Cell phones, can you use them at all when onboard the ship?

[TeresaNJ]

I was wondering if there were any times that you could use your cell phone onboard, such as when docked. Anyone know?

 

[markºoº]

The general response is that most people get service while docked or close to being docked. Occassionally some can get service while at sea and passing a nearby island but I would not count on this.

It will really depend on your service provider - call them to see what service is available in your ports and what the rates will be.

 

[MickeyB426]

I use Verizon.

We got service until we moved away from the Florida coast, did not get service in St. Maarten, but got it in St. Thomas (roaming charges apply, however). We didn't get a signal at Castaway Cay.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Thanks.

 

[dvcmomdeh]

I did not have roaming charges in St. Thomas. We have a Cingular contract. I called my mother from the top deck, my phone wouldn't work in my stateroom. Of course it was a week day so it used prime minutes. I love calling from down there. It is like we are in a different world but still have connection to home. Note that as soon as the ship starts to pull away from port you will lose connection.

 

[cjsmith]

WE have Sprint and have used our cell phone in St Thomas, Grand Cayman, Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Cozumel. We couldn't use it in Nassau even though we had plenty of service bars there, it just wouldn't go through.

 

[Rence]

Do contact your cell phone provider and ask for the latest and greatest. You may find that you get a signal and place a call, but you could get a surprise when the bill comes. Different companies have different rates for different locals. The rate can even vary from one plan to the next with some companies, so one person's experience may not match yours.

The other thing that can happen is that your phone may need an update in order to work. On our last trip we called Sprint a couple of weeks before we went, they had just added service to St. Thomas, but phones required an update to work there. We were able to get our phone updated before we left and it worked fine. My sister also had Sprint, but did not get her phone updated and it didn't work in St. Thomas.

We just called before leaving with a list of ports. Sprint was able to tell us where we would have service and whether or not roaming charges would apply in each port based on our plan.

 

[TheWog]

I'm with MickeyB - Verizon worked in St. Thomas, but not St. Maarten. Don't recall pricing, but remember it wasn't too bad.

 

[tvguy]

To update your roaming software on a Verizon phone dial *228 and hit send.
Update takes about a minute.
Don't know how well the phones work there, we left ours at home. As my elderly mother, who is a frequent cruiser puts it, "there is nothing at home worth interupting a cruise for".
She has even left standing orders with me that if anything happens to her on a cruise.....leave her on the ship until the cruise is over, because she paid for 7 days, she expects to get 7 days!!!!!

 

[scrapperjill]

Our cell phones worked in San Juan and Nassau..I don't think we even tryed at Castaway Cay...But they did work just fine inthe other two locations...We have both US Cellular and AT&T...which is now Cingular...

 

[scrapperjill]

Just wanted to add when we used our cell phones in San Juan and Nassau... it was without roaming charges in either places. (US Cellular and AT&T....which is now cingular).