Verizon wireless and phone calls while in port

[erin1715]

My husband and I will be doing a 4 day cruise on the Dream in a couple weeks. There is a possibility my husband will be getting calls for job interviews during the days we're on the cruise. It is pretty important that he is able to call them back. We will most likely turn our phones off completely while at sea. Does anyone know if we can make calls while in port that won't cost an arm and a leg(at least at the Bahamas)? We have verizon wireless. Our only stops are the Bahamas and Castaway Cay, then a day at sea. TIA!

 

[erionm]

Call Verizon Wireless customer service and ask them what your roaming rate is for the Bahamas.

 

[IrishCowboy]

Call Verizon to confirm rates for your plan. There are many different plans available and you need to confirm details for your plan directly with your carrier.

have a great cruise and good luck to your husband if he gets called

 

[SuperDry]

Does anyone know if we can make calls while in port that won't cost an arm and a leg(at least at the Bahamas)? ... Our only stops are the Bahamas and Castaway Cay

As a point of order, Castaway Cay is in the Bahamas, just like Nassau. And, it has the same Bahamian cellular service that Nassau has. So when you call Verizon to ask about roaming to the Bahamas, whatever answer they give will apply equally to Nassau and Castaway Cay. It looks like Verizon charges $1.99/minute for the Bahamas, and $2.49/minute for when the ship is at sea (not much different). You can probably get the Bahamas rate down if you sign up for an int'l roaming package.

 

[RHSTigerMom]

If your husband's phone is not set up for international (the type of phone itself, not the calling plan), then Verizon will send you a loaner. You still have to add an international calling plan, but they are relatively inexpensive for a short period of time. You need to contact Global Services about 2-3 weeks prior to your cruise. Before you travel you just activiate the loaner phone and it has your number. When you return, de-activiate the loaner and your regular phone is re-activated. This seems like a lot of work for 4 days. Is putting a vm that he's currently out of the country not an option? Just a thought.

 

[lanejudy]

I know you are asking about making calls in port, but since you are on a 4-night cruise you will have one day at-sea. If he needs to make calls from the ship, it doesn't matter what your plan is -- all calls go through Cellular-at-Sea at and I believe the rate is $2.50 per minute. Obviously, making calls from port with an international plan is better, but I didn't want you to get caught off-guard thinking that would cover him on the ship as well.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[erin1715]

Thank you all for the replies! He has an iphone 4s so it would get international capability. I think we'll just turn his phone on when in port to check for any messages, and if he needs to make a call we will pay the $1.99/min. We won't be turning our phones on when we're at sea or making any calls. He will probably put a voicemail on his phone for the day(s) he can't check it. Thanks!

 

[danfromca]

As a point of order, Castaway Cay is in the Bahamas, just like Nassau. And, it has the same Bahamian cellular service that Nassau has. So when you call Verizon to ask about roaming to the Bahamas, whatever answer they give will apply equally to Nassau and Castaway Cay. It looks like Verizon charges $1.99/minute for the Bahamas, and $2.49/minute for when the ship is at sea (not much different). You can probably get the Bahamas rate down if you sign up for an int'l roaming package.

While I realize this is little help in this case, for those who are interested - my phone habits while cruising have complete changed since switching to TMobile. I now turn off my phone on the ship, then turn it back on while in port. The global roaming plan they offer (free text and data, 20cents/minute voice) really does work. Between that and the improved ship Internet, staying in touch while traveling has changed from something to plan and stress about, to something I don't even think about (aside from making sure the phone is off while cellular at sea is active).

 

[LeslieG]

I seem to recall there's no cell phone service on Castaway Cay. Can anyone confirm whether they've been able to get service?

 

[Melissa S]

Lots of luck! I did the phone interview for the job I have now in the car the morning we came back from our Canadian cruise

Agree, check with Verizon. I got charged $50 from them when I accidentally left my phone on as we pulled away from port. It wasn't that long and I didn't use the phone but the roaming cost us.

 

[Capt_BJ]

I seem to recall there's no cell phone service on Castaway Cay. Can anyone confirm whether they've been able to get service?

So far as I've heard, if you connect at CC, you are going thru the ship as if you were at sea. There is no cellular service at CC so the ship does not have to turn off their system (Cellular at Sea)

I could be out of date, but I don't recall hearing otherwise.

Unless DISNEY installs cellular service on GORDA CAY, I doubt it will happen. Tthere is no other customer for a cellular company . . . and there is no other 'off island' telephone to connect to . . . a cell tower needs to connect to something . . . (same thing applies on most other line's "private island")

The ship cell tower connects to a maritime communications satellite ... and THAT's why you pay an extra fee . . .

 

[SuperDry]

my phone habits while cruising have complete changed since switching to TMobile. I now turn off my phone on the ship, then turn it back on while in port. The global roaming plan they offer (free text and data, 20cents/minute voice) really does work.

I agree, except that The Bahamas is unfortunately NOT one of the 100+ countries that are part of the free T-Mobile int'l roaming plan, so standard advice still applies there.

 

[SuperDry]

I seem to recall there's no cell phone service on Castaway Cay. Can anyone confirm whether they've been able to get service?

There is most definitely cellular service at Castaway Cay. As I already mentioned above, it's part of the regular Bahamas cellular system and costs the same as Nassau or other ports in that country. It may not have been there when CC opened 15 years ago, but it's been there at least since the new ships have been visiting. I use it every time I'm there.

So far as I've heard, if you connect at CC, you are going thru the ship as if you were at sea.

Nope.

There is no cellular service at CC so the ship does not have to turn off their system (Cellular at Sea)

Wrong all all counts. There IS cellular service at CC, and the ship DOES turn off its Cellular at Sea system when within x miles of CC just like it does when it's that close to anywhere else on land.

Unless DISNEY installs cellular service on GORDA CAY, I doubt it will happen.

Well, it's there, so presumably Disney allowed it to happen. Keep in mind that there are some 17,000 cruise passengers that visit CC each week. The international roaming charges generated probably serves as enough financial incentive for it to be installed and pay for itself, plus there's a small number of workers that live there full time. I suspect that Disney also uses it quite a bit, as there's no regular phone service on island. I'm sure it saves a lot of money as compared to a satellite phone when contacting HQ.

There is no other customer for a cellular company . . . and there is no other 'off island' telephone to connect to . . . a cell tower needs to connect to something . . . (same thing applies on most other line's "private island")

If you still doubt me, here are some pictures:

There is a rather conspicuous, tall palm tree, that's not really a palm tree, that stands out from anything else on CC:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5180/5489078705_fa636f1c7a_b.jpg

If you look at this close-up, you can see in more detail how it works. It has omnidirectional vertical antennas to cover the island as a single cell. Also, it has a microwave dish that's pointed in the direction of the nearby inhabited island of Great Abaco, which is about 10 miles away. The microwave dish is high enough on the tree so that it has line of sight with a companion dish on Great Abaco, where it connects into the rest of the Bahamas cellular system and eventually a fiber link to the US.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6031/6390902885_28dc5fd475_z.jpg


Also, it supports full 3G internet access, so cruise passengers as well as resident workers now have high-speed internet access anywhere on CC for work and personal use.

 

[richw2]

That tower is for the ships wave phone so the staff can communicate with ship, not cell tower.

 

[danfromca]

I agree, except that The Bahamas is unfortunately NOT one of the 100+ countries that are part of the free T-Mobile int'l roaming plan, so standard advice still applies there.

True enough - hopefully that will change as they add more countries to the list.

 

[Capt_BJ]

That tower is for the ships wave phone so the staff can communicate with ship, not cell tower.

I was about to say SORRY I'm out of date

but this contradicts that and is completely in line with what I stated.

It appears Disney has a 'local' cell system but is not connected off island except thru the ship . . . aka maritime satellite

Unless Disney has installed a different link to another 'DEMARK' such as a microwave link to another island that HAS links to 'the world' .... your cell phones are still thru cellular at sea

(I did 'this' for many years ..... )

 

[Airb330]

While I have no doubt that "disguised" cell site is also providing the Wave Service on the island, it does look like it also provides cellular service for BTC. It's listed on their website. It looks like omni directional coverage from the island itself (likely from the "palm tree") and a directional antenna from Sandy Point which was probably pointed towards the island before the palm tree was ever built. OpenSignal also confirms cellular signal on the island.

https://www.btcbahamas.com/application/www/images/maps/AB.jpg

Interesting to see Omni antennas, we don't see them much in the USA anymore but their application here makes sense. As SuperDry said, the microwave link is probably linked to Abaco. This would also allow Disney to have 'regular' internet access as many microwave sites can hangle 10GBPS (Sprint {foolishly IMO} is using microwave backhaul even in cities here). It sure has to be cheaper than a cable. So the tower probably is 1) providing internet access to the island for Disney via microwave 2) cell service for BTC 3) wave phone service. It looks like BTC uses Band 17 for 4GLTE (as does at&t), so many phones would be able to access that network, if present.