Calling from a cruise ship or a plane without a huge bill
The fastest way to run up a shocking phone bill is to let your phone connect to a maritime or in-flight cellular network. These "Cellular at Sea" and airborne networks charge premium roaming rates — often several dollars per minute. The safe approach is to keep cellular off and use Wi-Fi instead.
First: turn off cellular roaming
On a ship or a plane, switch your phone to airplane mode and then turn Wi-Fi back on. This stops it from silently latching onto the ship or aircraft cellular network and billing you roaming. From there, everything you do happens over the onboard Wi-Fi.
Then call over the onboard Wi-Fi
With a cruise Wi-Fi package or in-flight Wi-Fi, you can place calls over the internet with Hyallo: open your browser, dial the full number, and pay only the per-minute rate — no maritime or airborne roaming. One honest caveat: some in-flight networks throttle or block real-time voice, so call quality depends on the connection. On most cruise Wi-Fi packages it works well.
It is perfect for letting family know you arrived, confirming a port excursion, or reaching a hotel for the next leg of the trip. Your first call is free, so you can test the connection before relying on it. Popular destinations:
