Phone Question:

[jlm41]

I will be going on Destiny next week from Miami.

 

I am planning to board the cruise around noon. How long can I keep my cell phone and use it without getting charged extra for cruise.

 

And What is my clue to turn off the phone or put it in Airplane mode?

 

I am on verizon.

[itchin2cruz]

I have almost the same question with my new droid from Verizon. First time cruising with a smartphone. I can never get the same answer from 2 different verizon reps.

[AdrenalineRush]

I will be going on Destiny next week from Miami.

 

I am planning to board the cruise around noon. How long can I keep my cell phone and use it without getting charged extra for cruise.

 

And What is my clue to turn off the phone or put it in Airplane mode?

 

I am on verizon.

It really depends I have had service 2-3 hours after sailaway.

 

Normally you can look at your phone and it will show if you are using the ships tower. it will show "nor 18" or 901 something like that

 

ok checkED the site

http://www.cellularatsea.com/roaming.htm

Customers roaming on Cruise Ships and Ferries will see a distinct name on the handset other than their home carrier. The handsets will read “Nor 18”, “cellular@sea” or “901 18”.

[firefly333]

Your phone will have a read out Cellular at Sea, then you know you are on the ships system.

 

Iv been able to stay on my phone, which is a prepaid, until we are pulling away from the dock. Some have had it change over before they pulled out from the dock and had huge roaming charges.

[gobucks_43228]

I will be going on Destiny next week from Miami.

 

I am planning to board the cruise around noon. How long can I keep my cell phone and use it without getting charged extra for cruise.

 

And What is my clue to turn off the phone or put it in Airplane mode?

 

I am on verizon.

 

I use mine up through sail off. Then I turn it off, it goes in the safe, because I am on vacation!!!!!!

I'm not certain when you will officially go into roaming if that is what you mean. Your phone should show/tell you.

[Rena921]

I read somewhere on these boards that someone had a $400 + phone bill when they got home because while on ,their smart phone was continually searching for data...even in airplane mode. With a smart phone, your main concern is not with roaming but with data service. We just make it a rule to shut the phones off and stash them in the safe when we sail away. You're on vacation after all!

[itchin2cruz]

:confused:what's the general rule for using it on the ship without incurring a bunch of charges? Turn wi-fi off? I know about calling first to get int'l roaming and the price of texts...just concerned about internet and having the phone on. Do I just turn on long enough to send or receive texts? keep it in airplone mode? sorry but confused..

[golfadj]

I leave it on until we get into the ocean and than it goes into safe for the week.

[itchin2cruz]

I'm leaving kids at home so would like to check in at least once a day

[CCLNCLRCICRUISER]

I read somewhere on these boards that someone had a $400 + phone bill when they got home because while on ,their smart phone was continually searching for data...even in airplane mode. With a smart phone, your main concern is not with roaming but with data service. We just make it a rule to shut the phones off and stash them in the safe when we sail away. You're on vacation after all!

If you arent sure about how to turn data off it is best to leave it alone. Some of us use out phones as mp3 players,cameras and camcorders, voice recorders, etc..so its a good idea to know how to turn off data, which is possible on every smartphone.

[gobucks_43228]

Im speaking from iphone usuage but we just turn data off, as well as location services and push notifications. I also put it in airplane mode. This way i can use my ipod function. So far no problems with any charges the past 6 cruises.

[billnheather]

I have almost the same question with my new droid from Verizon. First time cruising with a smartphone. I can never get the same answer from 2 different verizon reps.

 

I got off the Glory this week, I called Verizon, and if you get some international unlimited data plan it cost like 5 bucks a day they can add it to the days you are cruising. I was able to check emails and go on the internet calls were like $2.64 per min and txt were .50 to send and .05 to receive. It is a great insurance policy, if an emergency came up at home

[kdoc84]

Best thing to do is to change the Mobile network option on your phone. This is how you would on a Droid X (or possibly any other android operating system phone). On the home screen hit the menu button, then settings, then Wireless and network settings, then mobile networks, then system select, and select Home Only. This is what I always do to my phone. It worked when I went on a cruise and when I went to Canada. As soon as it can't find your "home" network, it just stops.

 

If you have any other questions or want to ask about a specific phone model maybe I can help you out as well.

[ChefSusan]

Our phones go to airplane mode as soon as we hit international waters (2-3 miles out). The phones stay on airplane mode for the duration of the cruise so that we can take photos and play whatever games we have on our cell phone without incurring those nasty data/voice/text charges.

 

The only time the phone goes back to regular mode is if we port at a US territory (St. Thomas, San Juan, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway), or if we can find a wi-fi signal.

 

Hope this helps out!

[flcruiser4]

On the AT&T iPhone 4 I have the ability to turn off data roaming so that has not been an issue for me. And I just turned my phone to airplane mode right before the ship starting pulling out of the dock. The only roaming charges I got were for a call in Cozumel (cheaper than calling while at Sea) that I made for a few minutes.

[sarita227]

My droid pops up and tells me when I'm roaming, and when I'm international roaming. We took the train, and I first saw the international roaming notice in Mississippi, and again in Louisiana!! I had service for 2 or 3 hours after sailaway, maybe longer. Once I saw the notification, I turned it to airplane mode.

[elcuchio24]

We have ATT, once we were a couple hours into the cruise the display screen stopped showint 'ATT' and said 'ATT at Sea'. That's when I knew to turn it off!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

:confused:what's the general rule for using it on the ship without incurring a bunch of charges? Turn wi-fi off? I know about calling first to get int'l roaming and the price of texts...just concerned about internet and having the phone on. Do I just turn on long enough to send or receive texts? keep it in airplone mode? sorry but confused..

 

I am not what settings have to be turned off but when my son went on a cruise earlier this year he turned his phone on for just a couple of minutes and his bill was over $200 as all the data came through.

 

I'd be really sure of what you are doing.

 

Me I will just put mine in the safe and leave it there.

 

Bill

[CCLNCLRCICRUISER]

I am not what settings have to be turned off but when my son went on a cruise earlier this year he turned his phone on for just a couple of minutes and his bill was over $200 as all the data came through.

 

Yeah its costly when you dont know...I think its $20 a MB with most carriers and with push notifications all the ones that have been backing up will hit all at once when you turn on the phone.

[makeda]

phone gets turned off when i let family know that we are moving out to sea...i sign up for the internet connection and email daily

[redlef]

I got off the Glory this week, I called Verizon, and if you get some international unlimited data plan it cost like 5 bucks a day they can add it to the days you are cruising. I was able to check emails and go on the internet calls were like $2.64 per min and txt were .50 to send and .05 to receive. It is a great insurance policy, if an emergency came up at home

 

Dig you get your bill from Verizon yet? When I was going to the middle east this winter, they sold me their "unlimited data plan" for $69/month. I checked it the day before I left and it turned out it was $29/MB. The sales rep made a mistake, luckily I caught it before I traveled.

 

For my Caribbean cruise in July, they have me in their "International Global Data Plan" which they quoted me as $30 for 25MB/month or $100 for 70MB/month. And you can't use the 70MB on a one week cruise and cancel when you get home, because they'll pro-rate the usage over the month.

[redlef]

Dig you get your bill from Verizon yet? When I was going to the middle east this winter, they sold me their "unlimited data plan" for $69/month. I checked it the day before I left and it turned out it was $29/MB. The sales rep made a mistake, luckily I caught it before I traveled.

 

For my Caribbean cruise in July, they have me in their "International Global Data Plan" which they quoted me as $30 for 25MB/month or $100 for 70MB/month. And you can't use the 70MB on a one week cruise and cancel when you get home, because they'll pro-rate the usage over the month.

 

Just called up Verizon to double check on the plan they sold me. The operator I talked to today said it wouldn't work on the ship, and I would have been charged the "Cruise ship data rate" of $20.48 per megabyte. At my usage, that would be around $75 per day.

 

I'm glad I saw this thread and decided to call and verify. Twice in two trips Verizon has misquoted me. I guess you have to take an incompetency test to work there.

[Raven Days]

I have my Blackberry with Sprint. I used my phone up until we left the dock and then out the battery came and in the safe it went. I didnt turn it back on until we passed Sea Wolf Park in Galveston on our return. I used Carnival's Website to keep in touch with my daughter back home, which is free and easy. However since its a forum type system everyone else can read what you write. But hey its free!

[P&D_LTC]

My husband and I both have iPhones with AT&T. I get international phone service right before we leave as I need to keep in touch with my elderly mother. I turn off data roaming on my phone. Once we are out to sea, my phone switches to cellular at sea. My husband turns off data roaming but his phone and is not able to make calls via cellular at sea (I'm not even sure it displays on his phone). It's $2.50 per minute to make calls while at sea. It's a little cheaper per minute depending on which port you are in. Puerto Rico and St. Thomas are US so so calls and data while in those ports are included in your regular service. I plan on at least a $250 phone bill on a 7 day cruise. I usually check on my mother twice a day for very quick conversation.

[Kryssa]

I know people that were surprised to receive cell phone bills for $250-500 even though they say they had it worked out to be much less.

 

We put our phones in airplane mode as soon as the ship pulls away from the pier. We keep in touch via email when we stop in ports. There are always very inexpensive internet stations near the ports. We try our best to avoid even using the ship internet, although I'll admit I downloaded a couple of kindle books during our last trip. I think it cost me about $10-15. I really wanted to read those books right away :P