AT & T cell service in Alaska ports

[WANNABE@WDW]

Someone posted that they had no service on their Verizon phone during the Alaskan cruise, has anyone had better luck with AT & T? What about air card service for computers?

 

[DCL Repeaters]

I'm a Verizon customer and had great service while in the Alaskan ports. No problem at all.

 

[WANNABE@WDW]

That is great news! We have both companies, but use our Verizon phone more. How does the WiFi work on board?

 

[Lilbunnyk]

My husband had AT&T with his iPhone and had service at all the ports. I have a trakphone pre pay plan and also had service at all the ports. We also got 3G service on our iPad.

 

[kgsmith]

My husband had AT&T with his iPhone and had service at all the ports. I have a trakphone pre pay plan and also had service at all the ports. We also got 3G service on our iPad.

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[mmmears]

My husband had AT&T with his iPhone and had service at all the ports. I have a trakphone pre pay plan and also had service at all the ports. We also got 3G service on our iPad.

Great! Thanks for letting us know -- all of us have AT&T iPhones so I wasn't sure what we would do if there was no coverage.

 

[WANNABE@WDW]

Did you have any signal while at sea?

 

[mickeyfan1]

Did you have any signal while at sea?

Yes you do. However, it will cost you an additional 2.99 per minute of usage for cellular at sea. Everyone pays that fee at sea, there is no way around it. There is WiFi on the ship starting at .75 per minute, with less per minute charge if you buy a set number of minutes.

 

[WANNABE@WDW]

Thanks so much for all the quick responses, one less thing to think about before we leave for Vancouver on Saturday.

 

[DisDiana]

Thank you for this thread! I'm planning the last few logistics for our Alaskan cruise this summer and was worried about cell phone service. Looks like I don't have to!

 

[RebelHawk]

The reason I love cruising so much is that I can finally get away from the office and the non stop emails and calls. I neglected to think about the AT&T cell reception while on our Alaskan cruise and was disappointed to discover that it works perfectly while in port. I felt obligated to fire up the hot spot and jump online and get caught up on work in the mornings before starting our days. I keep threatening my wife that I am going to book a trans atlantic cruise so I can unplug completely while on a vacation.

 

[artnerds]

I have AT&T and had great service in all the ports. Also intermittently had AT&T service at sea while we were cruising near land, like the Tracy Arm day.

 

[MouseMomx2]

Yes you do. However, it will cost you an additional 2.99 per minute of usage for cellular at sea. Everyone pays that fee at sea, there is no way around it. There is WiFi on the ship starting at .75 per minute, with less per minute charge if you buy a set number of minutes.

Actually, it depends. If you turn your phone on at sea and see AT&T or Verizon you will have regular service. If you see Cellular at Sea or anything else you will have either the $2.99/minute charge or other applicable charges for the local carrier. Rather than risk extra charges we left our phones off at sea and just turned them on in port.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I have AT&T, and I know I at least had cell service in Skagway because I specifically remember sending some picture texts there. I can't remember if I used it in any other ports. (I was on NCL, not Disney, but that doesn't really make a difference.) I did turn off roaming so that I wouldn't get any service unless it was an AT&T signal, and I didn't get any extra charges.

ETA: I am not sure if you were talking about on the ship or in ports. I was too scared to try it on the ship, so I am no help there! It's such a port intensive cruise, though, that I would just wait and use it there and enjoy peace and quiet on your sea days.

 

[xlxo]

When I first visited in 2013.... I call the local tourism offices. Everyone said ATT was the preferred carrier as it offered the best coverage. So I got myself an ATT prepaid sim. It was great to extend my ship wifi package.

fyi.... there's also Canadian cell coverage in the inside passage and when you sail past Prince Rupert.

 

[saintstickets]

Don't forget that using your US based phone while in Vancouver for most carriers makes it an international call. We have AT&T and they will let you add various plans for 30 days for a small fee to cover any usage while in Vancouver. I'm sure other carriers do the same.