WiFi data related question

[Lyn-CA]

When is the absolute last time I can send emails or texts from onboard the ship while still docked at Port Canaveral without incurring any data / Internet usage charges?

 

[SuperDry]

There is no free public WiFi provided in the port terminal or on the ship, other than the "free first 50MB" package offered on the ship's satellite system on most sailings. To take advantage of that, you must register by midnight on the day of departure, but you can use that data any time from initially boarding the ship until the final night of the sailing - it does not matter if the ship is still at the departure port, in a foreign port, or at sea in order to use the 50MB free.

As far as using any cellular data or text that you have on your mobile phone, tablet, or WiFi pocket hotspot without additional cost, you can do so as long as you still have signal from US land (assuming that you have service from the US), which can be quite awhile after you leave port. In an extreme example, if you are on the Fantasy on a Western Caribbean sailing from Port Canaveral and have a starboard cabin or go outside to the starboard 4th deck or up top, you can get the land-based signal from Florida all throughout the first night and into next morning. The ship's WiFi is always on, and the ship's cellular site will turn on once you're X miles from shore, but that doesn't mean you still can't get a land-based signal. For most phones, it should be obvious if you are roaming, as the current carrier is displayed on the screen. If it is anything other than what you normally see, then extra charges will apply. If your phone locks onto the ship's signal but you can still see the shore, try turning your phone off and back on again. It might have locked onto the ship's signal while inside when it couldn't see the land signal, but upon restart, it will prefer its home signal even if its weaker, as long as it can get it at all.

 

[com_op_2000]

While deep-sea fishing off PC, I have gotten cell service as far as 12 miles off-shore. That would be about an hour after the ship leaves the dock, not the port. Depending on your carrier and being up on the top deck of the ship, you may be able to get service further out. You should be able to check your carrier's website to get an idea of how far off the coast you can get a signal.

 

[mmouse37]

We usually turn off our phones after we leave the PC channel and are heading into open water.

MJ

 

[disneyfab]

We had service well into the the Sailing Away party. I had turned off roaming to not accidentally connect to the ships wifi. Once the land started looking distant, I put my phone in airplane mode. Also, I only used my phone while out on the decks. I did not have any service in our oceanview stateroom (Samsung phone on T-mobile), but dh and the teen (Iphones) did.