International roaming checklist
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Depending on where your ship is at any given moment, you might or might not have a phone signal through your own carrier. When you do have one, it's coming through an at-sea provider (Cellular At Sea for many cruise lines) and is considered a roaming charge by your cell carrier. Once you have a mobile hotspot, you can connect to it with your T-Mobile phone and use your phone as you would normally. You’ll still be subject to roaming charges, but you’ll be able to use your phone more freely than if you were relying on the ship’s Wi-Fi network. In addition to T-Mobile, most cruise ships also offer Wi-Fi.
Other Options for Staying Connected on a Cruise Ship
Bear in mind that there also might be a limit to how much data you can use per day while in port, and you'll be charged an overage fee each time you exceed it. If your plan doesn't include international data and you don't want to purchase a travel pass, you can always look for Wi-Fi at a local restaurant or bar. Whether you’re planning a relaxing cruise to the Caribbean or an exciting adventure to Alaska, you may be wondering if your T-Mobile phone will work onboard.
Unlimited international calls for just $15/mo.
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Some cruise travelers have been shocked by their cell phone bills after returning from a cruise, when they realized they were being charged for data usage throughout the voyage. Nothing sounds worse than arriving in another country only to find out your phone doesn't work. This international roaming checklist has everything you need to know before traveling abroad. To check available options for international roaming, review International roaming services. Check out all of the Un-carrier’s travel benefits at t-mobile.com/benefits/travel. The cruise line offers VOOM internet access across its fleet, which is touted as one of the fastest wi-fi services of any major cruise line.
T-Mobile and Cellular at Sea Info
These cruise package plans will be activated once your cruise ship is away from shore and will display as “Cellular at Sea, wmsatsea, , or NOR-18” once you are connected. They each are a one-time charge with benefits that will last for 30 days. If you don't want to be charged for listening to your messages, you can access your voicemail from a landline or other phone. You'll need your voicemail password (the one you selected during voicemail setup). If you've forgotten your password, you can reset it by contacting T-Mobile Customer Service. As you can see, the easiest way to use your phone on a cruise is to use it to connect to the ship’s wi-fi.
Calling while abroad
On the other hand, Verizon's TravelPass and AT&T's International Day Pass charge $5 to $10 per day for travelers to text, call and use data based on the plan they have at home. Without the pass, pay-per-use data rates for both carriers costs more than $2.00/MB on land. It's possible to send and receive text messages at sea on a cellular signal, as long as you have a signal through your ship's roaming network.
Cell Phone Costs on a Cruise
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In the past I have always turned my T-Mobile phone to "Airplane Mode". I called T-Mobile just before going on the Allure about a month ago. I personally used the international roaming while docked a lot. Cococay and Nassau I had no problems with the Data at reduced speeds as it allowed me to make VOIP calls using services such as line, whatsapp, google voice, etc. If you are looking to stream netflix that won't work. Technically you can use your cell phone on a cruise, but it's not always possible.
If you are on one of the old value plans, switching over to the Simple Choice Plans is really easy and the prices are virtually the same. T-Mobile TRAVEL with Priceline is a site with travel deals exclusively for T-Mobile, Sprint, and Metro by T-Mobile customers. Save up to 40% on hotels or Pay Now rental cars, book flights and more.
Your voicemail password & charges
Otherwise, users may pick up the ship’s network and be charged cruise ship roaming charges. How much does it cost to use your cell phone on a cruise ship? We compared the plans, cost, and services from the three largest cell phone providers. If your flight has GoGo WiFi I get an hour of free WiFi per flight. You now have to be able to receive a 2FA text to validate your connection. I find that some phones have no problems receiving this text in airplane mode while others won’t and have to be put in regular mode for a few moments to receive the text.
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Hi SRF -- we are traveling very soon on celebrity and i've been reading up on tmobile and cellular at sea. So, tmobile does not offer this -- so i think we are to use something like cellular at sea. If i read above what you said, we should pay for the ship wifi and then using wifi calling and phone in airplane mode we WON'T get charged for phone calls? Thanks for any clarification you can provide...
However, many cruise ships offer Wi-Fi, and you can usually connect to the ship’s Wi-Fi network using your T-Mobile phone. Cruise ships have cellular service that you can connect to. However, it’s usually considered international roaming and means you’ll be charged high rates to access.
Then decide if you want to book a cruise with T-mobile or not. Like most cruise travel websites, the platform also offers personalized discounts based on categories like age, military service, and past cruise reservations. I’m not a T-mobile customer, as I can’t give any direct feedback on the service. However, I have checked out Cruisebound.com and I love how they let you search for cruise prices that includes the port fees and taxes in the price.
This comparison is for cell phone use on a cruise ship, not when in international cruise ports. You can probably get by with T-Mobile's slow roaming data (~256 kbps) as long as you aren't addicted to video or megapixel photos. Set your phone to do updates, backups and syncs only on WiFi. Preload Google Maps offline data for areas you plan to visit.
I had 2 incoming phone calls during my cruise that I didn't answer. I was charged $2.50 for each call ($5 total). That's when I was told I could contact T-Mobile before my next cruise and they could turn off incoming calls and texts for the time I was on the ship to stop any charges. Yes, my phone showed connected to "Cellular at Sea". I was on the Allure, then on the Independence at the end of Oct. this year.
Second, there is the Unlimited Premium Wi-Fi Package ($40 per day), giving you full access to the web and streaming services — including YouTube, TikTok, and Netflix. With this level of service, making calls, sending texts, and video chats are no issue. If I remember correctly there is no charge for to have international roming on your cell phone with T-moble. You still pay the going rates what ever they are. You have to have Tmobile turn international roaming on, or your phone won't connect to the towers. This is to keep people from running up HUGE bills without knowing.
T-Mobile will have very basic coverage, like 2G maybe in some areas.......but regardless you are still using cellular at sea. There is a whole process where you must call and have them block the calling features, so you don't have to pay that $5+ a minute. I have heard of people who did it and got charged for letting a call go to voicemail. Life doesn't often work out how we plan, so it is just better to put your device in airplane mode or turn off. Literally everyone knows I am on a cruise and that doesn't stop them from calling.
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