Using cell phone on a cruiseship? no problem, but you must know that using cellphone on a cruiseship can cost you a fortune. For this reason, I have compiled a list of questions you may have and answered them so to better help you.
Using Cell Phone On A CruiseShip?
Are You Able To Make Phone Calls From Your Cell Phone On A Cruise?
The answer is yes and no. A few things to keep in mind, if you wish to make phone calls while on a cruise ship, you might and you might not have a signal. But when you do have a signal it is from an at-sea provider. So if you are on the Norwegian Cruise Line, the at sea provider is CellAtSea. Moreover, the at sea provider for the Royal Caribbean cruise line is Cellular At Sea.
With all this said, if you do happen to have a signal and you want to make a phone call, you must note that you will be charged roaming charges through your cell phone provider (Enormous roaming rate charges).
What About The Ship’s Phone To Call Home?
You can use the ship’s phone to call home, but it is way too expensive. It will differ depending on which cruise you are on. For instance, if you are on the Caribbean cruise and you want to call home using the ships phone, you are looking at paying more than $7 per minute.
With this said, you could wait until you reach port and there is usually free open WiFi networks (please read more on that below) there, you can then use a VOIP App such as whats app or Facebook messenger to call and talk to friends and family back home.
Can You Use Your Cell Phone To Send Or Receive Text Messages?
You can as long as you have a signal. And you must check with your local cell phone provider to see how much they charge for that. Moreover, you will also be charged for incoming text messages. So please check with your carrier to see how much they charge for both incoming and out going text messages.
In essence though, sending and receiving text messages is not as costly as making a phone call on a cruise ship.
Using Cell Phone On CruiseShip?
Are You Able To Use Your Cell Phone When In Port?
Yes you can. However, please note that you will connect to a carrier (network) from the country or island you’re visiting. Again, you must check with you cell phone provider about these rates. From personal experience, these are also high rates. But check with your cell phone provider on that.
Can You Use The Internet When On A Cruise Ship?
Yes you can. In fact, some cruises have free WiFi. And so all you really have to do is put your phone in Airplane mode or Flight mode and connect to the free WiFi from the cruise ship. If you do that, you will not be charged for using your phone (as long as your phone is on airplane mode or flight mode).
If you are unsure how to place your phone on airplane mode or flight mode, please watch the video below to help you further.
Do Ports Offer Free WiFi?
Yes, in fact many ports offer free Wi-Fi to cruisers, but please note that these are open networks which means you have limited security. So if you just want to use the WiFi to call friends and family back home using a VOIP app, it will not be a big deal. Just make sure you don’t access sensitive information such as banking and etc.
Using Cell Phone On CruiseShip?
You could check the plans (rates) the cruise offers, and compare them with the roaming plans your local cell phone provider offers, and make your decision. But from personal experience, Canadian cell phone providers do not offer you take your domestic plan with you on a cruise ship. It’s only available when on port.
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With this said, what you can do is use an international roaming SIM card instead. These are much cheaper and will work on port and some may even work when cruise is not on port. But please check with the sim card company ahead of time.
So depending on where your port location will be, your international SIM card will then connect to the best network in that area, just like your roaming plan through your cell phone provider would. Usually these sim cards will come with data, voice and text bundles so for you to stay connected with friends and family. You can also purchase data only cards. Either way, you must use an Unlocked GSM cell phone for these cards to work.
Thanks for visiting my site. If you have any questions or concerns about any of the content I have up on my site, please leave your comment below and I would be more than happy to connect.
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