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Phone Options on Grand Princess?
We're taking the Grand Princess just before x-mas. What is the best option
for making 1-2 phone calls per day? Thanks LT |
#2
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Phone Options on Grand Princess?
I intend to try out voice over IP (VOIP) using a wireless internet
connection on my next voyage. In the past left the computer at home. Next time it's coming along. Anyone with luck using VOIP for calls with the Princess ships? Mike www.mythictravel.com LT wrote: We're taking the Grand Princess just before x-mas. What is the best option for making 1-2 phone calls per day? Thanks LT |
#3
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Phone Options on Grand Princess?
"Michael A." wrote in message
... I intend to try out voice over IP (VOIP) using a wireless internet connection on my next voyage. In the past left the computer at home. Next time it's coming along. Anyone with luck using VOIP for calls with the Princess ships? I would suspect that they have blocked the ports for VOIP to prevent this. My experience with using VOIP over satellite links has been less than outstanding. VOIP requires a pretty high-speed low-latency connection. Princess' disclaimer says, "Ship Internet access is not guaranteed at all times due to the nature of satellite communications, which are subject to itinerary and possible disruption from weather patterns and various obstructions. Also, Internet access via satellite is significantly slower than high-speed connections on shore." On my recent cruise I used my cell phone through their onboard system. I forwarded all incoming calls to voicemail where I requested that the caller send a numeric page, text message or e-mail. Calls with their cell phone system were $5/min. Text messages were 15c each outgoing and on my plan free incoming. Since most cruise ships are near land every day or so using your cell phone on shore can be a cheaper option. There are many alternatives to high priced cellular roaming. -- Donald R. Newcomb DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net |
#4
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Phone Options on Grand Princess?
Hi, LT,
We just got off the Grand P. (and it was a nice cruise). They now tout cell service at sea. We didn't try making voice calls, so I can't tell you anything about reception. After reading about the feature in the daily newspaper (Princess Patter), my husband got out his Treo and was able to connect and download his email (Sprint). We did see/hear passengers using their cell phones, and I once saw a passenger placing a VOIP call from his laptop standing in the atrium outside the library/internet area. We used our laptop and the ship's computers to connect to the 'net a couple of times--the satellite connection was so slow, I cannot imagine it would be reliably robust enough to place important phone calls. You might want to ask this question in the Princess forum on Cruise Critic and indicate which cell network you use to get better feedback on your chances. Also, join the Roll Call for your cruise if you haven't already and ask them the same question. Note, you should check with your cell provider charges for such calls and whether there is any international service you can temporarily activate to reduce costs. I did place one cell call to the US from land in Cozumel and was prompted to agree to pay International roaming charges before the call went through. It will be interesting to see what that call cost me. I have heard other folks talk about unexpectedly incurring outrageous charges for cell usage. Good luck in figuring out a workable system. Have a great cruise! Diana Ball Austin, TX |
#5
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Phone Options on Grand Princess?
Thus spake "Donald Newcomb" :
"Michael A." wrote in message ... I intend to try out voice over IP (VOIP) using a wireless internet connection on my next voyage. In the past left the computer at home. Next time it's coming along. Anyone with luck using VOIP for calls with the Princess ships? I would suspect that they have blocked the ports for VOIP to prevent this. My experience with using VOIP over satellite links has been less than outstanding. VOIP requires a pretty high-speed low-latency connection. Princess' disclaimer says, "Ship Internet access is not guaranteed at all times due to the nature of satellite communications, which are subject to itinerary and possible disruption from weather patterns and various obstructions. Also, Internet access via satellite is significantly slower than high-speed connections on shore." I successfully used Skype on the Elation last year. It was a short call and there were some quality issues, but it worked. Skype is notorious for finding a path out. It'll even use port 80 if it needs to. Unless they block on protocol, Skype will work. On my recent cruise I used my cell phone through their onboard system. I forwarded all incoming calls to voicemail where I requested that the caller send a numeric page, text message or e-mail. Calls with their cell phone system were $5/min. Text messages were 15c each outgoing and on my plan free incoming. Roaming was around that same rate on the Rhapsody this fall. I turned on international roaming so I could call from Grand Cayman and Cozumel, if needed. Rates were $1.59 a minute for Grand Cayman and $.43 a minute for Mexico. Text messages were $.10 a pop regardless of where we were. When we were in Australia last year, I did a lot of texting to our house/dog sitter. Since most cruise ships are near land every day or so using your cell phone on shore can be a cheaper option. There are many alternatives to high priced cellular roaming. Check your air provider for international roaming rates. Cingular charges $4.95 a month for rates that are about a half to a third of what they would be without the plan. It will pay for itself in about 5 minutes. But not onboard the ship. Of course, you'll need a quad band GSM phone to make it work. -- dillon If you can't figure out how to unmunge my address, email me and I'll explain it. |
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