Mobile Phones & Internet in Shanghai

There are cafes in Shanghai that offer WiFi if you plan to bring your WiFi enabled device (laptop, PDA, iPad, etc.). With well over 4,000 WiFi hotspots in the city of Shanghai, finding a very cheap or free high speed wireless Internet hotspot or Internet café is just about as easy as opening your laptop. Many WiFi spots are free, but some may ask for a modest per-hour fee to give you the password to their WiFi network.

Most major mobile phone carriers will work in Shanghai. However, mobile phone roaming charges accrued on smart phones can be expensive -- $2 or more per minute. Per message fees for sending text (SMS) messages are also high. Data charges for accessing e-mail and the Internet via your smart phone can get very expensive as well. To avoid any nasty post-cruise surprises, we recommend that you call your cell phone provider BEFORE your cruise to assure the most cost effective communication mode for you. If you plan on using your phone, make certain you have international roaming activated and that you are comfortable with this cost.

If you have an international phone with GSM network capabilities or a phone with a SIM card, your phone will work in Shanghai. Upon arrival you will need to purchase a local SIM card and charge it with airtime. You can find the pre-paid SIM cards in convenient stores or book stores at the airport, or numerous small cell phone shops through out Shanghai. Simply remove your home sim card and replace it with the China SIM card to use. You will receive a Shanghai phone number on which you can be contacted, this should be on the information you receive with the card.

Another option in is to purchase a Pay As You Go phone. You can buy a Pay As You Go phone at any cellphone outlet and you’ll easily find an outlet at the airports or any shopping mall. However, this also does not usually make sense if you are visiting a cruise port for only a day.

Skype is a cost-effective way to make phone calls while on the road – often for free, or no more than pennies per minute. However, you will need to find an Internet café and connect to their WiFi Internet system to use Skype. If you want to be computer-free, buying an international phone card would be a good way to go.