Snaefell3

Yikes!!! "10/8 - 10/13 - Scarlet Lady - Salmonella and E. Coli" Norovirus is one thing -- it walks aboard every embarkation, but fecal matter infection?!?

Silly question... Since "your" butler isn't on 24/7, what about when it isn't "your" butler delivering?

WhatsApp is a program on your device that connects to WhatsApp programs on other folks' devices via Google's computers -- which means you both need an internet connection. The common advice is "if it uses the internet and it's free, you are the product not the customer". I do not know for a fact that WhatsApp mines your communications for ad leads to sell, but Google's GMail is known to do so.

My 2¢ on shipboard libraries: • A borrowed dead tree edition means I'm 2 chapters short of whodunit upon debarkation. • Give me an ebook and a comfy spot to read. ...cookies, tea and a charging spot are a plus.

Uhh... The WiFi Calling data stream comes off the internet at your cellphone provider's data center. Any charges downstream of *your* cellphone provider appear as roaming charges to the called party. The most costly transport of cellular voice is via tower bandwidth. VoIP (WiFi calling) bandwidth is much cheaper. Verizon has noticed this, and I suspect AT&T has, too 😉

I'll say the "quiet part" for ya: ...just more expensive. 😉

Assuming you're at sea... If you're both "WiFi calling", great! 🙂 If either is off Airplane Mode? Prepare to get a loan. 😢 Glad you can get back to enjoying your cruise. 🛳️

That's because the UK pricing is required to include ABTA protection, etc.

Sorry, cellular billing is beyond the ken of miracles. ::rimshot:: Try https://www.verizon.com/support/contact-us/#mobile#billingandpayments#mobilebillingandpaymentbillingquestions

I do not claim to be Apple-literate enough to touch that worry. On Android, I've always been able to WiFi call under Airplane Mode, and to set cellular or WiFi as the priority transport with Airplane Mode OFF. (I still keep Airplane Mode firmly ON while afloat.)

Yup. On the other hand, UK fares are, on average, appreciably higher to account for the statistical risk that companies face. Since that "higher" includes a profit, I'm happy to self-insure for some of that risk and buy insurance for the rest.

Ye gads and little fishes. Last I looked, Travel Pass did *not* include CellularAtSea, which is the carrier for most cruise ship cellphone towers. 😮 IIRC, O now provides internet for two devices, so you should both be able to set to WiFi Calling and have voice and text work just like at home. Just be sure to keep checking you are both still set to WiFi rather than the ship's piratical-rate cellphone tower.

In the background, your phones keep "pinging" the nearest cellphone tower, and that tower tells the "Publicly Switched Telephone Network" to send incoming calls for your phone. For whatever reason, one or both phones aren't "registering" with a tower, or aren't authorized "roaming" from that tower. ...or maybe something else. You're definitely in YMMV territory 😞

Err... "#225". Dyslexics of the world? UNTIE!

It's encrypted end-to-end over the internet. I suppose someone could execute a "man in the middle" attack, but ::14 pages of jargon deleted:: 😉 The over-the-air portion at the far end is only protected in the US by laws (including "you can't sell a receiver that can receive those frequencies").

Would you do an experiment for me? You can check a Verizon cellphone bill "airtime free" when stateside by calling "#255" [#BAL] on your cellphone. Does that work there?

BTW, when docked, the ship's cellphone tower must be turned off, so a cellphone normally connects to shoreside towers (and you "originate" from that port's Country Code). WiFi calling sends your call direct to your cellphone provider via the internet rather than local cellphone voice links, so your call "originates" at your cellphone company's data center.

"800 numbers" (and "877-", "866-", etc) only work if the call is made from "Country Code '1' " (US, Canada, and a few odds and ends). Antigua lies in Country Code "268". You'll need the non-800 equivalent phone number to get through 😞 (and pay international rates). Alternatively if you have a US or Canadian cellphone provider and set your cellphone to "WiFi Calling" via the ship's WiFi, that should make your call be coming from "Country Code '1' " 😉

The "holiday" industry in the UK is *much* more regulated than in the US. (That's good and bad.)

Yup, but IMNSHO quite fair. That guy provides no personal service to any guest for a tip to incentivize. His compensation should come from the fares paid, and we should stop playing the game advertising lower-than-actual "fares" by calling part of the actual fare "gratuities".

::nods:: Good advice. 👍 We're likely in a better spot, though... • Much of the competition will be busy at 12:01 Jan 1, too, no? • Longer cruises have more days (D'oh) but that means more spots to go around. • We get the 75 day window • We're willing to share a table or have it served in our cabin. Oh! ...and I lied. We're on Pacific Time (9:01pm 🤫 ) Bon voyage and bon appétit!

Looks like auto-corrupt "fixed" your tongue? 😉

Slightly off-topic, but for your amusement... Dining reservations for our next cruise opens for us on 1 Jan. Going to be up at 12:01am. Going to be otherwise busy at 12:01am. 😉

Once upon a time Holland America ran "Code Orange" (crew-served buffet, no salt/pepper shakers, etc) for the first 48 hours of a cruise as an anti-norovirus measure. They discontinued such in, IIRC, 2014 (a long time ago anyway), so their lawyers thought it wasn't worth it.

Both GPS and Cellular might or might not have incorrectly gone to DST? Even worse than I thought. Moral of the story: Be careful about exactly what that quoted all-aboard time really means.