Today, I called AT&T Wireless to let them know that I wanted to remove my International roaming charges. While I was on the phone with the customer service rep, I asked her what charges would apply for Alaska.
She immediately asked me the ship that I was going to sail on for the cruise. When I stated Princess, she told me in no uncertain terms that
Princess cruises does not have an agreement with AT&T. They will not enter into an agreement so that they have the freedom to charge what they want to charge. One young lady made a call from the Caribbean and was charged somewhere in the vicinity of $300.00+ for one call made on princess - a whopping $18.99 per minute!
The rep also told me that when sailing with Princess, simply turn off my phone because even if I do not answer it, I will be charged the exorbitant
amount. $18.99 is low - some charge as high as $38.99 per minute.
You must remember there are no cell phone towers in the ocean. You are using the ships satellite system, they can charge what the want. Same goes for their internet. It is very slow and expensive. Ask the ships crew where they go to make calls while in port. They usually know where the best deals are.
There are agreements with Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Not necessarily all ships in their fleets, howeverm quite a few. I just wanted to give someone a heads-up so that the same thing does not happen as did to the young lady on the cruise who received a cell phone charge of over $300.00.
does anyone know of a carrier whose sim card and maybe phone we can buy that will work in most of se asia? to USA...need some guidance...someone told me magic jack does this if you intialize in states, but would still have to pay ship internet charges and they are huge and often disconnect. prefer to call when on land on my own phone.thanks
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We like to find agreeable people with whom to share dinner and a tour when on a cruise...
Evelyn and Marty...
Just for your info - they are extremely helpful. Expensive, but helpful!
Diane
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ridiculously expensive...for world phone or whatever they call it you need 9a contract at 5.00 amo and they give you off 25 cents a minute..not worth it, but thanks.
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We like to find agreeable people with whom to share dinner and a tour when on a cruise...
Evelyn and Marty...
check sites for telestial.com and also for rangeroamer.com. Or, google, international sim cards and cruises...still would not be good on cruise, but you can keep them with you and use off ship easily. :o
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We like to find agreeable people with whom to share dinner and a tour when on a cruise...
Evelyn and Marty...
Don't forget you can use your cell phones when in port. There will be no ship charges, only the charges your phone carrier passes on, whether you are on the ship in a port or if you are ashore.
We used our AT&T cell on our Princess cruise to Mexico in 2007 and didn't have any unusually high charges.
After reading this post, we just called both Princess and AT&T and got a different story. Princess said that they negotiate rates with all cell phone companies and it would be up to our carrier. AT&T told us that we would pay $2.49 per minute on our cruise to AK and that this rate would apply to any cruise line including Princess. However, they did ask if we'd be traveling anywhere near the Caribbean, so perhaps there is some sort of difference if you are going there?
At any rate, I definitely recommend checking individually as the type of plan you have and where you are going might determine the ultimate cost.[/u]
__________________ Dec 2007 - Mexican Riviera - Dawn Princess Sept 2009 - Alaska - Golden Princess Nov 2010 - Mexican Riviera - Oosterdam
The $2.49 rate that AT&T refers to is the rate while in port, that is the rate that was quoted to me while in the caribbean. But that is not the rate while at sea. AT&T told they do not have a contract with Princess.
We actually called twice and spoke with two different CS reps at AT&T. I specifically asked regarding being at sea, repeated we would be on Princess, and he reiterated $2.49. I suppose the thing to do if you are really concerned would be to make a 30 second call, login to your AT&T account in the cafe and see how it shows up.
Also, I would imagine that the $2.49 rate would not be an in port rate as the rate you would pay while in port would depend on your individual plan, if you are in the US or a foreign country, what your roaming features look like, etc.
ETA: I did some research on the Princess site and found this:
Quote:
Your mobile phone provider must have a roaming agreement with Maritime Communications Partner AS (MCP) in order for you to use your phone with this service. Not all prepaid phones are supported. Your mobile phone must be able to roam internationally. BlackBerrys and other mobile data services may continue to receive messages while roaming on the ship’s network. For questions about your service or about pricing and billing, please contact your mobile phone provider’s customer service department prior to sailing. For more information, click here.
Pricing:
Neither MCP nor Princess set retail pricing. Retail pricing is set by your cellular provider, and while we would like to be able to provide guidance, it is impossible for MCP or Princess to comment on independent rate plans. When in doubt please contact your cellular provider.
__________________ Dec 2007 - Mexican Riviera - Dawn Princess Sept 2009 - Alaska - Golden Princess Nov 2010 - Mexican Riviera - Oosterdam
We have cruised many times to Alaska and Mexico. We have always called when we pulled into port and have never paid excessive fees. We have Att and it has worked great all over the world. We have never called while at sea but we have e-mailed while at sea during extended voyages. We use our cell phones throughout North America without being hit by huge bill, but we do block e-mails on our phones.
When in Europe we purchase calling cards at tobacco shops for use at pay phones. Soooo Cheap! Even in Europe we have our phone activated but only for emergency use as it is $1.99 per minute. Happy sailing
wireless phone charges on cruise ships while at sea
all wireless on Carnival Corporation ships, Holland , Carnival, Carnard and Princess uses Cingular Microwave to the various Caribbean Islands. For the Alaska route via Vancouver Canada, they use the cell sites found on the coastline by Rogers Wireless.
Charges run roughly $6.97 for the first minute and then $2.99
you can manual select network while on the ship to pick up Cayman Island Cable and Wireless, AT&T Wireless, and Digicel when following a coastline or in Port
Rogers wireless in Canadian waters.
Verizon does not work in the Caribbean. Most Caribbean uses Digicel. T-mobile, Cingular and At&T works the best.
let your cellular phone company know you are travelling to the caribbean. (international)
Anyone who uses a cellphone are mostly show-offs on Cruise ships found on the lounge chairs on the Lido deck. Your on Holidays! what ,, you want people to envy you? lol people just shake their heads at these people on the ship.
Smart people uses Skype at the various Internet cafe on the Caribbean Islands.
Business people uses the cabin phone only (privacy), since they can afford it and make tons of cash. The phone is a necessity for their business (stock broker, banker, Doctor, family in the hospital, emergencies and lawyers)
no one should be making a call home to chit chat about the dogs , the cats, the farm or the kids. That can be done earlier on the port or at the next port.
Re: wireless phone charges on cruise ships while at sea
Quote:
Originally Posted by westcoastguy
all wireless on Carnival Corporation ships, Holland , Carnival, Carnard and Princess uses Cingular Microwave to the various Caribbean Islands. For the Alaska route via Vancouver Canada, they use the cell sites found on the coastline by Rogers Wireless.
Charges run roughly $6.97 for the first minute and then $2.99
you can manual select network while on the ship to pick up Cayman Island Cable and Wireless, AT&T Wireless, and Digicel when following a coastline or in Port
Rogers wireless in Canadian waters.
Verizon does not work in the Caribbean. Most Caribbean uses Digicel. T-mobile, Cingular and At&T works the best.
let your cellular phone company know you are travelling to the caribbean. (international)
Anyone who uses a cellphone are mostly show-offs on Cruise ships found on the lounge chairs on the Lido deck. Your on Holidays! what ,, you want people to envy you? lol people just shake their heads at these people on the ship.
Smart people uses Skype at the various Internet cafe on the Caribbean Islands.
Business people uses the cabin phone only (privacy), since they can afford it and make tons of cash. The phone is a necessity for their business (stock broker, banker, Doctor, family in the hospital, emergencies and lawyers)
no one should be making a call home to chit chat about the dogs , the cats, the farm or the kids. That can be done earlier on the port or at the next port.
This loser used her international data package on her Palm Pre to check her email when in service. She didn't pay anything extra for leaving her phone/wireless on and roaming was free with her package. She (loser) also used her phone while in her cabin or on her balcony. Perhaps Sprint should take credit. Imagine...a stupid person not using Skype or paying extra for leaving the phone on, nevermind free (with Sprint package) internet. Hmmm.
Bear in mind that the situation is changing rapidly. A couple of years ago, you simply had NO cell phone service at sea. Now many lines are finding ways to offer it. When it first came out it was amazingly expensive. Last time we cruised it seemed to be becoming more reasonable. ( I can't speak to actual prices because I have never had any possible reason I would want to use my cell phone at sea.)
Any answer posted here should be considered to be already obselete, and you should check VERY carefully on board the ship to be sure exactly what the current situation is the week that you are sailing, because it can actually change from week to week.
The suggestion above that you find out from the crew what they do ashore is the best one, as they always know the cheapest places.
On occasion we have used our cell phone ashore to contact a guide company, and the prices vary widely. In Turkey we paid something over $6 a minute!
If I used my phone on board while out at sea to call my wife who is also on board lets say to find out when she'll be done shopping or something we could be charged these rates. 68 days 14 day Hawaiii sapphire prince (yaaaaa)
Roaming:
Calls Placed/Received
While on Princess Cruises
AT&T Standard International Roaming $2.49
AT&T World Traveler $2.49
AT&T Canada $2.49
AT&TMexico $2.49
Take care,
Mike
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Cell Phone Charges on Princess Cruises
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