Cell phone

[CruiserKris34]

For an apex cruise we have the basic Wi-Fi. I do not want to be charged anything extra if possible on my Verizon plan. I have the travel pass so I think I'm covered on land that the most would be $10. However on the ship I've heard people recommend turning off roaming. Is that the same as mobile data? And do you use airplane mode on the ship? I thought that meant but you couldn't get internet? Sorry if these are silly questions LOL. Thx kris

[Alakegirl]

The staff in the iLounge will be happy to give you directions once you’re on the ship but basically yes you turn on airplane mode and connect to the ship Wi-Fi when on board.

Edited February 25, 2022 by Alakegirl

[Sam.Seattle]

You can enable WiFi calling. It has worked very well. Just like being at home. 

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by Sam.Seattle

[cruisestitch]

This probably won’t work if you only have the surf/basic package.  it might work but often it doesn’t.
 

Verizon customers should enable Wi-Fi calling before they leave home. That doesn’t seem to be a restriction for other cell carriers however.

Edited February 25, 2022 by cruisestitch

[Jim_Iain]

I've never had the Basic Internet but I always set our phones to Airplane mode when we board.   On our iPhones Airplane mode keeps Wifi and BlueTooth active but shuts off Cellular.   With T-Mobile if we actually leave it on while in port and forget to turn it off when we set sail I get an alert from T-Mobile.   We have Wi-Fi calling with T-Mobile and I get Text and phone calls from the kids daily (mostly text).     

 

Knock on wood, but have never had an additional charge. 

[mimbecky]

So to understand correctly, given that I have Verizon I should be in airplane mode with WIFI calling when on the ship.  When on land, considering I would have the $10/day with Verizon, I would place it on what settings?  Does it matter?

I often get more accurate answers from those who don't work for Verizon.  LOL

 

Thanks

 

M

[Luvcrusn]

To OP: Is your phone Apple or Android? I have Android and I turn on airplane mode, enable WIFI calling and turn off data and connect to ship WIFI. On land I turn off WIFI, and airplane mode and use the phone as I normally would at home. I also have Verizon and the $10@day plan. I rarely use that though since with the WIFI (stream plan) on board and the phone settings indicated above I can talk and text using my phone as I normally would at home.

 

[josh1324342]

45 minutes ago, mimbecky said:

So to understand correctly, given that I have Verizon I should be in airplane mode with WIFI calling when on the ship.  When on land, considering I would have the $10/day with Verizon, I would place it on what settings?  Does it matter?

I often get more accurate answers from those who don't work for Verizon.  LOL

 

Thanks

 

M

If you want to use your phone in port, it will use your normal Verizon plan's data allotment and cost you $10 each 24 hour period you use it.  You will have to take your phone out of airplane mode to use it off the ship in port.

[RichYak]

48 minutes ago, mimbecky said:

So to understand correctly, given that I have Verizon I should be in airplane mode with WIFI calling when on the ship.  When on land, considering I would have the $10/day with Verizon, I would place it on what settings?  Does it matter?

I often get more accurate answers from those who don't work for Verizon.  LOL

 

Thanks

 

M

In port, turn airplane mode back off. Also make sure your phone is set to allow roaming in the settings.

[5:00_Somewhere]

@CruiserKris34 I also have Verizon (Android phone, but it should be the same for iPhones) and have gotten the Verizon Travel Pass for land-based phone service abroad. That actually makes things very simple.

 

All I do is turn on Airplane Mode whenever I'm aboard ship and that prevents any unwanted phone charges. As others have mentioned, if you have the upgraded internet plan, you can use it for WiFi calling while on board.  Even with the basic plan, you can email and text via WhatsApp if you have that.

 

Then, when off ship you simply turn off Airplane Mode and you can use your phone like normal on land. As @RichYak said, you do need to have roaming turned on while on shore if you wish to use all the features of your phone, and this is typically the default setting for mobile phones.

 

So, in short, you really shouldn't have to fiddle with your phone's mobile voice and data settings at all. Simple turn on Airplane Mode while on the ship and turn it off while on land.  

 

Unfortunately, unlike T-Mobile, I am not aware of any automatic alerts that Verizon sends to remind you turn turn Airplane Mode on again, so you'll have to remember to do that. 

 

I hope that's helpful.

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, mimbecky said:

So to understand correctly, given that I have Verizon I should be in airplane mode with WIFI calling when on the ship.  When on land, considering I would have the $10/day with Verizon, I would place it on what settings?  Does it matter?

I often get more accurate answers from those who don't work for Verizon.  LOL

 

Thanks

 

M

I don't have Verizon but would think you would turn on Cellular and Roaming.     Please review Verizon's FAQ as they discuss it there. 

https://www.verizon.com/support/international-travel-faqs/

 

I have T-Mobile and they have free international roaming worldwide albeit it at a slower data rate but good enough for phone, text, email and GPS / Map services . 

[happy cruzer]

So thanks for all for sharing but I am still a bit confused.

 

On my iphone Airplane Mode on (i.e slid to green) only controls cellular.  The other two slider WIFI and Bluetooth work independent.

 

So to avoid any extra charges from by cell/data provider (don't have international/cruise package), how do I set these three sliders.

 

I think the answer is:

Airplane mode On (i.e green)

WIFI On (to get the local ship's WIFI to see menus etc., i.e. no purchased WIFI from the ship)

Bluetooth OFF (doesn't really matter but I don't use it)

 

Cellular will show as Airplane mode.

 

I know it's confusing because we all have different phones and providers.  Thanks for all the help.

Edited March 1, 2022 by happy cruzer
clarify no WIFI plan onboard.

[RichYak]

4 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

I think the answer is:

Airplane mode On (i.e green)

WIFI On (to get the local ship's WIFI to see menus etc.)

Bluetooth OFF (doesn't really matter but I don't use it)

This is all correct, though if you sail on an Edge class ship, you may want Bluetooth ON if you want to use your mobile device to control cabin settings, ie thermostat, window shades, tv remote.

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

So thanks for all for sharing but I am still a bit confused.

 

On my iphone Airplane Mode on (i.e slid to green) only controls cellular.  The other two slider WIFI and Bluetooth work independent.

 

So to avoid any extra charges from by cell/data provider (don't have international/cruise package), how do I set these three sliders.

 

I think the answer is:

Airplane mode On (i.e green)

WIFI On (to get the local ship's WIFI to see menus etc., i.e. no purchased WIFI from the ship)

Bluetooth OFF (doesn't really matter but I don't use it)

 

Cellular will show as Airplane mode.

 

I know it's confusing because we all have different phones and providers.  Thanks for all the help.

 

I don't believe it is IOS version level dependent but on my iPhone 13 Pro Max -  When I slide the Airplane Mode button to the Green -   WiFi and blue tooth  are still active.    This can be verified by either looking at the two items below airplane mode -  Mine shows the WiFi I'm connected to ans well as Blue tooth on.   You can also click on both of these to check or to turn on manually if it doesn't do it automatically.

 

BTW -  I also noticed that Cellular  line changes to "Airplane Mode"

Edited March 1, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, RichYak said:

This is all correct, though if you sail on an Edge class ship, you may want Bluetooth ON if you want to use your mobile device to control cabin settings, ie thermostat, window shades, tv remote.

I use my BlueTooth all the time while on the ship to listen to AudioBooks as well as the Ship's Wifi.  Never had a problem or a charge.   I also use the same setting on airplanes.   

[D C]

On 2/25/2022 at 11:05 AM, mimbecky said:

So to understand correctly, given that I have Verizon I should be in airplane mode with WIFI calling when on the ship.  When on land, considering I would have the $10/day with Verizon, I would place it on what settings?  Does it matter?

I often get more accurate answers from those who don't work for Verizon.  LOL

 

Thanks

 

M

When you leave port on embarkation day, put your phone in airplane mode and turn wifi on to connect to the ship wifi.

 

When you arrive in a new port, turn airplane mode off if you want to use the TravelPass (your $10/day thing) .  You should get a text from Verizon that says something like "Welcome to Belize. With TravelPass you can use talk, text, and data from your domestic allowance...without travelpass, calls will cost $1.79/min...."
 

Then repeat the process when you're back onboard, turning airplane mode on and wifi on. 

 

If you don't want to spend the $10/day, just leave your phone in airplane mode in port.  Then you can still access the internet and make wifi calls if you have the good internet or find somewhere on land with free wifi.

 

Settings for text messaging are also important.  Do you have an Android?  If you do, make sure you use Message+ for texting. The default Samsung Message app doesn't seem to send/receive messages on wifi only.  Other apps like WhatsApp work as well since they're not really texting per-se.

 

Edited March 2, 2022 by D C