Help. We need a better option.
 

The wife and I are cruising to Bermuda. We are leaving the baby with Grandma. Mom is a bit nervous and would like to call home once a day to check in. I not going for the $8 per minute deal Royal Caribbean is offering. Has anyone had a good experience renting a satellite phone? Or perhaps a better idea?

Get an international phone card. Make sure it will reach home from Bermuda. Local cards may not. Should be a lot less expensive! But also check because some ships now have cell service. Carnival will have it on all its ships by 2007.Then you can use your cell.

That will work for the days in Bermuda, but what for the 2 days at sea? Does Grnadma email?

Yes, Grandma emails but this is our first time away from the baby. I promised my wife she would be able to make calls. I made the promise before I knew the cost of ship to shore phone calls. It’s only a 5-night cruise but I don’t want the phone bill to ruin the trip.

Sounds like you are talking about perhaps 2 phone calls - the rest of the time you will be land-based enough to use phone cards, etc. I would check satellite phone options, but for 2 days it is probably not worth it.

I can picture my husband and I having the same discussion when our kids were younger. It is a Mom thing - he didn't get it either. The first day at sea is going to be the expensive one - since she will be nervous, missing baby. So I would set up a predetermined time to email Grandma on that day - the email can be useful for your wife to tell Grandma for the 50th time everything she already told her and wrote down (No offense intended to your wife - I do the same thing)

Then this can be followed up shortly thereafter (an hour or so) with a phone call from ship at $8/minute to hear the baby babble and so your wife can cry on the phone and Grandma can reassure her for the 50th time that everything is OK.

The next few days you will be in Bermuda, so calls will be reasonable. On the trip home I predict the call will be really short - since she can reassure herself that you will both be home in 24 hours and by then she will have had a good time.

So I would cough up the $8/minute phone call from the ship and consider it a cost of having a relaxing vacation. Even if she talks for 20 minutes, it is only $160 - and like the Mastercard ad says, time away together, priceless.

Gail, you are hysterical. Im still not sure what to do but you made me laugh and thats more important.

Nice one Gail!
You said it all!