Going on an Alaskan cruise, do I need an add-on if my plan includes intn'l text?

[shopgirl83]

My mom is new with cell phones to begin with and new to PM (as am I). My folks are going on an Alaskan cruise leaving early June for 10 days.  I have two questions - 1) how is international texting defined? (we both have this in our current plans, along with unl'td provincial talk) I was recently in the states (we're canadian) and I was able to receive texts, but was not able to send texts out in reply, so I'm unclear as to what exactly is included in "international texting" when going 'international'.   2) IF an add-on is required (which I'm gathering it will be)  how can I be sure that it will work for her..? she's really not techy but really wants to be able to just text with her siblings on the cruise..  is it safe to assume most cruiselines have free wifi on board? hope my questions make sense.. Thank you! 😃 

[LeciaroverRTK]

I would go with the us- roaming add on's. The texting only overs you in canada. I am heading to Orlando in a week and will be add stuff to my phone package

[GinYVR]

Wifi availability depends on which cruise lines and price points.. much like Lexus and Toyota.. same company but diffferent audiences.. eg Oceania, Cunard etc have free AYCE wifi. OP should really find out which line her mother is using instead of relying on generalities.

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@Shirley19 wrote:

I was just recently on a cruise out of NYC, as soon as I crossed the boarder in Buffalo I had no cell signal. I didn’t purchase any add ons because I’m on holidays and I don’t need people bugging me, but I thought I’d at least have signal. And as for free wifi on the ship HA! Nope you have to pay for it. 

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[kelvarnsen]

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@LovesToPM wrote:

@shopgirl83, The good news is if your mom's cruise is departing from and/or returning to BC, she will need the USA roaming only on the port days.

If she is departing from/returning to USA, you should look for the ideal 10 continuous days that she will need US roaming coverage. On PM website, we are not permitted to re-purchase the exact same Add-On until after the 10 days have elapsed. However I believe we are permitted to purchase a different Add-On at any time.

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Further to this, a cruise ship leaving from say Seattle to Alaska could stop in several Canadian ports including Vancouver, Victoria and maybe Prince Rupert. Canada wide calling would cover you in those cities and if you were close enough to shore.

Also like others I would assume that wifi would be super expensive unless it was included in advance as part of some promo package thing.

[geopublic]

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@Shirley19 wrote:

I was just recently on a cruise out of NYC, as soon as I crossed the boarder in Buffalo I had no cell signal. I didn’t purchase any add ons because I’m on holidays and I don’t need people bugging me, but I thought I’d at least have signal. And as for free wifi on the ship HA! Nope you have to pay for it. 

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@Shirley19  If you had turned roaming on when you crossed the board you would habe been able to receive texts on your phone. Calling and sending texts or using data would have required a US roaming add-on.

[Shirley19]

I was just recently on a cruise out of NYC, as soon as I crossed the boarder in Buffalo I had no cell signal. I didn’t purchase any add ons because I’m on holidays and I don’t need people bugging me, but I thought I’d at least have signal. And as for free wifi on the ship HA! Nope you have to pay for it. 

[mimmo]

@LovesToPM  have only departed from USA and Canada.  So can't say. If I were to speculate I would say it does not matter. A ship can be in Asia todsy and Canada the next week. 

This is a loophole that might get fixed someday.  

[LovesToPM]

Errr... cruise ship calling rates are usually $7 per minute.
I'm glad there are no overages with PM. Phew!

@mimmo wrote:

@shopgirl83  to sum up my experiences with cruising and public

When ship turns on  their cellular at sea( when away from port) incoming and out going calls work with no addon

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@mimmo, you mentioned this works with various cruise lines.
Does the county of departure matter? Or any other restriction?

[LovesToPM]

@shopgirl83, The good news is if your mom's cruise is departing from and/or returning to BC, she will need the USA roaming only on the port days.

If she is departing from/returning to USA, you should look for the ideal 10 continuous days that she will need US roaming coverage. On PM website, we are not permitted to re-purchase the exact same Add-On until after the 10 days have elapsed. However I believe we are permitted to purchase a different Add-On at any time.

[mimmo]

@Anonymous  sure.

I have sailed on Princess, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean all with the same outcome  with PM calling as stated above.  Cellular at sea charges people on their bill, but for some reason it works with cost with PM.  how long this loophole will last I do not know.  hence my experience.  

I have not used it with a roaming package but someone else did but i cant recall exatly what he said worked or not, but i believe sms sending worked when on ship.

and yes my experience is all ships have wifi and all ships have Internet with costly /minute or /day or /trip packages.

My last cruise was in February,  others have reported similar experiences recently.

As for when they turn cellular at sea on or off.  I don't know the exact timing but when at port it was always off.

@shopgirl83which ship are your parents going on.  Many ships/companies have apps which will show whats happening and when.  some also allow people to message or call staterooms or other mobile users with the app  .  Norwegian's messaging/calling cost $10 /voyage and it worked ok.   

[Anonymous]

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@mimmo wrote:

@shopgirl83  to sum up my experiences with cruising and public

When ship turns on  their cellular at sea( when away from port) incoming and out going calls work with no addon

If they want cell service while in port they need the 10 day roaming package

If they want to send sms while on ship then they need the roaming package. 

Shop wifi is horribly expensive so don't use it.  Finding wifi in alaska can be difficult depending on city visiting 

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So you gave your disclaimer of "my experiences"...would you be able to say whether most if not all cruise lines offer these services? Would you be willing to say the line(s) that you went on?

[mimmo]

@shopgirl83  to sum up my experiences with cruising and public

When ship turns on  their cellular at sea( when away from port) incoming and out going calls work with no addon

If they want cell service while in port they need the 10 day roaming package

If they want to send sms while on ship then they need the roaming package. 

Shop wifi is horribly expensive so don't use it.  Finding wifi in alaska can be difficult depending on city visiting 

[geopublic]

@shopgirl83  This post from @mimmo contains valuable info regarding cruise lines and PM.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Vacation-Disconnect/td-p/369430/page/2?ad...

[GinYVR]

@shopgirl83 

What kind of phone do your mom and most of her siblings have? If most of them are on the iOS platform then your mom can just use the wifi and skip getting add ons etc. since Messages works over wifi. Turn off Cellular when she gets on board, turns it back on when she is back at homeport.

Of course this also means she has to wait until she gets back onboard before she can send things eg she can't send messages without wifi coverage, eg on excursions eg on the glacier etc.

Alternatively you can introduce her (and her family) to Whatsapp (which also works via wifi).. I am sure Whatsapp is the world largest repository for family secrets!

Borders are tricky with cell phones, whether you change from US / Canada depends on the signal from the competing towers on both sides of the border especially around the Salish Sea.

[hairbag1]

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@shopgirl83 wrote:

This is helpful, thank you!

I will have my mom inquire as to wifi availablility while on board.. she did say they are porting at a number of places.. so as far as 'connecting' to AT&T or others.. will the phone automatically 'roam' to AT&T or whatever towers are out there..? ((again.. not super techy here.. I hope I'm making some sense! 😉 ..the less my mom has to fiddle with her phones settings etc the better.. 

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One thing to remember...the 10 day US Roaming Add-ons only last for 10 days...so the clock starts clicking as soon as you buy it. If Mom is going for a 10 day cruise, make sure to buy it on the day you leave. Make sure to read the instruction carefully when you do make the purchase as it's a 2 step process. Load $$ into Available Funds, then buy the desired Add-on.

As pointed out by @LovesToPM ...don't worry abou getting stuck with a big cell or data bill after you come home. With Public Mobile, you pay up front and can't run up the bill afterwards.

Good luck and have fun.

[LovesToPM]

@shopgirl83, If you're worrried, you can set your mom's phone before her trip.

- Enable Roaming
- Network mode should be set to LTE / 3G enabled.
- Automatic network selection

With Public Mobile, there are no overage charges. So she won't have any surprise bills after her trip.

One of the 10 day US roaming add-on will work well for your mom while on shore.

Wifi on cruise ships is usually very costly, unless there is a promotion and it is thrown in for free.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

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@shopgirl83 wrote:

This is helpful, thank you!

I will have my mom inquire as to wifi availablility while on board.. she did say they are porting at a number of places.. so as far as 'connecting' to AT&T or others.. will the phone automatically 'roam' to AT&T or whatever towers are out there..? ((again.. not super techy here.. I hope I'm making some sense! 😉 ..the less my mom has to fiddle with her phones settings etc the better.. 

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The phone should have some options to allow roaming. Either one or more of data or calls or texting. It would be easiest to make sure that the scanning is set to auto so that it can pick up a network that it knows it could work with. When it sees that foreign network you'll get a text saying welcome to the US and suggesting to buy add-ons.

Your Mom probably isn't completely incapable. She's been around the sun a few times. Give her some credit 🙂

[shopgirl83]

This is helpful, thank you!

I will have my mom inquire as to wifi availablility while on board.. she did say they are porting at a number of places.. so as far as 'connecting' to AT&T or others.. will the phone automatically 'roam' to AT&T or whatever towers are out there..? ((again.. not super techy here.. I hope I'm making some sense! 😉 ..the less my mom has to fiddle with her phones settings etc the better.. 

[Anonymous]

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@shopgirl83 wrote:

My mom is new with cell phones to begin with and new to PM (as am I). My folks are going on an Alaskan cruise leaving early June for 10 days.  I have two questions - 1) how is international texting defined? (we both have this in our current plans, along with unl'td provincial talk) I was recently in the states (we're canadian) and I was able to receive texts, but was not able to send texts out in reply, so I'm unclear as to what exactly is included in "international texting" when going 'international'.   2) IF an add-on is required (which I'm gathering it will be)  how can I be sure that it will work for her..? she's really not techy but really wants to be able to just text with her siblings on the cruise..  is it safe to assume most cruiselines have free wifi on board? hope my questions make sense.. Thank you! 😃 

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All Public Mobile features are only for while IN Canada.

Indeed, as you found, you can receive texts (and calls) in the US. You just need roaming add-ons to do outbound.

That's the only condition where you can use Public Mobile outside of Canada.

The cruise ship may be out of range of anything. They *might* have wifi (maybe for a fee) and they *might* have an onboard cell service (maybe for a fee).

On-shore (or in range of a cell tower), if you can connect to either AT&T or T-Mobile then you can use the roaming add-ons.

[hairbag1]

Most have wifi now...but some don't so you'll need to do your research on that one.

[hairbag1]

Your current paln allows for calls and texts while in Province. Once your out of Canada you can recieve texts, but can't reply.

You can consider a 10 day US Roaming Add-on available in the Add-on Section.

U.S. Talk, Text and Data Bundle

Unlimited Talk, International Text and 250MB Data for just $20 for 10 days.

$20

U.S. Talk and Text Bundle

Unlimited Talk and International Text for just $15 for 10 days.

$15

U.S. Talk Only

Unlimited Talk for just $8 for 10 days.

$8

U.S. Text Only

Unlimited International Text for just $8 for 10 days.

$8