Verizon Wireless with iphone

[0106]

I will be cruising on the Zuiderdam from Ft Lauderdale through the Panama Canal to San Diego. I need to send/receive an imessage once a day.  What is the least expensive way for me to do this?  Thank you in advance
 

 

[jayhawk66]

I believe that you can send a iMessage with Verizon from the ship for 50 cents, receive one for 5 cents. If you have an internet package you can send and receive for no extra cost.

[gknep]

We were able to iMessage with our iPhones with no problem on our recent Mexican Riviera cruise with the included Have It All internet package. 

 

[0106]

Unfortunately, my have it all packages includes crew gratuities instead of the internet.  I was wondering if anyone had been able to use iMessage without paying for internet.  I really only need to send and receive 1 message a day.

[CruiserBruce]

2 hours ago, 0106 said:

Unfortunately, my have it all packages includes crew gratuities instead of the internet.  I was wondering if anyone had been able to use iMessage without paying for internet.  I really only need to send and receive 1 message a day.

With all respect,  if you need to do that business daily,  you need to sign up for an internet plan. Pretty straightforward. The cost would be deductible. The ship is not responsible for granting you free connecting just because you have a work requirement. Perhaps your employer might reimburse you, if required by your employer. 

 

If this is personal,  rather than work related,  why should you get for free?

[syesmar]

@0106 I usually travel with an older phone as an alternate and buy an international SIM card for calling and texting in ports. 

But in your case, I believe if you have a wi-fi connection, then iMessage-to-iMessage should work. I don’t believe the free basic intranet connection onboard that enables Navigator App access, or access to HAL’s website gives that type of connection, though.

If you find a wireless hotspot, I believe it should work, as long as the person you are sending to/receiving from is also using iMessage. The issue would be Sea Days and ports with limited free wi-fi. https://macreports.com/imessage-frequently-asked-questions/

Good Luck!

Edited February 7, 2022 by syesmar

[0106]

I do not need to do daily business.  I need to check in with a ill family member who will be reassured by my daily message. There are others providing care at home but a daily message will be a comfort to her.    I am not asking for free internet.  I just wanted to know if I could send iMessages with the ships intranet.
 

Does anyone know if my Verizon plan will work on sea days?  I am happy to pay for an international plan at sea or when the ship is in a port.  I have contacted Verizon but have not received a satisfactory reply.  Thank you to anyone who provide any insight.

[tupper10]

Here is what I found on Verizon's web site - it appears if you dial a US phone number using the internet the call is free. If you buy the wifi plan from Holland America you set your phone to airplane mode and everything is on wifi as best I recall.  So set up wifi calling and make sure it works before you leave home is my suggestion.

 

"Any Wi-Fi call made to a U.S. number will be treated as a domestic call, no matter where the call originates, and you will not be billed for such calls, with the exception of 411 or other premium calls, unless your plan requires otherwise with respect to such Wi-Fi calls, 411, or other premium calls. Any Wi-Fi call made to a non-U.S. number will be treated as an international call, and will be billed in accordance with your international calling plan. Please refer to your service description or FAQs for more information on the use of the Wi-Fi Calling service, including any applicable charges."

[richwmn]

2 hours ago, 0106 said:

I do not need to do daily business.  I need to check in with a ill family member who will be reassured by my daily message. There are others providing care at home but a daily message will be a comfort to her.    I am not asking for free internet.  I just wanted to know if I could send iMessages with the ships intranet.

I doubt that iMessage would work using just the ship's Intranet. For iMessage and similar apps to work they need to connect to a server to route the message. That would be off the ship and require Internet.

 

[Ray4Fun]

8 hours ago, 0106 said:

I do not need to do daily business.  I need to check in with a ill family member who will be reassured by my daily message. There are others providing care at home but a daily message will be a comfort to her.    I am not asking for free internet.  I just wanted to know if I could send iMessages with the ships intranet.
 

Does anyone know if my Verizon plan will work on sea days?  I am happy to pay for an international plan at sea or when the ship is in a port.  I have contacted Verizon but have not received a satisfactory reply.  Thank you to anyone who provide any insight.

 

Verizon is land , so you can do the one month plan. It is about the same as purchasing the Internet plan. If it was I, given what you ask, I would purchase the internet plan. Yes, I checked last month. 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

8 hours ago, 0106 said:

I do not need to do daily business.  I need to check in with a ill family member who will be reassured by my daily message. There are others providing care at home but a daily message will be a comfort to her.    I am not asking for free internet.  I just wanted to know if I could send iMessages with the ships intranet.
 

Does anyone know if my Verizon plan will work on sea days?  I am happy to pay for an international plan at sea or when the ship is in a port.  I have contacted Verizon but have not received a satisfactory reply.  Thank you to anyone who provide any insight.

Here is what I found on the Verizon site

https://www.verizon.com/articles/4-ways-to-stay-connected-on-a-cruise-ship/

https://www.verizon.com/plans/international/international-travel/cruise-and-inflight/

 

50 cents to send one text 

Cruise ship and airplane pricing
Talk and text - Pay as You Go
Talk
Landline/mobile    $2.99/minute
Text
Sent    $0.50/message
Received    $0.05/message
 

Or for $20 a month

Verizon offers a new $20 International Monthly Plan for travelers interested in using data on select cruise ships and airplanes. Should service be available aboard, customers will receive a SMS offer for a 50 MB allowance. After that, you’ll just need to respond “yes” to get started. Please note that this a non-recurring plan.

Talking and text messaging are available on more than 400 ships from well over a dozen different cruise lines. Check whether texting and calling service is available on your cruise ship and whether your device will work.

 

 

[0106]

This is the info I received from Verizon today.  Apparently, I cannot use a Verizon International plan while “at sea” only in port, the Zuiderdam doesn’t have the capability.

[REOVA]

we got rid of Verizon (for many reasons that included it doesn't work at sea on HAL (older) ships). What we found easiest was getting lowest HAL plan and using Facetime, Whatsapp or FB Messenger (or other internet based app) to message/talk and not have to worry about call limits or additional charges.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

8 hours ago, 0106 said:

This is the info I received from Verizon today.  Apparently, I cannot use a Verizon International plan while “at sea” only in port, the Zuiderdam doesn’t have the capability.

If "using your phone" means using wifi to send a Imessage then you need ships wifi - that is the only way.

 

But you can send an SMS text for 50 cents .   This will work unless the people who you want to message can't receive an SMS text.  

 

Can your family member ashore receive a SMS text message?  If they can then the cheapest way is to send a SMS text every day for 50 cents.

 

If your family member can only receive an Imessage - (meaning they don't have a celluar plan and only use WifI) then your cheapest choice is to buy the least expensive ships wifi plan. 

 

To make sure you only send SMS text on the ship - turn off cellular data when you get on the ship - Here is how to turn off cellular data if you have a Iphone  - this will prevent you from using expensive data but sill allow you to send a SMS text.    To disable celluar data on an iPhone, look in Settings under General --> Network. Turn off "Cellular Data". 

 

Here is some info about the differences between a Imessage and a SMS text

https://www.xfinity.com/hub/mobile/difference-between-imessages-and-sms-messages#:~:text=iMessages are in blue and,message and will be green.

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by The-Inside-Cabin

[syesmar]

6 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

…the cheapest way is to send a SMS text every day for 50 cents…To make sure you only send SMS text on the ship - turn off cellular data when you get on the ship - Here is how to turn off cellular data if you have a Iphone  - this will prevent you from using expensive data but sill allow you to send a SMS text….

Great tip, thanks for sharing! In all these years of having a cell phone, I didn’t realize a SMS text could be sent without cellular. I thought the ship’s network would charge me. Good to know!

Edited February 8, 2022 by syesmar

[0106]

@The-Inside-CabinThank you for all the info.  My family can receive a SMS message.  Just to be clear...I can send a sms with my phone in airplane mode?

[The-Inside-Cabin]

5 minutes ago, 0106 said:

@The-Inside-CabinThank you for all the info.  My family can receive a SMS message.  Just to be clear...I can send a sms with my phone in airplane mode?

You cannot send a SMS text in airplane mode.

 

Leave airplane mode on - you need to turn off Celluar Data - Celluar Data is what will cause the big bills.   Go to settings - then celluar - then toggle off the button "Celluar Data"   Your location of this toggle may be different depending on your IOS version, but you can find in in the Celluar section of settings.

 

Turning on Airplane mode does the same thing and is easier, but a little brute force.    If Celluar Data is off you can still send SMS text and not get charged for expensive cruise ship celluar data.   Having wifi on will allow you to use the Navigator app at sea.    Leaving wifi on will never run up a bill.  HAL no longer charges internet by the minute for wifi.  

 

You can try it right now at home.   Turn off wifi - Turn off celluar  data.   Send a text....it will be green since you are using SMS.   It should go thru.  IF you turn on Wifi and send a text to another Iphone - it will probably be BLUE meaning it went  over WIFI using Imessage.   Green means SMS.   

 

If you have a wifi data plan - then using Imessage is cheaper than SMS since you already paid for the wifi. 

 

You will find you can still send and receive text but will not be able to access any web pages or get email.    DATA is where the big bills are.   Turn of DATA and you will be fine.   SMS Texts are 50 cents each at sea...5 cents to receive (for verizon - other plans are different)

[0106]

@The-Inside-Cabin Just tested.  Airplane mode on. Wifi off. Cellular data off.  Didn’t work.  Did I do something wrong?

[The-Inside-Cabin]

I said it incorrectly and confusingly.   Airplane mode should be off.    Cell data off.  Wifi off.    You should be able to send SMS then 

[0106]

@The-Inside-CabinOk, that works!

 

Hopefully my last question, if airplane mode is off won’t I still be receiving phone calls? (But not emails because cellular data is off)

 

Thanks for taking the time to walk me through this situation.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

8 minutes ago, 0106 said:

@The-Inside-CabinOk, that works!

 

Hopefully my last question, if airplane mode is off won’t I still be receiving phone calls? (But not emails because cellular data is off)

 

Thanks for taking the time to walk me through this situation.

You can tailor the Do Not Disturb mode to send all calls to voicemail except from selected contacts.     I think texts still come thru.    I need to dig in some myself

 

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Calls-Go-Directly-to-Voicemail-on-iPhone-or-iPad?amp=1

 

Choose your Do Not Disturb preferences.

• If you want to schedule Do Not Disturb to come on at certain time, toggle the "Scheduled" switch to the On position and enter the desired days and/or hours.
• If you want people on your Favorites list to still be able to reach you while others are sent to voicemail, tap Allow Calls From and select the Favorites group.
• You can also opt to allow calls through if the caller calls you multiple times—to turn this feature on, slide the "Repeated Calls" switch to On.
• To send all calls to voicemail while you're driving, tap Activate under "Do Not Disturb While Driving" and choose an option.
• To send an automatic reply to people who try to contact you while in Do Not Disturb, tap Auto-Reply to and set your preferences.

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by The-Inside-Cabin