Verizon at Sea

[Mschif78]

Will I get cell service at sea? leaving MD going to FL n Bahamas. I have verizon, my BF has a Samsung Nexus and I have an Iphone

 

Thanks

Kerry

[Amy Giard]

Will I get cell service at sea? leaving MD going to FL n Bahamas. I have verizon, my BF has a Samsung Nexus and I have an Iphone

 

Thanks

Kerry

 

You will be roaming via the ship's cell tower and be paying a fortune.

[Mschif78]

what about if i want it on for text? i thought it was 50 cents out and 5 cents in.

 

also I thought it was just 2.49/minute

[CapeCodCruiser]

what about if i want it on for text? i thought it was 50 cents out and 5 cents in.

 

also I thought it was just 2.49/minute

 

You are correct - some folks like to add a little drame to the cell phone issue. You will need to call Verizon and add international roaming (no fees) to your plan

[DaytonCruiser]

You can use the phone in your cabin for $1.99 a min to call home.

[nodogkisses]

what about if i want it on for text? i thought it was 50 cents out and 5 cents in.

 

also I thought it was just 2.49/minute

 

You're correct. It is 50 cents to send and 5 cents to receive. I have a Verizon iphone too. Call Verizon before you leave and make sure international roaming is enabled on both your phones. Don't count on them to keep the right days/times. It goes haywire at times. Most of the time the texts send, but there are some areas in the ocean where there is no service. All of a sudden, all your sent texts will go through and all your incoming texts will be received.

 

To prevent a large bill, you'll need to make sure to turn off your Cellular Data. This is important. Go to SETTINGS then hit NETWORK and then you'll see CELLULAR DATA. Turn to OFF. You'll see Roaming will say Voice Only after you turn off the cellular data. Also, I always turn all my NOTIFICATIONS to off on every APP so they don't update or notify me. Keep your phone turned on the entire cruise. Don't turn it off. Don't send pics or videos. Just use text and you'll be fine. You can use your iphone camera. I never bother to take my digital camera anymore, since my iphone pics turn out great and I take tons of them. Feel free to listen to your downloaded music or read any downloaded material, too.

 

Before you step onto the ship, hit 228 and send. Update roaming capabilities. Verizon will send you a free text when it happens to be that you're connected to the ship's tower. At that point, know that if you use your phone, it's at their rates, not Verizon's. And, if you turn on cellular data, even for a minute, you'll be taking chances with a big bill. We always cruise with our iphones and never had a problem.

 

You can check with Verizon and find out how much it is per minute wherever you are going. It's cheaper to call from the ports than to use Verizon's tower. But, all ships on Carnival are charging just $1.99 per minute to use you cabin phone and the charges will appear on your Sail & Sign bill. Outgoing only.

 

I would suggest you call Verizon and tell them you're cruising and get the international roaming enabled. They will explain all to you and follow up with an email outlining the things you need to do. Have a great cruise.