Texting at Sea?

[SRF]

On 2/26/2019 at 3:48 PM, cruisingcasual said:

She understands, there won't be 100's of texts. The person she wants to hang out with most is coming with us, conveniently enough. 

 

Worst case, she runs up a bill, she pays. She has a job, but I can tell you that's not how she wants to spend her money. She wants a car and thinks twice before spending her hard earned coin.  

 

Good in theory.

 

But texts can add up QUICKLY. 😄

 

[AFwifelife]

Why not give her the option to pay for 1 device VOOM then?  Then you both don't need to worry about racking up a huge bill.

[fred30]

On 2/25/2019 at 8:05 PM, cruisingcasual said:

I've done a bit of research, and found that the Cellular at Sea for my carrier (Ting) would be 12 cents for each outgoing text.    I'm thinking to turn off my talk minutes and data and only leave the text on.  This would allow us to communicate with 2 teenagers without the Voom package which I don't think I need or want.

 

 

Can you selectively turn cellular service off for talk and not for text?    Any calls that come in that go to voice mail will be charged even if you do not answer the call.  That would also include any incoming calls that are not disconnected prior to switching to voicemail.

 

 

 

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, fred30 said:

 

Can you selectively turn cellular service off for talk and not for text?   ...

 

 

 

Not that I know of.

 

However, there is a way to set the phone number to immediately forward all incoming calls to voicemail, whithout ringing the phone.  This would avoid being charged for incoming calls.

[Cel_cruise]

But if you immediately go to voicemail it’s still storing data on your phone right? Therefore charging you?


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[Clarea]

51 minutes ago, Cel_cruise said:

But if you immediately go to voicemail it’s still storing data on your phone right? Therefore charging you?
 

 

No, voicemail is stored at your cell provider.

 

If voicemail was only stored on your phone, how would it be stored if your phone was off or out of range?

[cruisingcasual]

With Ting, yes, I can selectively turn off any of the 3 - data, text voice.  This was a big draw when we first got our kids smartphones as we turned off the mobile date and made them use wifi.  None of the big carriers allowed this then, not sure about now as we've been with Ting for awhile now.  According to their instructions, I enable international roaming and then turn off the data and voice.  Should be safe to text only.  I do need web access to do this, as it's an online portal, but I will do this before sailaway.

[SRF]

All allow turning off data separately from cellular, but voice and texting are both part of the cellular service.  Not sure how you could turn off one without turning off the other.

Edited March 1, 2019 by SRF

[cruisingcasual]

It's not a phone setting, I do it with an online access to my account. They give me all kinds of options to limit usage, set caps, etc. Like I said, was especially great when the kids were younger. 

 

If I end up eating crow on this I'll report back. 

[SRF]

12 hours ago, cruisingcasual said:

It's not a phone setting, I do it with an online access to my account. They give me all kinds of options to limit usage, set caps, etc. Like I said, was especially great when the kids were younger. 

 

If I end up eating crow on this I'll report back. 

 

OK, I have never seen that option.   I have had data plans with ATT and T-Mobile.  I was with Bell Atlantic Mobile (aka Verizon), but before smart phones.

[NavyCruiser]

On 2/26/2019 at 5:53 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

Just a reminder that once you put the phone in Airplane Mode, you have to turn WiFI back on.

 

Does Airplane Mode works on Cruise Ships....???  

[SRF]

16 hours ago, NavyCruiser said:

 

Does Airplane Mode works on Cruise Ships....???  

 

Close enough.  😄

[chfenton]

Imessage and the related blue bubbles worked perfectly fine while logged in to ships wifi with cellular data off on Oasis last week.

[Peachy59]

We just use FB messenger. Easy and no extra charges.

 

[hallux]

1 minute ago, Peachy59 said:

We just use FB messenger. Easy and no extra charges.

As long as you pay for internet...

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, hallux said:

As long as you pay for internet...

Except Quantum class, where you don’t need VOOM for that. 

[hallux]

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Except Quantum class, where you don’t need VOOM for that. 

I didn't try FB Messenger as I refuse to install the app on my devices, I did use Hangouts successfully on Anthem last year. 

 

The OP posted about Independence, which is not a Quantum-class ship, trying to keep things on track so as not to confuse that poster

[SRF]

19 hours ago, Peachy59 said:

We just use FB messenger. Easy and no extra charges.

 

 

If you have enabled wifi calling (assuming both your phone and provider support it) there is one extra charge for calls and texts.  No need to use Messenger, Whatsapp, Hangouts, Skype, etc.  Just call and text to ANYONE (no need for them to use the same service).

 

You do have to pay for wifi access on board.  But you can use free wifi hotspots in port.

Edited March 4, 2019 by SRF