Massive Mobile Phone Bill Whilst @ Sea

[IL-cruisers]

As technology users, we have basic responsibilities...

 

This.

[CSBM]

My 14 year old daughter is going into a full shock mode because we just told her that she can't use her cell phone while we are on our cruise....I told her we would put it in the safe...but she really wants to use her camera. Can I turn off the data so she can safely turn her phone on to use her camera?????

 

Inquiring mind of a teen needs to know;)

 

 

CSBM

[peter1975]

Just got my monthly mobile phone bill through and unsurprisingly £450 worth of the bill is from using my phone whilst on board the Independence of the Seas.

 

I just want to make people aware of this crazy charge per MB of data used. I called Orange to see how much data I used and they said I used roughly 40MB of data whilst on board. Obviously whilst I was at sea I could only use Royal Caribbean’s phone mast which is run by AT&T Maritime. In other words it works out roughly £10 per 1MB used this is VERY expensive when you compare if to Oranges data plan which roughly works out to be £1 per every 25MB.:eek::eek::eek:

 

The worst part of it is I phoned Royal Caribbean's customer service department to complain and they have to be the most useless complaints department I have ever come across. I am well into Diamond now meaning I am a fairly 'Loyal to Royal' well obviously loyalty means nothing these days. The most senior member of the complaints team told me he was the highest person within the company I could speak to and that it was my fault I had such a high mobile phone bill. He also went onto say that mobile phone bills whilst on their ships is nothing to do with Royal Caribbean.

My complaint is this… nowhere on the ship does Royal Caribbean highlight that there will be extremely high prices for using data at sea and EXACTLY what that cost is. The reason for this is that no one will use the service.

The customer service manager also told me Royal Caribbean did not make any money off the mobile phone service. He is obviously a total dimwit, Royal Caribbean must get paid a rental fee for AT&T to have a mast at sea and they most likely take a percentage of whatever the service makes however don’t quote me on that as I am not a mobile communications expert. One thing I do know is Royal Caribbean are getting paid handsomely for this service at the expense of their guests and they try to be a covert as possible with the pricing structure.

 

This website here shows all the ships with this service on:

http://www.wmsatsea.com

 

Not to be overly repetitive, but I just can't believe Royal Caribbean is being blamed for this issue. Your high bill is most unfortunate, I agree, but not Royal Caribbean's fault. I worked for AT&T for 10 years and I saw plenty of people with high, shocking phone bills. When a cell phone bill is unexpectedly as much as your mortgage payment people can get a little upset. Why should Royal Caribbean be expected to notify you of a roaming rate any more than the other countries you visit? They wouldn't even know the rate your carrier is charging you. Instead of calling Royal to complain, you should have been calling Orange to ask with some help with your bill. Whilst it may have sounded like Royal Caribbean was being completely unhelpful, the cold hard truth is that they don't share any of the responsibility for your cell phone usage or charges you incurred and should absolutely have done nothing for you. I don't say that to sound mean, but that's just the way it is. And I doubt Royal Caribbean gets any money from the calls and data usage - it's probably just a mutually beneficial arrangement -- AT&T customers can use their cell phones whilst at sea, and Royal Caribbean can provide their customers access to a cell phone network whilst they're on a cruise.

[ITMan]

Unfortunately this is nothing new, and it isn't Royal Caribbean as such who are the culprits, its the mobile phone companies. Fundamentally as soon as you start to use data (or phone) from outside the UK be it Jersey, France, or a ship at sea, you are "Roaming" - they penalize you heavily for this. YOU can buy "add ons" from your phone supplier to reduce this to a degree, but it is always MUCH more expensive than using in your home country.

[ITMan]

My 14 year old daughter is going into a full shock mode because we just told her that she can't use her cell phone while we are on our cruise....I told her we would put it in the safe...but she really wants to use her camera. Can I turn off the data so she can safely turn her phone on to use her camera?????

 

Inquiring mind of a teen needs to know;)

 

 

CSBM

 

Yes you can. It depends on the Phone usually, but in principle, If possible put in Airplane mode which switches off all coms on the device. If not you can definitely switch off data roaming (Which will stop internet, email, facebook etc etc) access. You should also be able to Turn off the phone connection from within the settings to prevent phone calls and texts.

[DeltaOne]

My 14 year old daughter is going into a full shock mode because we just told her that she can't use her cell phone while we are on our cruise....I told her we would put it in the safe...but she really wants to use her camera. Can I turn off the data so she can safely turn her phone on to use her camera?????

 

Inquiring mind of a teen needs to know;)

 

You didn't mention the brand, but the answer is surely yes. On most smartphones you simply turn on Airplane Mode. That disables all the radios and you are then free to use any other app on the device (as long as they don't need Internet access).

[DeltaOne]

I would have assumed that much data usage would cost that much at sea; maybe more. That's why DD's iPhone is going into the safe for the week upon boarding. :cool:

 

That's silly. Simply put the iPhone in Airplane Mode and let her use the iPhone for the things it can do that do not need Internet access. Airplane Mode is completely safe and you will not return home to an unexpected, large bill.

 

As long as you can trust her to leave Airplane Mode on...

[KellyJean]

I do not understand people that take/use their cell phones on vacation! If i used my cell phone on the ship my SO would throw it overboard. Same goes for my laptop!

[rogueangel]

My phone is on 02 here in the UK, I've just been on their website and there is no mention of cruise rates on it's international charges pages at all, in fact if I do a search for the word "cruise" it just takes me to pages on their messageboard of people asking the same thing, and the answers on there are "Cruise ships have their own data tariff aand you need to check with the cruise line." Well that doesn't help at all if everyone on here is saying it's up to the network and NOT the cruiseline.

[reallyitsmema]

I do not understand people that take/use their cell phones on vacation! If i used my cell phone on the ship my SO would throw it overboard. Same goes for my laptop!

Not everyone can walk away from their responsibilities while on vacation.

[frediver]

Where is the Smart Phone instruction thread that has been mentioned here, perhaps it should be revived and made a sticky?

My wife got dinged with her new phone when she took it out of airplane mode to search for a cell/data signal, not much $$ but just by checking she was charged.

I am new to android and someone here mentioned turning off/locking off individual apps so they do not ping/auto update by default, how is that done?

[PH8]

Where is the Smart Phone instruction thread that has been mentioned here, perhaps it should be revived and made a sticky?

My wife got dinged with her new phone when she took it out of airplane mode to search for a cell/data signal, not much $$ but just by checking she was charged.

I am new to android and someone here mentioned turning off/locking off individual apps so they do not ping/auto update by default, how is that done?

There are a few........here's one.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1569541&highlight=cell+phone

[VegasChic]

This happened to me in Hawaii 9 years ago, never happened again! When I get on the ship I call my family say goodbye give them the ship information in case of an emergency - put my phone in the safe and don't turn it on until we get back in port. If I have to communicate with family I will send them an email every 2 days to let them know I'm ok through the ship's computers and that's it. I don't surf the internet or facebook or even want to look at a computer luckily I don't have to but I know some people still have to work while onboard. I never understand when people get onboard and start calling and talking garbage on the phone (I know this doesn't apply to everyone) but I was at a lounge or bar and this woman sitting next to me was on the phone for like an hour with someone gossiping. I thought to my self she is going to be hating life when she gets her phone bill I could go on a shopping spree with what some people spend on their phone bills (it's crazy).

[setsail]

http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/businesstravelersadvice/ht/avoid-data-roaming-charges.htm

[IL-cruisers]

I am new to android and someone here mentioned turning off/locking off individual apps so they do not ping/auto update by default, how is that done?

 

Set to airplane mode. That blocks everything incl apps.

 

You can also open the app store ("Google Play Store" now), click the menu button > Settings and un-tick "Auto-update apps" and tick ON "Update over Wi-Fi only" and then don't turn your Wi-Fi on; this will still allow you to use your phone for calls (unlike airplane mode).

 

Also, when you view your apps (within the store click the menu > My Apps) and then any that are needing to update, select them in the list and un-tick the "Allow automatic updating" option. I'm going thru them all before leaving home Sunday to make sure they're all off.

[mking8288]

My phone is on 02 here in the UK, I've just been on their website and there is no mention of cruise rates on it's international charges pages at all, in fact if I do a search for the word "cruise" it just takes me to pages on their messageboard of people asking the same thing, and the answers on there are "Cruise ships have their own data tariff aand you need to check with the cruise line." Well that doesn't help at all if everyone on here is saying it's up to the network and NOT the cruiseline.

 

Before I leave home to go abroad, I usually check & often call my mobile phone carrier just to confirm that all the provisions are correct, roaming is set and that hopefully, no surprises later on in terms of coverage, rates or what's not included, etc. For Orange, UK - I would think, not seeing any specific reference or details about cruise ship services & availability, to call customer services to ask about it - dial 150 is what it said.

 

Traveling outside U.K. - it's roaming, just a question of where & the difference in billable rates - for most Euro countries, the rate is £3.07 for each MB of GPRS/Edge data used or 3G (where available) - for bundled plan that required enrollment, it is £15 for 30MB/bundle for 30 days - taking/answering calls and sending video/MMS are expensive too.

 

http://www.orange.co.uk/roaming/italy/

 

I looked up Cellularatseas/MTN Satellite Communications - or WMS, the current satellite provider for RCCL ships, which is partnering with AT&T - and Orange is one of the 340 providers participating - here, it refer the cruise ship rates to those set by Orange.

 

http://www.cellularatsea.com/contact_qa4.htm

 

Orange does have a dispute resolution process, and it is advisable for OP to start that process, if not already, to resolve it - and, if not satisfied, to escalate it to CISAS

http://help.orange.co.uk/orangeuk/support/personal/contacting_us?link=footer_contact_us

 

Across the Atlantic, there isn't a whole lot we can do - for years, 98% cruised without access to mobile devices, and, if RCCL do NOT provide the uplink or services, the complaints will be of a different nature. Meanwhile, there are lots of folks eager to bring their 3G/WiFi-enabled iPhones and iPads to cruise ...

 

Alas, there is no such thing as a free meal - our friends who sailed paid $9 USD for a 1 liter bottle of Evian water & didn't read/check the little posted cardboard sign on the dresser.

 

 

Perhaps CC and all the cruise ship boards, including Roll Calls should have another Sticky of Warnings, Do's & Don't - including Mobile devices, including iPhones, iPads, smartphones & just plain old ship telephones in the stateroom (hey, someone will say, I picked it up, got a dial tone and called - yada, yada)

 

P.S. - Our home carrier, Verizonwireless actually offer FREE classes for advanced mobile device users in beginning, intermediate & advanced levels, LOL - seriously. If roaming data is enabled, each power-ON will use a small amount of internet/mobile data silently & without user input, as it activate/registere & look for home/roaming system - that by itself could trigger an "excluded" & billable charge of $1 or $2 for the next billing cycle.

[IL-cruisers]

As long as you can trust her to leave Airplane Mode on...

 

Thanks but you don't know my DD... hence the safe. :cool:

 

She's got a camera for pix and anything else the phone does besides that, she'll live without for the week.

[Ocean Boy]

I do not understand people that take/use their cell phones on vacation! If i used my cell phone on the ship my SO would throw it overboard. Same goes for my laptop!

 

Hopefully you will never have a situation where you finally do understand why people take their cell phones on vacation.

[Mademypoint]

I have tmobile and I get text messages from them when I turn on the phones in port letting me know I might incur roaming charges if I am out of network. Since I always check to see where I'm covered I know whether to pay attention or not. I also get welcome to xx so if I'm in England I might get welcome to orange or welcome to vodaphone and sometimes they alternate while I am on the train...

[Pushka]

Airplane Mode disables all the radios -- there's no need to change any other settings.

 

And you're free to use WiFi while in Airplane Mode to check email and other things -- you're not using the cellular network -- you're using the free or low-cost WiFi hotspot.

 

And stops you from receiving any communications from family..

 

You don't need to turn off your phone, or put it into airplane mode. Why have a phone if you are going to do that, it's like a brick!

 

why would you need your cell phone on a cruise? i turn mine off and leave it in the safe cause im on vcay and dont have a care in the world :p

 

You are simply just lucky. I have family (ageing parents, and children) and we own our business. We can not be without some form of communications for any length of time.

[drclaws]

Everyone knows to turn off your phone while on a cruise. Interesting seeing the word whilst instead of while.

 

...and also make sure to turn off the "auto on/off" feature that wakes up your phone at a set time each day. Diligently turned the phone off and stuck it in the safe the entire cruise, only to return home and remember the sucker was powering on and off each weekday. It was the first time I forgot to disable that feature whilst on a cruise. (Had to re-use "whilst.")

[mlmbar]

Airplane Mode disables all the radios -- there's no need to change any other settings.

 

And you're free to use WiFi while in Airplane Mode to check email and other things -- you're not using the cellular network -- you're using the free or low-cost WiFi hotspot.

I was told by AT&T to turn off mail push in addition to putting on airplane mode

[beckeck1]

I work for AT&T and the OP's issue is more common than many would think. Here is a PSA for anyone who has AT&T service: international data roaming plans are not covered on a cruise ship. "Cruise ship roaming" is $2.49/minute for voice calls and $19.98/MB for data.

Be sure to turn off automatic updating, international roaming, and cell data and turn on airplane mode to avoid large heart-attack inducing bills when you get home! :eek:

If you do happen to incur these charges, give your provider a call when you get home. The representative will most likely credit your account back some (or all if it's not an insane amount) of the charges.

[SRQfireman]

I work for AT&T and the OP's issue is more common than many would think. Here is a PSA for anyone who has AT&T service: international data roaming plans are not covered on a cruise ship. "Cruise ship roaming" is $2.49/minute for voice calls and $19.98/MB for data.

Be sure to turn off automatic updating, international roaming, and cell data and turn on airplane mode to avoid large heart-attack inducing bills when you get home! :eek:

If you do happen to incur these charges, give your provider a call when you get home. The representative will most likely credit your account back some (or all if it's not an insane amount) of the charges.

 

 

O.K......why would they do this? Since you work there, you would know. I am having a hard time trying to figure why they "owe" you anything. If you called people from the ship....checked your stocks....whatever, why credit people some or all of their money? Obviously that's a good PR move on their part, but why ???? This seems pretty incredible to me !

[Bosjoe]

It cracks me up to see the original OP blame the cruise line. LOL

Only one person to blame and that is you and every other consumer who does not know these things. Part of the blame is the phone carriers, but mostly the un-educated consumer. Hopefully for all its a well learned lesson.