Cingular cell phones beware!

[JSaunders]

Wow, I must admit, I never imagined my post would receive this kind of response or reaction! Where you when I was looking for advice on shore excursions! :) Some of you may have missed one of biggest issues with the charges... We have Cingular, the calls were Cingular to Cingular calls, the provider on the ship said Cingular... Honestly we thought it was a Cingular benefit! The biggest gripe I had is that when we had Verizon or AT&T before they were bought by Cingular you had to take action to have your phone work internationally. I thought that was still the case, so I wrongfully assumed that these calls must be included in our normal minutes plan. It is not like there were multiple carriers involved that all wanted/needed a cut in this! I guess I spun some of you up when I used the word "scam"? In this case I think that both RCCL and Cingular could have done a better job of communicating this "great benefit" of paying international roaming rates, how about a small note on the front page of the first daily newsletter? Not "your cell phone works on board", how about "please remember international roaming charges will apply on all cell calls"? Clearly some people think that having it available was a great feature/benefit.

 

BTW, don't think the cell carriers are doing all they can to make managing cell phone usage easy. I tried to get them to cut off usage when plan limits are exceeded, but surprise, they don't do that, and it is not because they can't do it!

 

For those of you that felt this was a parenting issue, or some attempt to "not take responsibility", shame on you! You are probably the group that would like to ban kids and cell phones from cruises in general! You clearly do not have enough information to make that kind of assertion! For those of you that provided constructive feedback. Thank you! If I would have seen a thread like this before going on the cruise, I would have been better prepared! Maybe this can help someone about to cruise save some bucks that would have gone to the evil empire Cingular!

 

Just a thought!

[amada]

Well I for one am glad you came back JSaunders!!!

 

This thread sure did take some interesting twists and turns...some so completely irrelevant that I thot it would never get back to the original issue. BUT now that you brought it back I have to say this...

 

once our teenage son went WAY over his text message allotment when we were paying .10/msg over x number of msgs. We called cingular and they DID remove the additional charges and set us up on a plan that was a fixed amount/mo for unlimited texts. We considered them to be reasonable to work with. So don't assume that they won't work w/ you on out of normal expenses. A call to them sure can't hurt! You know it's sort of like how some people can get the price reductions from RCI on a cruise and others have a hard time with it?!!!

 

AND PLEASE....don't anyone reprimand me for suggesting a call to cingular is in order...or even for parenting skills...too much gets said here about things that just are off topic and judgemental. Lighten up people!:D

 

[CruiseZapper]

we took our teenage grandson on a cruise with us and he had the same service, he did not use the phone but he kept it on and played games on it, when we got back his mom got a couple hundred dollar phone bill.she called the company and they told her that even if he didn't get the call when a call or tex was connected it was connected as sea rate. they took about half of it off, but,he got a bill and he nevered used his phone, this sucks,

[thunderfox]

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

 

Being passionate about horses, this one bugs me a little...but being all about getting a point across as well... here ya go:

[CaesarsNcruisin4me]

I must admit that on my first cruise I also was very surprised to see my cell phone bill when I returned home. I was fully aware that roaming charges applied when using the phone to make or receive phone calls and did not use my phone for that purpose while on board. However, I did use my phone for the alarm clock function and kept the phone turned on and charged for the entire trip for this purpose. I was very shocked to see that I had racked up over $200 in roaming charges while not using a single minute of airtime.:eek::eek:

 

I quickly called my cell phone provider for an explanation. The CS rep explained that when someone calls you and you don't answer it but the caller gets voice mail then the provider that you are roaming with charges to put that call to voicemail. Needless to say that I was on the hook for the charges.:( The CS rep did feel bad as she could see that no airtime was used so she offered to reduce the bill by half and suggested that I purchase a phone that has airplane mode so that I can still use the other functions of the phone (like the alarm clock) and not incur charges. Of course I did exactly that and now set my phone to airline mode anytime that I travel to avoid unexpected charges and then simply switch the airline mode off if I need to use the phone.

 

Not sure if this caused some of the OP sons charges to be so high or if he simply racked up airtime charges but thought I'd share so my experience doesn't happen to others.

 

Sandie

 

 

[cmich068]

That's better... when I was with Fido, I called them from the ship about the roaming charges, and they had NO Idea.

[mommabean]

JSaunders,

I'm surprised that most people came down on you. Although I do think your son is partially responsible for the bill, apparently there are a lot of people who didn't know that Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are NOT long distance calls on MOST cell phone plans. It sounds like some people have some old fashioned plans that still incur roaming charges.

And the last time I went to Europe was in March of 2005. I had to call Cingular and have my international capable phone unlocked in order for it to work. THEY had to do that, not me. I only knew this because my son who was a cell phone salesman at the time told me to do this. I paid the monthly plan rate and incurred the lower minute rate. And I also found out that if the international rate plan is turned off before the other country's cellular services report your calls, you will pay the higher per minute rate when they do report it.

NO, it isn't as simple as everyone here seems to think it is. AND....since the no roaming charges within the USA apply to Puerto Rico, when your son got on the ship he probably did see that his phone was not roaming. If he began his call before the ship left port he was NOT roaming. At what point did his phone switch over to the ships tower? Was it mid call? Who knows? But I bet the rate could very easily switch over in the middle of the call and he would never even know it. Neither would any person of normal intelligence.

And you can bet no one needs to get their phone unlocked by their phone company in order to use a ship's tower. That would make it too hard for the cruise lines to cash in on the cell phone addiction.

I would also like to mention that the first time I got on a ship after the Cingular at Sea program went into effect, there was a flyer about it on my bed. It sure misled me. It came off as a great thing. An easy way to stay in touch on the ship. Heck, at first I thought it must be a great way to use your phone as a walkie talkie substitute.

It was also very difficult for me to read the fine print due to extreme nearsightedness that when corrected with contacts makes it impossible to read the fine print. I'm still not sure if that flyer made it clear what the charges would be. And I haven't seen a cingular flyer since getting my vision corrected to monovision. I couldn't even read menus without bright light. And don't everyone yell at me about getting reading glasses. I tried, if I used them, I couldn't easily get my eyes to shift back to distance.

I have seen no one say anything about what the UK poster mentioned. You CAN manually choose your network on your phone. No one does it. We don't generally need to. Not to mention most people are probably clueless that it can be done.

I say, give the OP a break. It could happen to anyone. Especially if you turn on the phone in Puerto Rico and it's not roaming.

If the OP didn't order her son to not use his phone while on the ship, then she is just as responsible. I don't think he should have to pay it all.

I DO think they are responsible for the bill. I don't see anything wrong with asking Cingular to wave the charges this one time. If they do, great. They would only do it as a one time courtesy anyway, if at all.

Sorry to be so long but I really don't think a lot of you (not all of you) understand international calling from the sounds of it. You probably haven't done it.

This new concept of Cingular at Sea is just another type of calling added to the mix. It seems like international calling but isn't quite. It seems like a hybrid type of call to me. And that is the problem. After all, you can also pick up a phone in the cabin and call as you would from any hotel...only the charges are different.

I just don't think most people are going to call their cellular carrier before getting on the ship, especially if they didn't even anticipate Cingular at Sea. It all just sort of happens in the excitement of it all.

I guess I'm one of the rare ones here. I don't even agree with most of you who I normally agree with about other things. Oh well, that's OK. I still like you. :D

[chitowngoose]

[quote=]It's not a scam, but a service...and a pretty reasonably priced one when you compare it to the $7.95 per minute charge if he had used the cabin phone. [/quote]


Which I can attest to when our the 17 yo D?D picked up the phone in her cabin that said "calls to the US" and talked with her boyfriend for over 30 minutes!

She paid us the $300 back when she got home. [U]Along[/U] with her $400 cell phone bill.

[mommabean]

Actually, I think it's like nearly everything else on a cruise ship. They are hoping you will fall for it...and then they will just rake it all in. ;)

Everything they try to sell you, they do in a very convincing manner.

[SA Traveler]

I haven't read all these posts but I can tell you that we know from the Cingular website what the Cellular at Sea charges will be. Cingular is not to blame. When were on a cruise in 2002 and MIL was gravely ill we had a $700 bill using the ships phone and and we could only wish for the 2.49 per minute Cingular charge!

[mommabean]

I learned something new at the Cingular site. If you have a media or messaging plan you can RECEIVE text messages for free on the ship (within your plan limits). It costs 50 cents to send one though. Who said it costs 10 cents to get one? Not so in the fine print. :D

This is with an international calling plan of course.

[Dockman123]

[quote name='JSaunders']Wow, I must admit, I never imagined my post would receive this kind of response or reaction! Where you when I was looking for advice on shore excursions! :) Some of you may have missed one of biggest issues with the charges... [COLOR=royalblue]We have Cingular, the calls were Cingular to Cingular calls, the provider on the ship said Cingular... [COLOR=red]Honestly we thought it was a Cingular benefit[/COLOR]! The biggest gripe I had is that when we had Verizon or AT&T before they were bought by Cingular you had to take action to have your phone work internationally. [/COLOR][COLOR=red]I thought that was still the case, so I wrongfully assumed that these calls must be included in our normal minutes plan. [/COLOR]It is not like there were multiple carriers involved that all wanted/needed a cut in this! I guess I spun some of you up when I used the word "scam"? In this case I think that both RCCL and Cingular could have done a better job of communicating this "great benefit" of paying international roaming rates, how about a small note on the front page of the first daily newsletter? Not "your cell phone works on board", how about "please remember international roaming charges will apply on all cell calls"? Clearly some people think that having it available was a great feature/benefit.

BTW, don't think the cell carriers are doing all they can to make managing cell phone usage easy. I tried to get them to cut off usage when plan limits are exceeded, but surprise, they don't do that, and it is not because they can't do it!

For those of you that felt this was a parenting issue, or some attempt to "not take responsibility", shame on you! You are probably the group that would like to ban kids and cell phones from cruises in general! You clearly do not have enough information to make that kind of assertion! For those of you that provided constructive feedback. Thank you! If I would have seen a thread like this before going on the cruise, I would have been better prepared! Maybe this can help someone about to cruise save some bucks that would have gone to the evil empire Cingular!

Just a thought![/quote]

After reading all the posts I think the op has just mentioned the problem with todays technology and finances. As adults most of us are use to how things were and are aware of the financial effects of it. Most teens are more up on the recent technology but haven't learned the financial liabilities that go with it. ( How many have had to ask their kids how to do something.):D It doesn't take away the liabilities or responsibilities, but as adults we need to be more aware of the changes. As technology changes we need to make sure we know how we are using it and make sure we question how this technology will affect the costs that we are paying. We can no longer make assumptions that things will work the same. By the same token we need to make sure our children are aware of the financial responsibilities that go with the new technology. How this is done is up to each parent. They should know how to make their kids understand.

[JSaunders]

Thank you Mommabean! My point exactly! If it wasn't the Cingular to Cingular thing, I'm sure we would have been able to see that Cingular at sea was actually some crytic type of roaming (thus why I felt "scammed"). Flashing dollar signs would also have been helpful! If we had T Mobile or Verizon service and it said "Cingular at Sea", then maybe we would have thought something was fishy?

Frankly, I have been on 10 cruises prior to the RCCL one, and the thought never crossed my mind that a cell phone would work on a cruise ship!

Given that neither I nor my son had a clue that this was international roaming, I would have trouble telling him tough luck buddy, get a job (he has one), hold a garage sale(we only have cars in our garage), (or rob a bank!) to get the money to pay for it! Those who suggested that probably had kids that ran away from home when they were 16!! The point was not which of us should pay, but whether RCCL/Cingular were taking "reasonable" measures to make sure that their customers understood the fees associated with their service. For me this is right up there with the microscopic fine print that the government requires lenders to provide when making loans! Why do you think it is so microscope! Because they don't want you to read it. Pardon me, but I still believe that this is deceptive and fits in the scam category!

[signman]

You just indicted yourself.

"Frankly, I have been on 10 cruises prior to the RCCL one, and the thought never crossed my mind that a cell phone would work on a cruise ship!"

[yuyi64]

[quote name='JSaunders'] If I would have seen a thread like this before going on the cruise, I would have been better prepared! Maybe this can help someone about to cruise save some bucks that would have gone to the evil empire Cingular!

Just a thought![/QUOTE]

Over the past couple of years there have been numerous threads "like this" (cell phone usage at sea) on this board as well as most other cruise boards. If you didn't find one you must not have searched for this topic very much. Your last comment about the "evil empire" makes it clear you obviously have not accepted any responsibility for your son's cell phone usage. Last I checked no one has ever been forced to subscribe to the "evil empire" or any other cell phone provider.

[mommabean]

I agree JSaunders. It is deceptive. And I still think your son made the call initially while his phone was under a non-roaming Puerto Rican tower and was switched after departure - unknowingly.

I have more to say to the following poster. To be continued.....

[Cloud9 Bob]

[quote name='JSaunders'] Pardon me, but I still believe that this is deceptive and fits in the scam category![/quote]

You're right ...it's a giant conspiracy against you and you just broke it wide open! :D

[mommabean]

[quote name='signman']You just indicted yourself.

"Frankly, I have been on 10 cruises prior to the RCCL one, and the thought never crossed my mind that a cell phone would work on a cruise ship!"[/QUOTE]

OH come on now. That is just not true. Before I got on my Majesty cruise in May 2006 I had been on 4 prior cruises. The thought never crossed my mind either that a cell phone would work on a cruise ship.

There has to be a first time for everything and it was all new to me. I found that paper on my bed when I walked in the cabin and thought, Cool, I can use my phone. There was no way for me to check with cingular to get the details.

That statement made by the OP is in no way indicting.

[JSaunders]

Oh come now, if referring to Cingular as the evil empire didn't make you smile even a little, you have not sense of humor. Maybe we should start a thread on Comcast, the other evil empire. Oops or was the other evil empire Microsoft?

Why do some want to turn this into a witch hunt about what I should have known? If everyone is reading all of the fine print from these evil empire companies, then I want to understand where they get all the time!

(Are you smiling yet?)

[mommabean]

[quote name='JSaunders']Oh come now, if referring to Cingular as the evil empire didn't make you smile even a little, you have not sense of humor. Maybe we should start a thread on Comcast, the other evil empire. Oops or was the other evil empire Microsoft?

Why do some want to turn this into a witch hunt about what I should have known? If everyone is reading all of the fine print from these evil empire companies, then I want to understand where they get all the time!

(Are you smiling yet?)[/QUOTE]
My mother, God rest her soul, always told me it was McDonalds that was the evil empire. And I tell you, she believed that. :) Were she alive today, I'm sure she would have changed her mind and Wal-mart would be the one elevated to that position. LOL

[woohoo]

[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]Mommabean,[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]Just becasue you can't read the fineprint doesn't mean the fine[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]print doesn't apply to you. A simple phone call to the provider [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]before travel will educate you. How is it cingulars fault that the[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]phone was brought on the ship and used? No credit should be[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]given for calls that were made.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[JSaunders]

[quote name='yuyi64']Over the past couple of years there have been numerous threads "like this" (cell phone usage at sea) on this board as well as most other cruise boards. If you didn't find one you must not have searched for this topic very much. Your last comment about the "evil empire" makes it clear you obviously have not accepted any responsibility for your son's cell phone usage. Last I checked no one has ever been forced to subscribe to the "evil empire" or any other cell phone provider.[/QUOTE]


yuyi64- Why would I be searching for info on cell phones! As I said, cell phones don't work on cruise ships.

I guess it is kind of a chicken and egg thing. I did not know I should be looking for cell phone usage on cruise ships! Why did we have them? Because what else do you do in airports while hanging around for airplanes! (Oh, Oh another evil empire, airlines, let's not go there!)

[JSaunders]

[quote name='woohoo'][FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]Mommabean,[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]Just becasue you can't read the fineprint doesn't mean the fine[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]print doesn't apply to you. A simple phone call to the provider [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]before travel will educate you. How is it cingulars fault that the[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]phone was brought on the ship and used? No credit should be[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]given for calls that were made.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Woohoo- looks to me like you are also missing the point! The point is not whether the fine print applies to you, it is why are they using the fine print and not being more open and informative about their service fees! It is my opinion that they don't want you to know!

[mommabean]

[quote name='woohoo'][FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]Mommabean,[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]Just becasue you can't read the fineprint doesn't mean the fine[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]print doesn't apply to you. A simple phone call to the provider [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]before travel will educate you. How is it cingulars fault that the[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]phone was brought on the ship and used? No credit should be[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkslategray]given for calls that were made.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

I never said the fine print didn't apply to me. And I also stated why I never would have called my provider before going on a cruise. I didn't know the cell phones worked on board until I boarded the first time they worked. Actually, I never even used my phone on the ship - except in Alaska because that is not international...or it wasn't at the time. I suppose now it would be because the ships tower would probably pick me up. (Better manually switch that network connection now all you Alaska cruisers. :) )

I just said the OP can always ask for the charges to be waived and they might do it as a one time courtesy...if they don't her family will be responsible for it. I said that she is just as responsible as her son. I wouldn't make him pay it all especially because I firmly believe that if he began the call in port - he was switched after departure unknowingly...and THAT is most likely not even mentioned in the fine print. But as I said, I didn't read it all. And I didn't use my phone so I bear no responsibility for payment. Thank God.

As his mother, even of a teenager or shall I say ESPECIALLY of a teenager, she should have told him NO PHONE calls on vacation. But she didn't and he thought he was making a call within his plan.

When I took my 16 year old on the cruise with me in May and my 20 year old with me in August, they were both told to "Don't you dare use your phone even once because I have no idea if it will work or what the charges will be." And they didn't. Come to think of it, I don't remember getting the paper in my room about cell phones on Enchantment. I wonder if the phones work on that ship.

[mommabean]

I never knew there had been threads about this around here for the past couple of years. I've always missed them. I mean, I've read about people wondering which phones work where - as in port. Such as, I knew Cingular worked in Alaska because we DID call Cingular before we left home to go on that cruise. My husband, as business owner, needed to contact employees and we wondered if there were even towers in Alaska and if our local calling area was continental USA or the entire USA. That's when I found out that Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin islands were all "local" calls.

I never would have thought to do a search on "cellular at sea" prior to the first cruise I was on where it was available. Why would that thought cross my mind?

I do think RCI should be a little more out there with the charges - such as put it at the top of the page in larger letters whereever they tell about the availability of this service.