Phone Settings on a Cruise

[Greenpea2]

I can NEVER remember this! On my upcoming cruise I have unlimited internet. I do not want any possibility of my phone picking up any cell towers for phone calls. Is it correct that once onboard I change the settings to Airplane Mode and that takes care of any possible phone call charges? I read somewhere you do that and then manually "reactivate wireless feature" before logging in to the ships WiFi. What does that mean? How do you reactivate wireless feature? Thanks in advance.

[shof515]

on my phone, when i enable Airplane mode it automatically disabled both Wifi and Bluetooth. I have to go back in the Settings and re-enable it

[hallux]

Enable airplane mode, re-enable WiFi (if it disabled with airplane mode), enable bluetooth as desired.

[Greenpea2]

So I need BlueTooth also enabled? Not just WiFi?

[esm54687]

56 minutes ago, Greenpea2 said:

I can NEVER remember this! On my upcoming cruise I have unlimited internet. I do not want any possibility of my phone picking up any cell towers for phone calls. Is it correct that once onboard I change the settings to Airplane Mode and that takes care of any possible phone call charges? I read somewhere you do that and then manually "reactivate wireless feature" before logging in to the ships WiFi. What does that mean? How do you reactivate wireless feature? Thanks in advance.

 

People have been kind to tell you to turn wireless back on but if you're actually  asking "how do you reactivate wireless?" you need to tell us your model if you expect any specific assistance. 

 

 

Edited January 20, 2020 by esm54687

[Greenpea2]

2 minutes ago, esm54687 said:

 

People have been kind to tell you to turn wireless back on but if you're actually  asking "how do you reactivate wireless?" you need to tell us your model if you expect any specific assistance. 

 

 

I did figure that out, thank you--I just tried it. (I have an iPhone 7+) What would I need BlueTooth on for? 

[esm54687]

2 minutes ago, Greenpea2 said:

I did figure that out, thank you--I just tried it. (I have an iPhone 7+) What would I need BlueTooth on for? 

You typically wouldn't unless you had an external speaker or headphones you were using. If you are asking now then chances are you aren't using it. ☺  You may keep BT off 

Edited January 20, 2020 by esm54687

[BirdTravels]

4 minutes ago, Greenpea2 said:

So I need BlueTooth also enabled? Not just WiFi?

Go into your CELLULAR settings and turn Data Roaming OFF (to protect against accidents. 
 

When you board the ship, turn Airplane Mode ON. Leave it that way until your Cruise is over

 

Turn Wi-Fi ON. Leave it that way until your Cruise is over. 
 

Turn Bluetooth ON (if you have wireless headphones or a watch that is synced to your phone. 
 

Enjoy your cruise. 

[Greenpea2]

4 minutes ago, esm54687 said:

You typically wouldn't unless you had an external speaker or headphones you were using. If you are asking now then chances are you aren't using it. ☺  You may keep BT off 

LOL, you are right. The only time I knowingly use BlueTooth is when I use my hands-free while driving. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. So I guess I am set now.

[Greenpea2]

5 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Go into your CELLULAR settings and turn Data Roaming OFF (to protect against accidents. 
 

When you board the ship, turn Airplane Mode ON. Leave it that way until your Cruise is over

 

Turn Wi-Fi ON. Leave it that way until your Cruise is over. 
 

Turn Bluetooth ON (if you have wireless headphones or a watch that is synced to your phone. 
 

Enjoy your cruise. 

Thank you so much! 🙂 And thanks to all who answered.

 

[hallux]

@Greenpea2 I only mentioned Bluetooth for those instances where someone might have a watch connected or use a speaker or headphones as noted previously.

[Greenpea2]

5 minutes ago, hallux said:

@Greenpea2 I only mentioned Bluetooth for those instances where someone might have a watch connected or use a speaker or headphones as noted previously.

Oh! Yes--I have a FitBit watch. I am addicted to my steps. Whew. Thanks for reminding me! 

[smplybcause]

It may be because mine is older, but last time I was on a ship the Fitbit app won't download from the Fitbit until you have internet access. No idea why it won't.

 

I always just turn it on airplane mode and then turn on wifi or bluetooth if needed. 

[VideoTech]

8 hours ago, smplybcause said:

It may be because mine is older, but last time I was on a ship the Fitbit app won't download from the Fitbit until you have internet access. No idea why it won't.

 

I always just turn it on airplane mode and then turn on wifi or bluetooth if needed. 

Some apps assume you'll always have internet turned on...often because they're uploading your data in the background to their servers as part of how the app functions. When they don't have internet, they default to just storing everything internally until they get a connection again.

 

[smplybcause]

4 minutes ago, VideoTech said:

Some apps assume you'll always have internet turned on...often because they're uploading your data in the background to their servers as part of how the app functions. When they don't have internet, they default to just storing everything internally until they get a connection again.

 

 

Yea, I know it's something to do with how the app/device is set up. I just disliked that I could check my steps on the app. Though what was more of a pain was I couldn't change the time on my Fitbit without internet too. So I had to remember that my watch was actually an hour or two ahead of time until I got internet while on shore to update it. 

[VideoTech]

On 1/20/2020 at 6:09 PM, smplybcause said:

 

Yea, I know it's something to do with how the app/device is set up. I just disliked that I could check my steps on the app. Though what was more of a pain was I couldn't change the time on my Fitbit without internet too. So I had to remember that my watch was actually an hour or two ahead of time until I got internet while on shore to update it. 

The time change issue is one reason I stopped using my fitbit. I travel all the time and it seemed like a waste of time always having to jump through hoops to get my fit bit into the right time zone.

 

That's another reason I always recommend that people not rely on their cell phones for the correct time when on shore excursions. Cell phones don't get their time from the internet, they get it from the cell service they are connected to.