A few weeks ago I wrote an article answering the question “can you use your phone at sea?”. In case you haven’t read it, the TLDR is that you can use your phone at sea as long as you have money to burn. Using your phone as normal at sea is a surefire way to give your future self a very nasty surprise.
For years I have told people to ensure they turn their phone to airplane mode as soon as they leave port. However, since sharing that article a few weeks ago I have actually found a way to use your phone at sea without bankrupting yourself, so of course I had to share the information with you!
What is the Marine Network?
Look at any ship and you’ll see two large white balls on the top deck. One houses all of the important navigational equipment, while the other houses all of the satellite communication equipment. This is what enables ships to have wifi on board as well as providing phone signal while at sea - for a price.
This satellite telephone technology gives your phone a place to connect to whenever you’re at sea, allowing you to make calls, send texts and access the internet. To all intents and purposes, it works the exact same as any land-based mobile network, but because it uses satellite technology it costs an awful lot more than using your phone while on shore.
Once a ship is 12 miles from land this offshore network is switched on, and any phones that are switched on will automatically connect as they would on land. If you’ve got a standard phone contract then it’s vital you put your phone on airplane mode while at sea.
How NOT to Use Your Phone at Sea - The Traditional Contract
I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve seen new cruisers, as well as less tech-savvy passengers, run up huge bills because they don’t understand how using their phone at sea works. Even doing your research can prove futile as unless you search the exact right phrase like “how to use your phone at sea” or “how much does using your phone at sea cost” you’re unlikely to just stumble along vitally important information.
Most people go to their network provider’s website to check roaming costs, but the first question you’re likely to be asked is “what region/country are you travelling to?”. Unless you already know that using your phone at sea costs more, you’ll probably just select the region that you’re planning to visit without ever giving it a second thought. It’s very rare that a standard phone network volunteers the cost of using your phone at sea without you specifically looking for it.
Once your ship leaves port and is 12 miles from land, your phone will automatically connect to the maritime network, or “the ball of bankruptcy” as I call it for obvious reasons. You might see “Telenor Maritime” or “Cellular at Sea” in the network name, but it’s not uncommon for newer phones to not show a network name which makes it less likely that you’ll spot your phone connecting to the marine network without actively checking. You SHOULD receive a text from your regular network, letting you know that you’ve connected to the maritime network and that costs are significantly higher, but it doesn’t always come through. What’s worse is that a lot of phones have background refresh turned on as standard. While on land this is a useful feature that stops you waiting around for things to load, at sea it means you could be burning through money without even using your phone.
 |
| My network provider didn't make it easy to find out how much roaming on a cruise would be! |
eSIMs - The Alternative Way to Use Your Phone at Sea
Depending on the provider that you go with, eSIMs can be a cost effective way to use your phone if you want to stay connected while at sea. eSIMs, short for “embedded SIMs” are a virtual SIM card that you use instead of your usual physical SIM card in your phone. Rather than messing around swapping physical SIM cards, you simply download your eSIM provider’s app, purchase a plan and activate it whenever you need it.
When looking for eSIM providers, your first need to check that they support connecting to cellular at sea as not all eSIM providers offer this. Secondly, you need to check the cost. Like with traditional network providers, some eSIM companies will still charge huge amounts to use your phone at sea, meaning you’d potentially be better off staying disconnected or paying for the WiFi package.
GigSky - The Cost Effective Way to Stay Connected at Sea
One of the easiest ways to keep your costs down is to choose an eSIM company that are upfront with their costs and allow you to pre-pay for a package. Companies that offer this can be difficult to find, especially if you want to use your phone at sea. GigSky are one of the few companies that offer pre-paid plans specifically for using your phone at sea, and they’re surprisingly affordable.
Gig-Sky offer a variety of different packages that allow you to use mobile data while at sea (including a world cruise option) and the packages are much cheaper than paying for WiFi or using your standard phone network. All of GigSky’s plans allow you to use your phone in port as well as at sea, and you can even use your data before and after the cruise, meaning you can use up any spare data rather than it going to waste.
To give you an idea of cost, I recently did a 2 week cruise around Norway on board Fred Olsen - if we’d bought a WiFi package it would have cost us £120 for the two weeks for the basic package, which doesn’t allow you to make audio/video calls over internet. I’m on a good phone contract that allows me to use my phone as standard in any EU country without paying any extra, but if I used my phone at sea I’d have the option of buying a data only pass that gives me 10MB (roughly one or two emails) every 24 hours for £15 per day. On top of this, I’d have to pay £3.35 per minute to make or receive calls and 82p to send a text (93p for a picture message).
GigSky is a data only plan so we can’t compare the cost of making phone calls (I’ll explain how you can make calls and send texts using GigSky in a second) but the cost of a GigSky data plan compared to a traditional network provider is a no-brainer! There are different pricing plans depending on the region you’re cruising in, but to keep things simple we’ll compare the cruise + Europe plan. If you’re buying one day at a time it would cost you £17 for 512mb, which is over 50 times more data than what the traditional network provider will give you for the same price. GigSky also offer discounts if you buy longer packages (see the image below) making it a much more cost effective choice.
How to Make Calls and Send Texts Using GigSky -
All of GigSky’s Cruise + Land plans are data only, but this doesn’t mean you have to miss out on talking to your loved ones - especially as GigSky’s biggest Europe data package is £75 for 10GB and lasts for 30 days (still cheaper than a lot of cruise ship WiFi packages!).
Instead of calling like you normally would, you would need to use a third party app like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp to voice or video call someone. Alternatively, if you have an iPhone you can use iMessage or FaceTime audio/video. The only restriction here is if you’re calling your grandparents who don’t have a smartphone and don’t really understand the internet. My Nan was very much a techno-phobe so I always either called my parents when I knew they were visiting her so they could put her on the phone, or I emailed her (thankfully with an iPad she could navigate emails!).
Using an eSIM doesn’t come entirely without compromise, but for the amount of money you’ll save it’s worth finding a way to work around using the internet and WhatsApp instead of using your standard phone plan to make calls or send texts. Even though you may need to use a third party app to make calls GigSky still offers more flexibility than cruise ship WiFi, which often blocks audio/video calls unless you pay for the even more expensive premium WiFi package.
How to Set Up an eSIM -
While the installation process is relatively simple, using an eSIM does require you to have a smartphone that you can download apps on. You’ll need an internet connection to set up your eSIM, so it’s best to complete set up before you travel if you want to avoid using mobile data.
To get started, simply download the GigSky app, then open it and follow the on screen instructions to purchase your chosen plan. Once you’ve completed your purchase you’ll be given instructions on how to install your eSIM. If you find this at all confusing, the GigSky website has more detailed instructions and help videos that you can watch as you go through the process, and they do a really good job of breaking down each step to make things easier.
Once the eSIM is installed, you just need to remember to switch over to GigSky when you need it, rather than turning on airplane mode.
Final Thoughts -
eSIMs are a fairly new technology, but they’re already changing the way people travel, and GigSky’s Cruise + Land plans make staying connected much more affordable as well as flexible, offering coverage across over 200 ships and 135 countries. Installing and using eSIMs do require you to have basic knowledge of how to use a smartphone so they may not be right for everyone, but if you know your way around a smart phone and you’re ready for big savings then an eSIM is absolutely the way to go for your next cruise!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Have your say; it's a hoot!