Cruise Ship Roaming - Page 2

GadgetKen · 14-01-2008, 01:50

Another alternative would be to rent a satphone (Iridium, Globalstar, Thuraya, or Inmarsat). Particually useful for cruise ships that don't have cellular at sea uplink service yet. Have loaned my father my Iridium handset occassionally for shipboard use. Cost per minute usually $1.50 or less per minute including international long distance. If renting a satphone, most vendors include express shipping in both directions.

DRNewcomb · 28-01-2008, 07:51

What I've done on a cruise ship is to forward all calls to voicemail and asked the caller to send me a text message or short e-mail. Considering the cost of delivering communications services at sea, a SMS is a real bargan.

AndreA · 01-02-2008, 16:24

well, italian carries want 50 ct. / 1 € for single SMS... it's better to switch off the phone

FBlack_111 · 28-02-2008, 18:32

I used a Passport SIM from EKIT on a Med cruise last fall. It worked fine and cost me $2.49 a minute. But a few times we cruised close to the Italian and Greek coast and I was able to make calls off the local carrier for about 69 cents a minute. With the Passport SIM they tell you about how many minutes of air time you have left before the call starts. I was also able to recharge for free from the cruise ship.

DRNewcomb · 29-02-2008, 14:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndreA

well, italian carries want 50 ct. / 1 € for single SMS... it's better to switch off the phone

With T-Mobile (US) it's 35c for outgoing and I still have free incoming SMS. I assume that GPRS roaming is the same as everywhere else, so smsBug would be a good value too.

inquisitor · 12-07-2009, 10:34

Yesterday I returned from a cruise with MSC. Allthough MSC published some nuts roaming rates for the onboard GSM network ("On-waves", MCC 284 MNC 08 ) with outgoing calls for € 4.40 + VAT and SMS for € 0.70 + VAT, my British Vodafone PAYG SIM did roam at EU-rates. So outgoing SMS were charged with GBP 0.12 and due to the activated Passport Option incoming calls were absolutely free, whereas German O2 customers paid € 1.59/min for incoming calls. Unfortunatley outgoing calls were blocked for my British Vodafone PAYG SIM.
Anyway with Callbacks through poivy.com I could call Germany for € 0.09 (landlines) or 0.17 (mobiles) from aboard the vessel, while others were charged some € 5.00/min.

FBlack_111 · 12-07-2009, 20:38

On a cruise to the Med last year I used both my U.S. Verizon CDMA phone and a Passport SIM in an unlocked gsm phone. Verizon charged $2.49 a minute. Occasionally the Passport charged at under 99 cents a minute even way out to sea. Usually they charged must more. Many days while on the ship, (but not too far from land) the Passport SIM could pull in Greek, Italian and French cell providers. So calls came in for free and cost about 49 cents out.

Stu · 13-07-2009, 00:43

Inquisitor, you were getting free incoming on the shipboard network? Cool! I'm on a Baltic cruise in August (Denmark, Sweden (2), Finland, Estonia, and Russia. I was counting on grabbing land signals most of the time, but this may even be better. Now, I just need to decide whether I pop for a Russian SIM for three days.

inquisitor · 13-07-2009, 08:50

Yes, I got free incoming calls onboard on the "On-waves" network and outgoing SMS costed € 0.14. Btw I was on a Baltic cruise, too. Actually a big part of the Baltic sea is covered by land networks, but often you'll have to go outdoors on the coast-facing side of the ship to get a clear connection. As I spent only half a day in St. Petersburg, I didn't buy a Russian SIM, but the funny thing was, that a German prepaid SIM I used provided me free calls from Russia, as they obviously had some billing problem and so not a single cent was charged to my credit for an hour of calling home.

petkow · 13-07-2009, 10:42

Once I made some calls in France where a billing error meant I was not charged either. However as it was a contract phone I was eventually charged around 3 months later! I suppose that cannot happen on a prepaid though.

Interesting about your cruise ship incoming being free though with voda passport. I wonder if the crew on that ship know that too? I have a friend who is a ships engineer who is constantly complaining how expensive ships-side voice communication is for him.

As for me, when I was on a cruise a while ago, my phone was deliberately off and I was actually quite happy that I felt cut off from the world. People couldn't even get me an "emergency"! Bliss! Pity that is no longer the case!

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

	(#11)
GadgetKen (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 342 Join Date: 14 Dec 2004 Location: Connecticut, USA Country:	14-01-2008, 01:50 Another alternative would be to rent a satphone (Iridium, Globalstar, Thuraya, or Inmarsat). Particually useful for cruise ships that don't have cellular at sea uplink service yet. Have loaned my father my Iridium handset occassionally for shipboard use. Cost per minute usually $1.50 or less per minute including international long distance. If renting a satphone, most vendors include express shipping in both directions.

	(#12)
DRNewcomb (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,465 Join Date: 27 Feb 2004 Location: Mississippi, USA Country:	28-01-2008, 07:51 What I've done on a cruise ship is to forward all calls to voicemail and asked the caller to send me a text message or short e-mail. Considering the cost of delivering communications services at sea, a SMS is a real bargan.

	(#13)
AndreA (Offline) Administrator Prepaid Genius Posts: 1,650 Join Date: 13 Jan 2004 Location: Florence, Italy Country:	01-02-2008, 16:24 well, italian carries want 50 ct. / 1 € for single SMS... it's better to switch off the phone ANTPEAΣ AΠO THN ΦΛΩPENTIA My Phones: iPhone 2G, E65, N70, P910 DVB-H, A835, 6630, 7600, 6210, S55, T39 "Working" PrePaids: IT: Wind, H3G, Vodafone, Tim, CoopVoce, Poste Mobile, Telepass Mobile, Uno Mobile - CH: OrangeClick - RSM: Prima Easy - UK: O2, H3G - INT: United Mobile, TravelSim, ICQ SIM "Deceased" PrePaids: IT: Blu - AT: H3G - FR: Itineris - ES: Yoigo - GR: Cosmote, Frog - HR: Tele2 - UK: Virgin, Orange TO: UCall - NZ: Vodafone - IN: Hutch - CAN: Fido - USA: T-Mobile - INT: Travelfone, CallKey, Globalsim, HopMobile, GT, 09, Mobal, Yackiemobile ITALIAN TLC BLOG

	(#14)
FBlack_111 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 171 Join Date: 27 Feb 2008 Country:	28-02-2008, 18:32 I used a Passport SIM from EKIT on a Med cruise last fall. It worked fine and cost me $2.49 a minute. But a few times we cruised close to the Italian and Greek coast and I was able to make calls off the local carrier for about 69 cents a minute. With the Passport SIM they tell you about how many minutes of air time you have left before the call starts. I was also able to recharge for free from the cruise ship.

	(#16)
inquisitor (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,399 Join Date: 15 Nov 2006 Country:	12-07-2009, 10:34 Yesterday I returned from a cruise with MSC. Allthough MSC published some nuts roaming rates for the onboard GSM network ("On-waves", MCC 284 MNC 08 ) with outgoing calls for € 4.40 + VAT and SMS for € 0.70 + VAT, my British Vodafone PAYG SIM did roam at EU-rates. So outgoing SMS were charged with GBP 0.12 and due to the activated Passport Option incoming calls were absolutely free, whereas German O2 customers paid € 1.59/min for incoming calls. Unfortunatley outgoing calls were blocked for my British Vodafone PAYG SIM. Anyway with Callbacks through poivy.com I could call Germany for € 0.09 (landlines) or 0.17 (mobiles) from aboard the vessel, while others were charged some € 5.00/min. terminals: Samsung: Galaxy S5 DuoS (G900FD); BLU: Win HD LTE; Nokia: 1200; Asus: Fonepad 7 ME372CG; Huawei data: E3372, Vodafone R201, K3765, E1762; postpaid: O2 on Business XL; prepaid: DE: Aldi Talk, Lidl; UK: 3; BG: MTel, vivacom; RU: MTS; RS: MTS; UAE: du Tourist SIM; INT'L: toggle mobile VoIP: sipgate.de (German DID); sipgate.co.uk (British DID); ukddi.com (British DID); sipcall.ch (Swiss DID); megafon.bg (Bulgarian DID); InterVoip.com

	(#17)
FBlack_111 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 171 Join Date: 27 Feb 2008 Country:	12-07-2009, 20:38 On a cruise to the Med last year I used both my U.S. Verizon CDMA phone and a Passport SIM in an unlocked gsm phone. Verizon charged $2.49 a minute. Occasionally the Passport charged at under 99 cents a minute even way out to sea. Usually they charged must more. Many days while on the ship, (but not too far from land) the Passport SIM could pull in Greek, Italian and French cell providers. So calls came in for free and cost about 49 cents out.

	(#18)
Stu (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Guru Posts: 1,091 Join Date: 11 Feb 2004 Location: Detroit (formerly Dubai) Country:	13-07-2009, 00:43 Inquisitor, you were getting free incoming on the shipboard network? Cool! I'm on a Baltic cruise in August (Denmark, Sweden (2), Finland, Estonia, and Russia. I was counting on grabbing land signals most of the time, but this may even be better. Now, I just need to decide whether I pop for a Russian SIM for three days.

	(#19)
inquisitor (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,399 Join Date: 15 Nov 2006 Country:	13-07-2009, 08:50 Yes, I got free incoming calls onboard on the "On-waves" network and outgoing SMS costed € 0.14. Btw I was on a Baltic cruise, too. Actually a big part of the Baltic sea is covered by land networks, but often you'll have to go outdoors on the coast-facing side of the ship to get a clear connection. As I spent only half a day in St. Petersburg, I didn't buy a Russian SIM, but the funny thing was, that a German prepaid SIM I used provided me free calls from Russia, as they obviously had some billing problem and so not a single cent was charged to my credit for an hour of calling home. terminals: Samsung: Galaxy S5 DuoS (G900FD); BLU: Win HD LTE; Nokia: 1200; Asus: Fonepad 7 ME372CG; Huawei data: E3372, Vodafone R201, K3765, E1762; postpaid: O2 on Business XL; prepaid: DE: Aldi Talk, Lidl; UK: 3; BG: MTel, vivacom; RU: MTS; RS: MTS; UAE: du Tourist SIM; INT'L: toggle mobile VoIP: sipgate.de (German DID); sipgate.co.uk (British DID); ukddi.com (British DID); sipcall.ch (Swiss DID); megafon.bg (Bulgarian DID); InterVoip.com

	(#20)
petkow (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 696 Join Date: 01 Aug 2006 Location: Madrid Country:	13-07-2009, 10:42 Once I made some calls in France where a billing error meant I was not charged either. However as it was a contract phone I was eventually charged around 3 months later! I suppose that cannot happen on a prepaid though. Interesting about your cruise ship incoming being free though with voda passport. I wonder if the crew on that ship know that too? I have a friend who is a ships engineer who is constantly complaining how expensive ships-side voice communication is for him. As for me, when I was on a cruise a while ago, my phone was deliberately off and I was actually quite happy that I felt cut off from the world. People couldn't even get me an "emergency"! Bliss! Pity that is no longer the case!