Cruising - Mobile phone calls.

josey1964

From VacationsToGo.com
As of today, nine cruise lines have announced that they will offer a mobile phone signal (Carnival, Crystal, Norwegian, Oceania Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Silversea, MSC Cruises and Regent Seven Seas).
With the new technology, guests will be able to use their own mobile phones anywhere in the world. When a call is placed, it will be detected by cellular antennae onboard the ship and transferred to a satellite. The satellite redirects the call to a base station on land, and it is then routed through the cellular network, connecting the call within seconds.
Although the ability to use mobile phones at sea is a welcome convenience for those who must stay in touch with the home or office, others are concerned that callers could become an annoyance to guests who are trying to relax and get away from it all. For that reason, a few cruise lines such as Princess, whose slogan is "Escape Completely," have decided not to jump on the bandwagon just yet. Silversea and Oceania are dealing with guests' concerns by creating "quiet zones" and restricting cell phone service to designated areas.
Josey

jhp

But what will it cost to make or recieve calls?

josey1964

The cost for the service will vary based on where the call is placed and which mobile phone network is being used (check with your own network provider). We've been told that most calls will cost $2 to $4 per minute. The cost for guests to send e-mail using handheld devices or text messages by phone will be a few cents per message.
To use the onboard telephones you are generally paying $8 to $10 per minute.

jhp

That makes the calls very expensive.

Your be better off using your mobile at or near ports of call,using the approriate roaming network for that area direct.

MSE advice here will help keep costs down.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1119870249,48922,

MissBehaving

Thanks for that Josie. We are going on a cruise in September so it will be nice to know that my mum can contact easily should an emergency arise with my daughter.
Just need to search for a good international roaming contract!:T

jhp

MissBehaving wrote:

Thanks for that Josie. We are going on a cruise in September so it will be nice to know that my mum can contact easily should an emergency arise with my daughter.
Just need to search for a good international roaming contract!:T

Your probaly find that your have to pay for the sat call to the fixed landline base before you even add the roaming bit.

See my advice above.

MissBehaving

Just read your advice. We are in a carribean port each day so will phoning from a mobile or getting a phone card be a better deal?

josey1964

I just wanted to post this as I know the calls are still expensive, but if someone needs you in an emergancy or need to be in contact its less expensive than the ships phone.

jhp wrote:

Your probaly find that your have to pay for the sat call to the fixed landline base before you even add the roaming bit.

See my advice above.

From vacationstogo.
The cost to install the necessary equipment is about $250,000 per ship and is paid for by the communications companies. Cruise passengers will not have any charges on their onboard accounts but will see the charges on monthly cellular phone bills.

jhp

josey1964 wrote:

I just wanted to post this as I know the calls are still expensive, but if someone needs you in an emergancy or need to be in contact its less expensive than the ships phone.

JHP
"Your probaly find that your have to pay for the sat call to the fixed landline base before you even add the roaming bit."

From vacationstogo.
The cost to install the necessary equipment is about $250,000 per ship and is paid for by the communications companies. Cruise passengers will not have any charges on their onboard accounts but will see the charges on monthly cellular phone bills.

So are they guaranteeing that the calls made at sea which will be sent to a fixed landline base, will be the same price as if you locked on to your preferred network whilst in or near port.

josey1964

http://www.seamobile.com/cruise.php?cp=9

This is the company web site for more information.

The FAQ at the top of the page may help you.

mobilegossip

Sea Mobile are a network in their own right.They have 3 roaming rates which will appear on your providers bill depending on what zone you are in when/if you use them.Your own networks bill may include additional taxes or fees.

See http://www.seamobile.com/faqs.php