I am going on a cruise..

[yg17]

Do cruise ships not have wifi? Skype and/or factime would be pretty useful on a cruise ship.

It's about 50 cents a minute (depending on cruise line), has the speed of dial up, and has the latency of carrier pigeons. I don't think Skype or Facetime would work too well. It's only good for briefly checking your e-mail every now and then.

Maybe if you can find a WiFi hot spot in port you'd be OK, but don't count on using Skype or Facetime on the ship. I was on a Royal Caribbean cruise of the Mexican riviera this past summer and used the internet on the ship a couple times, but when in one of the ports, I found a free WiFi hotspot that had fast internet and caught up with e-mail, Facebook, etc, while there.

 

[LapsangSouchong]

I have a sick mother :/

I guess I have "disconnect" anxiety, I have never been on a cruise but I am a newlywed and am just doing what it takes to make the wife smile

I don't get folks telling you to turn off your phone. If you're asking the question, clearly you want to know about phone service. You're not asking "hey guys, I'm going on a cruise, should I turn off my phone and "disconnect"?"
I'd suggest contacting the cruise line too and see what their rates for wifi are. It may work in a pinch.

 

[AuroraProject]

How does one make calls on a cruise? Are there land lines?

Yes, they are very long. Note the giant spools of drop wire at the rear of the ship.

 

[Moyank24]

I don't get folks telling you to turn off your phone. If you're asking the question, clearly you want to know about phone service. You're not asking "hey guys, I'm going on a cruise, should I turn off my phone and "disconnect"?"
I'd suggest contacting the cruise line too and see what their rates for wifi are. It may work in a pinch.

I think I read somewhere you were sailing on Celebrity?

Here are their wi-fi service plans:

49 minutes = $29.95
90 minutes = $49.95
150 minutes = $79.95
237 minutes = $99.95

If you want a la carte- $.65/minute

 

[kdarling]

I have a sick mother :/

Give your mother the number for the cruise ship, so she or a friend can call you if need be.

I guess I have "disconnect" anxiety, I have never been on a cruise but I am a newlywed and am just doing what it takes to make the wife smile

On a cruise, shut off your phone and enjoy being with your new wife for a change. That's probably her intention for taking the cruise in the first place. Hint hint.

Re: high WiFi and phone prices on ships. Last I checked, each ship can pay up to $20,000 a month for broadband satellite access. Some of that is used by the ship itself for communications with HQ about supplies, etc, but the rest has to be paid for by customers.

 

[kamusta1]

AT&T and Verizon should work well on your cruise. I have an iPhone with AT&T and had signal for the whole trip. I have been a few Royal Caribbean cruises this year, 2 Western cruises and our phones worked just fine. It is costly though. It was $2.50/min and $.50 text. If you have an unlimited messaging plan, incoming text are free. Make sure Data Roaming is off on your iPhone, if you don't want to get charged. If i recall it is almost $30 per megabyte when roaming. AT&T sent me a text informing me of this once the phone started roaming.

All the ships I were on had wifi on board and it was $.50/min Pay-As-Go type plan. If you wanted to purchase a wifi package and price per minute was a little less. I normally get a $5.00 coupon for free Wifi and tried to call my parents using Skype but It would not connect when trying to video chat. When I tried calling a landline it worked fine with no lag. I did not get a chance to try Facetime. Checking email and surfing the internet is a bit slow because of the satellite connection. If you are going to use the wifi, use it on off-peak times. The crew gets a discounted rate so you are sharing the connection with them too.

What Ports are you going too? I usually find some free wifi at the ports. If I have been to the ports your are going to I'll let u know where to find some free wifi.

Once on land at the ports, for sure the AT&T phone will get signal since it is GSM, but i don't think your Verizon phone will work since it is CDMA.

 

[kamusta1]

I made a 20 second call on a Disney ship in 2009 going to the Caribbean. I was charged $22.50. I called my Mom to say hi and I wanted to see what the charge would be.

You really should not use it on the cruise unless you have throw away money.

Yeah its way cheaper just to use your cell phone on board.

 

[dominickator]

Which cruise is it? Just wondering cause i'm going on one Thursday. Carnival Sensation to the Bahamas. What about you