Verizon Charges with Internet Package

[MotherofTrips]

So I bought my daughter the 100 wifi minutes for a cruise she went on in April. She was very careful about not going over. I just got my Verizon bill and she had $100 in International charges (30 minutes).

 

I called Verizon and they told me that calls cannot be made with just ship wifi. That their towers take over. I was told that while using the ships wifi you have to be in airplane mode in order to not get verizon charges but you can't call out on your phone if you do this.

 

 

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[BirdTravels]

So I bought my daughter the 100 wifi minutes for a cruise she went on in April. She was very careful about not going over. I just got my Verizon bill and she had $100 in International charges (30 minutes). I called Verizon and they told me that calls cannot be made with just ship wifi. That their towers take over. I was told that while using the ships wifi you have to be in airplane mode in order to not get verizon charges but you can't call out on your phone if you do this.

 

If you use the ship's cell tower (or an international land based cell tower for that matter), Verizon (not the ship) will charge you international rates. This is the same regardless of which carrier you have (i.e., not specific to verizon).

 

So you have to do a tiny bit of homework to avoid that. You could use the ship's wifi to call home using applications like FaceTime or Skype. Facetime is free (but you need an Iphone or ipod). Skype charges you a couple of bucks a month to use their service.

 

If you went to the verizon website and just went through the international travel dialog at https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/trip-planner-tool/ it would show you that calls cost $2.99 per minute, $0.50 per text message sent, $0.05 per text message received.

[mjkacmom]

If you bought wifi, she could only make phone calls for free using calling apps, not by using regular calling. Did she call using viber? What'sApp?

[LrgPizza]

This sucks, but it is your mistake. Paying for wifi only allows you to use wifi on the phone - not the actual cell phone. Cell phone service is different from wifi.

[roger001]

It's easy to do a whooops when using smart phone cruising. We have Verizons International plan that lets you use your domestic data plan for $2 a day in Mexico and $10 in other countries. This last cruise, I intentionally used it while in a Mexican port for $2. However, somehow I also accidentally triggered it while in two other ports for $20. You do have to be careful how you select data on and airplane on and off. And as mentioned, the ship wifi plan provides wifi no different than you have at home. Regular calls don't go over it, only through cell towers or in this case the ship's cell tower. I believe Verizon rate for calls while on the ship is $2.50 a minute.

Edited May 23, 2017 by roger001

[Viv0828]

Be very careful with Verizon. We have bought their global plan at least 6 or 7 times and there are always extra charges on our bill. Sometimes it takes several phone call to get them reversed. If you think you were overcharged or charged in error, keep after them. If you realize it was your error, learn from it and be more careful next time.

 

 

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[ryukin88]

I believe when you buy the wifi package, it comes with instructions to set your phone to airplane mode and turn on wifi. This is to prevent you from using your carrier's service. Like others have mentioned, phone calls are not included in the wifi plan unless she had other apps installed to allow her to make calls over the internet. She would have had to turn off airplane mode to make phone calls through her carrier which would have triggered the Verizon charges.

[tgloersen]

You do not need to be in airplane mode but you must shut off mobile data. I have done this and had no problems as long as i had the wi-fi connection. I use Verizon

[bosox284]

If you use the ship's cell tower (or an international land based cell tower for that matter), Verizon (not the ship) will charge you international rates. This is the same regardless of which carrier you have (i.e., not specific to verizon).

 

So you have to do a tiny bit of homework to avoid that. You could use the ship's wifi to call home using applications like FaceTime or Skype. Facetime is free (but you need an Iphone or ipod). Skype charges you a couple of bucks a month to use their service.

 

If you went to the verizon website and just went through the international travel dialog at https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/trip-planner-tool/ it would show you that calls cost $2.99 per minute, $0.50 per text message sent, $0.05 per text message received.

 

BirdTravels is correct. Unfortunately, the moment she turned off airplane mode, it switched to the ships cellular network which is why you got charged. To make a call using the internet/WiFi, both users need to have an app like FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp, etc. or else it'll go over the ships network. She should have left airplane mode on to avoid those charges.

[ksmcdonald]

 

I was told that while using the ships wifi you have to be in airplane mode in order to not get verizon charges but you can't call out on your phone if you do this.

 

 

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You were told wrong if someone said you could make calls while in airplane mode. There is NO WAY your phone can make any kind of phone call or text while in airplane mode. It can only communicate through wifi (internet) and then you would need a special app to send messages( like Facebook). You could also make FaceTime phone calls, but never could you make a regular phone call with your phone in airplane mode. Just not possible.

[garycarla]

Sorry. She made calls. It happens.

[mauitiki]

It's easy to do a whooops when using smart phone cruising. We have Verizons International plan that lets you use your domestic data plan for $2 a day in Mexico and $10 in other countries. This last cruise, I intentionally used it while in a Mexican port for $2. However, somehow I also accidentally triggered it while in two other ports for $20. You do have to be careful how you select data on and airplane on and off. And as mentioned, the ship wifi plan provides wifi no different than you have at home. Regular calls don't go over it, only through cell towers or in this case the ship's cell tower. I believe Verizon rate for calls while on the ship is $2.50 a minute.

 

If you have Verizon travel pass, the price for day in Mexico is no longer $2 for 24/hr - they just raised the rate to $5

[LeesaB]

New phones have the ability to switch to wifi calling. It worked great for me when I was in Jamaica earlier this year. You'll need to google if your phone has been updated and how to enable it for your specific phone though.

 

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[spanishguy1970]

I have Sprint and an Iphone. When i go abroad i make sure i turn off cellular data and international roaming then i turn on WIFI and turn on a section on my phone that says WIFI CALLING. I have never had a problem with extra charges.

Edited May 23, 2017 by spanishguy1970

[tgloersen]

I have Sprint and an Iphone. When i go abroad i make sure i turn off cellular data and international roaming then i turn on WIFI and turn on a section on my phone that says WIFI CALLING. I have never had a problem with extra charges.

 

 

Yep agree that is exactly what i do and i have Verizon. You must make sure of two things, Wi-fi calling is enabled on the phone. And make sure to turn off cellular data so that the phone if forced to use wi-fi for calling.

 

I did this while half way to Bermuda, and called Alaska. No problems and no extra charges.

[roger001]

If you have Verizon travel pass, the price for day in Mexico is no longer $2 for 24/hr - they just raised the rate to $5

 

 

Darn!

[roger001]

New phones have the ability to switch to wifi calling. It worked great for me when I was in Jamaica earlier this year. You'll need to google if your phone has been updated and how to enable it for your specific phone though.

 

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I'll be darn! I didn't know. Here's a Verizon/iPhone link to how.

 

https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/knowledge-base-204182/

[The Other Tom]

You do not need to be in airplane mode but you must shut off mobile data. I have done this and had no problems as long as i had the wi-fi connection. I use Verizon

This is the crux of the matter. Apps will update automatically in the background (and therefore use data) unless you turn off mobile (or cellular ) data. You can also turn off automatic updates for each app manually, but it's a pain if you have a lot of apps.

 

For what it's worth, I turned airplane mode on and turned on wifi so I could use the NCL concierge app. NCL lets you use free wifi for this app. To my surprise, I discovered I could receive and send texts (no pictures) to other Apple devices (I have an iPhone). I was not charged by NCL or Verizon for any of this, and I didn't have a wifi plan with NCL or Verizon. This was on the Epic. I don't know if that works on other NCL ships.

[MotherofTrips]

I thought I did all the right things. I called Verizon multiple times. Had the travel package added for when she was in the island. I just didn't know that when you made calls that it was not covered under wifi. My fault but It wasn't explained properly to me

 

 

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[don't-use-real-name]

So where is the BIT-COIN slot on the Pay Phone located in the Main Atrium ?

Egads the flaming hoops to leap thru to make a simple phone call or receive data at sea !

First one needs a PhD in telephonics and Masters in Economics to use the

system efficiently and economically and then a bachelors to audit the resulting bill !

All this is probably better than throwing a bottle with a text message for delivery by sea !

Meanwhile back on the ship and in corporate headquarters the rules are changing to

enable fine print to befuddle an already confounded system - turn this on turn this off

no you need to connected (to what?) and this airplane mode what has an airplane got

to do with a ship a sea ? Someone call Security I detect a breech my wireless device

is now connect to a wire !

 

Folks this is not funny - there is no user Manual for this stuff - it is all hidden until you

start getting charged outrageous prices to access and read the darn thing ON LINE !

[garycarla]

I thought I did all the right things. I called Verizon multiple times. Had the travel package added for when she was in the island. I just didn't know that when you made calls that it was not covered under wifi. My fault but It wasn't explained properly to me

 

 

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No offense. But explaining and understand are two different things. Sorry.

[MotherofTrips]

No offense. But explaining and understand are two different things. Sorry.

 

 

I'm not offended. Never once was I told that she would need to use FaceTime or something to make calls. I explained to them the package I bought and that she would be connected to the ships wifi. I asked them if any charges would happen on Verizon's end and Verizon told me no.

 

Last year in Bermuda I had the travel plan where while in Bermuda phone usage would be the same as if we were home. Found out later after bill came that even though you are docked in Bermuda if you use your phone while physically on ship even though docked you get charged. Learned that the hard way

 

Live and Learn

 

 

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[NewbieCruiseee]

If you have Verizon travel pass, the price for day in Mexico is no longer $2 for 24/hr - they just raised the rate to $5

 

That's odd.:confused:

My "current international plan"...."Includes Mexico & Canada with your domestic plan"...so no extra costs for me.

[fredflint]

Did you talk to Verizon to see if you could change your plan in arrears if that was cheaper. Many people do not understand that data and calling are different as it is all on the phone.

But phones today are computers that make calls not phones that can use data.

 

I usually try to go to a store to have them show me how to set up my phone and I also do not allow my apps to update automatically sometimes the updates are buggy and can cause issues.

[VideoTech]

......Last year in Bermuda I had the travel plan where while in Bermuda phone usage would be the same as if we were home. Found out later after bill came that even though you are docked in Bermuda if you use your phone while physically on ship even though docked you get charged. Learned that the hard way

.....

 

That's odd. Typically when the ship is in port the shipboard cell phone service is turned off.