Smart Phones

[RocHed11]

Hey All, Got another question.. This will be my first cruise with a smart (?) phone. Actually the first time I will have it away from my general area. I understand about the roaming fees and to avoid them. When I'm on board still docked will the phone find a connection other than the ship? Or will I .be defaulted to use the Ship-which I would think would be at a premium. Or maybe not---I just don't know. I will be turning off the phone for the entire cruise after we sail. Are my Concerns founded?. BTW--As long as I'm in Airplane mode, Would it be ok to turn the phone on? Or Best to just leave it off till we get back?

Thanks

 

T

[Duane T]

Hey All, Got another question.. This will be my first cruise with a smart (?) phone. Actually the first time I will have it away from my general area. I understand about the roaming fees and to avoid them. When I'm on board still docked will the phone find a connection other than the ship? Or will I .be defaulted to use the Ship-which I would think would be at a premium. Or maybe not---I just don't know. I will be turning off the phone for the entire cruise after we sail. Are my Concerns founded?. BTW--As long as I'm in Airplane mode, Would it be ok to turn the phone on? Or Best to just leave it off till we get back?

Thanks

 

T

I just got off the Diamond and Princess and you can set up your phone to work on the ship's network when it is at sea. The ships wireless network was turned off as we approached a port. I had a verizon smartphone and it synched up on the respective country's wireless network. I had another phone I used for voice only in foreign ports as a backup.

[RocHed11]

I definitely not expecting to use my phone everyday. Once out to sea, especially. If I were to just turn it on, Would I find extra un expected charge when I get bacl yome?

[RocHed11]

double post

[Pam in CA]

I just got off the Diamond and Princess and you can set up your phone to work on the ship's network when it is at sea. The ships wireless network was turned off as we approached a port. I had a verizon smartphone and it synched up on the respective country's wireless network. I had another phone I used for voice only in foreign ports as a backup.

Correction: the ship's cell service is turned off in port, not the WiFi. The WiFi is on throughout the cruise although it's accessible only by purchasing an Internet package. It's also via satellite so it can be very, very slow.

 

What country were you in that had general, free WiFi throughout the country, regardless where you were? I haven't come across one yet although you can often find a hot spot in cafes or other places within a country.

 

To answer the OP's question, if you plan to use your smartphone for games, music, etc., you can put your phone in airplane mode and it will not seek cell or WiFi connections. If you want to use the ship's WiFi or take advantage of a hot spot onshore, leave the phone in airplane mode but turn on the WiFI. It won't search for cell service.

[kate59]

Thanks Pam, you explained it the best way for me to understand it.

[kms8066]

What about text messages? If we put iphone in airplane mode, will text messages still send and receive?

[SwissDave]

What about text messages? If we put iphone in airplane mode, will text messages still send and receive?

 

No, in airplane mode you will not be able to send or receive anything.

 

If you intend to use your phone in ports, then ensure that you turn off data roaming (used for email, updating apps such as weather etc) otherwise as soon as you turn off airplane mode your phone will start to download data - and that is expensive unless you have a very good international roaming package.

[kms8066]

OK, then is there something I can set phone on, where I can send and receive texts for the whole cruise? (but not using data) Or do I just have to enable something (what would that be?) each time I want to send or receive texts? THANKS FOR INFO! :)

[Keith1010]

Always good to call your phone carrier to go over all of this. Often they will send you written notes on this.

 

Keith

[RocHed11]

Thanks all for your replies--I learned a lot of good information!!!

 

T

[Gunner22aa]

I know cell charges are far lower in the US and usage policies far more liberal than they are here in Canada but there was a piece not long ago about an unfortunate/stupid individual from one of our major cities here that used his device while on a two week holiday in the UK without checking on the fine print in his contract first. An average of 1 hour a day doing e mails and 30 min a day or so checking the news headlines in his local paper ended up costing him just over $7700 on his next bill. Not meant to scare anyone off using theirs but just a reminder to check first. Turns out this particular individual could have tagged on international use for the period of his vacation for less than $50 had he done it up front.

[Worn out mailman]

Hey All, Got another question.. This will be my first cruise with a smart (?) phone. Actually the first time I will have it away from my general area. I understand about the roaming fees and to avoid them. When I'm on board still docked will the phone find a connection other than the ship? Or will I .be defaulted to use the Ship-which I would think would be at a premium. Or maybe not---I just don't know. I will be turning off the phone for the entire cruise after we sail. Are my Concerns founded?. BTW--As long as I'm in Airplane mode, Would it be ok to turn the phone on? Or Best to just leave it off till we get back?

Thanks

 

T

 

We knew we were safe when our screen said "T-Mobile", which is our carrier, instead of some alternate name. And that of course was in U.S. territories like San Juan, or St. Thomas. Other than that, we were in Flight Mode.

[Grammyluvs]

In 2010 0n our Med. cruise, I had Verizon and changed to the International plan the week before leaving and canceled it as soon as I returned. It cost me $.50 to send a text and $.05 to receive one. Kept my phone off until we were in port. Turned it on to send text and then turned it off again. Much cheaper than calling.

[2 to cruise]

My daughter makes 4 trips to Malawi, Africa each year. This last trip she asked me to please download "Whatsapp" on my phone. It allows you to exchange messages without paying for SMS. I have unlimited text, but she does not. However, with Whatsapp she can text for free from Africa.

Believe me, we texted a bunch and no charges.

 

Look up www.whatsapp.com and you will get an explanation how it works. It is good for iphones, Blackberry, Android, etc.

 

There is some mention of it being a $1 a year, but I have never been charged for it.

[Tripper10]

We knew we were safe when our screen said "T-Mobile", which is our carrier, instead of some alternate name. And that of course was in U.S. territories like San Juan, or St. Thomas. Other than that, we were in Flight Mode.

 

 

^^^^^is the deal !! When the ship is docked in a US port you should have a signal from your cellular service provider and on your current plan. If you don't use flight mode while at see you will incur outrageous charges on your bill. Flight mode for the win !!

[Pam in CA]

OK, then is there something I can set phone on, where I can send and receive texts for the whole cruise? (but not using data) Or do I just have to enable something (what would that be?) each time I want to send or receive texts? THANKS FOR INFO! :)

If you find a hot spot on shore, turn on the WiFi. You can send and receive text messages without using data. Depending on where you are and your plan, incoming texts are $.05 or free, outgoing are $.50. I make sure my text message is very long. :)

 

If you text without using WiFi, you have to turn off airplane mode to use cell, which you don't want to do. Make sure you turn off all push notifications before you leave home.