Originally Posted by
Need
Does your cruise have Starlink? My cruise in 3 weeks has Starlink and according to reports, it should have about 5Mbps speed. Not fast comparing to land side but fast enough for normal usage. And the T-Mobile 5Gb is per billing cycle, not per month. So, if your trip date crosses over your billing cycle end date, your 5Gb gets to start over! Unfortunately, my next 3-week trip ends in 1 day after my billing cycle ends LOL.
I am wondering if I don't put my T-Mobile on airplane mode while on the cruise, would I be charged with a ship cellular charge? I read on forums that when they got a cruise, they , =actually got a TXT saying that it is free. I have cruise WiFi, so putting phone on airplane mode while sailing would be fine, but there are lots of shore days that I need to turn off airplane mode. I am just afraid that I forgot to turn airplane mode back on when got back to the ship one evening and get a huge ship cellular charge overnight sailing.
I was on the MSC Divina and it was not equipped with StarLink. I expect Starlink to give better speeds, but 5Mbps should handle most traffic if it is consistent.
The shipboard charges stem from cellular use while connected to their service. If you do not enable Airplane Mode, you MAY get an incoming call if your phone has connected to "Cellular At Sea" for instance or possibly 918-100 or similar. You will be charged the $6 a minute rate even if you do not answer, as you have had a completed call when it reaches your phone. Generally Airplane mode only disconnects cellular service so WiFi and Bluetooth both should be active and usable. Also, be careful of using your cellular service while in port but still on the ship. Some cruise ships "Forget" to turn off their cellular service within the typical 12 miles from shore. Look for the local carrier ID in your status bar (Top Row On Your display Next To Signal Bars) to confirm you have shore service.