Using my Rogers Bold on cruise ship

[harry_fine]

Wondering if anyone can help. Going to the Carribean on a cruise on Saturday. Want to be able to do text, BBM, emails without paying a lot of money. Phone is not the issue.

Can I take my Bold and put in a third party sim card from a company that operates in the islands around where the ship is going?

If not, what are the costs or best ways to communicate? I've heard BBM is the cheapest.


Thanks

[JetBlu]

Some major cruise lines offer a wifi pay service, this might allow you to use BB services without having to use roaming data ($$$) and you can just keep your Rogers SIM in the Bold. SMS will obviously work whether or not you take the wifi option and may be the cheaper option for basic communication. Bon voyage! 

[ttbryson]

The roaming rates on a cruise ship are, quite possibly, more expensive than rogers international roaming ;-) In all seriousness, it depends what ship/cruise line are you going on. It varies by company.

Here's Royal Caribbean's FAQ:

Cell Phone Service
Stay connected to friends and family from all over the world with Royal Caribbean International's fleetwide roaming network and Royal Caribbean Online fleetwide onboard workstations and Wi-Fi service.

Royal Caribbean International has an advanced roaming network onboard all ships, allowing you to make and receive calls, voice mail, text messages and GPRS data using your own mobile phone and telephone number.

FAQs:

What are the mobile phone rates while onboard?
Rates for usage of your mobile phone are determined by your home carrier.
For more information, please contact your home carrier customer service.


How will I be billed for the usage time on my mobile phone?
You will be billed by your home carrier for your international roaming usage on your regular mobile phone bill.
It can take up to 60 days for charges to appear on your phone bill.


Can I access GPRS data service (e.g. check e-mail, surf the Net, etc.)?
If your home carrier supports GPRS data service, you can use mobile phone service with compatible GPRS data capable devices to check email, surf the web, and share photos while onboard just as you would at home.


How do I call to the USA, Canada and the Caribbean when onboard?
Dial 1 + area code and number just as you would at home.


How do I call to other countries when onboard?
Dial "+," the country code and the full number.
Verizon Wireless/Sprint users, dial "011," the country code and the full number.

Go to the rogers roaming website (http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wi..._coveragerates) and click on "offshore"

Basically if its through rogers its $7 a minute for voice or 75 cents a text. Might as well use the ship's sat phones for $10 a minute haha.

[PhotoJim]

If you want to check out prepaid GSM options, http://www.prepaidgsm.net/ is a pretty good site. There are nice summaries of what all the prepaid providers around the world can do.

On the ship you won't find cheap rates unless you can receive service from shore.

[simho]

Tell your friends you're going on vacation and turn your phone off.

I'm going on a cruise in January and am planning on only making calls once docked and off the boat. Unless it's an emergency, there is no way in he11 I'm paying $7/minute to say hello to someone while I'm in the Caribbean with my girl...

[schnitzer]

If you are offshore: $7/min
On-Shore: regular roaming rates

Data: onshore/offshore: $0.03/kb

[Paolo]

make sure your bolds unlocked before you buy a different carriers sim.

[clarken555]

On Royal Caribbean ships you roam on AT&T and the rate is the same as in the US. I get all my incoming text free and usually find free wifi when docked to get email and skype out. Getting a sim in every port for the 6-8 hours is useless and finding an internet cafe to phone home is very cheap.

[psgill2873]

On Royal Caribbean ships you roam on AT&T and the rate is the same as in the US. I get all my incoming text free and usually find free wifi when docked to get email and skype out. Getting a sim in every port for the 6-8 hours is useless and finding an internet cafe to phone home is very cheap.

Do you get the same for AT&T GoPhone, Probably not but I thought I ask anyways because you seem to know about cruise ship roaming.

Thanks