cell phones on ship

[travelgal]

I have Alltel and it worked while in the ports but not at sea in Jan. I did a dumb thing and took the cell phone mainly as my alarm clock...DAAAA if you don't have service it doesn't work. Oh well I slept in a few morning because I forgot to have a wake up call. Never missed anything thank goodness and learned my lesson.

[RichC]

Doesn't Nextel offer a feature on some models that lets you communicate with other Nextel phones using a built in walkie talkie feature (similar to FRS radio's) if you're out of range of a cell tower?

[Pegasus]

I've read the various threads about cell phone use.... has anyone tried using text messaging features on board? I will have my kids with me but I don't really want to keep track of them with a squawking walkie talkie. Just wondering if anyone has had any luck using texting. We have unlimited texting on our family plan.

[Bem1962]

friends have and say it worked well , but cost extra

[marshalltp]

Verizon phone worked great on the ship at $2.50 a minute....better than the outrageous ship to shore rate. Used cell phone extensively in Hawaii with no addtional charges.

[Cynthia C]

On the Spirit in January there were ads on the cabin TV all day long that stated you could use your cell phone anywhere on board now. But my phone, by T-Mobile, never worked from the moment the ship started sailing.

I was really sad too, as I had thought I would have a chance to call my kids, but no. Five days into the cruise I broke down and made a $21 3-minute phone call from the cabin. But it was worth every penny.

[PA Steve Rocky Mount]

Thanks for all the helpful info. I'm on Verizon so I'm gonna call them. My biggest problem ISN'T calls I wanna make..it's incoming. So this will help. Once again, these forums are incredably helpful!

[gdjoslin]

Just remember it will cost like $2.50 a minute when calling from the ship. It is better than $21. but still a lot.

[yankeeso]

Congratulations on your upcoming 30th wedding anniversary. My husband and I are celebrating our 30th on the Spirit also but we are going to Hawaii from Esenada in April.

[Paradise Cruiser]

BEWARE: if anyone has a blackberry and/ or recives email on their phone, thats used kilobytes. I belive Verizon charges 7 cents per kilobite making the cost PER EMAIL 35 cents. This is ok if you only get an email occasionally but for people who get constant emails and attachments, it can really add up.