Phoning home

[profdsny]

Do cell phones work from the ship, or CC, say? And how expensive are those calls?

 

[Rence]

Cell phones may work in some ports, not on CC, possibly at sea if you are near land with cell tours.

Every cell phone company has different coverage, different plans, different fees, so information you get from someone on here may not apply to your phone and your plan.

What we did was call our provider a few weeks before going. We had a list of the ports we would be at and we went through them one at a time. They were able to quickly tell us whether they had service in those ports and whether or not it was covered by our specific plan or if we would have to pay roaming fees.

The answers we got did differ from information that I had seen posted for the same cell carrier. In one case it was because the poster on here had a different plan and in another, the situation had just changed, our company added service to a port that they hadn't had before.

There was one other big plus for calling. Some phones have to be updated with the current tower information. Because our company had just added service in one port, we needed to get our phones updated. We were able to do that before we left. My sister who has the same carrier did not get her phone updated and her phone didn't work.

So best advice is to call your provider so that you get the information about coverage and costs that applies to your phone and your plan.

 

[DrCavin]

Ours worked while on St. Thomas I believe, we have Sprint. Started working once we got close to PC, but not on CC....

 

[minnie10]

We have Verizon and it only worked about an hour out to sea leaving PC. I had to use the ship phone once for 3 minutes. $20.85. Ouch!!!

 

[CM_Mom]

Depending on where you're going, you may need a specific type of phone (multi-band) for it to work. My plan includes coverage in Mexico but DD's phone doesn't work there. When I checked at the Cingular store in my building, they said she has a dual band phone and only the tri band phones work in Mexico. It has to do with the frequency that the country uses for wireless.

DD's Cingular Nation plan works fine from Key West (of course), and St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. She has also called late at night when the ship is sailing south and passing St. Thomas.

Be sure to check with your carrier about your plan and your equipment.

 

[TheWog]

Our Verizon worked on St. Thomas.