Mobile Reception

[baldburke]

Just curious, how is the mobile reception in the Bahamas, at sea and on Castaway Cay?

[Basket Mommy]

I've not sailed with Disney, but I did sail with Carnival to the Bahamas and Key West in June. I have AT&T and could not connect at sea. I didn't try when we were in the Bahamas because I don't have an international calling plan and didn't want to be charged for connecting from outside the US.

[Scar]

For me the connection was perfect. I turned off my phone when the ship pulled out, and didn't turn it on again until we returned four days later. Absolutely perfect. :thumbsup:

[ElenitaB]

I haven't sailed since we got our iPhones (and AT&T), but I can tell you that we had reception with T-Mobile the whole first evening while we were alongside Florida. And then I pretty much did what Scar did and didn't touch the phone again until we were back at port.

[Ed]

For me the connection was perfect. I turned off my phone when the ship pulled out, and didn't turn it on again until we returned four days later. Absolutely perfect. :thumbsup:

:ditto: Love it ! :D

Reception should be good in the Bahamas and (as Ellen said) when you are still close to the Florida coastline. But you'll be paying international roaming and minutes from there.

At sea, there are obviously no cell towers, so calls are re-routed through the ship's $atellite $ystem - - the dollar signs are not a typo. :spend: If there is service at all from Castaway Cay, it, too, is probably routed through the ship's system.

Personally, I'm with Scar. :thumbsup: Phone gets tossed into a drawer until we get back to Port Canaveral.

[Zawadi]

The only coverage that I know of at sea is the Maritime Communications Partner (MCP) network. This is a GSM 1800 network via satellite offered to cruise ships (that is the ship has its own cell site and uses its satellite link to communicate back to land)

You should check whith your cruise operator for the network specifics and that your cell phone is compatible.

If used you will have a high roaming charge due to the requirement of the satellite link.

[baldburke]

Thanks for the updates folks! Agreed that we want to toss the phones, but with leaving the kids behind we want to a little bit accessible.