Cell phones come aboard Holland America in record time

Holland America is zooming from supporting cell phones on just one ship today, the Volendam, to their entire fleet, in less than 6 months. Amazing! Passengers' personal cell phones and PDAs that use GSM-compatible networks like Cingular and T-Mobile will work when the ships are at sea.

We hear some intense feelings from cruisers about cell phones at sea. The anti-phone camp naturally doesn't want to be disturbed by ringing cell phones and others' loud conversations. That's a Luddite attitude, according to the pro-phone camp, who figures cell phones have become ubiquitous and it's only a matter of time until they work everywhere.

Around here, our feeling is that we want the lifeline of knowing that since our phone did not ring, therefore no catastrophes unfolded back at home or the office. Peace of mind, like a grown-up pacifier.

Holland America's new cell phone service uses technology from a company called SeaMobile, a division of the Maritime Telecommunications Network company that already provides onboard Internet access. International roaming charges will apply to all shipboard cell phone calls or messages and guests will be billed via their shipboard account, probably in the ballpark of $1 to $2 per minute... so dial carefully! Holland America's announcement comes one week after sister company Carnival announced a similar plan for their ships.

Seattle-based Holland America has a fleet of thirteen medium-sized passenger cruise ships, which sail to the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Alaska, and around-the-world.