# SMS to cruise ships?



## Worldspan (Jan 2, 2012)

My sister-in-law is currently on a German cruise ship in the Gulf and in regular touch with her family via SMS. They tell me that this works even when the ship is out at sea. Is this true? If so, what is the set up?

W


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

The ship must be providing access to the Satellite. 

If the carry on regarding international mobile phone calls, texts, etc. here in Australia is anything to go by, your sister-in-law may be in for a hefty bill. One woman received a bill for $148,000! The excuse seems to be "it's because of the use of International Roaming" (whatever that is), but nobody wants to explain the actual problem or how to stop it.

Some people need to look at their mobile phones every ten seconds, even when negotiating a roundabout, so maybe they would think that $148,000 was reasonable for such a necessary service.

John T


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## 5036 (Jan 23, 2006)

I am on Orange or Sqeak Squeak (EE) as we have become, and I have the option to send SMS messages from my pc through the net. 30 of these are free per month, subsequent messages are sent at the contract rate.
trotterdotpom is absolutely right to raise the issue of cost as the SMS roaming charges work not only from the ship but for any that she receives on the ship too and the cost can be eyewatering. A quick SMS to her partly at her expense may save her a shipload of money.


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## James Clarke (Feb 8, 2010)

Worldspan said:


> My sister-in-law is currently on a German cruise ship in the Gulf and in regular touch with her family via SMS. They tell me that this works even when the ship is out at sea. Is this true? If so, what is the set up?
> 
> W


I was aboard a cruise ship in the Middle East in April and the first thing I did was to switch-off all (I carry 2) Mobile Phones so as to avoid any chargeable events (like incoming texts and calls) as well as data download (e-mails). Most passenger ships now have a "Mobile at Sea" service which uses world-wide Satellite communications and therefore any usage is bound to be very very expensive.

Having managed my communications whilst aboard the cruise ship and refusing to pay the hefty charges for internet/e-mail access via the on-board computer lounge I then found myself waiting at Paphos Airport for my flight home and was so pleased to see a big sign which said "Free WiFi" which I understood to be non-chargeable access to the internet and therefore access to my e-mail. So, I set my SmartPhone to "data-on" mode so that I could log-in to the FREE WiFi. Unsurprisingly, the phone became very busy with a stream of e-mails downloading (as I had been away from UK 14 days by this time) including all the sales pitches and spam that come with modern comms. I even answered several e-mails from individuals who wanted to change their bookings for the 2nd FNC Reunion set for 22/09/12 and I felt pleased with myself. My pleasure disappeared when my next Direct Debit for my normal £12/month mobile phone/internet/e-mail service had an additional £19 just for that FREE WiFi access in Paphos. The moral of the story is to BEWARE and don't believe it when you see such statements when abroad.

That reminds me of the extortionate price we used to pay way back in the early 1970s to make a quick phone call back home from overseas. I was based in Haifa, Israel working for Zim Israel Navingation Co. Ltd (Golda Meir was our boss) and needed to quickly speak with my then fiancee (now my wife of 41 years) to give her the go-ahead on the date to arrange our impending wedding - scheduled to happen when we were due to get back to West India Dock London 6 or so weeks later. I had just received permission from the company for her to join the ship in London immediately after our wedding to come back with me to Israel - a working honeymoon you could say. The only way for me to speak with her was to walk up Mount Carmel to the 5* hotel on top where I could make an international call for something like the Israeli Lira/Shekel equivalent of £3 for 3 minutes. I had left Marconi just 12 months earlier on the paltry salary of £65/month from which I had to pay-back for my expensive compulsory uniforms. That shows how telecommunications have become very cheap today - with calls world-wide (USA/Australia) for as little as 1p/min using services like Telediscount.

Incidentally, the wedding went ahead as planned 02/02/71 in Manchester but we didn't have that working honeymoon as planned because as we cruised up the Thames the two Israeli Commandos who came aboard (all Israeli ships were protected when docking anywhere in Europe on account of Bader Meinhof, Red Brigade & Palestinian terrorism) with the Pilot carried secret orders that we were to divert on IDF business to Antwerp for a military cargo. The company had the sense to have my replacement waiting to board when we came alongside. Sadly, that ended my Zim service until 1973 when I joined my last Zim vessel. When our honeymoon plans were disrupted and I had very little money having just cleared a sizeable Student Loan using my £200+/month Zim salary + free uniform allowance we hastily made impromptu arrangements to tour Ireland during which time Zim were desperately trying to contact me with details of another ship - but those were the days of Button "A" and Button "B" phone boxes and no means to be contacted - unlike today. On returning to Manchester I was completely broke and needed a ship urgently which was when I joined Goulandris' flag-ship the Princess Anne-Marie off-shore Bombay, a lovely ship for a tanker, courtesy of the two ladies in Silvermarine, Liverpool. She was fully laden with Arabian Crude and heading for Honolulu (Barber's Point SBM), Hawaii. My first month's salary paid for my wife to fly out to join me in Honolulu and we spent most of 1971 transiting the Pacific & Indian Oceans several times before taking another load of Arabian Crude around Africa to Italy where I paid-off and headed for Rotterdam and our next ship.

PS: I am trying to arrange a get-together of R/Os, Navs & Engs who sailed for Zim (or any other Israeli flag vessel) and would like to hear from anyone who fits the bill.


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## Naytikos (Oct 20, 2008)

"On a cruise in the Gulf" - which Gulf I wonder?
Perhaps the ship is close enough to land for cell-sites to be accessible and therefore the SMS texting is of the usual cell-phone to cell-phone type.
I do agree that if this is the case, there might be high roaming charges applied.


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## Worldspan (Jan 2, 2012)

*SMS at sea*

_"On a cruise in the Gulf" - which Gulf I wonder?
_
They flew to Dubai and are now tootling around between Oman and Bahrein.

W


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Worldspan said:


> _"On a cruise in the Gulf" - which Gulf I wonder?
> _
> They flew to Dubai and are now tootling around between Oman and Bahrein.
> 
> W


Apart from the phone calls, are they paying for that?

John T


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## Bill Greig (Jul 4, 2006)

On previous cruises, I always used the ship SMS service to keep in touch with home. Not expensive at all, from memory 30 pence per text message. But the ships service is switched off in port. Even phone calls on the mobile while at sea were not too bad, can't remember exactly but certainly not heart stopping when I got my monthly bill.
Bill


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## Erimus (Feb 20, 2012)

Usual rates on US owned cruise vessels are between 65 & 70centsa minute from log-on for any satellite operation.......my mobile stays off and I use my KIndle 4G worldwide apart from Russia for free internet access whilst cruising...

geoff


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## Split (Jun 25, 2006)

trotterdotpom said:


> The ship must be providing access to the Satellite.
> 
> If the carry on regarding international mobile phone calls, texts, etc. here in Australia is anything to go by, your sister-in-law may be in for a hefty bill. One woman received a bill for $148,000! The excuse seems to be "it's because of the use of International Roaming" (whatever that is), but nobody wants to explain the actual problem or how to stop it.
> 
> ...


It is the "extras" that make cruiseships worthwhile- the same as hotels.


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