using a verizon blackberry on royal caribbean

[nutzo]

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

 

 

My T-mobile Blackberry 8900 has WiFi. I'll turn off the Mobile Network Connection so I won't be using the cell towers unless I have an emergency & need to use the phone.

I also plan on buying the 60 minute WiFi plan to check my work/personal emails. I'll enable the WiFi connnection on the phone for a few minutes each day to sync any emails. I can reply off-line if needed & then reconnect for a couple minutes again to send.

[ILLUSIONIST]

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:

In addition to the international roaming rate imposed by your telephone company when useing your phone overseas from land based repeaters, there is an additional charge from Wireless Maritime Services if using your mobile at sea. This is debited by your phone company some six weeks after you return frpom your cruise...

[mrcamp]

Not correct! You will get charged once by your carrier. It's up to your carrier and WMS to determine how they split the $2.49 or whatever you get charged. It's called roaming agreement. You will only see one bill from your carrier. It takes a while to show up because some of the roaming carriers take a while to report it.

 

In addition to the international roaming rate imposed by your telephone company when useing your phone overseas from land based repeaters, there is an additional charge from Wireless Maritime Services if using your mobile at sea. This is debited by your phone company some six weeks after you return frpom your cruise...

[hockeyken]

:D You and I are very different people. Crackberries, cell phones and laptops STAY HOME. I go on vacation. Emergency numbers for ship is left with responsible adult family members.

 

I do not need ,nor Want to be in constant touch. I am not that important (and neither are you).

 

Learn to relax.

 

Have a great cruise, whatever you decide, but as another poster said, turn off your mobile device in public areas on the ship.

[ccletzgo]

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.

 

I dont understand... You are saying you used the internet on your blackberry, while on the ship, with no charges?

 

after traveling, I have had portions of my bill delayed a month with verizon. Hopefully next month you wont see a bill for all the data..:eek:

[dougp26364]

I dont understand... You are saying you used the internet on your blackberry, while on the ship, with no charges?

 

after traveling, I have had portions of my bill delayed a month with verizon. Hopefully next month you wont see a bill for all the data..:eek:

 

I can tell you that after talking with Verizon, we were told that one particular data package was unlimited and worldwide. We could activate it just before the cruise and then cancel it after we returned home, which is what we did. It worked exactly like they said and there wasn't any big bill at the end of the month. Just a $20 bump in the bill for the time we had the unlimited data plan in effect and a few texts that were recieved and sent while on the ship.

[Jenagain]

I dont understand... You are saying you used the internet on your blackberry, while on the ship, with no charges?

 

after traveling, I have had portions of my bill delayed a month with verizon. Hopefully next month you wont see a bill for all the data..:eek:

 

That is correct. It seemed that I was only able to use Internet while roaming on Vodapone, which I was able to receive during the majority of the cruise - both in port and at sea. Data plan was broken out on bill to KB used per carrier, including data noted as "Cruise Ship" - about 2,000 kb worth.

 

This bill covered over 2/3 of my cruise, and the only upcharges to the base bill were texts and phone calls.

[dougp26364]

I think it should be pointed out that Verizon has different packages with different ways of calculating the charges (I know, Mr. Obvious here). But it's important to understand this as some plans WILL charge by the amount of usage. You must have the right plan to avoid a nasty surprise after your cruise. If you just hop on the ship with a standard plan you could end up with a bill that comes in a box instead of an envelope.

 

We were very specific when we spoke with Verizon about what we wanted to do and it did take a phone call to one of their "experts" as the local reps weren't exactly certain how we should proceed. Once we understood the different plans and how they were billed, it was pretty easy to take the option that would allow us the most access without the risk of getting hit with a $1,000 bill.

[ccletzgo]

That is correct. It seemed that I was only able to use Internet while roaming on Vodapone, which I was able to receive during the majority of the cruise - both in port and at sea. Data plan was broken out on bill to KB used per carrier, including data noted as "Cruise Ship" - about 2,000 kb worth.

 

This bill covered over 2/3 of my cruise, and the only upcharges to the base bill were texts and phone calls.

 

Ok, i understand now. You were accessing the INTERNET via verizon, not the ships WIFI. But wouldn't you still be charged the $2.49 a min for your phone using the cellular at sea to access the internet?

[Jenagain]

Ok, i understand now. You were accessing the INTERNET via verizon, not the ships WIFI. But wouldn't you still be charged the $2.49 a min for your phone using the cellular at sea to access the internet?

 

No phone usage to use internet. I did have phone charges for using the phone itself, the majority at $.69 minute using Vodaphone - even on the ship, which I usually used out on deck,. Did have 2 calls fall into the $2.49 a minute, which I believe happened in the casino/theater.