Can you get any cell phone coverage on or off the ship? How about in the port citys? (Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel) We are going on the Carnival Conquest in October and I am just wondering about how to keep in touch with my family. I know the room phones and internet cafe can get quite spendy. How do you all keep in touch with family back home?

Memecakes

I had reception in Cozumel- can't speak for the rest!

Check with your cell phone provider. We had coverage in Grand Cayman with Cingular, BUT after talking to my daughter for less than 8 minutes, my phone bill was over $80.00 for the call. In Grand Cayman there are internet cafes that charge very little to use and you can also purchase a phone card and use at the pay phones close to the dock. Cozumel used to have internet and phone cafes but not sure what is there now since the hurricanes.

It all depends on what your cell phone provider offers. We have nextel and did not have signal anywhere. You may want to consider taking walkie talkies to keep in touch

On our cruise last year, my boyfriend and I didn't get much service anywheres. We both have Sprint, and it only pretty much worked in San Juan, and then when we got back to Florida. We had them shut off the rest of the vacation, since they were either roaming in analog, or had no service at all. I used a payphone in St. Maarten to call my Mom and say hi, and I talked to her for maybe 3 minutes...not even, and the bill was about $80. lol

We called the mainland from St. Thomas and it was just like being home.

The ITT people said mine would work at most of the ports you mentioned but I just gave my family the ships AT SEA phone # in case of an emergency otherwise shut it off ! Heck your on vacation !

I know the whole "you are on vacation" thing, but I liked calling my family to tell them I was ok and that I was having a blast. I plan on doing it again this year. I know my mom didn't mind the $80 bill from when I called her from a payphone in St. Maarten (cell didn't work). I knew she was worried (she worries about everything hehe), so I knew she was glad to hear from me, even if it was for a few minutes.

Georgi, speaking as a parent, I can appreciate that your Mom loved hearing from you while you were away! My kids are good at keeping in touch when they're traveling, either by finding an internet cafe or calling. Even when my daughter was living in Bangladesh, I heard from her regularly and was very grateful that she kept in touch. Moms are funny that way!

Sandy

They are! Especially my mom. She's quite the goose! I love her!

I know what you mean by wanting to stay in touch. As a business owner, I need to check in occasionally to solve problems.

If you've had your phone for a while, you may want to check into upgrading to a new multi-frequency phone that uses a Sim card (there are 4 frequencies used in most of the world). We just bought one through Cingular and it worked on my last cruise in Cozumel, Mexico last week (our only foreign port of call). The cost was about $130 with a new 2 year contract. Be prepared to spend $1.50 - $3.50 a minute for international calls.

Another great c$hoice I used last year is a company called Mobal GSM (www.mobalrental.com). You can buy a phone for $50.00 that will work in most international areas or $100.00 for a phone that will work international & US (Puerto Rico, etc...). Depending on the country, these phones cost $1.50 - $3.50 a minute (still cheaper than a $80.00 3 minute phone call). These phones have an England phone number, so people calling you will have an international charge to their phone bill too. WE USED THIS PHONE LAST SUMMER ON OUR MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE AND WERE ABLE TO CALL FROM SPAIN, ITALY, GREECE & TURKEY. All of our friends on the cruise were borrowing the phone so they could call home, too.
I hear that there are only 2 ships are experimenting with cell service on board, so that's not a practical option. Ship to shore calls from the phone on the ship run abut $7.95 a minute. We used our international cell phone when we were in port.
One More Note: I see another person above had an $80.00 bill for a short cell phone call. Be sure to check the cell companies web site on the rates for these international calls and any plans you may need to sign up for before you leave so you don't have any suprises.
Hope that helps you.
Have a great time!!!!

Seems to me you would be better off using the internet to contact home. You can book minutes ahead of time on the ship and save money. I think the last time I went it was $50 for 100 minutes. Or like was mentioned, use an on shore internet connection.

Fortunately, my company has an 800 number I can call to check in if I have too.

Another option is to use VOIp (Voice Over Internet protocal). Most of these are free but you have to use an internet connection. The one I use is called SKYPE (skype.com). You load it on your computer and you can talk to anyone else who has skype on a computer for free. You can talk to a regular landline pretty cheap also. It works worldwide.

I happen to have a smartphone/PDA that has wireless internet access and skype. If I can find a wireless signal I can talk to anyone in the world on skype. Many hotels now have open wireless internet that you can access with a wireless laptop.

We have Vonage for our home provider and set up a 800 number so when we travel we can check in (I think it is $14 a month with unlimited incoming minutes) but some places 800 numbers don't work either. We also called our mobile provider who offered us $20 extra month for our phones to work in some places (like satalite phone). You can also rent a satalite phone in most airports. As far communicating with other members on the ship (since you can get lost easy) the walkie talkies are great.

We also set up an e-mail account just for when we are away that select people get. This way you are not sorting junk e-mails and paying for that time. Normally, under $20 in my internet time and check it every day but just e-mail nothing else.

I have Verizon and had perfect coverage in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. I have no idea what the charges were but in both ports it showed as in network. Although, I have no idea what Cozumel will be like after last year's hurricane.