Smartphone or international calling card?

[agoin]

Hello, I this is my 5th cruise but first one with teenagers! So I'm overwhelmed with the options from my phone service Verizon and calling cards. Thanks for any help..I personally would like to leave the phones at home!

[CruiserBruce]

Where are you going? That will impact our advice. But generally, expensive.

[Algebralovr]

Teenagers, cell phones (even smart phones), and cruises do not mix. If you allow your teens to use their data and texting from the ship, they will provide you a huge bill.

 

If your teens do believe they require their phones for some reason, perhaps they use their phone as an eReader, listen to music through their iPhone and no longer have an iPod, etc, I advise you to contact your phone provider and put an international block on the phones carried by your teens. The teens will be able to use their phones in airplane mode to read, listen to music they already have downloaded, watch a video they already have downloaded, etc.

[serene56]

Hello, I this is my 5th cruise but first one with teenagers! So I'm overwhelmed with the options from my phone service Verizon and calling cards. Thanks for any help..I personally would like to leave the phones at home!

 

 

i agree-- where are you going?

 

 

If caribbean-- put on airplane mode-- turn them off completly and put them in the safe.

 

Even with international plan or calling cards using those cell phones you are going to rack up rates using cellular at sea-- the ships cell tower.

The roaming and data will cost you a fortune

 

Sending texts will cost 50cents to send.

 

ships are not that big where you will be getting lost. each ship has an activity sheet so everyone can know where you will be at any given time.

 

(different color highlighters work for this reason)

 

cabin telephone should have voice mail- free when calling cabin to cabin and using any house phone.

 

do not use the cabin phone to call home-- and let your teens know that BEFORE you get on the ship.

Edited March 12, 2014 by serene56

[calliopecruiser]

Teenagers, cell phones (even smart phones), and cruises do not mix. If you allow your teens to use their data and texting from the ship, they will provide you a huge bill.

 

If your teens do believe they require their phones for some reason, perhaps they use their phone as an eReader, listen to music through their iPhone and no longer have an iPod, etc, I advise you to contact your phone provider and put an international block on the phones carried by your teens. The teens will be able to use their phones in airplane mode to read, listen to music they already have downloaded, watch a video they already have downloaded, etc.

 

Yes, or remove the SIM card. I use my smart phone for all kinds of non-phone, non-text things (music and audiobooks most importantly), so leaving my phone in the safe would be a horrible solution for me. But I agree you can't rely on them to just leave them in airplane mode, either.

[agoin]

Great advice. We are going to the Caribbean so I will suggest they use airplane mode only, because they do have music and books on their smart phones. Thanks. I did see were someone suggested to buy a calling card at a port to call home, any suggestions?

[reallyitsmema]

Great advice. We are going to the Caribbean so I will suggest they use airplane mode only, because they do have music and books on their smart phones. Thanks. I did see were someone suggested to buy a calling card at a port to call home, any suggestions?

Verizon has a great interactive trip planner that will tell you exactly how much calls will cost while on the ship and in your specific ports. You can use your smart phone without racking up huge fees. Here is a link that you can use to check rates in your ports.

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/global.html?intcmp=INT-VZW-VNT-GLOBAL

 

We kept our smartphones on with data roaming turned off. We texted with our son at home for 50 cents each we sent and 5 cents to receive.

 

Check out the rates and then decide if you want to use your cell phone or a calling card.

[cb at sea]

If you want to use a calling card, you'll also have to use a payphone....that can be a decent option, but wait until you get to where you'll be calling from to buy the calling card!

 

E-mail is a cheap way to keep in touch, if you really need to! Also, give the emergency number to those at home, so they can call YOU if there is an emergency....then, go under the assumption that no news is good news! It's only a week!

[kitty9]

A few years ago, my neighbors and their teens went on a Caribbean cruise. They didn't take the phones from the kids and came home to a phone bill of around $2K. Kids used the phones for texting, at $.50 a pop to send, and they used it for Internet, at $2.49 a minute. They didn't realize the charges until near the end of the cruise when they were alerted to the charges.

[serene56]

Great advice. We are going to the Caribbean so I will suggest they use airplane mode only, because they do have music and books on their smart phones. Thanks. I did see were someone suggested to buy a calling card at a port to call home, any suggestions?

 

ask a crew member. they know all the cheapest places to make calls home.

 

Make sure the kids know you put it on airplane mode every time they turn the phone on.

 

you can use your cells at various ports for a lot cheaper then on the ship

[Algebralovr]

Yes, or remove the SIM card. I use my smart phone for all kinds of non-phone, non-text things (music and audiobooks most importantly), so leaving my phone in the safe would be a horrible solution for me. But I agree you can't rely on them to just leave them in airplane mode, either.

 

Just FYI that Verizon uses The CDMA protocol and does not have SIM cards. The okay way to completely block international calling, texting and data might be to call the company and have them lock it.

 

Some ships have towers that allow CDMA and some do not. Many non-US countries don't have CDMA cell towers either, but if your phones use LTE they might still work.

[calliopecruiser]

Just FYI that Verizon uses The CDMA protocol and does not have SIM cards.

 

Ahhhh.....There's no Verizon here, so I didn't realize that.

[Algebralovr]

Sure! Hope I didn't come across as snarky!

 

If the OP was an AT&T or T-Mobile user, removing the SIM card would be a great solution. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA.

 

 

OP, if you have an iPhone, and it is unlocked or you can get them to unlock it, you might be able to put a SIM card in it that you purchase on shore. There might be a SIM card slot on the side. This might be the best way to call home from where you are going.

[sjcsviola]

Great advice. We are going to the Caribbean so I will suggest they use airplane mode only, because they do have music and books on their smart phones. Thanks. I did see were someone suggested to buy a calling card at a port to call home, any suggestions?

 

 

Simply put- go into settings and turn your roaming OFF for a start

 

Second, do some research- find a cell company who operate in the countries your visiting (like I'm going to Italy in the summer, so they use Vodafone or wind amongst others) and buy a pay as you go sim with 3G or 4g

 

:)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[laverocathar]

Norwegian has their Concierge app that sounds like something to use on the ship. But if the phone is in Airplane Mode doesn't that turn off even the wifi?

 

If the wifi is on then texts will come in.... and gmails.... etc.

 

So how to use the Concierge app??

 

Thanks!

[Cruisin' Chick]

For our last cruise, we bought an Internet package that my teen (15 on last cruise) and I shared. She used it to check Facebook while I checked my email. Sometimes the Internet was pretty slow, especially in mid-Pacific, so if one of us was up late, that was the best time to use the minutes. I held on to her phone, but she never asked for it (it's a cheapie one with not great signal service anyway).

[ducklite]

Just FYI that Verizon uses The CDMA protocol and does not have SIM cards. The okay way to completely block international calling, texting and data might be to call the company and have them lock it.

 

 

 

Some ships have towers that allow CDMA and some do not. Many non-US countries don't have CDMA cell towers either, but if your phones use LTE they might still work.

 

 

If you have an iPhone, Verizon will send you the correct SIM to enable you to use your phone anywhere.

[laverocathar]

For our last cruise' date=' we bought an Internet package that my teen (15 on last cruise) and I shared. She used it to check Facebook while I checked my email. Sometimes the Internet was pretty slow, especially in mid-Pacific, so if one of us was up late, that was the best time to use the minutes. I held on to her phone, but she never asked for it (it's a cheapie one with not great signal service anyway).[/quote']

Thank you. Yes, we are planning to buy a data package for work purposes, just to check in. But it is my understanding that we can use the iConcierge app to message other passengers who are signed in. I guess this is a question to ask NCL staff at the Meet n Greet, or a rep on the phone if I get any time to be on the phone... very busy week!