iPhone on Cruise

[misslissa]

I'm hoping to bring my iPhone along on my cruise from Barcelona to Italy to France to use in ports so I can access various apps/data only. Has anyone found the best and cheapest way to do this? I checked with my local carrier and their international data fee is $5/MB which my husband seems to think I can blow through in a matter of minutes... :eek:

[chipmaster]

Store the maps on the iPhone and use it with the phone turned off.

 

Be SURE to have the phone turned off or $$$$ :eek:

 

I'm hoping to bring my iPhone along on my cruise from Barcelona to Italy to France to use in ports so I can access various apps/data only. Has anyone found the best and cheapest way to do this? I checked with my local carrier and their international data fee is $5/MB which my husband seems to think I can blow through in a matter of minutes... :eek:

[Keith1010]

Just be careful when you use the iPhone that you take into account International Roaming Costs if you go to the internet as these can be quite high.

 

Keith

[KirkNC]

Store the maps on the iPhone and use it with the phone turned off.

 

Be SURE to have the phone turned off or $$$$ :eek:

 

That is what we did, I used the Good Reader app and stored all sorts of documents, maps, schedules, site write-ups etc. I kept the phone in airplane mode so it would not hookup to the internet. It worked very well.

 

Kirk

[melissasimon]

Proceed with caution! You can quickly run up massive data roaming charges, and even if you buy an international data plan it's almost impossible to control. Read these guidelines carefully:

 

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/iphone-travel-tips.jsp?WT.srch=1&GUID=9BB60F36-535A-4605-BDBC-048F43FF89C5

 

Your surest bet on how to minimize or eliminate unexpected charges is to either call AT&T or go into an AT&T store and have someone explain your options and show you how to modify your phone's settings once you are on the plane to Europe.

 

For our recent trip, I used the instructions in the link above and turned off "fetch new data." We found that texting was the cheapest and easiest way to stay in touch with home, and we could also use wi-fi hot spots to check e-mail. I used my iPhone primarily for texting and a few short calls, but hardly used apps at all because many apps (including the maps function) require data usage in order to work properly. Once we were over there I didn't miss my apps anyway. There seemed to be an abundance of information and resources available whenever we needed information so I didn't need to turn to my phone.

[dingsterkat]

Last year when we went to Spain, I called AT&T to see what options my DH and I had for our iPhones in Europe. We were able to turn on an unlimited international package for our two phones - full access to internet and apps etc. for a reasonable fee. There was a calling plan also that wasn't bad - with a couple of options. We turned it on the day before we left and turned it off two weeks later. Total extra cost for the both of us - including some work phone calls - was about $100. Not too bad. They told me on the phone when I called to turn it on that they don't advertise the package but just ask for Unlimited. I'm planning to try it again this October for our next cruise.

[misslissa]

Very interesting. I'm actually Canadian and we don't have AT&T... So, I'm just wondering if anyone picked up a local SIM card or something like that. I am aware of my carrier rates and roaming charges, and I really want to use the apps only. There are some that actually can geographically tell where you are and can apparently be a tour guide when you have head phones, etc. So, well worth the $$$. This advice actually comes from a 70 year old relative who just did this in Italy. I also have the Trip Advisor resto app where you click in and it tells you the highest rated restaurants wherever you happen to be. Things like this seem really helpful...

[joanne59]

Last year when we went to Spain, I called AT&T to see what options my DH and I had for our iPhones in Europe. We were able to turn on an unlimited international package for our two phones - full access to internet and apps etc. for a reasonable fee. There was a calling plan also that wasn't bad - with a couple of options. We turned it on the day before we left and turned it off two weeks later. Total extra cost for the both of us - including some work phone calls - was about $100. Not too bad. They told me on the phone when I called to turn it on that they don't advertise the package but just ask for Unlimited. I'm planning to try it again this October for our next cruise.

 

We will be leaving in 10 days to board Century for our med cruise and this info is most helpful for iPhone usage. We also have two, and DH was concerned about contact with our grown children in case of an emergency. Our son and his wife will also be traveling in Europe (UK) at the same time, not sure how much contact we will actually have with them. For peace of mind, I'll sign us up for the unlimited, then I can use it for a bit of Internet as well when we are away from the ship. Now if I can just get used to not having my Ipad in my hands all the time :)

 

Happy cruising.....Joanne

[neil5054]

We will be leaving in 10 days to board Century for our med cruise and this info is most helpful for iPhone usage. We also have two, and DH was concerned about contact with our grown children in case of an emergency. Our son and his wife will also be traveling in Europe (UK) at the same time, not sure how much contact we will actually have with them. For peace of mind, I'll sign us up for the unlimited, then I can use it for a bit of Internet as well when we are away from the ship. Now if I can just get used to not having my Ipad in my hands all the time :)

 

Happy cruising.....Joanne

Did you find out the price of the unilimited international data? Does it include a phone calling plan?

[joanne59]

Looks like the unlimited data plan has been discontinued. Not sure yet, we may get a smaller plan and use texting if necessary at only $.50 a message.

 

 

IPhone international usage

Just wondering about others' plan for IPhone usage...

I have communicated with ATT about available international plans for my IPhone and asked about the unlimited international plan that I have read about on the cruise critic boards. I was told by an ATT rep that this unlimited plan is no longer available but that I can purchase a monthly plan for $5.99 and pay roaming fees when I call (abt 99 cents per minute depending on the country) and/or purchase a monthly data plan based on anticipated needs. Does anyone else have more information on how to handle using an Iphone internationally?

[Keith1010]

Looks like the unlimited data plan has been discontinued. Not sure yet, we may get a smaller plan and use texting if necessary at only $.50 a message.

 

 

IPhone international usage

Just wondering about others' plan for IPhone usage...

I have communicated with ATT about available international plans for my IPhone and asked about the unlimited international plan that I have read about on the cruise critic boards. I was told by an ATT rep that this unlimited plan is no longer available but that I can purchase a monthly plan for $5.99 and pay roaming fees when I call (abt 99 cents per minute depending on the country) and/or purchase a monthly data plan based on anticipated needs. Does anyone else have more information on how to handle using an Iphone internationally?

 

In terms of phone calls you need to look at how many you will make. ATT has on their web site the price of international calls per minute and how much you will save by adding the $5.99 plan. By the way you can add the plan for one month and then remove it. The price per minute with or without a plan varies per country around the world. Again, you'll see the price differnential and just estimate how many minutes of usage you will have on the trip to figure out if this makes sense for you.

 

Keith

[Got2Cruise]

The thing about the IPhone is that you receive and send data which is not included with the international phone rate. You need to get the International data plan or use the "Airplane" mode. If you send or receive data it is something like $19.95 per minute. As an aside, dealing with ATT makes your head explode, so good luck buddy in getting this all sorted out.:D;)

[Keith1010]

The thing about the IPhone is that you receive and send data which is not included with the international phone rate. You need to get the International data plan or use the "Airplane" mode. If you send or receive data it is something like $19.95 per minute. As an aside, dealing with ATT makes your head explode, so good luck buddy in getting this all sorted out.:D;)

 

For iPhone you just go to General, then to Network and then to Data Roaming and make sure data roaming is set to off.

 

It is very easy.

 

We do this all the time.

 

Then we use the iPhone just as the phone and pay only the international roaming rates for phone calls.

 

Keith

[joanne59]

Not really concerned about making calls at this point. A text will do in an emergency, not like we can jump in a car and drive home. We will use the wifi on the ship and each port if necessary. Thanks for everyone's info, pretty much what we had found on the ATT website.

 

Happy cruising....Joanne