Cell phone

[mrsbbailey]

I have been told to put my phone on airplane mode while on the ship does anyone know the rates and what do u suggest for checking in with family whole in Nassau. Or Freeport with verizon as a carrier??

[Nightstarzz]

I'm not sure the rates, but i accidentally turned airplane mode off on my last cruise. I was bombarded with 3 texts 4 emails, and one Voicemail before i was able to turn it off 1 minute later. That 1 minute cost me an extra $25 :( this was on ship and not in any port

 

3rd cruise: Carnival Legend, January 26th - February 2nd, 2014

[wrigley80]

First thing you do when you get on the ship is.... Take your phone and put it in Airplane Mode and then turn it off.

Final thing to do is....Put it in the safe and don't get it back out until you return to the US

[wrigley80]

Buy an international calling card....you can call from the ship as well. It's not as expensive as it once was.

 

We were on the Freedom in March....we called home a couple times from the cabin and it was I only $1.00 a minute

[Securityman]

I always take out the battery and put the phone in the safe. I'm on vacation so I do not need to talk to a telemarketer or somebody calling a wrong number.

[jkrislc]

I've been on 9 cruises since getting the iPhone when it first came out and have never been hit with data charges. Just make sure that you have data roaming turned off. If you get a lot of text or calls, though, you could be in trouble if you don't turn the phone off.

[Bibble]

I've been on 9 cruises since getting the iPhone when it first came out and have never been hit with data charges. Just make sure that you have data roaming turned off. If you get a lot of text or calls, though, you could be in trouble if you don't turn the phone off.

 

Me too - I always have my iphone on, just have data roaming off, and have never had a problem.

[bar1068]

Me too - I always have my iphone on, just have data roaming off, and have never had a problem.

 

Me Three...Actually, us 4......2 iphones over 10 cruises, never a dime paid of overcharges....ok..except for the ONE time I had a lapse of brain activity..I was really enjoying our cruise/vacation....I intentionally turned on data roaming...needed/wanted to check on a email verification of something of importance...so...turned on data roaming...brought down emails..TOTALY ignoring/forgetting bringing down emails would bring email attachments!!! Cost me about 60 bucks in data charges...not horrendous...I was more annoyed how I forgot attachments would come to my phone the way I have my email setup.

Oh well, lesson learned...never again.

 

But, with a wifi package on the ship, data roaming and cellular data turned off, with calls forwarded to home voicemail, we choose to stay in touch with friends and family not cruising with us and share our experiences as they are happening....but only pay what we choose to pay....no crazy overages.

[sailor_jimc]

If you think you may want to use it to make calls here is what you do-

 

Step 1) BEFORE you travel, call your cell provider and tell them you will be traveling and ask them to enable global roaming (You should be able to have them give you only global voice/text roaming) Also ask them if they allow you to only have this enabled for a month or 2.

 

Step 2) go to the 'cellular at sea" website and look up the charge rates for YOUR cell provider. Most charge international roaming rates. But some are different. If you don't know your carrier's int roaming rates, consult their website or call them. Now you know how much that 2 minute phone call will cost you

 

Step 3) When you get on the ship and before you put the phone in airplane mode, go into the data settings and TURN OFF Mobile data. Turn off mobile data roaming (if you have that setting) on my phone if I turn off mobile data it disables all data usage until I turn that back on. This way your phone will still work for phone calls and texts but not data.

 

Step 4) go to airplane mode or turn it off. I use my phone as a clock in the cabin so I just use airplane mode. If you plan on this realize that you may have to go in and set your phone's clock to be manually set. Most smartphones get their time and date via GPS through the cellular network.

 

Now since you turned off data usage, when you get to where you wish to use the phone (you could use it on the ship via cellular at sea) you can take it out of airplane mode or turn it on and you won't get slammed by the phone sync'ing your emails and facebook page. make your calls and then you can return it to airplane mode to prevent someone from calling you.

[girlscruise2011]

Actually on my past few cruises, I called home from the ship. On the Liberty last year and the Victory this year, it was only $1.99 minute. Called home a few times, talked quick and it was less money then Verizon. If I remember correctly, Verizon international is $2.49 or $2.99 a minute. Texting is different. One is .05 and the other is .50. Just not sure which cost is for incoming and outgoing.

 

Nassua definately is an international call but your best bet is to check with Verizon. Depending what type of phone you have, you may not even have international service.