Sea Year Phone/Communication

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Hoosier1949

5-Year Member
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Nov 7, 2009
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Can anyone please weigh in regarding what is the best and most economical method of communication with our 2013 son during sea year-Skype, phone card, etc? Thanks in advance.
 
Sea Year Phone

You may want to research investing in an iPhone compatible with Skype software. Double check on-line google skype or call your local ATT store.
 
My cadet purchased a phone while in port (shared cost with sea partner) then different sym cards could be purchased from what ever port (country) she was in. This seemed to be very economical. Other than that, I don't know the details. It seems that for the length of time they are gone, phone plans tend to be very costly.
 
On another note, phone calls home were not very often and from me, not expected. It is part of what this whole experience entails.
Whenever my children were away, I never insisted they call home. No news is good news in my book. I expect them to take care of themselves and knew that they had what it takes to do it, so there was no need for a phone call. (That is not to take away from the delight I had when ever I did get that call!!)
 
Limited Budget

On our limited budget, ship email worked for us. DD could use her cell phone when she was close enough to a tower off shore USA.
 
Hoosier1949 said:
Can anyone please weigh in regarding what is the best and most economical method of communication with our 2013 son during sea year-Skype, phone card, etc? Thanks in advance.
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My 2 cents is - it depends.... on the ship your DS will get on and what sort of internet access they will have. Last year, DS had limited email and no internet access while at sea/underway; good connectivity in port.

In the end the most reliable/economical access is for them to have an "unlocked" cell phone that they can purchase "sim" cards for and use when they are in port. That way they can call you if they want without expensive international roaming charges. Trying to call them is always spotty at best - at least re: our DS.

If they have email on the ship that is of course cheapest but skype which requires full internet connectivity probably isn't going to be a good option.

Of course this is just "one man's view."
 
Jasperdog is absolutely correct. Our 2013(B) splitter just got her ship and will be leaving right after graduation. We happen to be stationed overseas and discovered the ship was pulling into the local port this past weekend. A quick trip to locate the port followed. We had the luck to meet up with some crewmembers and the discussion regarding internet & phones came up. Even on what I would consider a more state-of-the-art ship, they told us internet & phone service is spotty. Knowing this, we plan on just expecting the sporadic e-mail note or phone call.
 
We bought out son an ATT international package, so far he has never used it. Emails once in a while or Skype from a port. Not a big talker on a good day.
 
Sea Year Communication

Thank you to all that have replied to my question. The information is very helpful.
 
Keep in mind the fact that if you do rely on the ship's e-mail the policy may vary from vessel to vessel. Some ships discourage casual use as it tends to overload them. Also, you should have no expectation of privacy. When you send a message do so with the assumption that everyone on the ship will have access to it and edit your content accordingly. In other words.....keep those family secrets under wraps :shake:
 
I hope all our DS/DD get the message from someone other than PARENTS that nothing is private. I don't worry about communication with us as much as I do friends and GFs.:eek:
 
I spoke to a friend of ours who is back and waiting on his next ship now. He said he found phone cards were the most economical means of communication besides the email. He said he buys one when he gets into port, for whatever reason it seemed to work better than when he bought one here in the states before he left. Not sure why... As much as I would love to hear from him, the harder it is to call home the less amount of time I know he will be spending talking to "gf"!!
 
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