Almost all cruiselines will have cell service on board within the next year or two. Carnival will have all 21 ships equipped by 2007. Costa already has it. RCL is implementing. The service is provided by Wireless Maritime Services. http://www.mtnsat.com/press/2004/pre...t_to_offer.htm

Be really careful using your cell in certain parts of the world when on a cruise. Alaska and the Caribbean are two that come to mind.

In Alaska, for example, some of the ships have the new cell service. Alaska is totally free on most US cell plans. However, if on a ship with the new cell towers, the calls may bounce off the ship tower and you will get a tremendous bill for calls you thought were free. Our friends went on an Alaska cruise in June. They just got their Verizon bill-$746.00 in roaming charges. They thought they were in the Verizon network-phone said "extended network". They were actually bouncing off the ship tower and charged for roaming.

http://travelvideo.tv/news/more.php?id=9395_0_1_0_M48