Verizon Cell Service on Cruises

Hi, has anyone out there had experience with Verizon Cell Phone Service in Bermuda and/or the Caribbean?

I assume I can go to Verizon and add some kind of international service package for the duration of the cruise but how does it work when you are on the ship? Do I have to keep my smartphone turned off most of the time (on board) to avoid extra charges by the ship or carrier? I have read different things different places and I am just interested if anyone can enlighten me on basically how this works. The last time I sailed I had a voice-only flip phone and I just kept it turned off until I returned back to the U.S. Now I have reasons to stay in touch with some folks back home and might want to turn it on once in a while - even to take photos. Suggestions? Thank you!

Being on a cruise ship for most phone plans isn't covered under the standard international phone plan. A search on the general questions board will bring up a lot of info, as this has little to do with HAL.

Some phone carriers have special cruise ship plan. Have you looked at the Verizon website for what they offer?

AT&T has two international plans to chose from. On one of the other threads on cell phones, even Verizon employees were recommending AT&T for international phone and data usage.

Call verizon. They will explain how it works.

If you place your phone in "airplane mode," you will be able to use it for photos but no calls or data. We have used the Verizon International Plan which is $10.00 per day. That includes phone, text, and data. If you have the plan, it captures when you turn the phone off airplane mode. Just add the country code to calls. It is handy for checking in with family and sending a few photos as we were gone, for example, almost three weeks to Europe plus a Baltic Cruise this year. Call reception was as if we were at home.

If you place your phone in "airplane mode," you will be able to use it for photos but no calls or data. We have used the Verizon International Plan which is $10.00 per day. That includes phone, text, and data. If you have the plan, it captures when you turn the phone off airplane mode. Just add the country code to calls. It is handy for checking in with family and sending a few photos as we were gone, for example, almost three weeks to Europe plus a Baltic Cruise this year. Call reception was as if we were at home.

That is a very useful piece of information...thank you! I know I need to contact Verizon before sailing, but I need info from Verizon customers who have good tips on what to do! I appreciate it very much!:) Sorry that I am not so "worldly wise" about this....but I am learning.

Verizon has an international "Travel Pass" plan. You have to have one of the newer phones so check with Verizon to ensure your phone qualifies. Almost anywhere in the world your Verizon plan "ports". (I've yet to travel where Verizon doesn't cover me!) So whatever plan you have in the states is what you have internationally + $10.00 p/24 hours. You have to contact Verizon first and ask them to add it to your plan (that's free and doesn't change your "plan").

When you arrive in an international country and turn your phone on, it will connect to the international carrier. Your $10.00 fee is for a 24 hour period, so evaluate your arrival/departure times to take advantage of the best use of your $10.00.

Keep in mind Puerto Rico is America, so if you're traveling there - your Verizon use is free - as it is in Canada and Mexico.

My best advice on the ship - keep it in airplane mode so you don't get unexpected bills from Verizon! There is a way to get/send text messages, but if you don't set your phone properly, you'll be upset by the Verizon "at sea" charges once you get home!

I love having my Verizon portability!

Verizon has an international "Travel Pass" plan. You have to have one of the newer phones so check with Verizon to ensure your phone qualifies. Almost anywhere in the world your Verizon plan "ports". (I've yet to travel where Verizon doesn't cover me!) So whatever plan you have in the states is what you have internationally + $10.00 p/24 hours. You have to contact Verizon first and ask them to add it to your plan (that's free and doesn't change your "plan").

 

When you arrive in an international country and turn your phone on, it will connect to the international carrier. Your $10.00 fee is for a 24 hour period, so evaluate your arrival/departure times to take advantage of the best use of your $10.00.

 

 

Keep in mind Puerto Rico is America, so if you're traveling there - your Verizon use is free - as it is in Canada and Mexico.

 

 

My best advice on the ship - keep it in airplane mode so you don't get unexpected bills from Verizon! There is a way to get/send text messages, but if you don't set your phone properly, you'll be upset by the Verizon "at sea" charges once you get home!

 

 

I love having my Verizon portability!

Thank you so much! I really like Verizon too. I have been in many remote areas of this country where I still got a signal, and others with me were not so fortunate. They have really good service. I will make sure I check with them before I go to add the $10/day fee to my account. I do have a Samsung Galaxy S5 which is 2 years old, but hopefully that is modern enough. And I can see from your reply and Heartgrove's that Airplane Mode is the way to go. Both of your suggestions and comments were very useful to me and I appreciate it. :)

Boze9999 - PS

I was even in some remote areas of Montana and still had phone service....I was amazed!

You live in a beautiful part of the country....I loved it.

Rather than take the $10 per day plan, we generally go with Verizon's 100-100-100 plan (100 texts, 100 voice minutes, 100 Mb of data) when travelling abroad. In the past the price has been around $25. Check with Verizon for the current rate. We use the voice only very occasionally, and the text allowance usually covers my wife's messages easily.

The data limit is tougher to keep, depending on your volume of daily e-mail. For social communication, we almost solely rely on text while cruising. If an internet package is included with our cruise (whether as a status perk or as part of the cruise purchase), we manage our e-mail while on board, either in the internet cafe or on a ship-supplied laptop in our cabin. If not, we do that when we go ashore. I have also learned to limit background data usage by most of our apps.Still, for a long cruise an additional $25 may be needed for another 100 Mb. Your usage pattern should of course dictate your plan selection, but we have found that this approach is cheaper than $10 per day.

Thank you Shorefolks, I will definitely keep that in mind!

Lots of info on Verizon's website. They also have a plan for $40 for the month which made more sense for me than the $10 per day but I have only taken that for travel to Europe. Not all of the Caribbean islands have Verizon coverage (Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk did not have coverage when I was last there).. Calling from Puerto Rico is included with your regular plan as it is a US territory. You can check which islands you will be visiting to see if there is coverage. Have a great trip!

We are cruising from San Francisco to New Zealand with a stop in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Will my Verizon phone be free there, as it is an American territory?

DD

I believe Verizon has a cruise ship plan also to use it on the ship but that's why I like to cruise. Turning the phone off.

We are cruising from San Francisco to New Zealand with a stop in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Will my Verizon phone be free there, as it is an American territory?

 

DD

Have you looked on the Verizon website for the definitions of their plans?

I believe Verizon has a cruise ship plan also to use it on the ship but that's why I like to cruise. Turning the phone off.

I agree, there is a "peace" to be found turning it off, however .....sometimes one has personal family issues that need to be checked up on once in awhile so I must turn it on at some point. Plus the last time we were on vacation, someone lifted our credit card number (from the deep dark recesses of the web) and tried to make a charge fraudulently. Citibank texted and called with the info that the card number was fraudulently used and overnighted a new card. That has me nervous now too so I feel like I need to turn the phone on once in awhile to make sure there are no alerts. Something else to worry about in this world I guess. Maybe I am too cautious, I don't know.

I agree, there is a "peace" to be found turning it off, however .....sometimes one has personal family issues that need to be checked up on once in awhile so I must turn it on at some point. Plus the last time we were on vacation, someone lifted our credit card number (from the deep dark recesses of the web) and tried to make a charge fraudulently. Citibank texted and called with the info that the card number was fraudulently used and overnighted a new card. That has me nervous now too so I feel like I need to turn the phone on once in awhile to make sure there are no alerts. Something else to worry about in this world I guess. Maybe I am too cautious, I don't know.

When I checked on plans and settled on the daily $10.00 plan, there was another plan that I could use while onboard as well. But with it you paid Verizon, plus the ship for use. If I remember correctly, it was rather pricey. The cost varied by which ship was involved. Check with Verizon on plans as has been suggested.

Also Mexico coverage is not included in domestic coverage for free.

When I checked on plans and settled on the daily $10.00 plan, there was another plan that I could use while onboard as well. But with it you paid Verizon, plus the ship for use. If I remember correctly, it was rather pricey. The cost varied by which ship was involved. Check with Verizon on plans as has been suggested.

 

Also Mexico coverage is not included in domestic coverage for free.

I'll probably only turn the phone on when on land to check things, and forget about turning it on onboard unless in airplane mode to take pictures. So hopefully one of the Verizon options will work okay. Thank you for your input!

I have North American talk, text, and data with Verizon, so it includes Mexico and Canada. When I did the Western Caribbean in December I kept it on airplane mode while at sea. When I got to Cozumel and switched off airplane mode, Verizon sent an automated text saying "Welcome to Mexico" with the information that talk, text and data were included with my plan. It also included a link for support:

Please note that this is my regular domestic plan. I have not used the daily/pay as you go plan, nor do I use the ship's internet/wifi so I cannot comment on that type of usage.