Member Username: Phil Post Number: 1175 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Sunday, April 12, 2009 - 03:49 pm:    Thanks, John. I do understand about Verizon's international rate being noncompetitive. That's why I use an unlocked quad-band GSM (eBay special) and purchase prepaid chips for my travels. On this cruise, however, we'll mostly be near land (Hawaii) or on open water (on the way to Vancouver).   John W. Hardink Member Username: Honge46 Post Number: 44 Registered: 06-2007 Posted on Saturday, April 11, 2009 - 11:52 pm:    Phil, I have used AT&T all over-South America, Europe, etc. I signed up for their international rate (an added $4.00/month)plus they discount the rate per minute for the country. It is not the least expensive way to go-local phone cards beat their price,but you do need a land line. My checking with Verizon always found them to be not as competitive as AT&T for international service.   Phil Doubleman Senior Member Username: Phil Post Number: 1169 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Friday, April 10, 2009 - 09:50 pm:    Thank you , Jan.   Jan Advanced Member Username: Seychelle Post Number: 240 Registered: 07-2006 Posted on Friday, April 10, 2009 - 04:26 pm:    Phil, we recently were on a Royal Caribbean cruise around South America and our provider is ATT but it sounds similar. We checked before the cruise and ATT said it would be $2.39/min offshore anywhere, as long as ship was not in port. We made numerous calls off numerous countries and we were a little nervous that when we returned and got the bill that the ship would tack on charges, but they did not. It was truly $2.39/min. anywhere. This is, of course, using our cell phone and not the phone in the stateroom which is much more expensive. But we never had a problem using the ships antenna -- all calls worked fine. We also could receive calls anytime and it even worked in our stateroom (an interior room). Calls from ports using our cell phone were also much more expensive. This was just our regular ATT monthly plan, we didn't change to any different plan to use our phone.   Phil Doubleman Senior Member Username: Phil Post Number: 1167 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Thursday, April 09, 2009 - 04:13 pm:    Carnival provides a cell phone use capability and the rate depends on your provider. Verizon told me that the charge will be $2.50 per minute. Does anyone have any experience with this service and how to use it?