Cell Phone Plans on a Cruise Ship: Comparing AT&T, Verizon, & T-Mobile

How much does it cost to use your cell phone on a cruise ship? We compared the plans, cost, and services from the three largest cell phone providers.

A lot has changed in recent years in regard to cell phone plans on cruise ships. 

Major carriers have moved away from low-data monthly bundles in favor of daily passes, so well dig into that too and what it means. 

Some cruise travelers have been shocked by their cell phone bills after returning from a cruise, when they realized they were being charged for data usage throughout the voyage.

For this reason, we recommend putting your cell phone in airplane mode and using the ship’s Wi-Fi once you leave port. However, some people prefer the convenience and simplicity of using a cell phone carrier’s cruise plan.

This article will compare Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile’s cruise plans to help you choose the best option for your needs.

With Wi-Fi plans starting around $25 a day on most cruise lines, it’s usually the more economical way to stay connected through your personal devices.  This is especially useful if you have Wi-Fi calling enabled.

This comparison is for cell phone use on a cruise ship, not when in international cruise ports.

Below is the basic breakdown comparison for using these cell phone providers on board a cruise ship.

Provider Breakdown Comparison

• AT&T:
  • Voice: $3/minute or $20/day for Unlimited Talk
  • Text: Unlimited with $20/day Cruise Pass
  • Data: Full domestic data access with $20/day Cruise Pass
• T-Mobile:
  • Voice: $5.99/minute
  • Text: $0.50/sent message (received texts are same as domestic rate)
  • Data: Not available on board
• Verizon:
  • Voice: Unlimited with $20/day Cruise Pass
  • Text: Unlimited with $20/day Cruise Pass
  • Data: 0.5GB High Speed, then Unlimited 3G with $20/day Cruise Pass

AT&T

AT&T has replaced its 30-day bundles with a “Cruise Day Pass” which is a daily cost per device.

AT&T Cruise Day Pass:

• Cost: $20 per day per line

• Unlimited Talk and Text

• Access to your domestic plan’s data (Speeds may be capped at 512Kbps after 500MB on some ships)

• Only charged on days you use the ship’s cellular network

These cruise plans will be activated once your cruise ship is away from shore and will display as “Cellular at Sea, wmsatsea, 901-18, or NOR-18” once you are connected.

Pay-per-use rates

For cruisers who would rather pay as they go, the cruise ship rates with AT&T are $2.05/MB of use. However, if you use more than 10MB of data, AT&T may automatically add the $20 Day Pass to protect you from overages.

What cruise ships will allow me to use AT&T plans?

There are 400 cruise ships that will facilitate the use of AT&T cell phone plans.  This includes major cruise lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Disney, and Virgin Voyages.

You can find the full list of ships here which also includes the cruise lines below.

Azamara, Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Celestyal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Seabourn, Silversea Cruise Line, TUI Cruises, Virgin Voyages, Windstar Cruises.

Verizon

Verizon now offers a specific Cruise Daily Pass.

Verizon Cruise Daily Pass:

• Cost: $20 per 24-hour session

• Unlimited Talk and Text to the U.S.

• 0.5GB of High-Speed Data (Unlimited 3G speeds thereafter)

• To activate, text “CRUISE” to 4004

In 2026, the Verizon Cruise Pass is supported on over 500 ships across all major lines including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Norwegian.

Verizon also offers a TravelPass service but it only works on land or in port (now $12/day). It does not cover you while the ship is at sea.

T-Mobile

While T-Mobile has some of the best international coverage baked into their basic plans, there are some limitations if trying to use data while on a cruise.

T-Mobile recommends that cruisers turn off roaming when the ship is docked in a U.S. cruise port and then turn it back on once the ship is out at sea.  Otherwise, users may pick up the ship’s network and be charged cruise ship roaming charges.

There are still no data plans available on cruise ships with T-Mobile.

T-Mobile Cruise Rates:

• Text: $0.50 per text sent (Received texts are usually deducted from your plan’s domestic allotment)

• Talk: $5.99 per minute

Once in port, you can really make use of T-Mobile’s international perks though. With Go5G Next or Plus, there are no international data-roaming charges in over 215 countries. You get up to 15GB of high-speed data and unlimited texting with calls only costing $0.25/minute.

Bottom Line

Cell phone rates on cruise ships have become more expensive but more predictable with $20 daily passes.

I prefer to use T-mobile’s international perks for use in foreign ports and the cruise ship’s Wi-Fi when on the ship. With Wi-Fi now often powered by Starlink, it is much faster than the ship’s cellular network for things like streaming or video calls.

Read more: 5 ways to save money on cruise ship Wi-Fi