Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Cell Phone question

stellatj

By stellatj,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

Recommended Posts

stellatj

stellatj

Posted
Posted

I have att/cingular i know the charge is 2.49 a minute and 50 cents a text

what i need to know is if my phone is off and someone calls and leaves a message will i be charged the 2.49 a minute for them to leave a message.

i will power up my phone a few times a day in my room just to check that my oldest did not text me he is watching my youngest. and he is to text me in case of anything. thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chopper Chick

Chopper Chick

Posted
Posted

You should only be charged if you make a call or call into your voice mail. DH and I have verizon and have never been charged on a cruise unless we have actually placed a call or checked our voicemail. If you're really worried just call AT&T and ask them. Enjoy your cruise!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alechrisara

Alechrisara

Posted
Posted
You should only be charged if you make a call or call into your voice mail. DH and I have verizon and have never been charged on a cruise unless we have actually placed a call or checked our voicemail. If you're really worried just call AT&T and ask them. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Unless you have an iPhone. The visual voicemail is the same as a regular call and will automatically download the messages. Also the iPhone regularly performs data accesses so you will get charged international data rates as well. There is a forum on the Apple site regarding this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hughvh

hughvh

Posted
Posted
what i need to know is if my phone is off and someone calls and leaves a message will i be charged the 2.49 a minute for them to leave a message.

 

Cingular used charge for International calls going into your voice mail box. The logic is that WMS (cellular carrier Carnival uses) bills AT&T for sending the call back to your voice mail box in the US. I'm not sure if they still do since they became AT&T.

 

I would call them and ask. Be sure to ask for the international help desk. WMS's website indicates that you maybe billed. http://www.wirelessatsea.com/endusers.htm

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wennfred

Wennfred

Posted
Posted
i will power up my phone a few times a day in my room just to check that my oldest did not text me he is watching my youngest. and he is to text me in case of anything. thanks

 

Just keep it turned off and just lock it in your safe. Use the Internet Cafe for emails between you and your oldest. Theres a 359.00 cell phone bill thread on the front page of this forum and they don't even know how it happened.

 

 

Fred

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mrlddst

mrlddst

Posted
Posted

I second that. I did use my phone periodically as I have free roaming except when at sea. I was charged $1.50\min for roaming on the ship. I have Sprint. I suggest you lock it up and only use it if you must check on someone..like a child, I found checking on teenagers only angers the parent when they call ;) . I used the internet cafe but I would only be on long enough to look at the subject lines and if they warranted a response, if not I was off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lhc2266

lhc2266

Posted
Posted

I spoke with a AT&T/Cingular rep earlier this week, and I was told to leave my phone off, unless I was using it to make a call. For some reason that I did not understand, if I leave the phone on, and receive a voice mail, I will be charged the international rate while the voice mail is recording. I am just going to turn my phone off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
coevan

coevan

Posted
Posted

Your phones will work great in port and cheaper then the ship's charges. Sign up for international calling, ATT is $6.00 for a month and you can cancel it when you get home. San Juan and St. Thomas are free as they use U.S. cell towers, Mexico is only about a dollar a minute, not sure about other Caribbean ports, call and ask.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fam_Cruise

Fam_Cruise

Posted
Posted
I spoke with a AT&T/Cingular rep earlier this week, and I was told to leave my phone off, unless I was using it to make a call. For some reason that I did not understand, if I leave the phone on, and receive a voice mail, I will be charged the international rate while the voice mail is recording. I am just going to turn my phone off.
Actually you will be charged double the roaming rate according to their web site:

 

While roaming internationally, calls deposited to your voicemail (when phone is "active" and if busy/no answer) will incur twice the per minute charge.

 

Source: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/faq.jsp

 

I turn mine off except when I am in my cabin or want to make a call.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fam_Cruise

Fam_Cruise

Posted
Posted
Sign up for international calling, ATT is $6.00 for a month and you can cancel it when you get home. San Juan and St. Thomas are free as they use U.S. cell towers, Mexico is only about a dollar a minute, not sure about other Caribbean ports, call and ask.
There is no monthly charge for International Roaming at AT&T. You do have to call and have International Roaming activated.

 

AT&T does have international DISCOUNTED roaming called AT&T® World Traveler for $5.99 per month, but unless you are doing international traveling on a regular basis or plan to make a lot of calls from other COUNTRIES then there is no need to spend the extra $5.99 per month. Rates for AT&T customers on cruise ships are still going to be $2.49/minute no matter what.

 

Click here for link to AT&T® World Traveler info

 

Click here for AT&T Standard International Roaming Rates vs. AT&T® World Traveler Rates

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fam_Cruise

Fam_Cruise

Posted
Posted
Check your facts, we travel the Caribbean a few times a year. Without the on time charge of $6 for a month, a call from BVI is $2.50, with international dialing only $1.29. They have a rate sheet and the savings are signiicant.
I did check my facts and I provided links to them in my previous post. If you are aware of other facts then please provide links to your source.

 

While you are at it you may wish to check your facts (feel free to actually use the links provided in my previous post). The International Roaming rate from BVI for AT&T customers is $3.49 not $2.50 and the Discounted International Roaming Rate (AT&T World Traveler) is $1.99 not $1.29. Please do not refer to Discounted International Roaming (AT&T World Traveler) as International Calling since no fee is needed for basic International Roaming. You made it sound like everyone has to spend $5.99/month to be able to use their phone when that is not the case.

 

Yes, if someone is going to make more than 3 minutes of calls from BVI then purchase the AT&T World Traveler package for $5.99. However, personally I would just plan on not making calls on BVI. We are talking to folks that are cruising on this web site; for the most part they are talking about using their phones on board where there is no difference in price and no benefit to paying the $5.99 monhtly charge. Also if their destinations include the likes of St. Martin or Grand Cayman where the difference is only 30¢ per minute then they would have to make at least 20 minutes worth of calls to break even. That is why I qualified my previous post with the statement:

 

"unless you are doing international traveling on a regular basis or plan to make a lot of calls from other COUNTRIES then there is no need to spend the extra $5.99 per month"

 

I don’t think it is a good idea to tell people they have to do something when in fact they don't. They should be aware of the options and that way they can pick and choose the best options for their calling needs. You provided one option and I pointed out another. Together we gave everyone a complete picture and provided links to the facts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SANDYJABS

SANDYJABS

Posted
Posted
There is no monthly charge for International Roaming at AT&T. You do have to call and have International Roaming activated.

 

AT&T does have international DISCOUNTED roaming called AT&T® World Traveler for $5.99 per month, but unless you are doing international traveling on a regular basis or plan to make a lot of calls from other COUNTRIES then there is no need to spend the extra $5.99 per month. Rates for AT&T customers on cruise ships are still going to be $2.49/minute no matter what.

 

Click here for link to AT&T® World Traveler info

 

Click here for AT&T Standard International Roaming Rates vs. AT&T® World Traveler Rates

 

I use the World Traveler and save BIG TIME when I am on a cruise. I do turn it off while on the ship but in the ports you just have to make sure that you are away from the ship and not picking up the ships cell signal. Then when I get home I just cancel the World Traveler until next time. I pay $5.99 and then the per minute charge which is cheaper than the usual international rate without the plan.

Our cruise in May I called home a total of 38 minutes and paid $7.76 total for those 38 min plus the $5.99 monthly fee, so for about $14 bucks I was able to call on port days to see how my 3 kids were doing with Grandmommy and XOXOXO and all that stuff:D So I really like that plan and also that you can sign up and cancel anytime.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fam_Cruise

Fam_Cruise

Posted
Posted
So I really like that plan and also that you can sign up and cancel anytime.
Yes it is great if your calling frequency and location warrants it. It doesn't take much in the way of calling from ports of call to make it beneficial.

 

One thing I did not mention in my previous posts is that I plan on using AT&T World Traveler next August as I will be in Europe for 31 days and it will pay off big time there. I am going to Germany next week for 8 days and will not use it. Outside of emergencies (which I don't anticipate) I might use it for 3 or 4 minutes total to call my German friends to coordinate our meeting in Garmisch.

 

I have never purchased AT&T World Traveler for trips to the Caribbean as my calling pattern has never warranted its use. For the most part I only use it for emergencies and occassionally check voice mail and this last cruise I did that from SJU and STT for free.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
happy cruzin

happy cruzin

Posted
Posted
Unless you have an iPhone. The visual voicemail is the same as a regular call and will automatically download the messages. Also the iPhone regularly performs data accesses so you will get charged international data rates as well. There is a forum on the Apple site regarding this.

 

So true...I'm under the impression to avoid these data charges the iphone has to be put in to "airplane mode".

Link to comment
Share on other sites
PINEVIEW01

PINEVIEW01

Posted
Posted
Just keep it turned off and just lock it in your safe. Use the Internet Cafe for emails between you and your oldest. Theres a 359.00 cell phone bill thread on the front page of this forum and they don't even know how it happened.

 

 

Fred

I agree Fred. I had $50 "roam" charges for two calls on my last cruise. :eek: The 359 was parked in Tampa even and I USED to call home from the home port before leaving to rub it in:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...