I noticed that you can now use your cell phone during the cruise.   I was wondering how this works?   Are you charged something by the ship each time you use it PLUS what your cell phone provider would charge for "roaming".

I know on our last cruise in 12/2005 that we were able to keep reception while cruising down the coast of FL (we left on Glory out of Port Canaveral) to the Keys (our first port of call), then after leaving the Keys, no reception at all.  

Anyone?

Yes, you can use a cell phone on the cruise and it works just like any cell phone, however not all cell phones work depending on the provider.

Does anyone know which providers work on the cruise?

we have used verizon while in port at cozumel and montego bay. it was 1.99 per min. and that was the regular rate (we did not sign up for some special for one month). this was all within the last year.

i am just so leary of un-necessary calling while at sea. my husband is a tug boat capt and years ago we use to have gosh awful bills while those towers would grab the call. we have free roaming now, but we just use the phone to check in once during the cruise (we was taking grandkids and they called their parents) i can surely go a week without talking to my grown kids. actually i enjoy it.

I went to Progresso and Cozmel at the begining of Dec and I just got my cell phone bill. I am with AT&T and while my phone said something like cruise at sea I was roameing on the ship which cost 2.49 min and then when it said something in spanish i was roaming in mexico which cost me .99 min (where it is supose to say AT&T).I just left my phone off at sea and dcalled home in mexico.

Happy Sailing

I have Sprint and used my cell phone while pulling into Cozumel.  I received my bill and there were no extra charges as my billed remained the same as in past months.

Happy Cruising!!!

Stefan,  This puzzles me a little.  We have Sprint as well and concerned about this, I called them before leaving and was told 14.95/minute!  Needless to say, we left ALL FOUR cells off....told the teens they were subject to "abandonment in foreign country" if they dared to turn them on just to get a text from "so-n-so"... 

I'm glad to report that we arrived back on US soil with all 4 family members in tow...  but now I'm wondering if we could have made unlimited calls while on vacation...you don't have an international plan, right?

Just received my bill for roaming at sea in December. It was $2.49 per minute with Verizon while cruising the open sea.

If you want to call from the ship's phone, it is $6.99 a minute US, or $9.99 international.

A better option is to find the calling stations where your crew members make their calls from in each port. Some ports use calling cards while other stations have phones with meters on them that accumulate your charges like a taxi.

One of the best aspects of a cruise is the reminder that we can survive for seven days without unlimited net access or our cell phones. Talking to people face to face--what a concept!

Randynan:

I noticed that you can now use your cell phone during the cruise.   I was wondering how this works?   Are you charged something by the ship each time you use it PLUS what your cell phone provider would charge for "roaming".

Carnival contracts with a company call Cellular At Sea (which has a website with that name) to provide cellular service throughout (most of?) their ships while you are out of the port. There are several 'pico cels' installed on the ship to give you coverage in most areas, and they work with most cel phone systems. The service is provided via satellite, just like the Internet service. While you are approaching and in port, you will (with roaming enabled) connect to the network appropriate for that area, either your home network or one that has a roaming agreement with your home carrier. Note that while the @Sea system is turned on you may get nearly full signal strength bars, but when it is turned off you will likely not get a signal anywhere deep inside the ship as the steel will shield the signals.

The charges for Cellular At Sea are supposedly set by your cel carrier, but seem to be $2.49/minute plus tax for at least the common ones. I got nailed $2.49 X 2 for the 3 second call my mom made as we were pulling away from Catalina. She got lost on the ship and called, then realized that the carrier showed @Sea, and hung up. Unfortunately I had answered... Ouch.

An interesting note, two of my tablemates on my last cruise had iPhones. Hers was first generation, his 3G. Hers worked, his didn't. So not every single cel phone technology is supported. among the major carriers (and technologies) Sprint (TDMA), Verizon (TDMA), T-Mobile (GSM), and AT&T (GSM) do work.

~ MattInSoCal 

We have AT&T and had no problems. I don't know how much it cost since the company that my hubby ownes paid for it. He made several at sea until I took it away and locked it up in my luggage, told him he was on vacation and that he had people in place that could take care of what ever came up. After that we had a great time, no phone calls and the company was in good hands with our youngest son.

What about cells with internet access? Do they charge you to check your emails as well? I also have Sprint and was told there would be roaming fees...

We have Verizon and on our last cruise we just used texting to communicate with home.  I normally would just turn my phone off and stow it away in my luggage but my daughter was due to have her baby while we were onboard so I kept my phone on.  We sent several texts back and forth and my bill only went up a little.  I think it was something like 50cents for an outgoing message and 10 cents for an incoming. 

ps. baby was born 3 days after we got home and momma and baby boy doing great!

I have a Trac Fone and used it while on our cruise at the ports with no roaming charges. Simply 10 cents per minute for my calls local or long distance...go figure since Carnival's information stated only certain companies would work while at the ports and Trac Fone is certainly not listed among them, but it worked like a charm in Mexico, Grand Cayman. Not sure if I called from Ocho Rios..

Copman:

I have a Trac Fone and used it while on our cruise at the ports with no roaming charges. Simply 10 cents per minute for my calls local or long distance...go figure since Carnival's information stated only certain companies would work while at the ports and Trac Fone is certainly not listed among them, but it worked like a charm in Mexico, Grand Cayman. Not sure if I called from Ocho Rios..

 Thank you!!

I have been dying to know this. I know trac fones are good from the states to mexico, but wondered about on a cruise. You can't beat the $.10 per minute. 

Does anyone know if the trac phones work from the other side of Mexico - Cabo and Puerto Vallarta?