All phones on Deck

[JoeyandDavid]

(Business 2.0) - Cruisers, rejoice: That stateroom telephone will no longer rob you blind. This year several top cruise lines--including Carnival , Celebrity, Holland America, and Royal Caribbean --are rolling out new cell-phone services, allowing passengers to use their own phones and numbers. All at bearable rates: $2 to $5 per minute for most voice calls, which is far less than in-cabin fees. The company with the biggest upside, though, is Wireless Maritime Services, a Florida startup (partly owned by Cingular Wireless) that outfits ships with base stations that act as conduits between users, satellites, and cell towers. Another new marine cellular vendor, SeaMobile, recently signed up its first customers, Silversea and Oceania. Coming soon to all ports of call: rest, relaxation, and ringtones.

[Joanandjoe]

Soory, Joey, but that last sentence doesn't make sense. We may want to have cell phone capacity in case of emergencies; but it's not compatable with rest and relaxation.

[JoeyandDavid]

Joe I agree.. it was a cut and paste story from one of the financial web sites I visit.. associated with RCCL I took it as being sarcastic but .. i dont make the news .. i just cut and paste !

[Mebert]

Coming soon to all ports of call: rest, relaxation, and ringtones.

Soory, Joey, but that last sentence doesn't make sense. We may want to have cell phone capacity in case of emergencies; but it's not compatable with rest and relaxation.

Joanandjoey,

I love to be away from the phone calls at home, but sometimes in order to have peace of mind there are matters that one has to call home about. It's great that the prices are coming down so that calling home becomes an affordable option. Sometimes, after one or two phone calls one can really relax and enjoy the cruise without constantly worrying about what's happening back home because of a lack of information. It's also great to be able to do it within the privacy of the stateroom so that personal phone calls don't disturb the other passengers.

But believe me, I do get your point.

[DaCruzNut]

I have been on 59 cruises and have never had occassion to need, or use, a telephone!

[JoeyandDavid]

In all frankness there has been one occasion up to now that we needed a phone...David's work requires him to call in at least 36 hours in advance when reporting back to work.. if he doesn’t do that he has to stay off until he satisfies that agreement. So the technology would be useful on those occasions.

My only fear that I may come up with other "necessary occasions to use the phone " That is something I would find unacceptable…

:cry:

[Mebert]

I guess it's a matter of personal choice and/or necessity.

- Some of us choose to do without the phones so we can enjoy our vacations.

-Some choose to make calls back home to make for envious friends while their cruising.

-Some people call back home to check on situations that will give them peace of mind while they're on the cruise.

-Some folks have to be on call for job related reasons even though their on vacation. This happens sometimes if folks are self-employed or own their own business.

Whatever the case, the cruise line is offerring a more affordable alternative for those who choose to use it. If cruisers need it, it's there.

My question is, if one uses their own cell phone while out to sea will the call be considered an international call or will the connection seem like it's coming from the states or a U.S. territory? Your cell phone carrier may charge an arm and a leg if there is no pre-arrangement.

[TheSkipper]

Very rarely have I really needed a telephone on any of our cruises.

Once when we were delayed several hours getting into Tampa Bay due to fog, we called ahead and changed our airline reservations and booked a hotel for an unplanned hotel stay.

On one trip our house was up for sale and my secretary got in touch with me to let us know we had an offer, so we called from Nassau to counter-offer.

Those are the only two times which come to mind. We always carry one mainly to use at airports or to let the family know we are safely aboard the ship. Then it goes into the safe until time to disembark.

Anymore we keep in touch once in awhile using the internet cafe aboard ship or in port.

So, I guess I'm saying we do not really have a need to talk to someone at $5.00 per minute! And, Merbert has a valid point, what fees is your provider going to tack on??

Gee, I remember the days when we did not have TV aboard ship! Not a bad thing.

[GottaCruz]

For me, it's great to know that the service is available, just in case of emergency. Having an elderly mother that lives alone, you just never know. Hopefully, I'll never need to use it.