cell phones on RC

[Rocketlady]

I have Verizon phone. ok I buy the phone service on board. I can still use my own phone number, right?

 

2. when my family calls me from the U.S. is that like a regular phone call for them or will they get charged a large fee for it?

 

3. I think I read if for say my husband with his cell phone and my cell phone can use it on board like walkie talkies only. And the cost will only be $6.00 for the entire trip. Is this true?

 

4. if I buy the phone program for my smart phone does that include using my lap top computer too?

 

Thanks for educated me.

[Clarea]

The ship does not sell any phone program.

 

However, you can use your phone onboard the ship. Verizon will charge you $2.49 per minute for voice calls. People who call you from the mainland will not ay any more than they usually would if you were home.

Edited October 5, 2014 by clarea

[setsail]

RCI is not a cell phone company. Billing for your phone comes from your provider...http://www.verizonwireless.com/support/features/calling_features/international_dialing.html

 

 

If you want to surf the internet with your phone, you will have to pay rci, but calls to/from and texting with your phone is between you and your provider

[Rocketlady]

I did read somewhere you can use your phone as a walkie talkie on the ship for around $6.00 the whole trip? Am I wrong?

 

Verizon is too expensive.

 

Maybe I should just use their phone service on board. And if I want to communicate with anyone at home do it on a computer. Send e-mails.

 

I like Verizon but their prices are out of control. Hope some day the cell phone expenses will come down. They are right up there with the cable

companies. Would rather spend my money on a cruise.

 

Or Vegas. LOL

[leaveitallbehind]

I did read somewhere you can use your phone as a walkie talkie on the ship for around $6.00 the whole trip? Am I wrong?

 

I am not sure but I believe what you are referring to is "Ripple"? This is an app that can be downloaded to your phone that allows the type of on board communication that you describe.

 

This is not a cruise line provided service and whatever charges you will be billed will come from being connected to the ship's wifi to use the app.

 

I believe there are mixed reviews regarding this app and its on board function. Here is a link to another thread discussing it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2108916

Edited October 6, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[Clarea]

I did read somewhere you can use your phone as a walkie talkie on the ship for around $6.00 the whole trip? Am I wrong?

 

Verizon is too expensive.

 

Maybe I should just use their phone service on board. And if I want to communicate with anyone at home do it on a computer. Send e-mails.

 

I like Verizon but their prices are out of control. Hope some day the cell phone expenses will come down. They are right up there with the cable

companies. Would rather spend my money on a cruise.

 

Or Vegas. LOL

I've not heard of any cruise line provided app that allows walkie-talkie functionality.

[setsail]

 

Verizon is too expensive.

 

And if I want to communicate with anyone at home do it on a computer. Send e-mails.

 

 

 

. LOL

 

Texting is very cheap, 50 cents out, 5 cents in I believe. We use our Verizon phone during cruises, a couple calls and several text runs us around 15.00$ for a 7 day. Not bad at all. Sometimes its cheaper to call in port, check the Verizon coverage prices for your cruise

[Whitnee1]

Text is the answer. RC does have a plan with ATT that includes I believe 50 minutes of talk and 100 messages for $60.00. Overages are $1.00 minute voice and .50 message on O/B text. In bound text are based upon your plan so in my case since I have unlimited text all my I/C text are free. However, if you elect the text option make sure you turn off the cellular data on your phone and enable do not disturb. If you dont and you get an incoming call that you don't answer you will be charged $2.50 minute. Also all smart phones have apps that "ping" data automatically. So if you dont turn off the cellular data you will get hit with data charges.

 

Finally all of this is only when you use the ships cell service which should say "Cellular at Sea". When you get close to land you can pick up a shore service that none of the above would apply to. The other option when on land is find a free wifi spot, grab a beer or coffee, and text or email away.

[Clarea]

Text is the answer. RC does have a plan with ATT that includes I believe 50 minutes of talk and 100 messages for $60.00. Overages are $1.00 minute voice and .50 message on O/B text. In bound text are based upon your plan so in my case since I have unlimited text all my I/C text are free. However, if you elect the text option make sure you turn off the cellular data on your phone and enable do not disturb. If you dont and you get an incoming call that you don't answer you will be charged $2.50 minute. Also all smart phones have apps that "ping" data automatically. So if you dont turn off the cellular data you will get hit with data charges.

 

Finally all of this is only when you use the ships cell service which should say "Cellular at Sea". When you get close to land you can pick up a shore service that none of the above would apply to. The other option when on land is find a free wifi spot, grab a beer or coffee, and text or email away.

Just for clarification to the OP, Royal is not involved at all with cell phone plans. If the OP wants the cruise ship plan, they need to contact their cell provider, not Royal.

Edited October 6, 2014 by clarea

[reallyitsmema]

I did read somewhere you can use your phone as a walkie talkie on the ship for around $6.00 the whole trip? Am I wrong?

 

Verizon is too expensive.

 

Maybe I should just use their phone service on board. And if I want to communicate with anyone at home do it on a computer. Send e-mails.

 

I like Verizon but their prices are out of control. Hope some day the cell phone expenses will come down. They are right up there with the cable

companies. Would rather spend my money on a cruise.

 

Or Vegas. LOL

 

We also have Verizon and would suggest you follow the link above for Verizon and use their trip planning tool to find the exact cost for you specific cruise.

 

We are leaving soon for a NE/Canada cruise so I have priced out our trip. Calls are $2.49/min while on the ship. Canada is $0.89/min. Texts while on the ship are 50 cents and 5 cents as already noted in this thread. Data is expensive and we will be turning data roaming off.

 

We plan to text our son at home as that is the cheapest. Emailing from the ship's computers can get expensive because it can be very slow so you pay for more minutes. We will use all 160 characters of our texts and make sure our son does the same ( no K and TTYL texts).

 

It really depends on what you are trying to do. If you are just trying to check in at home a couple of times while you cruise, free WIFI in port or a short call from port is the way to go. If you are trying to stay connected on the ship, we have always used post it notes and the ships phones to track our son. We leave notes on the mirror in the cabin and if you don't get back to the cabin, a voice mail message left on the cabin phone worked well too. We don't like carrying our phones on the ship and our son never did because he was in the pool or playing on the basketball court and didn't want it to get damaged or stolen.

[WonderousBlue]

Following

[JasonV1]

The NCL iConcierge app enables device to device voice calls and texts. Flat fee per each guest that wants it for the entire cruise, no Internet package required. Royal is supposed to introduce something similar on Quantum.

 

Ripple could be easily blocked by Royal, no word on if they allow it or not.

 

I've not heard of any cruise line provided app that allows walkie-talkie functionality.

Edited October 6, 2014 by JasonV1

[cb at sea]

You really don't need "walkie-talkie) capabilities...it's not as hard to "find" each other as you are imagining! In the morning (or sometime!) tell each other your plans for the day...that way, you'll know where to look for each other! A note in the cabin or a message on the room phone works, too!

[Rocketlady]

When you say free WiFi at the ports? Where? And exactly what is free?

Would Verizon be charging a lot for not being in the U.S.?

 

I lived without cell phones on 4 other cruise trips so I am sure I can the next one. But it would be nice to have it at a reasonable price.

[Clarea]

When you say free WiFi at the ports? Where? And exactly what is free?

Would Verizon be charging a lot for not being in the U.S.?

 

I lived without cell phones on 4 other cruise trips so I am sure I can the next one. But it would be nice to have it at a reasonable price.

You should check with Verizon to be sure, but the cell carriers would usually charge significantly extra for services outside the country.

Edited October 7, 2014 by clarea

[reallyitsmema]

When you say free WiFi at the ports? Where? And exactly what is free?

Would Verizon be charging a lot for not being in the U.S.?

 

I lived without cell phones on 4 other cruise trips so I am sure I can the next one. But it would be nice to have it at a reasonable price.

 

Just like in cities in the US, you can find coffee shops or bars that offer free WIFI, sometimes with a purchase.

 

As far as Verizon, you need to follow the link above to see what the fees are for the ports you are visiting. There is a very easy tool to use that will tell you the exact charges.

 

Edit:

 

Follow the interactive trip planner in this link:

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/global.html?intcmp=INT-VZW-VNT-GLOBAL

Edited October 7, 2014 by reallyitsmema