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Using Verizon cell phones on ship?


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Hi everyone, DH & I have Verizon Wireless cell phones (smart phones, if that makes a difference) and I'm wondering how/if they will work on the Star, in Bermuda, when we're out at sea? We've only taken one other cruise in 2004 and back then you needed a special phone. Now I'm wondering if our regular cell phones will be able to make calls, surf the web, text, etc.? Thanks for any information!

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Yes. Check Verizon web site and they have a section on cruise ship services. Be aware calls while at sea and on the ship's cell tower are $2.50 a minute. While docked in Bermuda, the Verizon price should be listed on teh web site. Also, do not have "data" or "data while roaming" turned on after leaving the US port. You can have huge bills from that and not even be aware you phone was receiving data. Texting (SMS only) is .05c received and .50c sent while on the ship. Your domestic plan is not in effect then. Forgot about surfing the web....the ship sells wifi time by the minute packages. However, it too is fairly expensive and slow. So you can use up a package quickly just waiting for sites to load. I'm guessing Bermuda should have either some free or purchase wifi available around the island. You can usually find wifi sites in non US ports with a Google search.

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Wow that was a quick and really detailed answer. I wouldn't have thought to check out NCL's site for Verizon-specific info. Thanks so much for your help... and for the tip on turning data off!

 

 

Your welcome. That is Verizon's own web site for the info though, not NCL's.

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Wow that was a quick and really detailed answer. I wouldn't have thought to check out NCL's site for Verizon-specific info. Thanks so much for your help... and for the tip on turning data off!

 

If you can, go into your local Verizon store and have them show you how to turn off the data portion to avoid excessive charges.

 

Safe Travels.

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If you can, go into your local Verizon store and have them show you how to turn off the data portion to avoid excessive charges.

 

Safe Travels.

 

Or, just look at the settings on your phone. Even a newbie can look around and find something that says CELLULAR DATA with an on/off switch option.

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You can also use airplane mode to insure that your phone will not do any automatic updates etc. The shipboard system is called Verizon at Sea and even though you have a Verizon account - it does not apply to the at sea program. You might also want to see which is cheaper - the VAS at $2.49/min or the international rate in the country.

 

BTW on my Verizon droid phone (Motorola Razor) you need to allow roaming under the Settings - Wireless and Networks - Mobile Networks - Network Mode (set to CDMA only) - then under System Select you can use Home Only to shut off the phone and Automatic to allow roaming for both voice and data.

 

Now to stop your aps from auto updating while roaming you go to the Data Manager and you can either turn off Data Enabled or go under the Global Data Roaming Access and select Deny data roaming access.

 

If you are not familier with your phone - I would suggest visiting a Verizon store and have them explain how to make your phone work the way you want it while on your cruise. Don't wait until you are on the cruise to figure all of this out.

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Or, just look at the settings on your phone. Even a newbie can look around and find something that says CELLULAR DATA with an on/off switch option.

 

True (almost), but perhaps not eveyone is tech-savy.

My phone is probably different from their phone. My phone does not have anything related to data the says "CELLULAR DATA".

 

Specifically mine is: Settings> Battery & data manager> Data delivery> Data enabled.

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You could have also typed "verizon cell phone cruise ship" into Google and gotten your answer yourself by clicking on one of the first few hits.

 

DON

 

OK, thanks for the info

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OP, if you manage your VZW account online, log into it and there is an interactive self-tutorial about learning the specific features & options for your particular smartphone, tailored to your model(s) - there are free "classes" offered at local VZW stores for beginners, intermediate & advance users on getting the most of these advanced devices, seriously & not kidding.

 

To use VZW at sea and/or in Bermuda, you need to check & re-confirm that international/roaming is enabled on your account, call 611 & speak with global support to verify, as regular CSR at the call center might not be 99.8% informed/updated. Voice calls at sea while sailing, once out of the NY harbor & the ship's satellite tower is turned on, is $2.49 per minute + taxes/fees, data is roaming and either pay by the KB or $20.48 per MB, ouch (several hundred dollars worth of "typical" usage for a week's worth of cruising is what it amounted to) on pay as you go - including MMS/video msg. and not included even if you have regular data/unlimited data on land side. VZW sell bundled Global Data that is valid for cruising - it is $25 for 100 MB worth of data and is sometimes good for up to a week's worth of broadband access - their website has all the details & updated, as all these are subject to change upon notice.

 

Satellite data is slow (think turbo dial-up or slow DSL at the bottom tier) with high latency, and not even deemed 3G speed, but really 2G or Edge speed for GSM users - VZW users have access to both roaming networks on CDMA network and if it's a global phone, also to GSM bands - as long as int'l & roaming are activated and provisioned/validated on the partnering system.

 

You will find more info available at howardforums . com under VZW - it's helpful for newbies as well as technical folks (been active on their forums for 10+ years)

 

NCL ships visiting BDA are at Dockyard, which now has paid WiFi on the piers (King's Wharf or Heritage Wharf) & nearby shops and mini mall - for very reasonable daily rates with unlimited access, and isn't locked to a specific device's "MAC" address, so you can use it for the laptop, iPad, iphone & Android tablet/smartphone, etc. - speed is reported to be much better & faster, and far more reliable than ship's satellite uplink (I did not use it - there are recent reviews from other NCL cruisers coming back, might want to check the Rollcall sections.) I posted limited info under my recent RCI Bermuda cruise on EOS - linked under my signature/profile ...

 

Chances are you still have an older feature (non-smart) & working VZW phone - perfect for voice calls or simple SMS, you might want to activate it prior to your cruise to use - when it's done online, it's free and upon return, switch back to your smartphone, as this will AVOID the possibility of massive roaming bill for unintentional DATA usage while at sea or 700 miles off shore on the islands - assuming that you will not be checking for "PUSH" emails from your office's exchange server, etc. and/or "must" be in-touch 24/7/365 via phone with data enabled. I would be perfectly fine with using my Android tablet or DW's iPad2 to read the news or check emails when we have access to PAID WiFi on Bermuda. For downtown Hamilton or St. George on the opposite end of the island, do NOT expect to find FREE WiFi anywhere - there are no McDonalds or Starbucks & everything else is more EXPENSIVE out in the middle of the Atlantic ...

 

Lastly, our friend tried to use ship's internet (same is true for VZW's "Verizon Cruise Services" via the same tower) to log unsuccessfully into his AOL email account, took forever to refresh the graphics-heavy (Java & Flash) home/welcome page & gave up after 15 minutes. If you must use/read email, be prepared and plan for using land-based PAID WiFi once you get to Bermuda (with limited telephone support for tech-savy persons) ...

 

Enjoy the cruise & hope this is helpful to planning your trip. :D:)

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Oh no...I had not a clue about any of this. I had an emergency while at sea, awful to get a message like that when away, but I right away called two numbers...had to do it...never thought about DATA charges, or that there was any option about how to use the phone to call.

 

Any suggestions on what my options will be on this kind of bill?

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Oh no...I had not a clue about any of this. I had an emergency while at sea, awful to get a message like that when away, but I right away called two numbers...had to do it...never thought about DATA charges, or that there was any option about how to use the phone to call.

 

Any suggestions on what my options will be on this kind of bill?

 

You can use voice (and just pay the voice per minute charges) without receiving data. So you may not have downloaded any data while talking...if the phone had "data off while roaming" selected.

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Oh no...I had not a clue about any of this. I had an emergency while at sea, awful to get a message like that when away, but I right away called two numbers...had to do it...never thought about DATA charges, or that there was any option about how to use the phone to call. Any suggestions on what my options will be on this kind of bill?

 

Hmmm, your "excess" & billable charges depend in part on what specific phone you're using & its features - iPhone, Droid or LG's, etc. ?

 

For 2 roaming calls, at 10 minutes average - you are looking at maybe $60 w. taxes, fees & surcharges added - plus possibily any background data that ran continuously with the mobile device turned on (and, did it stayed on in standby for the rest of the cruise ?? as that could easily add up to a huge one) I'm guessing that you don't normally use it to check emails, news, do FB or IM, etc. if not all - as you would otherwise be on some sort of mandatory data plan on land each month with Big Red.

 

You could wait until this month's regular billing statement or call 611/VZW's customer number from a landline and ask them to see if they can bring up the cruise ship charges and calling details - and explain your emergency, and see what they can do ...

 

Most likely, they will not not waive it as the calls are legitimate - but, if data was used, they can and might sometimes enroll you in the Global Data plan, retroactively to try to reduce/offset the charges - or do some sort of reductions, etc. None of it are a given and varied depending on the specific situations - and who's on the other hand of their call center - it wouldn't hurt to ask for a supervisor if the CSR isn't helpful at all.

 

Good luck !

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Oh no...I had not a clue about any of this. I had an emergency while at sea, awful to get a message like that when away, but I right away called two numbers...had to do it...never thought about DATA charges, or that there was any option about how to use the phone to call.

 

Any suggestions on what my options will be on this kind of bill?

 

Pretty simple answer. She will pay $2.49 a minute for that call. Same as we do whenever we use our phone at sea.

 

As to data, maybe, maybe not. She would need to be doing something for that to kick in. And I would guess it did not.

 

You can probably go online and see your phone charges before the bill shows up. Sometimes.

 

Let us know what really happened.

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Oh no...I had not a clue about any of this. I had an emergency while at sea, awful to get a message like that when away, but I right away called two numbers...had to do it...never thought about DATA charges, or that there was any option about how to use the phone to call.

 

Any suggestions on what my options will be on this kind of bill?

 

When you get the bill I'd suggest you call Verizon Billing Customer Service, explain about the emergency and ask if they could remove some or all of the charges for those two calls. They might do it. At least it won't hurt to ask. We've had luck with Verizon removing some billing amounts for us, nothing as large as what you'll probably be billed though. Your bill is definitely going to depend on how many minutes your calls were and whether your phone also downloaded data.

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We spoke to a very nice Verizon rep who explained all the options. She was even able to look up the charges at each individual port we were going.

 

One thing to note...the ship will not "switch on" their tower until you are a bit away from land (8 miles I think). We found that out leaving Belize because we skirted the land the whole night and it never popped up.

 

We didn't have an issues using our phone in the Mexican ports and it was much less expensive than the ship...$2.49/min from the ship vs $0.50/min in Mexico.

 

We also kept a close eye on the time because we were calling kids who have a tendency to want us to talk to the dog or something instead of just letting us do a quick check up.

 

Either a Verizon rep or someone at a Verizon store should be able to explain your phone and come up with the best options for you and how you intend to use your phone.

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Yes. Check Verizon web site and they have a section on cruise ship services. Be aware calls while at sea and on the ship's cell tower are $2.50 a minute. While docked in Bermuda, the Verizon price should be listed on teh web site. Also, do not have "data" or "data while roaming" turned on after leaving the US port. You can have huge bills from that and not even be aware you phone was receiving data. Texting (SMS only) is .05c received and .50c sent while on the ship. Your domestic plan is not in effect then. Forgot about surfing the web....the ship sells wifi time by the minute packages. However, it too is fairly expensive and slow. So you can use up a package quickly just waiting for sites to load. I'm guessing Bermuda should have either some free or purchase wifi available around the island. You can usually find wifi sites in non US ports with a Google search.

 

As long as you switch your domestic data to a global data you will not have any extra charges. I am still grandfathered in for the global unlimited data plan and wouldn't leave home without it.

 

To the OP: if you want to receive email or use BBM (if you have a Blackberry) call Verizon and let them have you put a global plan on your phone. It is prorated. So whatever the plan per month cost it will only be charged for the days you have it (as long as you cancel).

 

Make sure you have your phone global ready if you are using it first time outside the US. Once you have the global data installed it is good anywhere.

 

http://businessportals.verizonwireless.com/international/GlobalData/rates_coverage.html

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One thing to note...the ship will not "switch on" their tower until you are a bit away from land (8 miles I think). We found that out leaving Belize because we skirted the land the whole night and it never popped up.

So, at the very least, you can freely use your cell phone when onboard the ship, before it pulls out of a US port? I know that the carrier sign will change on your phone when it's using the ship's cell tower, but that would be a little late if you are texting and wanted to stop before you would be charged (have 2 teens who will want to be in touch with friends until the last possible minute...then the phones will be put in the safe until our return!).

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So, at the very least, you can freely use your cell phone when onboard the ship, before it pulls out of a US port? I know that the carrier sign will change on your phone when it's using the ship's cell tower, but that would be a little late if you are texting and wanted to stop before you would be charged (have 2 teens who will want to be in touch with friends until the last possible minute...then the phones will be put in the safe until our return!).

 

yep. I used my ipad with AT&T 3G for 15-20 minutes after we left Miami

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As long as you switch your domestic data to a global data you will not have any extra charges. ..

 

 

Could be very BAD advice. Most global or intl data plans are expensive. Unless you are on some secret hand shake back room deal, you are gonna pay.

 

As to the topic at hand, the OP had two phone calls. No data.

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