Cell phones and cruise in Canada

Parent Cafe
1

<p>My H and I are taking our first vacation (alone) since our D was born 18 years ago. She is now a college freshman. The cruise goes from NYC to Canada and back. I just spoke to AT&T, our cell phone carrier, and cannot believe the ripoff–calls from the ship at $2.50/minute (even in the US) and calls from land in Canada are $0.79/minute. Does anyone have any experience with this? I am thinking of getting a phone card (for payphones) and perhaps a pre-paid cell phone (which I am hoping can work from the ship and from Canada at a more reasonable rate).</p>

<p>Thanks for any ideas.</p>

2

<p>We have Verizon and while we live in Ohio, we have a cottage in Canada. Yes, it’s true that our phone calls are in that ballpark per minute. It’s awful. I have bought phone cards before when I’ve been staying in hotels in Canada for conferences and used those with the hotel room phone instead of my cell. Just make sure the phone card covers calls out of the U.S. </p>

<p>Another tip - keep your phone calls short. Very short!</p>

3

<p>I took the Boston to Canada cruise 2 years ago. Had T-Mobile. Phone would not work at all in Maine!!!</p>

<p>No problem in Quebec City and since I was calling other T-Mobile users back home, I dont remember paying a premium. The e-mail from the ship (Royal Caribbean) was only 75 cents a minute, so I spent about $7.50 a day reading and sending quick e-mails to the family.</p>

4

<p>how much is texting? it is amazing what we can communicate when texting</p>

5

<p>who do you have to call and can they call others to tell them how you are?</p>

<p>can you email from the ship </p>

<p>can you sey up codes</p>

<p>if they call YOU is it cheaper- ie, can you call and hang up, they see who the call was from and then call you?</p>

<p>think about how much you actualy will use the phone and how much you want to be reached</p>

<p>in an emergency, 20 dollars will seem miniscule</p>

<p>maybe having an expensive phone will be an excuse to have a real vacation and not talk too much</p>

6

<p>My concern is partly work and partly my freshman at college.</p>

<p>I am trying to figure out if a prepaid cell phone avoids the $2.50 minute for calls from the ship.</p>

7

<p>Texting in canada is $0.50 per text
There used to be international plans which were north american and more reasonable- my D has one, all her minutes are anywhere in north america, as she spends a great deal of time in Canada, apparently fraudulent use in mexico ended that special :frowning:
If you do use your cell of the US, be sure to keep track as it may pick up Canadian towers & they will adjust that for you as “fringe roaming” The first person you talk to has the ability to adjust up to $250 in most cases.</p>

<p>A check in text is your cheapest way to do it, no contact other than emergency may have to do, plus checking email at internet cafes in cities along the way??</p>

8

<p>I took my son, daughter, and wife on a Caribbean cruise this past Christmas. Last time we would all be together, probably EVER. I made 1 simple rule before leaving. Only my wife and I could bring our cell phones, and we would only use it to call family to say we made it to the ship or we just came back off of the ship. The only other way it was going to get used was a pure emergency. In that case, I don’t care if it’s $5.00 a minute. If there was an emergency on our ship, I figure most of the world would know it. (The ships are tracked quite stringently). If there was an emergency back home; whell there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it in Central America.</p>

<p>If you have a cell phone, then take it will you. Just don’t use it while on the ship. If you are on a “Well Deserved Vacation” then there isn’t one reason in the world for using it to make a call. If you think that work is that important, then forget the cruise. Work your butt off, make a lot of money, and have an early stroke. When we went on our cruise, I specifically told my boss that I put my “COMPANY” cell phone in the charger on my desk. I wasn’t taking it with me and I wouldn’t allow work to interfere with my personal time with my wife and family. 6 figures or not, I don’t get paid enough to allow that stress to be part of my life.</p>

<p>But that’s besides the point. If you are convinced that you need the cell for business, then STILL take your normal cell. Forget calling cards and temp prepaid cell phones. Then, keep track of all the calls and charges, and put it in as a travel voucher at work and make them pay you back at the FULL price. Even if you are self employed, you can claim it as a business expense. Also, if while you are at port, if you were in the local community and happened to apply for some jobs, there are ways to right the entire vacation off as a business expense. But then again, make sure you ask for A LOT for a starting salary. Because if they say YES to hiring you, you can’t turn it down and still take the tax break. LOL!!! Anyway, why sweat it. You have no reason during the cruise to call anyone and if during the cruise your work wants you that badly, then let them pay for it. Not your problem. Later… Mike…</p>