How to save on wifi charges

[lindafromns]

If you don’t have a package that includes wifi, it can be very expensive to buy wifi for you and your family members. 
What we did was a little different and a lot cheaper. We bought Pay as you Go SIMS for our phones with a large amount of data included. (£30 in UK for 30GB as an example) This means you can leave your data on all the time and if it can’t reach free data from land, you don’t have to worry about being accidentally charged the huge satellite amounts. 
You’ll probably find that on port days you have data from when you get up in the morning until a little while after you leave port in the evening. 
On sea days, sometimes you’re sometimes close enough to land to still be able to use data or you can buy a day of wifi - $20 for 1 device, $40 for up to 4 devices. 
Either way, even when we had no wifi or data, we still seemed to be able to iMessage each other. It was great!

Also it’s easy to locate your shipmates using the free access to the Medallion App as some free access is included so you can order food, check on the day’s events, see your account bill.

Hope this helps save you some $£€!! 😊

[memoak]

13 hours ago, lindafromns said:

If you don’t have a package that includes wifi, it can be very expensive to buy wifi for you and your family members. 
What we did was a little different and a lot cheaper. We bought Pay as you Go SIMS for our phones with a large amount of data included. (£30 in UK for 30GB as an example) This means you can leave your data on all the time and if it can’t reach free data from land, you don’t have to worry about being accidentally charged the huge satellite amounts. 
You’ll probably find that on port days you have data from when you get up in the morning until a little while after you leave port in the evening. 
On sea days, sometimes you’re sometimes close enough to land to still be able to use data or you can buy a day of wifi - $20 for 1 device, $40 for up to 4 devices. 
Either way, even when we had no wifi or data, we still seemed to be able to iMessage each other. It was great!

Also it’s easy to locate your shipmates using the free access to the Medallion App as some free access is included so you can order food, check on the day’s events, see your account bill.

Hope this helps save you some $£€!! 😊

We always are able to text each other when on the medallion net. Most our cruises involve large chunks of at sea days like on our nex trip in September to and from Hawaii. We would never be able to get along on that small amount of data. Plus we like our cocktails to the plus package is what we need and use

[Ombud]

@lindafromns great idea!! I usually just use it in / near port as I can do everything on the MC intranet onboard. Then buy 1 day at $7.50 if I really want to check into my flight home (or do that while waiting to disembark). I don't drink much alcohol (traded minibar for a bottle of wine on last cruise then poured 1/2 bottle out when clearing out room). 

 

Oh and I can get hot water at IC to steep my favorite tea bag in. 

[wrongwaywatson]

If you have iphones, you can imessage using the free medallion net, whether you have internet or not.  You can also iMessage people at home, with iphones. 

[Bgwest]

Thank for contributing and offering a solution to being connected. 
While it may not work for some, it’s kind of you to take the time to post. 

[ldubs]

On 6/23/2023 at 10:04 PM, lindafromns said:

If you don’t have a package that includes wifi, it can be very expensive to buy wifi for you and your family members. 
What we did was a little different and a lot cheaper. We bought Pay as you Go SIMS for our phones with a large amount of data included. (£30 in UK for 30GB as an example) This means you can leave your data on all the time and if it can’t reach free data from land, you don’t have to worry about being accidentally charged the huge satellite amounts. 
You’ll probably find that on port days you have data from when you get up in the morning until a little while after you leave port in the evening. 
On sea days, sometimes you’re sometimes close enough to land to still be able to use data or you can buy a day of wifi - $20 for 1 device, $40 for up to 4 devices. 
Either way, even when we had no wifi or data, we still seemed to be able to iMessage each other. It was great!

Also it’s easy to locate your shipmates using the free access to the Medallion App as some free access is included so you can order food, check on the day’s events, see your account bill.

Hope this helps save you some $£€!! 😊

 

Will this work with an iPhone?  I'm interested but not sure where the SIM card is in my iPhone or if it can be swapped out.    

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, wrongwaywatson said:

If you have iphones, you can imessage using the free medallion net, whether you have internet or not.  You can also iMessage people at home, with iphones. 

 

Might be another of my dumb questions.  Does this mean we also iMessage each other on board?  

[lindafromns]

11 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Will this work with an iPhone?  I'm interested but not sure where the SIM card is in my iPhone or if it can be swapped out.    

Yes. Just make sure your iPhone is unlocked. The SIM card is probably on the right hand side of your phone. You’ll need a paper clip or something similar to put in the little hole to pop the tray out. KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL SIM IN A SECURE PLACE!! You’ll need it when you get home. 

[ldubs]

Just now, lindafromns said:

Yes. Just make sure your iPhone is unlocked. The SIM card is probably on the right hand side of your phone. You’ll need a paper clip or something similar to put in the little hole to pop the tray out. KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL SIM IN A SECURE PLACE!! You’ll need it when you get home. 

 

Thank You!! 

[wrongwaywatson]

7 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Might be another of my dumb questions.  Does this mean we also iMessage each other on board?  

Yes, you can!  

[ldubs]

50 minutes ago, wrongwaywatson said:

Yes, you can!  

 

Thank you!  👍

[Teechur]

16 hours ago, wrongwaywatson said:

If you have iphones, you can imessage using the free medallion net, whether you have internet or not.  You can also iMessage people at home, with iphones. 

Does messaging/texting only work with iphones? Not with Android phones?

[theloo]

18 hours ago, wrongwaywatson said:

If you have iphones, you can imessage using the free medallion net, whether you have internet or not.  You can also iMessage people at home, with iphones. 

Do the phones need to have service?  I have an old iphone, but have switched to Android.  Would like to communicate with another apple user on land.

[anewmac]

19 hours ago, wrongwaywatson said:

If you have iphones, you can imessage using the free medallion net, whether you have internet or not.  You can also iMessage people at home, with iphones. 

Thanks for sharing I was wondering if it worked like this. NCL is the same way

[irishgirl]

Newer IPhones don’t have a SIM card, they use eSim.  You can check your phone by going into:

Settings

Cellular

 

[MissP22]

20 hours ago, Teechur said:

Does messaging/texting only work with iphones? Not with Android phones?

I've found that WhatsApp works pretty good with Android phones. 

[PescadoAmarillo]

If you are shopping for a new cell service, consider T-Mobile. Especially on port intensive cruises, it works great.  We pay $60 total for two phones with limited included international coverage. Unless you plan to be out of the US for more than two billing months in a row, we’ve found it can cover our needs in ports. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

47 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I've found that WhatsApp works pretty good with Android phones. 

Agree!  I am the sole user of Android in the group we travel with...I take a LOT of ribbing for that!  My son uses WhatsApp even though he has iPhone mainly so that we can stay in touch with happenings at home.  WhatsApp works GREAT!  It handles text, phone and video calls.

[sunviking90]

Thanks OP for a helpful post. We started doing this about a year ago purchasing Esims through airolo or Simoptions. Very cost effective and service is faster than using the ship wifi. I’m fine with using it only in port too. Sea days are a nice break from being “connected” for us.

[memoak]

17 hours ago, irishgirl said:

Newer IPhones don’t have a SIM card, they use eSim.  You can check your phone by going into:

Settings

Cellular

 

Yes 

[voljeep]

I see an 'option' to add eSim (10XR) - do I want to do that?

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

If you are shopping for a new cell service, consider T-Mobile. Especially on port intensive cruises, it works great.  We pay $60 total for two phones with limited included international coverage. Unless you plan to be out of the US for more than two billing months in a row, we’ve found it can cover our needs in ports. 

I was surprise to find that T-Mobile covers practically all of the Caribbean these days. Not that I need to stay in contact all the time but it's nice to know it's there when and if I want it. 

[irishgirl]

2 hours ago, voljeep said:

I see an 'option' to add eSim (10XR) - do I want to do that?

When you buy one you will want to.  I’m looking at Airalo and Dent.  Dent allows you to buy or sell unused data.  Here’s a video about eSims for Europe.

 

 

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

I’m loving that you posted about saving money, thank you. with current cost of living rises it’s really appreciated

 

A lot of the time on CC I read reviews, see excursions, the speciality dining, packages, spa, and what to take onboard and feel like my cruise just doubled in price!

 

So anyone reading, please keep the money saving ideas coming

 

😃

[Tigrou]

My mobile phone contract with Virgin includes roaming in 43 countries, mostly Europe (including the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands) and some areas of the Caribbean.  I can use the data just as if I was at home, no need for a different SIM.  For £8/month I currently get 20GB/month.  On a recent Norway/Denmark cruise I had internet access not just in port but often for several hours after sailing - the Norway signal seems to have a long reach from land.  As I prefer to access the internet on my ipad, I use my phone as a mobile hotspot.

 

Virgin Mobile is gradually transferring all contracts to O2, mine is due to move next month.  I'll then get data roaming in 27 extra countries including Australia, Canada and the United States at no extra cost.  That's a benefit for being a Virgin Media and O2 customer but I understand some existing O2 contracts include it or it can be added to them for an extra cost.