Cellphone question

[Stuman]

Hi, my name is Stuart and I just joined the forum. I live in Long Island and I'm taking my first Royal Caribbean cruise in November.

I went on my first and only cruise in 2013 with another cruise line and it left from Manhattan. My concern about leaving from Bayonne

is the cellphone service including WIFI.  When I get back I will need to call my car service to confirm my pickup. Is the service any good

and does the cruise port have WIFI? Looking forward to asking more questions and maybe helping others.

[DocLC]

You'll need to purchase internet on the ship. However, if you're in port, you'll have cell service and won't need to rely on the internet. If you've bought internet, you can continue to use that until you leave the ship provided your phone supports wifi calling. 

[twangster]

Welcome to the message boards!

The Cape Liberty terminal does not offer wifi that I have observed.   Outside of the terminal cell service worked ok.  Inside the terminal it was bad for AT&T and T-Mobile, Vz was marginal. 

However once outside (which happens very quickly after clearing customs) I was able to make calls and use data for all 3 cell providers.  I always use Lyft/Uber there and usually have to call the driver to tell them the zone where I am waiting. 

You are not supposed to use your phone in the US customs area so you pretty much to wait until your are outside anyways so it isn't a huge issue.

[KathyC]

3 hours ago, Stuman said:

Hi, my name is Stuart and I just joined the forum. I live in Long Island and I'm taking my first Royal Caribbean cruise in November.

I went on my first and only cruise in 2013 with another cruise line and it left from Manhattan. My concern about leaving from Bayonne

is the cellphone service including WIFI.  When I get back I will need to call my car service to confirm my pickup. Is the service any good

and does the cruise port have WIFI? Looking forward to asking more questions and maybe helping others.

I was able to get a strong enough Verizon cell signal inside the cruise terminal in May to periscope.  Not sure about the other carriers, but Verizon came through for me. 

[Matt]

Is your concern that you want to confirm your pick up from Bayonne the night before you return? Or just the morning of your return?

[Stuman]

Hi Matt,

Thank you for your reply to my post. My plan is to set up the car service before I leave and to confirm either the day before we get back to port or after we dock back in Bayonne. I'm just concerned about the cell service. I really not sure if I need the ships internet or not for wifi service. If the port has good cell service i'm fine.

Stuart  

[KathyC]

25 minutes ago, Stuman said:

Hi Matt,

Thank you for your reply to my post. My plan is to set up the car service before I leave and to confirm either the day before we get back to port or after we dock back in Bayonne. I'm just concerned about the cell service. I really not sure if I need the ships internet or not for wifi service. If the port has good cell service i'm fine.

Stuart  

I can assure you we have good cell service in NJ.  Bayonne is only a short swim across the harbor from Brooklyn.  LOL    

[Matt]

57 minutes ago, Stuman said:

If the port has good cell service i'm fine.

Stuart, you will have no issues once the ship arrives back in Bayonne to use your cell phone.  Worst case scenario, sometimes if you are inside the ship the signal is weak or blocked, but just move closer to a window or step outside.  No issues at all at that point.