Shut your cell phones off !

[roger001]

So a question for all you "techies" My husband and I both use (Verizon)blackberry for work email and keep our blackberry's running all the time. Are you saying, just by leaving the power "on" each email we recieve will incur charges?

 

I fear being hit with $500.00 phone bills for each of us.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Yes, that's what Verizon told me (or confirmed what I had read on here). I emailed Verizon with specific questions and got a phone call back from them. That's when they said to avoid that unexpected download of data, I would need to turn off "data" portion of my Blackberry, or place it in "data off when roaming". The voice and text portions of the phone would continue to work as normal. I too am going to check on a data roaming plan for limited period of time. I went into a Verizon retail store with the questions beforehand, and they didn't have a clue.

[erdoran]

For Verizon help you can just call in, or call in & ask for international support. As of 1/19/2011 Verizon discontinued their unlimited international data plan. They now have different levels of INCLUDED data, which is pro-rated depending on how long you sign up for their international plan. I had signed up for 70 or 75 MB (I forget which) but kept in the back of my mind that since I'd be using it for a week, I really had about 17 MB which I could use. I was very, very careful and used much less.

 

Their international "reduced" phone rate plan is probably useless. If you consider it, ask them for calling rates with and without the plan for the countries you will be visiting before you decide. It is NOT applicable while you are at sea!

 

For non-Verizon, check with your phone provider as to whether or not cruise ship data is included in any international data plan, it well may not be. I was looking at AT&T a while ago and cruise ship data service WAS NOT INCLUDED in their international plan!

 

Bottom lline: KNOW BEFORE YOU GO! Call your phone provider, make sure you know what is and isn't included, and know how to SHUT OFF ENTIRELY your data usage, so you have absolute control of if, and how much, it is used!

[dockrocker]

With Verizon you can temporarily add the International Data Roaming feature while you are traveling. Data will be free on the ship and in any port where your phone can get a signal. This does not apply to texting and making phone calls. When we went on the Carnival cruise recently I added this feature for a week - it came out to be about $17 but I had totally unlimited data and was not charged a cent extra for it.

 

AT&T offers this as well. If you don't frequently travel overseas, you can just call and add the service before your trip -- they sell it month by month with no startup fees, so you can cancel it after your trip and reinstate it before your next one. I think it's only about $5.95 per month with AT&T, and we use local wireless for email and surfing without any extra charges. As you note, texting and calls are not included.

 

One caveat to add to webzila's comment: Data will not be free on the ship unless you're in port and using a local signal. But you also won't be accessing the ship's wireless inadvertently -- you'll have to sign up for it before you can get it, so no risk of accidents there.

[garycarla]

Sadly some people are giving bad advice and are overly alarmed.

 

Yes, if you turn off data and in airplane mode, you will incure ZERO charges.

 

But, that does not mean it is the best advice for everyone.

 

Yes, as reported here every few days, calls at sea cost $2.49 a minute. And you pay for text messages. No flat rate plans apply.

 

But, if there is a small amount of data you want or need,then maybe getting a little data at $20 is okay for you. Just know how to turn DATA ROAMING on and off. Simple enough to do.

 

We prefer to use our phones while we are traveling the world. We never turn them off. I understand that some do not want to incur those charges. We are also smart enough, and our family knows we are not going to talk long if they do call.

 

In summary, understand what is what. If you do not want to spend any money at all, go to airplane mode, or turn it off.

[Ukap]

I have a great solution for you.

Buy your telephone and service in another country.

 

My Chinese 4G mobile telephone cost me only about US$40, has no monthly fee, no service contract, is unlocked, and roams everywhere in the world - even at sea - for US$0.06 per minute.

 

What service did you use - They have a website I can look at??

[cmdchiefthom]

KevinsCruising, I really appreciated this topic being posted. I'm a cell phone idiot,:rolleyes: so all these posts are really helpfull.;)

[Got2Cruise]

Who's giving bad advice?

Sadly some people are giving bad advice and are overly alarmed.

 

[dockrocker]

Who's giving bad advice?

 

Don't you know by now? Anyone who's not garycarla. ;)

[RedFlavoredJellybeans]

I just called T-Mobile to ask about their roaming charges on the Jewel specifically. I know the charges already because they are listed online, but I would rather have the peace of mind if some representative told me same information.

 

http://www.t-mobile.com/International/RoamingOverview.aspx?tp=Inl_Tab_RoamWorldwide

 

He said the roaming charge to leave the phone on on the Jewel is $4.99. That's right, he said to leave the phone on. Not to call. If you call, additional charges apply. If you use send or receive text, additional charges apply. Now this is inconsistent with what the page says, that text receiving is free if you have a text bundle. So I did a quick back-of-the-envelope and for 7 days on the Jewel, if you leave the phone on and not make any calls, it'll cost you over $50,000. I'm really hoping this guy I spoke with is misinformed.

[vols_159]

i think ill turn my phone off and take the battery out! (just to be safe) heck my phone (droid eris) needs a vaca too its pretty much been on 24 7 since i bought it 13 months ago

[shof515]

I just called T-Mobile to ask about their roaming charges on the Jewel specifically. I know the charges already because they are listed online, but I would rather have the peace of mind if some representative told me same information.

 

http://www.t-mobile.com/International/RoamingOverview.aspx?tp=Inl_Tab_RoamWorldwide

 

He said the roaming charge to leave the phone on on the Jewel is $4.99. That's right, he said to leave the phone on. Not to call. If you call, additional charges apply. If you use send or receive text, additional charges apply. Now this is inconsistent with what the page says, that text receiving is free if you have a text bundle. So I did a quick back-of-the-envelope and for 7 days on the Jewel, if you leave the phone on and not make any calls, it'll cost you over $50,000. I'm really hoping this guy I spoke with is misinformed.

A BIG FYI:

If your phone is on roaming on a network, you will get SMS/TEXT message saying your roaming on another network for the per minute rates

 

When i cruise to Canada last September, my basic tmobile phone gave me a message that said Welcome to Rogers Wireless, it will cost you x.xx per minute, 0.xx for texts and so on. I dont remember the true wording but im glad i got that message otherwise i would of never noticed that i was roaming since i never looked at the top left corner of my phone since it always says t-mobile

[KevinsCruising]

KevinsCruising, I really appreciated this topic being posted. I'm a cell phone idiot,:rolleyes: so all these posts are really helpfull.;)

 

Your welcome !! I just didn't want anyone to have the same surprise I had after my Nov cruise on the SKY. But now, I am all set for the GEM on April 2nd !!!! ;)

[slotaddict]

I have Sprint...my last cruise on the Jewel, I turned off my data roaming..I did the use the cellular at sea feature several times during the week, mostly at night to call home and talk to my kids.

 

I did turn the date back on when I got to port, so I could text and receive messages back...It was $.50 per text and .05 for the answer. One problem I had, was several incoming texts kind of got hung up and kept coming into the phone over and over again, I could not stop them no matter what I did including turning the phone off.

 

One trick to remember is that make sure you are into port completely before you turn your data back on as the charges are less than they are with the ships cellular at sea...

 

I inquired from Sprint as to an international plan...they told me international plans do not apply to cruise ships.

 

Some data does sneak through when you turn the phone on in port..so be prepared for that in my case it was not significant.

 

My bill from Sprint after a 7 day cruise was approximately $50.00 extra than what I would have usually paid...I hope this helps Sprint users...

[Warmer Climes]

I have to admit that when I saw this thread I thought it was a plea for people to silence their phones while they're on the cruise!

 

There was a man on a Mayan ruins excursion with us in February whose phone rang pretty much the whole time. He said that it was a client and he wasn't going to answer it but he wanted to make sure his daughter could get in touch with him from college if she needed to. I am not sure why he couldn't have put it on vibrate but...

[3dogsrule]

Got my AT&T bill today. Shockingly, the rep told me something wrong! Multiple reps swore that if I got the $10 Global Messaging 50 plan (up to 50 texts), that I could send or receive texts from anywhere, even the boat they said, and it would be under that plan; additional fees would apply after the 50 (you could send 50, texts received would count against your phone's current text plan). Well, the bill states that the Global Messaging 50 plan includes: "50 sent text, picture, video or instant messages ($0.40 each additional message sent) while in select discounted countries.". The reps didn't tell me that little tidbit. Fortunately I didn't get carried away, but texts sent from the ship and from Belize did not come out of the plan's 50, they were charged to me at $.50 each. Fortunately we're only talking about $5, but they'll still be getting a phone call for lying to me.

 

And 3 phone calls totally 12 minutes ran me $11.88 from Cozumel. Coulda been worse.

 

So just be aware, if you get conflicting info from here, from searching elsewhere online, and from the cell rep...keep digging for the truth!

[RedFlavoredJellybeans]

Got my AT&T bill today. Shockingly, the rep told me something wrong! Multiple reps swore that if I got the $10 Global Messaging 50 plan (up to 50 texts), that I could send or receive texts from anywhere, even the boat they said, and it would be under that plan; additional fees would apply after the 50 (you could send 50, texts received would count against your phone's current text plan). Well, the bill states that the Global Messaging 50 plan includes: "50 sent text, picture, video or instant messages ($0.40 each additional message sent) while in select discounted countries.". The reps didn't tell me that little tidbit. Fortunately I didn't get carried away, but texts sent from the ship and from Belize did not come out of the plan's 50, they were charged to me at $.50 each. Fortunately we're only talking about $5, but they'll still be getting a phone call for lying to me.

 

And 3 phone calls totally 12 minutes ran me $11.88 from Cozumel. Coulda been worse.

 

So just be aware, if you get conflicting info from here, from searching elsewhere online, and from the cell rep...keep digging for the truth!

 

I've always gotten conflicted info from representatives at cell phone companies. What they say are different rep to rep and different rep to website. What I suggest is that people can do is a voice recording of the conversation with the rep (of course, you will have to tell him you are recording, he might just hang up.) Or go to a trusted local dealer. Do not go to the corporate type dealer, go to an independently owned mobile-store, where they have more to lose if you give them bad reviews on Yelp.

[Hikini]

This is my experience and this is for ALASKA cruises out of Seattle. We have T-Mobile.

 

About 3-4 hours after you leave the port in Seattle you will be in Canadian waters. Service may be spotty at best, but at times there IS service.

 

We have an international plan, which includes Canada, so on the first cruise in which we had this plan, I was a little apprehensive about the charges we might incur, even tho' we had the Int'l plan. But because of circumstances at home I wanted to leave my phone on for those first 2 days.

 

The cell phone that I had at that time made a little chime whenever service came back, if we had been out of a service area. I was surprised how many places along the route where we had service in Canadian waters, even though it looked like we were way out in the middle of nowhere.

 

We didn't make/receive any phone calls until we were on land in Alaska, but we did send/receive a lot of texts.

 

We incurred ZERO charges. We have now gone on 3 AK cruises with the same set up, left the phones on 24/7, sent/received texts in Int'l waters, as well as a couple phone calls, and ZERO charges to our bill.

 

I'm not saying this will be the case for everyone, but with the International plan we have through T-Mobile, this has been our experience.

[roger001]

I have Sprint...my last cruise on the Jewel, I turned off my data roaming..I did the use the cellular at sea feature several times during the week, mostly at night to call home and talk to my kids.

 

I did turn the date back on when I got to port, so I could text and receive messages back...It was $.50 per text and .05 for the answer.

...

 

Verizon said the data being off, or off while roaming, on my Blackberry has no effect on texting. Texting uses the voice features of the phone, not data. "Data" is only the ability to access the internet function....according to Verizon.

[xodezi]

anyone have any insight on all this with Sprint as the carrier?? :eek:

[sierramyst44]

We always leave our phones in the car then no need to worry that we have it in the "right" mode. If their is an emergency we leave the onship email address to family otherwise their is no reason to need the phone. Hubby and I always agree on a meeting time just in case we get separated on ship and we stay together while touring. I am on vacation and do not want nor need to chat with anyone. If you need to stay in contact with family members cruising then walkie talkies usually work quite well at sea.

[slotaddict]

Verizon said the data being off, or off while roaming, on my Blackberry has no effect on texting. Texting uses the voice features of the phone, not data. "Data" is only the ability to access the internet function....according to Verizon.

 

I know I had to turn the data back on for something...perhaps I wasn;t getting good enough service to make the call...I'm leaving on 4/30 another cruise...perhaps I can come back with better information. As I said some of the data came through but it was minimal..only added $ 50.00 to my bill and that included the texts and the calls...

[kevinbl]

I don't have the option of leaving my phone off. I have a Blackberry and turned off all the "chatty" apps like MSN Messenger and Viigo etc. My data bill for the entire week (100+ email a day) was $35.00.

 

1) If your worried and/or don't need it, do what others have said and turn it off or put your phone in airplane mode.

 

2) I don't know of ANY plan that includes/discounts data or voice while on the ship. You are connecting to a Satellite and the rates will always be far and above standard roaming.

 

3) If you do get a roaming plan for the ports you are traveling to set your phone to manual selection. That will allow you to confirm that you are not connected to the ship's cell tower. As a bonus, many times at night I could make calls on my balcony while connected to a Island's mobile network.

[slotaddict]

I appreciate the thoughts of those who say they shut off their phone or leave it in the car...I also appreciate those like myself who will not consider that option...

 

I need to connect with my family for my own reasons and do not feel that I could possibly get through any entire week without speaking to them at least once..:D

[luvwater]

Sprint Users:

03/22/2011

 

Idolina M.: Hi, my name is Idolina M.. Thank you for your chat request. Please wait while I review your information.

 

Idolina M.: Sure I’ll be more than happy to assist you with this today. Is this your first time contacting Sprint World Wide ?

 

wendy : yes

 

Idolina M.: I'm sorry may I have the name of the cruise ship?

 

wendy : NCL Gem leaving out of NYC to the Bahamas.

 

Idolina M.: Is it the Norwegian cruise line Gem?

 

wendy : Yes

 

Idolina M.: Yes, you can use your phone on the ship , the rates would be

Voice pricing: $2.99/minute

Data pricing: Voice service only

Text pricing: $0.50/recipient; Recv'd: $0.05/msg

 

wendy: Thank you! Is it the same when I am in Nassau?

 

Idolina M.: The rates from the Bahamas will be

Voice pricing: $2.29/minute(CDMA), $2.29/minute(GSM)

Data pricing: $0.016/KB(GSM)

Text pricing: Send: $0.50/recipient; Recv'd: $0.05/msg

Reduced Pricing Plans Available: V:1.99/min w/plan

 

wendy: Thanks again ... you have been very helpful.

[queenL]

Interesting topic! I always call T Mobile before I depart any trip. I ask what the prices are for each port I'm visiting etc. That way there will be no surprises when I return. I encourage every one to do just that. Some fees vary with different plans even if you have the same provider.

 

I do not turn my phone on when I'm on the ship. I keep it off and locked in the safe. When we dock and we are physically off the ship ( I've heard tales of people on the ship talking while docked and incurring huge fees) then I will turn my phone on and check/return texts. It is 50 cents per outgoing text (I wasn't charged for incoming texts because I did not exceed my package plan amount). I'm comfortable with that because it is still cheaper then calling. Depending on the port I may return a short call from a cell if it is a longer call I use a calling card. I found that I could send pictures with just a standard text fee but if I tried to attach voice or any other data additional fees applied. When we are in port and we want to keep in touch with other members of our party, we use walkie talkies.