Unlimited calls and e-mails with Verizon

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Has anyone used their Blackberry, with Verizon service, for unlimited calls and e-mails, while cruising, at a cost of $69.99/mo? We are going on the Carnival Spirit to the Mexican Riviera in October.

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

Has anyone used their Blackberry, with Verizon service, for unlimited calls and e-mails, while cruising, at a cost of $69.99/mo? We are going on the Carnival Spirit to the Mexican Riviera in October.

 

I am not sure what your question is, but I have an unlimited plan with Verizon. If you use your phone on the ship you are using Carnivals cell tower and you will pay their fees to make/get calls and to send and get text messages etc.

[SATXLady]

Has anyone used their Blackberry, with Verizon service, for unlimited calls and e-mails, while cruising, at a cost of $69.99/mo? We are going on the Carnival Spirit to the Mexican Riviera in October.

 

I believe that is NATIONWIDE unlimted. On the cruiseship will not be within the US but international/satellite rates.

[skylock]

If you are asking if there will be additional fees above the $69.99 a month you pay, the answer is yes.

[neekaemt]

check out verizons info on this

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/index.html

or

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/rates_coverage.html

this gives the prices for calls while roaming internationally. It also has a program at the bottom of the page called global travel program that you may want to call and inquire about.

[philsfun]

I have Verizon and a Blackberry. Was in Ensenada and Catalina Island last month. My Blackberry said there were no networks available...

[neekaemt]

you have to call verizon and authorize international calling... whether the web browser works or not i do not know.. I am a recent convert to the crackberry and haven't traveled internationally with it yet. I know that i could make calls on verizon from PVR last year on my palm phone but i could not access the web.

[Kingisacruiser]

I have a Blackberry and even though it is not with Verizon service, I feel confident in saying Leave it Home (unless you don't mind paying extra fees). When I got home from the Miracle in July and got my bill in August, I almost had a heart attack :eek:. I was charged international roaming for calls that I thought was okay because I got a signal and based on the map, we were in the US (albeit off the coast). So I was told that even though I may have technically been in the United States as long as you are on a cruise ship, you will be using the cruise ships towers. Even if you are docked in the homeport and used the phone. That was an expensive lesson to learn :(.

[salty dingo]

You will have a much nicer vacation if you keep the crackberry turned off. Being left "out of the loop" is a wonderful sensation... enjoy it while it lasts. I feel it is a right of everyone to be undisturbed on vacation.

 

Make it clear before you leave that you cannot be reached except in emergency; in that case your family should be left with the ship's contact information.

 

If you work for an idiot who expects you to be available during vacation, tell them you left you charger in the car, and could not operate it the entire time.

[megnsamsgracie]

I think that is incorrect.. we were told within 3 miles(this is what RCI told us the first time we cruised) of the US coast, you are on your phones service, after 3miles, the ships tower gets turned on. We did NOT get charged for the calls we made while waiting for sailaway

[poundcake09]

Carnival will start to charge you when underway $6.99 per minute BEWARE!!! Turn that phone off even if you recieve a call the same charge. There was a poster who recieved a $1200.00 bill for her carrier.:eek:

[CapeCodCruiser]

I have a VZ Blackberry with national unlimited email & web and also have been curious about usage on cruise. I am one of those internet addicts - when I want to check something out - I want an instant answer! Here is my best understanding of the VZ service on the ship:

 

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/rates_coverage.html

 

Cruise Ship Roaming Terms and Conditions

Cruise Ship roaming rates apply only to calls made and received when traveling in international waters on the cruise lines and ships currently published on International Roaming Rates & Coverage. Calls made and received when you are in port or cruising in an area served by a foreign roaming partner are billed at the applicable roaming rates for that country.

 

 

Voice calls while on the ship AND in international waters - no special plan needed but calls cost $2.49/min

 

Voice call while in port - on or off ship - you will pay international roaming rates for the area - you may or may not have service in certain areas unless you have a global capable phone.

 

 

Standard Int'l roaming rate in Mexico is only $.99/minute but it appears there are many cruise ports where there is no standard (non-global phone)coverage

 

Email or web access from your blackberry while on the ship in international waters costs $.02/kb for pay per use or you can add the unlimited Global email for 64.99/mo (you should only be charged the difference between the 64.99 & whatever your current email/web plan is) and you can add this coverage for just the days you be on the cruise. (for me that is an additional $35/month or a little over a $1 a day) well worth the unlimited email.

 

VZ Global email

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Global_Email/plans_coverage.html

 

If you also have broadband (use your cell phone as modem for laptop) on your phone the pay per use is $.02/kb as well or you can add Global Access for about an extra $100/month or about $3.33/day which gives you about 170MB per day of usage and $.05/MB for overages.

 

VZ GlobalAccess

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/GlobalAccess/plans_coverage.html

 

 

Thanks to the OP for getting me off my backside to figure this out - VZ does not make it easy to understand!

 

Hope this helps.

[CapeCodCruiser]

BTW - International waters are 12 nautical miles (appx 13.8 miles) from shore

[classc1]

While on my cruise last week I received a text message on my Blackberry from Verizon saying:

 

Welcome to VZW Cruise Ship Service. Calls are $2.49 per min. text Msgs are .50 to send and .05 to receive. Email is Pay per Use only .02/KB.

 

I have the Curve that is on CDMA so I could not get the internet outside of the states.

[happy cruzin]

Carnival will start to charge you when underway $6.99 per minute BEWARE!!! Turn that phone off even if you recieve a call the same charge. There was a poster who recieved a $1200.00 bill for her carrier.:eek:

 

 

Not true!! The Cellular at Sea service is based on $2.49 per minute - when using the ships tower. Some carriers may add to that so always check with your carrier and ask about the specific ports that you will visit. The Cellular at Sea service is supposed be be turned off when you are in port.

For us it is easy to tell which service the phone is picking up. Our displays read "Cellular at Sea" when using the ship tower. We have AT&T and have never been charged more than the 2.49/minute.

Here is the link to the info about the Cellular at Sea service: http://www.cellularatsea.com/guest_services.htm

[oilmanowen]

Has anyone used their Blackberry, with Verizon service, for unlimited calls and e-mails, while cruising, at a cost of $69.99/mo? We are going on the Carnival Spirit to the Mexican Riviera in October.

Wow....I was going to post the same question as Im goin on royal caribbeans.......jewel of the seas in Nov for 12 days..........I just got the new blackberry tour........

however.......according to verizon.you should call them

a couple of days before your voyage......and give them the SIM card ID in your blackberry to activate the global phone feature of your blackberry.....other wise it will operate like a regular cell phone.......and you wont reap the benifits of the$69.99 plan which by the way is prorated.so the day you return you shouls call verizon to tell them to turn off the sim card feature and put you back on your regular plan

[yogi2929]

I have Verizon and a Blackberry. Was in Ensenada and Catalina Island last month. My Blackberry said there were no networks available...

 

Ensenada I would understand no networks being available but Catalina? It's part of Los Angeles County.

 

--I believe you, just flabbergasted!

[mdguy99]

Honestly I've always used my phone on the sail away without issue, but my phone let me know if I was roaming.

 

If you're an internet addict and start to get twitchy, the onboard Wi Fi may be your best bet. If you can wait until your get to port free wifi is not hard to find usually.

[Mrsg324]

I have always used my phone at port & I've never had any additional charges.

[Jen1000]

That is odd, Catalina does have cell service. Was on the island years ago with Verizon and it worked fine.

 

I have Sprint now and I picked up service in Ensenada and Cabo fine as well. However, I did call Sprint before I left to make sure the phone was set up to use in Mexico. I believe it was .99 a minute in Mexico.

 

On the ship (Carnival) I did make a couple of quick calls for work that I could not avoid but I knew it would be something like $2.50 a minute so we talked fast!

 

Keeping my phone turned off on the ship made it a true vacation.

 

Jen in SoCal

 

 

 

I have Verizon and a Blackberry. Was in Ensenada and Catalina Island last month. My Blackberry said there were no networks available...