using a verizon blackberry on royal caribbean

[oilmanowen]

Has anyone had any experience using their verizon blackberry while on a cruise to the caribbean???

as I"m going to do just that in November??

any suggestions...........:rolleyes:

[MagicMike]

Has anyone had any experience using their verizon blackberry while on a cruise to the caribbean???

as I"m going to do just that in November??

any suggestions...........:rolleyes:

 

Verizon charges $2.99 per minute for phone calls, in or out. Data plan charges are the killer. If you use the data plan it can get very expensive. Check out this link for rates.

 

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

[Donray]

On smart phones it is the data rate on a cruise ship that is the killer. Don't forget that these charges are in addition to your phone plan. Turn off the intelligent part of your phone. while on the ship otherwise it will do updates at $20 per megabit.

Following are from Verizon site but others are similar.

Voice Roaming Rate:$2.49 per minute

 

Text Messaging Rates:

$0.50/address sent

$0.05/message received

 

Data Pay Per Use Rate:

$0.02/KB ($20.48/MB)

[CapeCodCruiser]

I posted this on a different thread on this topic:

 

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/Roa..._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/Glo..._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/Glo..._coverage.html

 

 

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

[greatam]

I posted this on a different thread on this topic:

 

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/Roa..._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/Glo..._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/Glo..._coverage.html

 

 

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

 

This is not completely correct. Not only will you pay the Verizon global data fees BUT you will pay the ship fees for internet/email connection. You WILL NOT be able to connect directly to Verizon WITHOUT going through the ship's sat tower. And that is a SHIP charge, not a Verizon charge.. So don't forget to add those fees in, in addition.

 

It is cheaper to use my Iridium sat phone, hooked up to the Iridium modem with my laptop ($1.00 per minute not counting the $1400 for the phone) than it is to use Verizon international global access + ship internet access to check email/use the internet.

[CapeCodCruiser]

This is not completely correct. Not only will you pay the Verizon global data fees BUT you will pay the ship fees for internet/email connection. You WILL NOT be able to connect directly to Verizon WITHOUT going through the ship's sat tower. And that is a SHIP charge, not a Verizon charge.. So don't forget to add those fees in, in addition.

 

It is cheaper to use my Iridium sat phone, hooked up to the Iridium modem with my laptop ($1.00 per minute not counting the $1400 for the phone) than it is to use Verizon international global access + ship internet access to check email/use the internet.

 

That is NOT correct - there is NO ship charge for cell phone use - ONLY the charge from your provider. But don't believe me - contact your cruise line for clarification.

 

From Carnivals website:

 

Can I use my cell phone on the ship?

 

Yes, cell phone service is available on all ships in the Carnival fleet. While your ship is at sea, the cellular system is activated and you can make and receive calls, send and receive text messages, as well as view emails and browse the Internet with over 300 carriers worldwide. International roaming rates apply and are set and billed by your home carrier. Charges will appear on your regular cell phone bill. Please contact your carrier before your cruise to check rates for each service and ensure your plan allows you to roam. For more information, visit http://www.cellularatsea.com.

[Sailingpeace]

Please, please please use it in your cabin or in port for conversations and turn the ringer off when you are in public spaces.

[AnotherJenny]

Which Blackberry do you have and where are you going? It will work on the ship when it is at sea, but unless you have the Storm and get a SIM card it might not work in some countries. Verizon is CDMA and most of Europe is GMS. Even in countries that have CDMA coverage, it is not always widespread.

[Donray]

That is NOT correct - there is NO ship charge for cell phone use - ONLY the charge from your provider. But don't believe me - contact your cruise line for clarification.

 

From Carnivals website:

 

Can I use my cell phone on the ship?

 

Yes, cell phone service is available on all ships in the Carnival fleet. While your ship is at sea, the cellular system is activated and you can make and receive calls, send and receive text messages, as well as view emails and browse the Internet with over 300 carriers worldwide. International roaming rates apply and are set and billed by your home carrier. Charges will appear on your regular cell phone bill. Please contact your carrier before your cruise to check rates for each service and ensure your plan allows you to roam. For more information, visit www.cellularatsea.com.

 

You are sort of correct; the cruise line does get a percent of what Cellular at Sea bills through your carrier. Also, the rate is also set by Cellular at Sea and marked up by your carrier.

What a lot of think is just because they have unlimited voice, text and data that they will not be billed when using these at sea, this is totally incorrect. Lots of stories thousand dollar bills from there carrier for service at sea. This is especially true of smart phones like the Blackberry or iPhone.

[greatam]

That is NOT correct - there is NO ship charge for cell phone use - ONLY the charge from your provider. But don't believe me - contact your cruise line for clarification.

 

From Carnivals website:

 

Can I use my cell phone on the ship?

 

Yes, cell phone service is available on all ships in the Carnival fleet. While your ship is at sea, the cellular system is activated and you can make and receive calls, send and receive text messages, as well as view emails and browse the Internet with over 300 carriers worldwide. International roaming rates apply and are set and billed by your home carrier. Charges will appear on your regular cell phone bill. Please contact your carrier before your cruise to check rates for each service and ensure your plan allows you to roam. For more information, visit http://www.cellularatsea.com.

 

No additional charge for calls-$2.49 per minute. There is an ADDITIONAL charge for DATA (internet/email) as they go through the ship tower's to connect to email/internet.

 

MY company has almost 60 Verizon cell phones of every configuration-global phone, global data phone (Blackberry and the new LG), Verizon air cards, and just plain old Verizon cell phones (47). You REALLY need to look at ALL the charges. You may be VERY surprised when you see the bill (which may not show up for 60-90 days)

[CapeCodCruiser]

No additional charge for calls-$2.49 per minute. There is an ADDITIONAL charge for DATA (internet/email) as they go through the ship tower's to connect to email/internet.

 

MY company has almost 60 Verizon cell phones of every configuration-global phone, global data phone (Blackberry and the new LG), Verizon air cards, and just plain old Verizon cell phones (47). You REALLY need to look at ALL the charges. You may be VERY surprised when you see the bill (which may not show up for 60-90 days)

 

Do you have one of those bills showing the extra charges? Or are you just repeating what you have heard?

[Ninjachyck]

I have the Bold and so does my hubby. We are both NOT going to be using them on the ship. I've called my carrier (Rogers up here in Canada) and they have no "offshore" plans I can add for the time I'm away.

 

I do know that if I had to make a call or use data, I should do it in port - the calls and data were half price from what they would be if had to use a satellite provider from the ship. I just looked up the big chart on Rogers website. Bottom line is we aren't using them. I'll pay for the ship's internet for the few times I need it!

 

And in case you're using it for work - aren't you on vacation???? :)

[yogi2929]

Which ports are you going to? We were charged our same rates (local, non roaming) in St Thomas on AT&T. Hopefully Verizon does the same. Check on the Verizon website for more information.

[yogi2929]

Do you have one of those bills showing the extra charges? Or are you just repeating what you have heard?

 

From Cingular at Sea (billed on our AT&T statement) we have had the $2.49/minute rates.

 

There have been several reports on CC of outrageous internet bills on cell phones/laptops. One was a guy watching a football game and the other was a TV personality- I think it was one of those MythBuster guys.

 

And in case you're using it for work - aren't you on vacation???? :)

 

When you work for youself there is a need to stay in touch with the office. Usually it is because a client has undone all your hard work:mad:.

[andstev]

It is cheaper to use my Iridium sat phone, hooked up to the Iridium modem with my laptop ($1.00 per minute not counting the $1400 for the phone) than it is to use Verizon international global access + ship internet access to check email/use the internet.

 

Can you tell me which model Iridium sat phone and modem you use with your laptop? We're sailing eastern mediterranean in December and are appalled at the phone/internet rates. Since DH needs to stay connected, it would be worth renting a sat phone/modem combo for the two weeks. Anything else I need to know about setting up sat service?

 

Thanks.

[greatam]

Can you tell me which model Iridium sat phone and modem you use with your laptop? We're sailing eastern mediterranean in December and are appalled at the phone/internet rates. Since DH needs to stay connected, it would be worth renting a sat phone/modem combo for the two weeks. Anything else I need to know about setting up sat service?

 

Thanks.

 

You will be far better off getting a tri/quad band global phone and/or a global modem/aircard and paying the ship rate (Verizon's international aircard works very well with a laptop in a lot of the world-$2.49 per minute on the ship as it is using a dial up connection and is merely treated as another Verizon cell phone). Verizon has a monthly charge just like any cell phone/aircard based on the countries you will be using the internet access in. The aircard also works on Verizon's broadband card in the USA (I am currently at PHX, typing on my laptop using my Verizon international aircard)

 

We have two Iridium 9505a models for company use that we OWN. We also have a per minute package DIRECT with an Iridium provider for $1.00 per minute. MOST of the rental places charge $1.99 per minute PLUS roughly $100 per week for rental PLUS shipping. It will be an additional cost to get the modem IF you can even find someone who will rent you the modem. Our modems are owned and they were about $450.00 EACH and were provided directly by a subsidiary of Iridium (Iridium is based in Arizona and our IT guy went to the factory to get all this set up). The newest sat phones can connect directly to laptops with the proper cables/connectors (which may be very hard to come by from a rental company).

 

IF you don't own the sat phone and get the discounted rate per minute, sat phone coverage will be as expensive as a cell phone/modem using the ship's connection. A sat phone is inconvenient in that it CANNOT be used in the cabin (must have direct line of sight to the satellite). My company owns the sat phones because we are frequently in places WITHOUT good cell coverage AND we need instant communications in times of emergency. They were the only phones that worked for us during 911 and during the power outage on the East Coast in 2003.

 

This from Verizon or something similar from another US provider would be very satisfactory for what you need AND you would have something you can use in the USA and overseas.

 

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

[andstev]

greatam - thanks for the helpful info. already ordered the global phone from Verizon and will check if it can be used with our laptop (or if we need an aircard, as well). thanks again.

[madelyn]

This may be a stupid question, but does anyone know if you are charged for data on your blackberry while you are in your home port (Port Canaveral)? I don't plan on using my phone once our ship leaves, but I would like to use it on the first day to meet up with friends cruising with us and driving on thier own. Does the Cellular at Sea take over once you step foot on the ship?

[relaxation]

Question: If you use your Blackberry for data on board wouldn't you get the sign in screen from RC before it connects? That screen came up on my laptop wanting me to sign in and gave data rates when I was on Carnival. Wouldn't RC do the same for data on a phone or laptop? How else would the ship bill you for the data useage? I have the international Verizon data plan and can't see them doing billing for RC.

 

Any one tried this and know?

 

Thanks!

[greatam]

Question: If you use your Blackberry for data on board wouldn't you get the sign in screen from RC before it connects? That screen came up on my laptop wanting me to sign in and gave data rates when I was on Carnival. Wouldn't RC do the same for data on a phone or laptop? How else would the ship bill you for the data useage? I have the international Verizon data plan and can't see them doing billing for RC.

 

Any one tried this and know?

 

Thanks!

 

While MOST cell phones/Blackberry, etc will have something to indicate you are not on your home network-Cellular at Sea most likely-some of the new phones have an icon. My new fancy Motorola touch screen (Verizon) has an icon. I actually had to dig out the book to find out what the new icon meant as there are about 7 icons all the time on the phone.

 

Your laptop was signing into the ship's internet most likely, NOT your cell provider unless you were using an aircard or modem hooked to your cell phone.

 

The third party billing system on cruise ships, some hotels, etc. etc bills the cell provider. THEN the cell provider has to bill you per your number. It can sometimes take 60-90 days before all third party phone/data charges make it to your cell provider and you actually see the bill.

[Jenagain]

Used an International BlackBerry 8830 while in the Mediterranean on BOS earlier this month - so I do not have my bill yet. Was told that Vodaphone is the sister company to Verizon, and there would be no roaming fees applied while using Vodaphone. The roaming symbol did not appear while on Vodaphone, but did appear when other carriers were the only companies available.

 

On the ship I did receive a message on my BB about signing up for RCL, which I did not do, and still received service for the most part (though not in my room). I did use the BB frequently, and was charged nothing by RCL.

 

I did find that I needed to re-boot often - to the point of taking out the battery and starting up again. I'm not sure if this was because I didn't receive service in my room, or because I was using different Satt's.

[Jenagain]

Used an International BlackBerry 8830 while in the Mediterranean on BOS earlier this month - so I do not have my bill yet. Was told that Vodaphone is the sister company to Verizon, and there would be no roaming fees applied while using Vodaphone. The roaming symbol did not appear while on Vodaphone, but did appear when other carriers were the only companies available.

 

On the ship I did receive a message on my BB about signing up for RCL, which I did not do, and still received service for the most part (though not in my room). I did use the BB frequently, and was charged nothing by RCL.

 

I did find that I needed to re-boot often - to the point of taking out the battery and starting up again. I'm not sure if this was because I didn't receive service in my room, or because I was using different Satt's.

 

I should add that I'm a Verizon Business customer, so that could make a difference.

 

Also, with regard to the RCL WiFi. Not only do you need to sign up for it, but your device must be capable of WiFi, which only the new Storm has I believe. My boss took an Alaskan cruise over the summer before the Storm 2 came out, and we had to switch to a AT&T BB as they were WiFi capable on board. iPhones are also WiFi capable, but I think they are only through AT&T

[dougp26364]

Has anyone had any experience using their verizon blackberry while on a cruise to the caribbean???

as I"m going to do just that in November??

any suggestions...........:rolleyes:

 

Royal Caribbean sets the $2.99/minute charge, or at least that what the Verizon reps we've spoken with have told us. Verizon has a monthly flat rate data plan with unlimited usage that works well onboard. What we were told to do was to take the unlimited data plan just before our cruise then cancel it after we returned. Which is what we did. There was NO unusual charges of killer data rates that were charged to us. Texting is considerably cheaper than making a phone call but, don't get carried away with it. While less expensive than the per minute charge it was still no bargain.

[greatam]

Used an International BlackBerry 8830 while in the Mediterranean on BOS earlier this month - so I do not have my bill yet. Was told that Vodaphone is the sister company to Verizon, and there would be no roaming fees applied while using Vodaphone. The roaming symbol did not appear while on Vodaphone, but did appear when other carriers were the only companies available.

 

On the ship I did receive a message on my BB about signing up for RCL, which I did not do, and still received service for the most part (though not in my room). I did use the BB frequently, and was charged nothing by RCL.

 

I did find that I needed to re-boot often - to the point of taking out the battery and starting up again. I'm not sure if this was because I didn't receive service in my room, or because I was using different Satt's.

 

I would be very interested to see your bill. While Vodaphone has no roaming fees when used with a Verizon international phone ON LAND with an international plan, Blackberry data/phone is not included in the plan on a ship. $2.49 per minute for phone calls, $.50 for texts and $.02 per kb for Blackberry routed through the ship towers.

 

What you were asked to sign up for by RCL was internet service/wifi. RCL does not do the billing for cell phone/Blackberry/aircards. Generally it is Cellular at Sea billed to Verizon. Verizon in turn bills the owner of the phone. Good luck-I hope you don't have an outrageous bill as one of my employees did using the company international phone with modem on a ship.

[Jenagain]

I would be very interested to see your bill. While Vodaphone has no roaming fees when used with a Verizon international phone ON LAND with an international plan, Blackberry data/phone is not included in the plan on a ship. $2.49 per minute for phone calls, $.50 for texts and $.02 per kb for Blackberry routed through the ship towers.

 

What you were asked to sign up for by RCL was internet service/wifi. RCL does not do the billing for cell phone/Blackberry/aircards. Generally it is Cellular at Sea billed to Verizon. Verizon in turn bills the owner of the phone. Good luck-I hope you don't have an outrageous bill as one of my employees did using the company international phone with modem on a ship.

 

Was able to get a copy of my bill. I have unlimited data, so even while on the ship I was not charged. I was charged $.05 for each received text, and $.50 for outgoing texts.

 

On the phone side, roaming calls were $.69 a minute each. Did have 2 calls that according to my bill went through RCI at $2.50 per minute.