From: Marcia R. on
Becca wrote:
> 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

Thanks Becca, and everyone else. I haven't clicked on the T-Mobile
coverage link yet in a previous response, but I will right now. I did
try a coverage map a while back, and where there were areas with
coverage, it didn't actually list the city names so it was pretty
useless trying to figure it out.

Marcia
From: Kurt Ullman on
In article <aYaSn.8069$1Q5.1891(a)newsfe08.iad>,
"Marcia R." <Marcia(a)spamlessinlasvegas.net> wrote:

> 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.
>
>

My phone asks me if I want to roam before it puts it through. That is
how I got mine set up. Most phones have some sort of message on the
screen if you are roaming.

--
I want to find a voracious, small-minded predator
and name it after the IRS.
Robert Bakker, paleontologist
From: Marcia R. on
Bert Hyman wrote:
> In news:jK9Sn.99730$0B5.45923(a)newsfe05.iad "Marcia R."
> <Marcia(a)spamlessinlasvegas.net> wrote:
>
>> 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
>
> http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/pcc.aspx?WT.z_unav=mst_global_cvg
>

I tried a coverage map before, and it was really hard to tell where the
coverage was. Thanks. I just looked at yours and I still can't really
tell, but I'm sure I'll figure it out when I get there.

Marcia
From: Marcia R. on
Bert Hyman wrote:
> 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.
>

Thanks.

Marcia
From: Bert Hyman on
In news:aYaSn.8069$1Q5.1891(a)newsfe08.iad "Marcia R."
<Marcia(a)spamlessinlasvegas.net> wrote:

> Hmmm, how do I tell if it's roaming? Sorry, but I'm blonde. LOL.

If your carrier is T-Mobile, don't worry; they don't charge for it.

But, if you're phone's anything like mine, the name of the actual
network/carrier will be on the display in the spot that usually says
"T-Mobile."

Looking at both AT&T and T-Mobile's coverage maps in Alaska since this
thread has started, I'm pretty sure that all T-Mobile coverage there is
actually roaming on AT&T's network.

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN bert(a)iphouse.com