using my phone on a carribean cruise, help please

sut1576

hi guys.

i am looking for some help please,

i am about to go acaribbean cruise for 2 weeks and would like to be able to use my phone while i am traveling,

my phone is open to all networks so i would like to know what the best ( cheapest ) sim card phone package would be for me to buy so i can use my phone, i want to be able to ring text and message and use the internet. i wont use any of them a massive amount but would like the ability to use them if i want.

any help with this would be great,
thank you

d123

sut1576 wrote: »

hi guys.

i am looking for some help please,

i am about to go acaribbean cruise for 2 weeks and would like to be able to use my phone while i am traveling,

my phone is open to all networks so i would like to know what the best ( cheapest ) sim card phone package would be for me to buy so i can use my phone, i want to be able to ring text and message and use the internet. i wont use any of them a massive amount but would like the ability to use them if i want.

any help with this would be great,
thank you

I wouldn't, cruise ships are probably the most expensive place you can use your phone. Expect extreme bill shock if you do decide to use it.

Orange as an example, will charge you £2.50 per minute to make or receive a call, 50p per SMS text, and £8 per MB of data.

macman

How can anyone advise the cheapest deal without knowing what ports/countries you are visiting, and therefore what networks you are connecting to?
While at sea and out of range of land-based masts, you'll be connecting to the ship's own system, which as above will come at a penurious rate-the cruise co. can tell you the actual rates.
Unless of course they offer on-board wi-fi, in which case you'l only have to contend with call and text costs.

grumbler

macman wrote: »

While at sea and out of range of land-based masts, you'll be connecting to the ship's own system, which as above will come at a penurious rate-the cruise co. can tell you the actual rates.

Can they? Ultimately it's the network that charges you. I can't find the link for information on Orange posted above, but the similar information for Vodafone is:

you’ll pay our standard Rest of World Zone 1 Vodafone World rates below.

Make a call Receive a call Send a text Send a picture message Data
£1.65 a min £1.30 a min 35p + a domestic text 37p £3 per MB for up to 5MB then £15 for every 5MB after.

http://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/pay-monthly/travelling-abroad/index.htm

[Deleted User]

I've used a mobile on a cruise ship. DON'T. It's the most hideously expensive thing to do ever. I've looked for SIMs quickly also.. there's nothing very good out there.

Sorry.. best bet is to send postcards

d123

grumbler wrote: »

Can they? Ultimately it's the network that charges you. I can't find the link for information on Orange posted above

I just used the roaming charges page from the "help" link on the Orange website.

It goes here:
http://explore.ee.co.uk/roaming/orange/maritime

I see EE and T-Mobile are similar, £2 per minute to make or receive a call...

From http://explore.ee.co.uk/roaming

Idiophreak

Meh, I used my phone a bit when I did a Caribbean cruise earlier in the year (on three) and it was...expensive...but not the end of the world. Just made sure we were docked up and connected to a non-maritime network before made the calls. We called home a few times (for 10 minutes at a time...maybe 8 times total to the two sets of parents)...sent plenty of texts...and called / texted each other a few times...Ended up costing about £60 total, I think. Could have been worse.

Just do a little research before you go and you can find where the cheapest / most expensive places to call from are...then schedule your calls around that.

gjchester

macman wrote: »

Unless of course they offer on-board wi-fi, in which case you'l only have to contend with call and text costs.

Cruise companies know they are the only player in town. Wifi usually isn't free either on board either.

P&O Charge per minute at either 25p or 35p a minute, and you have no idea what seppd you may get. See https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/life-on-board/access_internet

• £35* - A 100 minute package of Internet time for use on board, anywhere in the world. When this package is purchased prior to your cruise, 20 minutes will be added free, totalling 120 minutes.
• £62.50* - A 250 minute package of Internet time for use on board, anywhere in the world. When this package is purchased prior to your cruise, 30 minutes will be added free, totalling 280 minutes.

Best to wait till your in a port and mooch on the Starbucks / Mcdonalds / localbar/ hotel free wifi. Often it will reach outside the store so you can sit outside and use the connection, unless you need coffee/burgers whatever..

As advice, treat any public wifi as insecure, and don't use banking apps ot anythign where you are worried you may lose the password. You have no idea what attached to any hotspot, or it could even be a rogue one stealing you passwords as they pass by.

Idiophreak

gjchester wrote: »

Best to wait till your in a port and mooch on the Starbucks / Mcdonalds / localbar/ hotel free wifi. Often it will reach outside the store so you can sit outside and use the connection, unless you need coffee/burgers whatever..

Often touted tip is to follow the crew. 99% of the time when crew get off the ship, first thing they do is head for wifi to call home...

[Deleted User]

You could always do some prior research.. e.g. free wifi hotspots on St maarten http://blog.icruise.com/2013/05/icruise-tips-free-wi-fi-hotspots-in-st-maarten/

Get yourself an app on your phone to make calls using Wifi and you're all good. Skype + some credit might be a good idea for calling real phones at home (I never seem to have luck with Facetime or Hangouts)

Personally I use O2 TuGo when i'm abroad, if you're on O2 you can use wifi to make 'real' calls using your phone allowance. There are similar apps for BT and Virgin phone users.

easy

ringo_24601 wrote: »

I've used a mobile on a cruise ship. DON'T. It's the most hideously expensive thing to do ever. I've looked for SIMs quickly also.. there's nothing very good out there.

Sorry.. best bet is to send postcards

Yes, if you use the ship's own network at sea it IS very expensive (well, the rates P&O want to charge are - I don't have experience of any others), but when in port or ashore on the islands then the OP could use local services.

The thing is, these may vary from island to island. I bet if you post here which islands you are visiting, someone will be able to tell you the best service to use in each place.

OP also bear in mind that most ships will have I.T. facilities, so you can go the the computer suite and send emails, or even skype for a relatively small fee. You can also pay to connect your phone/tablet/laptop to the ship's wifi, altho' that seemed quite expensive when I was last aboard - and anyway I went on holiday to get away from all the stuff that stresses my everyday life, including extended family & tech !!