Phone Charges/ Text Message Charges while Cruising (price, cheapest)

[marykate1]

We are taking a cruise in few months and I wanted to find out about the T-Mobile charges while I am in the cruise. If I call my relatives who also have T-Mobile while I am in Jamaica will that be considered an international call. What about Text messages?

[travelguy_73]

All carriers consider that an international call, and higher rates for both voice and text will apply. Many times even if you are close to US shores, calls will be considered international as they are likely using the ship's cell service and not a land-based cell tower.

Your best bet is to send a couple of text messages and call it a day. They are more expensive than US text messages, but the charges are flat and therefore predictable (and should be listed on T-Mo's website).

[asonnier]

Actually it doesn't matter what cell phone company you have; the cruise line is in charge of the price while at sea. I took a cruise in June on Carnival and their rate was $4.99 a minute. Needless to say I did not use my cell phone at all while at sea. If you are docked in the port and you get off the ship then you will be able to use your phone at it's regular charges. (though you will be charged for international if you are out of the country.) You also have to have international capabilities to be able to do this. Check with your carrier to see if your phone has this. When I went out to port was the only time I called my family to say Hello. The same rules apply to text messaging. Hope that helps!

[tstone]

When I was in Jamaica last year it was 25 cents to send and receive a text. Didn't try to place a call. It might be more economical to simply dial from the room, or receive a call there. They use 10-digit dialing like here, with the 876 area code, but it might still be considered an international call.

[LostInHouston]

do you have a laptop with wifi? I think most cruise ships have shipboard wifi probably for much cheaper per minute than phone calls/texting. Plus you can write your emails in a text editor, and then paste them to save on minutes. And when you're in port, you can pronbably connect to a local free wifi hot spot.

[marykate1]

Yes, I have a laptop with WIFI but Carnival charges insane amount for internet connection. I thought WIFI on the cruise would be free but it is 75 cents a minutes.

[marykate1]

Just check again I think the cheapest plan would be great for me:

30 minutes for $16.50 ($0.55 per minute)