Going on a cruise can be an adventure that you won’t soon forget. You are going to have the chance to visit many different places. Along the way, you get to spend time aboard a ship that is filled with food, entertainment, and overall fun. We have to admit it not all cruise trips turn out to be great. That being said, of course, if you are going on one your intention is to have fun. For a lot of people not being able to use their phones and talk to their friends does not sound like it is a lot of fun. That is certainly one of the things that are going to be a challenge. How are you going to get phone coverage in the middle of the ocean? Spoiler alert you are probably not going to get much coverage at all. Using your phone on a cruise can be tricky.
Now, there are different things that you could potentially do to make sure that you are still connected. If you have read through some of the other articles on the site you know that we talk quite a bit about getting a foreign SIM card. This can be really tricky though. As on a cruise, you are going to be visiting many different countries. There are companies that are going to promise that you will be getting coverage everywhere on your journey. Some of these offers may be a scam though. So, you have to be very careful when you decide to make any purchase. In this article, we want to give you some strategies and ideas on what you could potentially do to stay connected while on a cruise!
- Where are you going?
- Using your phone on international waters
- Paying for a SIM card to use your phone on a cruise
- What is the best phone to take on a cruise?
- Wifi is going to be your best friend
- Apps to call all over the world
Where are you going?
There are certain places that you can visit where you may not have a lot of trouble getting coverage. Of course, we are talking about getting coverage on land. If you are on the ship the most effective way to get coverage is through the ship’s own wifi network let’s just get that out of the way. Now, the reason why where you are going has such an importance in the way that you are going to obtain coverage is that coverage is usually determined by country. What we mean by this is, phone companies usually operate within the borders of one country. For example, AT&T provides coverage in the United States. It has a subsidiary in Mexico, but you can’t take your phone to Mexico and expect the same benefits that you get locally. This can get a little tricky when you are visiting multiple countries in just a few days.
If you are taking a cruise that is going to see you explore the Mediterranean and all of the places that you are going to visit are within the European Union you are in good shape. You could potentially buy a SIM card that allows you to get coverage in the entire European Union and you will be pretty much covered while you are on land. These principals may not apply to cruising in the Caribbean. You can find yourself visiting different island countries each with their own set of laws and regulations.
If you have an American local plan you are going to be good in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Most of the domestic plans in America include coverage in these islands. That being said, you may not be getting the 5G or 4G speeds that you are accustomed to getting at home. It is also a good idea to read the fine print on your contract. There is a good chance though, that these 2 islands are going to be included in your contract!
Using your phone on international waters
As we just mentioned different countries are going to have different laws and regulations regarding cell phone coverage. So, what happens when you are in international waters? Is your phone company going to be able to provide you with cell phone coverage? Say you leave on a cruise from a port in Miami. There is a good chance that you could get coverage while on the boat near the shore. If you were to have a local US phone. Once you get far out into the ocean would that coverage still apply? Honestly probably not, but it really does not have much do with the fact that you are navigating on international waters. It just means that you are too far off from the last tower that is going to be able to provide that coverage for you.
If you are in the middle of the sea in international waters there is a great chance that you are not going to be able to get any type of coverage. Unless you were to be using a satellite phone. If we are talking about your regular plan coverage is just not going to be getting to you at all. As we previously mentioned your best shot is to use the onboard wifi. There is no SIM card that you are going to be able to buy outside of your cruise ship that is going to give you coverage on board. There is a chance that the cruise ship that you board may charge you extra for wifi, but that is another story!
Paying for a SIM card to use your phone on a cruise
Is it worth it to pay for a SIM card to be able to use your phone while you are on land during a cruise? This is really going to depend on how much time you actually get to spend on land. On some cruises, you could be spending entire days on land. If that is the case, then it may make a bit more sense to actually spend some extra cash on a foreign SIM card. Especially if you are going on that cruise through the Mediterranean that we mentioned beforehand. You could potentially visit a good number of European cities. With a SIM card that is going to give you coverage throughout Europe, you could definitely get ahead if you will.
If you are going to be spending more time on the ship than you are on land, then it may not make much sense. Especially if you can use different apps to call whoever it is that you would want to call through the ship’s wifi network. Having said this, there is a chance that you could get a very cheap SIM card, especially on a Caribbean island. If you are going to pay 20 dollars to be able to have a comfortable call or have the chance to send continuous texts would you do it? You could essentially “survive” with wifi and apps. Which, if you channel them correctly, doesn’t necessarily have to cost you an extra dime. If you want to get the chance to not rely on that then you could think about paying for a SIM card. We can’t say that one way of doing things is better than the next. Your decision can depend on different goals that you may have.
What is the best phone to take on a cruise?
Honestly, it can be hard to determine which particular type of phone is better suited for travel. If you want to take a burner phone with you on your trip it may not be such a bad idea. Especially if you want to insert SIM cards from multiple countries throughout your trip. As we have said on multiple occasions throughout the site, it is not that inserting a foreign SIM card on your phone is potentially “dangerous”. Data loss and data corruption though is still a looming fear. The fact that you would have to go get your phone unlocked to make sure that you can insert different SIM cards into it can also be a hassle.
With this in mind, it is not a bad idea at all to buy a burner phone. If you are going to do that the best idea would be to buy any phone that runs on an Android operating system. It is not that Android is better than IOS. It is just that Android is more compatible overall. If you need to buy a charger that runs on the local electric voltage you are going to be able to do so with ease if you have an Android phone. Any extra gadget that you would have to buy with an iPhone can end up being more expensive.
If you have an iPhone with dual SIM capabilities you may not need to use a burner phone. If you happen to be traveling to a place that uses the same type of electric current that you are used to then you are not going to have trouble with gadgets. Therefore, you could just take your regular phone. You may run into some difficulties trying to find an eSIM on some of these islands that we have talked about. That goes for pretty much any remote location that you could potentially travel to on a cruise. Most of these phones though, with dual SIM capabilities that run eSIM cards do have a regular SIM card port. So, this should not be something that is overly concerning at the end of the day!
Wifi is going to be your best friend
In international travel, there is a good chance that you would not have to spend an extra dime to “use” your phone outside your home country. If you have a wifi connection and apps that allow you to communicate with other people. When it comes to traveling on a cruise when you are in the middle of the ocean the only way that you are going to get coverage could be through the ship’s wifi. If you happen to be someone who really can’t live without their phone you are probably going to want to make sure that you board a ship that always has decent wifi. If you expected free wifi, you may be disappointed!
There are certain cruise liners that are going to charge you an extra fee for the wifi. The problem is on a line like Carnival Cruise lines wifi coverage can actually turn out to be very expensive. Totalling north of ten dollars a day. Usually, there is going to be an “internet cafe” type of room. Within this room, you are going to be able to use the computers that are on board to surf the web. In doing so though, you will have to pay-per-minute costs. These rates can skyrocket, especially if you are in there for an extended period of time.
On Nowereigein cruise ships you can access wifi by paying around 25 dollars for the 12-day trip. This is certainly not the worst deal in the industry. These rates are probably going to vary a lot in the upcoming years. Maybe cruise lines are going to start offering up free wifi packages more often. Just to get people to come back on their ships. As this particular industry was hit really hard in the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not hard to imagine that wifi can be something that they will try to use to lure in more passengers. Just as a tip be sure to check the fees before you board!
Apps to call all over the world
If you are going to pay for the wifi it would be a good idea to use it up. Just one quick point that we did not mention in the last paragraph. Certain wifi packages on cruise ships could limit the apps and sites that you can access. Most of the standard packages are going to include WhatsApp and Facebook. Yet, they could charge you extra to be able to use an app like Skype! This is another one of the things that you need to worry about. As far as the Whattsapp usage goes that could be limited to just texting. The same thing goes for Facebook Messenger.
Of course, these limitations are going to exist in some of their lower-tier internet packages on board. If you want to make sure that you won’t have to worry about which apps you could potentially use or not you are going to want to get the premium package. That particular package though can set you back about 100 dollars for your trip. Once again, if you happen to be someone that just needs an internet connection to stay in touch with people for work or fun, there are not going to be many options available. If you can live without coverage for a couple of days at a time then you can forgo these charges. It could then make better sense to go ahead and buy a SIM card on land.
Is there a chance that certain policies regarding the wifi could change in the coming? There are reasons to believe that companies will lower their prices. There are also reasons to believe that certain companies will hike up internet prices, and other costs to passengers while onboard. Whom they have lured in through lower ticket costs. Again, it is a great idea to research the whole picture before you purchase a ticket. If you get the chance to plan your trip ahead and you take into account all of the extra costs, that you may have there is a better chance you can find deals. Whether that be on ticket prices or even the price of wifi or mobile coverage while on land!
Best Thing You Can Do To Use Your Phone On A Cruise
The first thing that you may have to realize is that using your phone on a cruise can be expensive. If you don’t get free wifi included in your ticket price. Not including the price of wifi on your ticket price is actually a common practice for some of the major cruise lines. Here is to hoping that this can change post-COVID 19. On the other hand, is it really worth it to spend money on a foreign SIM? This is really going to depend on the type of trip that you happen to be taking. If you are going to be in Europe for a month and you are only going to be on a cruise for 5 days it makes sense to buy a foreign SIM card.
We hate to be overly repetitive, especially since this is something that we just mentioned. Yet, it is a great idea to plan your whole trip out ahead of time. That way you can better determine what you should do to get coverage. Doing so can save you the need to go out and buy a SIM card on the streets of any country in the world.