Since it Costs $6.95 per minute on the ship- how do you call out?

[DonaldsGrl103]

It seems a bit too expensive to call out so how do you keep in contact with your family at home. I have T-mobile and I dont know if in my plan it will cost more to use the phone in the bahamas or on the ship? Any help is appreciated as I know my mom will freak as I still live with her and not hearing from me will kil her.
THANKS

 

[hubby_of_newtodisney]

Ummmm... we just kinda suspend ourselves from "real life" for 7 days. Cruise ships are the last refuge from the constant demand of the ringing phone!

 

[CM_Mom]

You can get an international phone card and call from the pay phones in Nassau. Alternately, you can pay for the internet service and send her e-mails. I would definitely check with T-Mobile about their rates from the Bahamas before using my phone.

Just tell your mom to pretend you're in a covered wagon with no communications. I bet she'll survive.

 

[kikipug]

It seems a bit too expensive to call out so how do you keep in contact with your family at home. I have T-mobile and I dont know if in my plan it will cost more to use the phone in the bahamas or on the ship? Any help is appreciated as I know my mom will freak as I still live with her and not hearing from me will kil her.
THANKS

YOU DON'T!!! That's why its a vacation!!!

 

[CherCrazy]

You may actually be able to use your cell phone in parts of the Caribbean. My son used his Verizon cell phone when we were in the Bahamas and St Thomas. He didn't pay anything extra for it.

 

[iluv_2travel]

You would be better off to stay in touch with e-mails,if they have a PC. If they have AOL or AIM they can communicate with you instantly....and be a lot cheaper.

 

[996turbos]

Ok don't laugh but if you keep the call is under 1 minute there is no charge. We called a couple of times to reach our son and daughter. We got the answering machine 1 time and a neice another. We called the desk to inquire how much the charge was and was told there was no charge if the call is under 1 minute. At settle up time there was no phone charge. Now understand I do not recommend repeated 59 second calls. But for the amount they charge I think this little fact is nice to know. Now to make a good long distance call we used the pay phones by the dock in St Thomas. The charge was only 10 cents a minute if your willing to keep shoving in dimes. My wife and I talked to our kids and the grandkids for about 30 minutes. I think it was the best value we found on the cruise. After being away from our family for a few days it was also the best shore excursion as well. Well that's my 2 cents or was that 10 cents? lol!

 

[LoveMyBaby]

Cut the cord already.

 

[996turbos]

I believe the thread was on phones, not my love for my kids. Get a life!

 

[DonaldsGrl103]

thank u 996 for your help. I can understand that some people want to break away for their vacation and I respect that but my mom is very protective and will need to know I am ok especially since this will be my first cruise and place Ive gone internationally without her. So your tip is very useful!!

 

[CM_Mom]

DonaldsGrl103, I appreciate your respect for your mom's feelings. I'm assuming you're a 20 something so my suggestion would be to discuss the situation with your mom and find out what she would feel comfortable with, then budget accordingly. My DD25 works on the ship and although she's always been very independent, I expect to hear from her at least each time she's in Port Canaveral - especially since she has a free cell phone and is atrocious at writing.

Depending on how long your cruise is, maybe she would be comfortable hearing from you when you get on the ship, then from Nassau and then when you're back in port. If you're going to call from the ship, be sure she understands that it's just a QUICK, "Hi Mom, I'm fine" and NOT the time to hear everything about your trip.

If you're sailing on the Magic, cell calls from St. Thomas are often included in your national minute plans. Also you pass St. Thomas between 10pm and 1am Monday night on the way to St. Maarten. DD has called on her cell when they were sailing past St. Thomas then also.

 

[Rence]

Check out the website for your cell phone provider, the information you need is probably there.

A year ago when we sailed, we found the information confusing so we called customer service a week or so before sailing. They were very helpful, we named each port we were visiting and they could tell us if they had coverage and if there were any roaming charges. It took only a few minutes and we got absolutely the most current answers.

In one case they had only just extended coverage to one of the islands. We had read on the boards here that coverage was not available. While it was true for the folks that had posted, we had more current information.

So I highly recommend checking the website and/or calling your company to get the best inforamtion on cell phone usage in ports.

 

[jlima]

I used a calling card (from Sam's Club) with my Verizon phone & it worked great!

 

[kikipug]

If talking to Mom is such an issue- take her with you!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I'm glad that there are other cruisers out there who are concerned with talking to their family. I'm the same way. I'm very close to my family, and I talk to them at least every other day, if not every day. I was sad that I couldn't call my family more than I was able to when we were on board, but it was okay. I know you are supposed to be on vacation, but talking to them is just part of my comfort level. Especially when you're in a new place for the very first time. We have Nextel and were able to talk until the tip of Florida and then we couldn't get signal after that. We didn't check to see if we had signal in Nassau or not, but I know on the way back in to Port Canaveral it took a while to finally get signal again. I hope that you are able to find a way to be able to be in contact with your Mom!

 

[bratray]

boy, some people are just naturally mean!

the girl wants to find a way to call home...whats the big deal??

 

[SweetSpot]

It is unfortunate that some people don't understand that even when on vacation as adults we have responsibilities. I am far from 20 something and I still call my mother everyday. I am all she has and now that she is older it is a comfort for both of us to know everything is okay. She didn't want a computer so I got webtv for her to search the web and to allow me to communicate with her while on the ship via email. Last year she when she wasn't answering emails I tried to get a signal with my Verizon cell while at sea and was surprised that I had a signal. I was able to do this a couple times while at sea as well as when we were in port at St. Maarten and St. Thomas. It doesn't hurt to try and get a signal when you see you are passing by islands while at sea.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

On Thursday night on our 11/20/04 Western we were sailing past the bahamas and someone on the elevator said "hey my nextel works" it was after dinner about 10p.m. and we were able to call family and wish them happy Turkey day!! I think we were oround Freeport.....

 

[DonaldsGrl103]

Thanks everyone for your respect and concern. I am only 21 so it is a big deal for my mom. I can understand and respect why some people dont care to talk or deal with family issues while on vacation but I have no choice and in fact I'd be upset if I could not talk to my mom.
If life was that easy that I could take my mom and we could afford it I would. It is actually a gift from her for my graduation. Thank you to everyone

 

[E&BMom]

Good luck and have a great great time!!!!!!!