Cellphone plans for cruises - ATT

[Helios]

anyone has any experience with this?

 

[dioxide45]

Cruise Critic may be a better place for this type of question. It is asked all the time in the cruise line specific forums there.

 

[Passepartout]

Just call AT&T (611 from your cell), tell them the dates and ship, and they'll put it on for fairly small money. Beware! In port, you're at the mercy of local providers, but at sea (or when you see the line's provider on your screen) you can use it like home. Minutes are limited, And not cheap, but it works. Data is extra- we usually buy a package on the ship.

Jim

 

[Helios]

Cruise Critic may be a better place for this type of question. It is asked all the time in the cruise line specific forums there.

Thanks.

 

[Helios]

Just call AT&T (611 from your cell), tell them the dates and ship, and they'll put it on for fairly small money. Beware! In port, you're at the mercy of local providers, but at sea (or when you see the line's provider on your screen) you can use it like home. Minutes are limited, And not cheap, but it works. Data is extra- we usually buy a package on the ship.

Jim

I guess I could also get the international plan for the port time.

I am doing a Disney cruise and the data plans are ridiculous.

 

[Passepartout]

I am doing a Disney cruise and the data plans are ridiculous.

They are for all cruises. Between $.50 and a buck a minute. For dial-up speed or worse. Limit your use to absolute necessary necessities. I can bring down my email & TUG & facebook necessities in 5 minutes, then sign off, and compose my replies off line, sign back on and blast them out. This way DW and I can do a 2 week cruise and hold our internet to a couple hundred bux. We also hit restaurants, bars, coffee shops ashore for more leisurely browsing.

Jim

 

[tompalm]

anyone has any experience with this?

We did a Celebrity Cruise last August and they allow T-Mobile users to receive free text messages anytime. However, when you send a text message, there is a charge of 50 cents and it cost more for picture messages. Also, if you send one text message to four people the cost would be the same as four text messages. Phone calls are ridiculously expensive and I didn't bother with that. But, I have bought unlimited wi-if before and hooked up wi-if calling with my smart phone and made a call using that. However, sometimes the internet is too slow for calling and it doesn't alway work.

Other ships and cell phone carriers have different plans. The best thing is to call the company your cruise ship is with and ask them what the cost is.

 

[silentg]

Not to be a party pooper, but when we went on a cruise recently, we turned off all electronic devices. I thought it would be hard to cut off from the outside world, but guess what, it was very relaxing, just the people on the ship were our source of communication. We met many people from all over. Forgot all our worries and enjoyed ourselves. The world got along fine without us and vice versa.
Silentg

 

[Helios]

Not to be a party pooper, but when we went on a cruise recently, we turned off all electronic devices. I thought it would be hard to cut off from the outside world, but guess what, it was very relaxing, just the people on the ship were our source of communication. We met many people from all over. Forgot all our worries and enjoyed ourselves. The world got along fine without us and vice versa.
Silentg

I wish I could do that, not an option for me.

 

[dioxide45]

I think the issue with cruises is that the cruiser really needs to consider if cruising is a good vacation option if they need to have a good internet or other connection to the office or business. Cruises are not something where it is easy to keep in touch with people back home on a regular and consistent basis. If this is something you need, you may need to consider other methods of travel until such time you aren't in the situation or the cruise lines get better with connectivity options.

 

[SmithOp]

I think the issue with cruises is that the cruiser really needs to consider if cruising is a good vacation option if they need to have a good internet or other connection to the office or business. Cruises are not something where it is easy to keep in touch with people back home on a regular and consistent basis. If this is something you need, you may need to consider other methods of travel until such time you aren't in the situation or the cruise lines get better with connectivity options.

I think the cruise companies should stop gouging their customers, look at what they charge for a bottle of water and discourage you from refilling bottles, let alone internet charges.

I'm currently at 35,000 feet over AZ on a JetBlue flight using free wifi, if the airlines can provide it free so can the cruise lines.

Op, check out WhatsApp or Google Hangouts for free wifi phone calls, if you can afford a cruise wifi plan.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[dioxide45]

I think the cruise companies should stop gouging their customers, look at what they charge for a bottle of water and discourage you from refilling bottles, let alone internet charges.

I'm currently at 35,000 feet over AZ on a JetBlue flight using free wifi, if the airlines can provide it free so can the cruise lines.

Op, check out WhatsApp or Google Hangouts for free wifi phone calls, if you can afford a cruise wifi plan.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think the difference is that in most places, a plane is connecting to wifi via cellular towers on the ground. I recall that when we flew to Europe that once we were over the Atlantic, WiFi was no longer available. Cruise ships while cruising really only have satellites as an option to receive their signals. I suspect that using satellite technology is not only more expensive but also has less bandwidth than cellular technology. If they gave it away for free, it would be unusable since everyone would be online and it would slow to a crawl. They have to increase the price to temper demand.

 

[SmithOp]

I think the difference is that in most places, a plane is connecting to wifi via cellular towers on the ground. I recall that when we flew to Europe that once we were over the Atlantic, WiFi was no longer available. Cruise ships while cruising really only have satellites as an option to receive their signals. I suspect that using satellite technology is not only more expensive but also has less bandwidth than cellular technology. If they gave it away for free, it would be unusable since everyone would be online and it would slow to a crawl. They have to increase the price to temper demand.

Ground based is the slower 3G service, the high speed use satellite based KU and KA band.

https://thepointsguy.com/2015/11/how-in-flight-wi-fi-works/

I know the cruise ships have it, I've seen the antennae, its what I did in the service - satnav comm tech.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Helios]

I think the issue with cruises is that the cruiser really needs to consider if cruising is a good vacation option if they need to have a good internet or other connection to the office or business. Cruises are not something where it is easy to keep in touch with people back home on a regular and consistent basis. If this is something you need, you may need to consider other methods of travel until such time you aren't in the situation or the cruise lines get better with connectivity options.

what's wrong with wanting it all (cruising and high speed data for a low price)? one can dream...

 

[Helios]

Op, check out WhatsApp or Google Hangouts for free wifi phone calls, if you can afford a cruise wifi plan.

I use WhatsUpp but never made a call through the app. My wife used to make calls with Facebook (I think it was Facebook) from the Bahamas. I used to use Google voice for international calls from the US and that worked well but the calls from the Bahamas to US would simply not work.

I simply paid the ATT international plan when I was in Paris in March and I was very impressed ($10 per 24 hours and I had access to all my plan features). To me $10/24 hours is very worth it. I wish the cruise plans had the same pricing scheme.

 

[Helios]

I think the difference is that in most places, a plane is connecting to wifi via cellular towers on the ground. I recall that when we flew to Europe that once we were over the Atlantic, WiFi was no longer available. Cruise ships while cruising really only have satellites as an option to receive their signals. I suspect that using satellite technology is not only more expensive but also has less bandwidth than cellular technology. If they gave it away for free, it would be unusable since everyone would be online and it would slow to a crawl. They have to increase the price to temper demand.

Not sure how planes get data signals to them, you may be right. What I can say, is that the big 3 US carriers have wifi that is sketchy even over the US. I travel to Mexico frequently and the data signal usually drops within 50 miles of the US border. I have also lost the signal going across the pond or over the Pacific.

I like your thinking about the pricing strategy to meter usage and keep it fasts. I am all for it. But, something tells me that the Cruise lines are more into making money than keeping data users happy. I travel I-95 from Washington to Quantico frequently and love the HOT Lanes. I don't mind paying the variable tolls because I know I am paying a lot but I'll be moving while I see vehicles stopped or going slower than me. You know what they say, build it and they will come...