need info on using iPhone in foreign ports

[Desert Kitty]

We will be travelling next month from NYC up the coast of NE thru the Maritimes and to Quebec City. Several of the ports I have scheduled private tours and have to contact our tour operator as we are arriving to get info as to where we will meet our van.

Are there some settings I need to change so that all I am doing is making a phone call and not accessing my data plan? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

Penny

[Times Prince]

It's not the phone in Canada it is the coverage from your provider that matters. Who is your cell phone carrier? Have you checked their coverage?

[Kamloops50]

We will be travelling next month from NYC up the coast of NE thru the Maritimes and to Quebec City. Several of the ports I have scheduled private tours and have to contact our tour operator as we are arriving to get info as to where we will meet our van.

Are there some settings I need to change so that all I am doing is making a phone call and not accessing my data plan? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

Penny

To use your phone in Canada you'll have to get international roaming put on your plan. Otherwise you'll get a nasty surprise when you get your bill.

[Putterdude]

We will be travelling next month from NYC up the coast of NE thru the Maritimes and to Quebec City. Several of the ports I have scheduled private tours and have to contact our tour operator as we are arriving to get info as to where we will meet our van.

Are there some settings I need to change so that all I am doing is making a phone call and not accessing my data plan? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

Penny

 

You will not likely need to change any thing on your phone but check with your provider as to who they partner with in Canada. If you are only expecting to make a call or 2 you will likely be better off just paying the roaming charge compared with adding anything to your plan.

[satxdiver]

If you do not have international roaming authorized for your cell phone, it will not work out side the US. The cell providers offer a package which may end up less expensive than simply paying their standard rates for out of country calls depending on the volume of calls you want to make. Be aware that if your cell phone is on, it will receive calls from all your friends/family at home running up your bill. That includes voice calls, messages and pictures. There is a way to shut off data so that the apps on your cell phone will not run up a data bill which can be very expensive.

[NavyVeteran]

We will be travelling next month from NYC up the coast of NE thru the Maritimes and to Quebec City. Several of the ports I have scheduled private tours and have to contact our tour operator as we are arriving to get info as to where we will meet our van.

Are there some settings I need to change so that all I am doing is making a phone call and not accessing my data plan? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

Penny

 

I understand that you want to make an occasional telephone call and you're willing to pay the charges for it. However, if you don't do anything, many of the apps on the iPhone will use data, and data can be expensive when roaming internationally.

 

What you need to do is to turn data roaming off. In "Settings", select "General" then "Cellular". Then set "Data Roaming" to "OFF".

 

With "Data Roaming" "OFF", you can still use Wi-Fi on the ship or in another Wi-Fi hotspot you log in to - you just won't use cellular data outside of your home coverage.

[ceba]

I understand that you want to make an occasional telephone call and you're willing to pay the charges for it. However, if you don't do anything, many of the apps on the iPhone will use data, and data can be expensive when roaming internationally.

 

What you need to do is to turn data roaming off. In "Settings", select "General" then "Cellular". Then set "Data Roaming" to "OFF".

 

With "Data Roaming" "OFF", you can still use Wi-Fi on the ship or in another Wi-Fi hotspot you log in to - you just won't use cellular data outside of your home coverage.

 

 

With the "Data Roaming" off, can I then leave my phone on to accept text messages without ridiculous expenses?

[antsp]

yes, text messages are not data, emails facetime etc will not work with data roaming turned off, if you find wifi and log in all your data will come through to the phone at no charge

[NDCROWx5]

What NavyVeteran posted above is absolutely correct! You can also get an app called VIBER. It is free and can be used when wifi is available. You can call and text for free to other Viber users. It is available for most smartphones, not just iPhones.

[Kamloops50]

yes, text messages are not data, emails facetime etc will not work with data roaming turned off, if you find wifi and log in all your data will come through to the phone at no charge

 

Sorry ,text messages are considered data. The only part of the that isn't data is voice..

 

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Forums mobile app

[GweninTX]

Text messages with most carriers are fifty cents apiece when you are roaming. You can buy packages for international text messaging that reduce the cost. You can turn data off and still send and receive text, just no pics or video text. Go in and talk to a rep and find our your options while traveling.

[ceba]

okay, one more question (I'm an old person with a smart phone, sometimes that doesn't seem to mesh!) Do I still need to leave my phone off and just check thru the ships wifi?? Do I get charged for using the ships wifi?

[NDCROWx5]

If you want to use the wifi from the ship you need to purchase a Internet package. I used my Viber app last year in the Mediterranean and never had any additional charges (roaming) to my bill. I have Verizon. The wifi I used for Viber was in ports at free wifi stops.

[ceba]

thank you all so much!! Will be checking out the Viber!

[NavyVeteran]

okay, one more question (I'm an old person with a smart phone, sometimes that doesn't seem to mesh!) Do I still need to leave my phone off and just check thru the ships wifi?? Do I get charged for using the ships wifi?

 

Based on your signature, it looks as if this will be your sixth Princess cruise. Welcome to Platinum. As Platinum, you will receive a free Internet package - the number of minutes depends on the length of your cruise.

 

Since you don't have unlimited minutes, do not leave the phone connected - just log on, download your stuff, and log back off. Make sure you log off each time you are finished. There have been some problems with people turning off their devices without logging off and still being charged for more minutes.

 

On the ship, you may not want to use the ship's cell service - just the wifi. You can still send and receive text messages with other iPhone users with wifi.

[ceba]

Based on your signature, it looks as if this will be your sixth Princess cruise. Welcome to Platinum. As Platinum, you will receive a free Internet package - the number of minutes depends on the length of your cruise.

 

Since you don't have unlimited minutes, do not leave the phone connected - just log on, download your stuff, and log back off. Make sure you log off each time you are finished. There have been some problems with people turning off their devices without logging off and still being charged for more minutes.

 

On the ship, you may not want to use the ship's cell service - just the wifi. You can still send and receive text messages with other iPhone users with wifi.

 

 

Thank you again!!!!

[antsp]

Sorry ,text messages are considered data. The only part of the that isn't data is voice..

 

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Forums mobile app

 

If you have data turned off whilst roaming, you will still receive texts. I say this unless the US cell service works diffrently to the rest of the world

[GweninTX]

If you want to make sure you receive no unexpected charges the only safe mode is "airplane mode " this turns of all data and voice. When you get into a port, then if you need the phone you can turn it on.