Carnival Cruise Lines, in a joint venture
with Wireless Maritime Services, will outfit its fleet of 22 ships
with technology that will enable guests with any cell phone service
to make or receive calls as they normally do on land, no matter how
far out to sea they are.
The Carnival
Triumph already has the service installed, and Carnivals remaining
21 vessels will be fitted with the technology by the first quarter
of 2007.
Consumers view cell
phones as a necessity in todays world, said Carnival CEO Bob
Dickinson. Weve been exploring cellular phone service for some
time.
Calls will be
charged at international roaming rates as determined by the
carrier, and will be billed directly to the passengers normal cell
phone bill. The technology also will enable people to send and
receive text messages on their phone and hand-held wireless devices
like Blackberrys.
The technology
already is available fleet wide all of Norwegian Cruise Line, on
most of the ships for both Royal Caribbean Cruises brands (Royal
Caribbean International and Celebrity) and three of Regent Seven
Seas ships.
To
contact reporter Johanna Jainchill, send e-mail to [email protected].