A few last questions...luggage tags and cell phone
in [Cruise Ship]
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From: Tom K on 16 Jun 2010 16:29 On 6/16/10 3:37 PM, Marcia R. wrote: > Now that I'm flying up to Seattle to meet my niece for our cruise to > Alaska instead of driving up with my fiance, and have some questions. > > First of all, I'm not going to staple my pre-printed Princess cruise > luggage tags on my suitcases before checking it through at the airport. > We are staying at a hotel the first night and taking a cab to the dock, > so there are no transfers with the cruise line. My question is, would it > save a bunch of time to take a little stapler with me to do it before > checking in at the pier, or do they quickly staple it there? I'd rather > just do what moves the process along smoother. > > I'm also more interested now is using my cell phone to call home. I've > already asked T-Mobile about making calls from Alaska. All they've been > able to tell me is that I won't get charged extra, but they couldn't > tell me anything about coverage. From personal experience with any cell > phone provider...can you usually make cell phone calls from port in > Alaska? We'll be in Ketchikan, Skagway and Juneau. Plus, if we are in > port in Seattle or Alaska, do calls from the ship use towers on land at > that point, or do you still go through the ship? And, I keep hearing it > costs a lot to call from the ship at sea, but how much is a lot? Are we > talking about $3 a call or $30? Thanks. > > Marcia Just in case you have trouble getting a connection in port... One of the least expensive methods of staying in touch with those back home is to text message from the ship. Texting was 50 cents per text to send, and 5 cents a text to receive. Compared to phone charges of $2.49 per minute, or getting a lot of internet minutes on the computer, texting is very inexpensive. --Tom
From: john on 16 Jun 2010 16:37 I have AT&T and calls from ports were free (cell to cell) had at least 4 bars in all ports. Sitka, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchican John "Marcia R." <Marcia(a)spamlessinlasvegas.net> wrote in message news:jK9Sn.99730$0B5.45923(a)newsfe05.iad... > Now that I'm flying up to Seattle to meet my niece for our cruise to > Alaska instead of driving up with my fiance, and have some questions. > > First of all, I'm not going to staple my pre-printed Princess cruise > luggage tags on my suitcases before checking it through at the airport. We > are staying at a hotel the first night and taking a cab to the dock, so > there are no transfers with the cruise line. My question is, would it > save a bunch of time to take a little stapler with me to do it before > checking in at the pier, or do they quickly staple it there? I'd rather > just do what moves the process along smoother. > > I'm also more interested now is using my cell phone to call home. I've > already asked T-Mobile about making calls from Alaska. All they've been > able to tell me is that I won't get charged extra, but they couldn't tell > me anything about coverage. From personal experience with any cell phone > provider...can you usually make cell phone calls from port in Alaska? > We'll be in Ketchikan, Skagway and Juneau. Plus, if we are in port in > Seattle or Alaska, do calls from the ship use towers on land at that > point, or do you still go through the ship? And, I keep hearing it costs > a lot to call from the ship at sea, but how much is a lot? Are we talking > about $3 a call or $30? Thanks. > > Marcia
From: Becca on 16 Jun 2010 16:52 On 6/16/2010 2:37 PM, Marcia R. wrote: snip... > My question is, would it save a bunch of time to take a little > stapler with me to do it before checking in at the pier, or do they > quickly staple it there? snip... > > From personal experience with any cell phone provider...can you > usually make cell phone calls from port in Alaska? > > Marcia Marcia, I'm glad you are here, you ask good questions. About 80 of us went to Alaska last year in May, and everyone used their cell phones. I also made calls from the ship while I was on the balcony. We visited the same ports you are visiting and we were not charged any fees during the entire trip. As far as your luggage tags, I would wait until I got to the hotel and ask to use their stapler. You can get luggage tags at the pier, but the pier was a mess when we were there. Our cruise was the 2nd cruise out of the new pier and it took people forever to get on the ship. Arrive at the pier early and after the cruise try to do a walk off. Becca
From: Bert Hyman on 16 Jun 2010 16:51 In news:GCaSn.61514$mi.36835(a)newsfe01.iad "john" <jcarpenter8417(a)charter.net> wrote: > I have AT&T and calls from ports were free (cell to cell) had at least > 4 bars in all ports. Sitka, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchican If the OP's T-Mobile coverage isn't that good, s/he can walk into any AT&T store and buy a pre-paid phone for less than $30 (I got one for free simply by walking in and asking questions). They even have a couple on their Web site for less than $10. Their basic pre-paid plan charges $0.25/minute for voice calls, with no additional charge for long distance. It's all on their Web site http://www.wireless.att.com/ Just checking AT&T's coverage map for Alaska http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/?type=gophone&opt=payg#?type=voice it looks identical to T-Mobile's. -- Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN bert(a)iphouse.com
From: Marcia R. on 16 Jun 2010 17:00
Kurt Ullman wrote: > In article <jK9Sn.99730$0B5.45923(a)newsfe05.iad>, > "Marcia R." <Marcia(a)spamlessinlasvegas.net> wrote: > >> Plus, if we are in >> port in Seattle or Alaska, do calls from the ship use towers on land at >> that point, or do you still go through the ship? > If you are in a port, then they usually turn off the ship's towers. > Most likely contract requirements. The easiest thing to do is once you > get into port, turn on the cell. If it is not roaming go ahead, if it > is, then decide based on your roaming costs. Hmmm, how do I tell if it's roaming? Sorry, but I'm blonde. LOL. Marcia > > > |