Cingular cell phones beware!

[FSUNole]

It would have been cheaper to take her along on the cruise. Unless she got pregnant which would have been the cruiseline's fault for not advising the same laws of biology apply on ships as they do on shore.

[4 cruisers]

We added international service to our Cingular plan since we were in Europe in June. The catch here to me is that we were able to use our phone on the ship in ports for $1.99 per minute, if we had been on RCI (or Celebrity) it would have been $2.49 per minute! Not a fair deal! We too had our 15 year old son with us in the Caribbean for Thanksgiving and had some hefty texting charges...we warned him ahead of time...tough traveling with lovesick teens! :o

[ColeandAbby]

Here's an opinion - anyone with over 5000 posts has too much time on their hands.

 

Not meant to criticize, just an opinion!!

 

;) Ya know what they say about opinions...:D

[TheBeachBears]

My wife and I have both read the OP’s post and have come down very differently on this issue. I think that it is a “Scam” sort of, Cell phones have become part of our everyday life, so much so that watch manufactures are struggling because everyone checks their cell phone for the time now, I have no doubt that a 16 boy would not know about roaming charges on a ship at sea, just the same way he cannot find his shoes every morning before the bus arrives, and if you are questioning why he was calling his girlfriend on a family vacation you have never been a 16 year old boy,

 

Now on to the adults the parents, maybe call the company and plead ignorance and you may get a reduction they will most likely not waive the fees totally. Should she have known that they were roaming on the Seas, maybe yes or no, I know adults who I am uncertain that they know how they get to work and they have been doing it for 20 years.

 

Should the kid pay, no, not for being a kid tough life lesson, there are more important lessons for a 16 year old boy. The parents should step up and take responsibility, including showing the 16 years old how this deficit will affect the family budget.

 

The OP didn’t ask me to raise her kid, pay her bill or call the cell phone company and complain for her. She just needed to vent, now if this was her first post “look out” I would have ripped her up, good for her.

 

…and I doubt that this will be the last person to fall for this scam.

 

Death to all first time post , all post complaining.

[4 cruisers]

Forced Family Fun!!!!!!!:D

 

Well put Beachbears!!!!

[bubbadog]

now would be a good time for your son to pay his bills,if its his phone then let him pay for it,all i can say is live and learn,but its been posted here numerous times about phoning to shore from the ship,sorry you got bit and yes thats a big phone bill:p

[nrdsb4]

Jeez - she just asked a question!

 

Obviously neither the kid nor the parents realized the charges would be so high. Hopefully she can strike a deal with Cingular, if not it's one of life's lessons learned the hard way.

 

Let's leave it up to the family to figure out how they will settle the finances.

 

BTW, since there are so many parenting experts out there, anyone care to tell me why my 22 year old son is having so much trouble finding a job?

 

I agree that critiquing a poster's parenting skills is unneccessary, though I don't believe many here have actually done that.

 

I do not agree that she should attempt to make a deal with Cingular simply because they "didn't realize the charges would be so high". That's a sorry excuse imo. It's every adult's responsibility to know what they are signing their name to, whether it be a mortgage, another legal document, a cable plan, or a cell phone plan. Cingular makes this info. very available to its customers. It takes very little sleuthing to find out what's covered and what's extra. As a Mom, I totally understand letting this slip through the cracks in all the planning, packing, and anticipating of the trip. But if you don't take responsibility for finding out what the deal is, you must pay the price for your inaction and make good on your usage of these services. The lesson she can teach her son is that even smart, hard working adults make mistakes for which the consequences must be paid.

[Lightsluvr]

Jeez -

BTW, since there are so many parenting experts out there, anyone care to tell me why my 22 year old son is having so much trouble finding a job?

 

Answer: He is having trouble finding a job because I suspect that someone is providing him food, clothing and shelter. Take away those three items (plus the car and cell phone), and a healthy 22 year old male would have a job before the sun sets...

 

LL

(survivor of five grown offspring)

[LittleBit]

Hidden fees and unknown roaming charges are partially why I use a no contract/pay for play pphone - I don't use it often, I can see immediately how much a call costs and I only use it for emergencies anyway (real emergencies, not the "oh my gosh I desperately miss my boyfriend that I saw 2 days ago and I cna't wait to see for 2 more days and I'll just die if I don't talk to him this second" emergencies)

 

And ROCKET88 as to why your son doesn't have a job... oh so many reasons... college educated? looking? is he looking for a job or a career? Go NAVY!

[erin_cruisers]

Well it's certainly not a scam. You want a service, you 've got to pay for it. Simple as that.

What RCI COULD do however, is a better job of making cruisers aware of what the charges might be for users of cell phones on their ships. But even this is debatable. I still think it's up to users to find out for themselves what charges are forethcoming.

 

Responsibility? I agree with some previous posters who said "..share the cost evenly" That makes the most sense to me.

 

On my last cruise I took my 18 yo daughter and her girlfriend. My daughters cell stayed off and locked up. I told her to only use it in an emergency. (ie- one/all of us are drowning, NOT "Hi Mom, guess what, I can't find my matching red pump, NOW what do I do?)

On the other hand, her girlfriend used hers to "chat" with her boyfriend several times a day. I warned her about the cost, but her response was - "Daddy's paying". O-kay! (good luck with that).

 

So heres my radical thought:

$1.95/min.? $2.95/min.? $3.95/min.? - NOT high enough!

I vote for $10.00/minute.:eek:

Now we'll see how many people are sitting at the tables/pool chatting away or playing with their crackberries. :rolleyes:

We're on HOLIDAY'S for cryin' out loud! ! !

[critterchick]

Because I dont know of many 16 year old boys that would even think of this if they were able to call their lady friend from a cruise ship :D

 

Touche!;) :D

[mrdood]

Here's an opinion - anyone with over 5000 posts has too much time on their hands.

 

Not meant to criticize, just an opinion!!

 

...no they really don't, they are busy being on-line, whew, thanks to you I can stop short, what a valuable post:rolleyes:

 

...back to topic, I think what everyone is trying to do is answer the OP in how to deal with Cingular, we are all clear that ignorance is not an excuse, the OP also was not clear on exactly how many minutes, I am guessing about 240 or 4 hours of calls - which is pretty significant, and maybe after the first couple hours, should have triggered some thought "gee ds really is on that cell a lot", plan of attack, call Cingular, plead, beg and hope they will reduce the bill, I would not call angry, or insinuating their was a "scam" when there clearly is not.

 

Like many cruise companies, unfortuneately, they really do not miss an individuals business all that much... so don't expect that they will respond to your anger or threat to cancel and tell all your cruise friends...

[Goofyisme]

... plan of attack, call Cingular, plead, beg and hope they will reduce the bill, ...

 

Better plan. Pay the bill so Cingular doesn't have to raise my rates to cover someone else's mistake.

[signman]

Every time I've signed on for a cell phone plan, I have either looked at a website or a brochure which clearly showed the service area. If you are going to provide someone else a phone to use and those charges will be on your bill, I would think it's your responsibility and in your interest to make sure that the user understood the limits of the service area for your particular plan.

[BillyMetz]

After reading this post this morning I checked the Cingular web site and called Cingular customer service. I have Cingular as my provider and am going on the Freedom of the Seas in March. I wanted to make sure I was set up the way I needed to be. I was very impressed with the customer service rep I spoke to. She told me it was a great preparation of my part doing that and they (Cingular) wished more people would. She said I would not believe the number of people who, not meaning this negative, or ignorant of the international cell phone rules when traveling and end up with gigantic bills. She set me up for international roaming, told me what the charges would be while on board the Freedom, and what the charges would be at each port. I only plan to use the cell phone in case of emergency and have no plans to spend much time talking to people back home. But just in case it is good to know what the cost would be. She also told me how to make sure my phone was roaming off the island's tower and not the ship's when in port since the ship is more expensive. Don't know how helpful they will be after the fact in reducing a bill but I was very impressed with them and their customer service.

[steffie]

We have Cingular and our plan includes Puerto Rico since it in the US. Also works in St. Thomas. We have a plan with no roaming.

I agree with another poster that your title shouldn't say Cingular Cell Phones Beware. Not Cingulars fault. Should be teenager with cell phone beware.

I would make sure your son pays you back somehow. That is a big bill!

[Retired not Expired]

I would make sure your son pays you back somehow. That is a big bill!

 

Not that big. My 17 year old grandson ran up over $900 on an Alaskan cruise this last summer even after he was warned about it. Hormones and a girl overroad a warning.:D He did pay for it. That's the way it has always worked in my family. You're responsible for your own actions. He just had to wait a bit to get a high dollar ticket item for his car (Which he also bought)

[TexCruise371]

This really has nothing to do with this post but I kinda have to chuckle a little about this because we have been in OP shoes. Not on a cruise but we had an exchange student living with us.Shortly after he got here he confided in our daughter that he had stayed up all night on the phone with his girlfriend, brother and several friends......in Japan! Well, she convinced him to tell us about it and we told him that when the bill came in that he would have to pay for it. Sure enough... $800 and some change. WOW! He called his mom to have him send money to cover the cost and we could hear her screaming at him in Japanese (she's really a sweet lady) from across the room. When we questioned him about why in the world he did that he said "Oh, I saw all the commercials on TV about 10 cents a minute and thought it would be OK".........:rolleyes: LIve and learn:)

[jdeatsch]

LEAVE YOUR FLIPPIN' CELL PHONES AT HOME.

 

How's that?

[RareBird]

as a parent, it is your responsibility to call your cell phone provider and discuss the rate plan in all/any country you are traveling to, so you're clearly aware of the charges.

 

When we last sailed to Bermuda, I called Verizon and found out before the cruise if i can take my cell phone and how much each minute will be. Then, i rationed phone calls to make sure I was within a budget/day.

[critterchick]

LEAVE YOUR FLIPPIN' CELL PHONES AT HOME.

 

How's that?

 

Rude. Otherwise fine.:rolleyes:

[MrsPete]

Not that big. My 17 year old grandson ran up over $900 on an Alaskan cruise this last summer even after he was warned about it. Hormones and a girl overroad a warning.

But you WARNED HIM -- that's a big difference. Teens tend to underestimate the cost of things, and they can't always be expected to anticipate financial mistakes like this. Adults, however, should understand that international roaming is bound to be expensive.

 

In the OP's case, I think I'd handle it like this: Because he probably didn't have any idea that it was more expensive, I'd split the bill with him. Until his half is paid, the phone would be in MY dresser drawer.

 

I see no problem with taking cell phones onboard; however, I'd reserve them for emergencies only -- and in case of emergencies you don't care what it costs.

 

I read an article about teens and cell phones in Smart Money a couple months ago -- apparently LOTS of families have surprise bills! Teens can rack up some monster bills with cell phone "extras" like ring tones, games, and text messaging. We gave our oldest a cell, but we also explained the limits -- we've had no problems.

[woohoo]

LEAVE YOUR FLIPPIN' CELL PHONES AT HOME.

 

How's that?

 

Offensive and uncalled for!

 

As far as the original topic, Cingular doesn't owe you any credit,

It's your bill and you are responsible.

[emilyrose]

i think 72 posts saying roughly the same thing qualifies as a dead horse.

 

We should get a dead horse smilie. In the mean time...

 

^

0_____/

/\ /\ <---- dead horse

[QTMichele]

Because he isn't looking in the right place??? :D Hmmm, somehow I doubt that helped. LOL. It's supposed to be funny, smile man! FWIW, when I was 23 and couldn't find a job, the US Navy stepped right up, offered me a job that I did in one capacity or another for 20 years! I'll end the recruiting commercial now, things were a lot different in 1983 than they are now. I wish your son luck in finding a good job in a field he enjoys.

 

My brother wasn't taking college so seriously so my parents gave him an ultimatum - go get a job and support yourself or get busy studying. He joined the Air Force National Guard and is becoming a "serious" college student. AMAZING how a little government influence can work WONDERS!:D