i know this has been discussed before on another thread but help me out please. is it much more expensive to use your cell phone on the boat???

It depends on your individual carrier. You may be charged roaming charges by your carrier. The ship is not charging you.

If you are at sea & you still have a signal it means that the cruise line is providing a cell phone signal & they will add an additional charge of $4 or $5 per minute to your tab. Although I haven't personally experienced the service yet, the new system is being introduced on more & more ships everyday. I'm not quite sure how the system identifies your phone for billing purposes but using a cell phone at sea can be convenient but expensive.

It seems like the cost might not be worth the convenience. I guess I stick to emailing people for now

Just a word of caution: e-mail isn't exactly a bargain either.

Here is some cheap advise...

YOU ARE ON VACATION
SHUT YOUR PHONE OFF

relax, enjoy the cruise, the world will be there when you get back. When you get within site if the shore your cell will find a shore tower, Then call the people that are picking you up if you need to.

quote:

Originally posted by CruiseDad:
Here is some cheap advise...

YOU ARE ON VACATION
SHUT YOUR PHONE OFF

Amen!

Although I personally have the need to use a cell phone on a cruise there can be a justified need for one- someone ill at home who takes a turn for the worst. At least you can call ahead to the next port to make emergency plane reservations to get back home.

No problem with those who have a real need. I think those of us who hate it are referring to those who want to sit and idly chat about nothing - the same people who wander supermarket aisles with a cell phone welded to their ear - or those who make a list of people to call from the car before they leave home!

Yea I know what you mean, we've got them here in Florida to. In any event, I'd love to see the expression on their face when they get the bill on the last night of the cruise after blabbing about nothing for 20 or 30 minutes on the cell phone at sea. Priceless.

I think if the ships are going to allow it they ought to have specific areas approved for use - and perhaps electronically cancel out cell phone signals in the other parts of the ship. Sort of like the leper colony smoking rooms one sees at airports.

I was on a Carnival cruise to San Juan, St. Maarten and St. Thomas in late Oct/early November, and I got service in both San Juan and St. Thomas and for over an hour after leaving port. Since I have Sprint and both of those are US territories, I did not have any additional charges added to my bill from anyone.

Normally, I would not have the phone with me if I am on vacation. HOWEVER!! This cruise was actually a working cruise for me (My store sponsored a crafting cruise.), so I needed the phone for calls back to the store.

In addition, one of the gals in my group ended up getting a phone call that her father had passed away while we were in St. Maarten. She had Verizon and was able to get service while in St. Maarten and after we left there, which she needed since she had to make arrangements to get back to the States from St. Thomas. (Carnival was NO help at all.)

Chris

Good idea, Dave!
Corral the smokers and cell-phone users in the same area; like on a very low deck all the way to the stern.

I used my cellphone in St. Thomas just to call home and check on the kids. It was just for a few minutes. Alltel charged me way more than normal but it was worth it just to hear from my kids. (It had been 3 days.)

I took the legend in sept. the phone did not work at sea but approaching the islands they did work. I have cingular and there was no extra charge either by my carrier or the cruise ship...

What Islands?

Personally, I'm not so concerned about having a cell phone to stay connected to home base...but I would like to know if the little walkie talkies work on board well enough to keep track of my teenager (whom I probably won't see once we board the ship)....has anyone used these for that purpose...to keep in touch with family members on such large ships? Appreciate your advice, thanks.

Yes, unfortunately they do work; and they are even more annoying than cell phones because people tend to yell into them thinking that they have to; and if that wasn't bad enough, you can hear both ends of the conversation because thay have built in speakers. And worse still, they work all the time, not just in port like most cell phones.

The frs/gmrs walkie talkie's do work to some degree but have considerable reduction in range due to the excessive steel used on cruise ships. I wouldn't count on reliable contact form the pool area to an inside room near the bow of the ship 6 decks below. They might work better for a balcony room. I consider them more of a pain since all they do is beep constantly & people just keep trying to communicate without much luck. If you do use them, consider turning off the release button beeps & not using the contact calling tone to give others around you some peace.

we too had to have our cell phones because of ill father,our phone worked in the ports of san juan, st thomas,we also used our computor to stay in contact with family.so sometimes you have to bring them.but we still enjoyed our trip alot.