Will Blackberry work?

[kadams718]

Will my blackberry work to check e-mails on the Victory? Is there an additional fee? Sailing from SC to the Bahamas.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

OOooOOoooo!! Good question! I wonder if my Blackberry will work on board Miracle....HMmmmmm....I didnt have a problem on RCI Explorer in Bermuda this past summer.

 

Sorry I couldnt answer your question

[mariemorgan]

It's Vacation.. leave BB at home!!!

[falkcor]

Will my blackberry work to check e-mails on the Victory? Is there an additional fee? Sailing from SC to the Bahamas.

 

it will work. but you have to contact your carrier to turn on international roaming. if i'm not mistaken, roaming costs 2.50 per minute, and data downloads cost 0.195 per KB!!! (with att) that can really add up if you get a lot of junk email, etc.

 

you can turn off international data roaming from your bb if you wanted to just use phone.

[Brneyznfl]

it will work. but you have to contact your carrier to turn on international roaming. if i'm not mistaken, roaming costs 2.50 per minute, and data downloads cost 0.195 per KB!!! (with att) that can really add up if you get a lot of junk email, etc.

 

you can turn off international data roaming from your bb if you wanted to just use phone.

 

Do you know how to do this? Also, do you know how to turn off phone and data and still use the device for games and such? I'm new to BB, thanks!

[falkcor]

Do you know how to do this? Also, do you know how to turn off phone and data and still use the device for games and such? I'm new to BB, thanks!

 

on my bb curve 8310, it's like this:

 

to turn off ALL connections (to just play games, etc.)

manage connections->turn all connections off

use this if you want to turn off phone and data in one swoop

 

to turn off data connections (but still use phone)

manage connections->mobile network options->data services - change to 'off when roaming'

 

it'll probably be the same for other curves, and very similar for other models

 

and fyi, txt messages are 0.50 each to send, free to receive (though roaming charges still apply).

 

i'm not looking forward to getting my recent bill.

 

you'll notice that you're off your provider's network and on the ship's network when the 'AT&T' (or other provider) on the home screen under the date changes to something funny... on destiny it was something like 9240-6 or something else like that.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

it will work. but you have to contact your carrier to turn on international roaming. if i'm not mistaken, roaming costs 2.50 per minute, and data downloads cost 0.195 per KB!!! (with att) that can really add up if you get a lot of junk email, etc.

 

you can turn off international data roaming from your bb if you wanted to just use phone.

 

Ahhhhh, thats all sounding very familair! :)

[falkcor]

data downloads cost 0.195 per KB!!! (with att)

 

i just noticed a typo. that's 0.0195 per KB (2 cents, not 20). but still, that will add up to a heck of a lot.

 

i get about 200 emails a day - let's say about 30 KB on average.

 

200 x 30 KB = 6000 KB (and that's without big 1MB+ attachments).

6000 KB x 0.0195 = 117.00 per day

 

you can add international data packages - but they're like 70.00+ per month, and have their own restrictions too.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

My business is almost non existent in December...I'm leaving my BB home!

[6502programmer]

200 x 30 KB = 6000 KB (and that's without big 1MB+ attachments).

6000 KB x 0.0195 = 117.00 per day

 

I have to comment on this one... The BB doesn't transfer the full message. I believe it only transfers the first few k of a message, and that is compressed before it's encrypted for delivery to the handheld. I would use 3k per message as a baseline, so 200 messages per day * 3k = 600k, or $11.70.

 

If you want to cut costs, you can also have your BIS/BES only forward headers. Each of these should only weigh in at .5k per message (and maybe even less). Additionally, you can set up rules on the BIS/BES to only forward specific messages (think, emails from family) to the device.

[falkcor]

I have to comment on this one...

 

that makes a heck of a lot of sense, programmer!

 

i'm sure you're right. that did seem ridiculous - but it gave me a solid reason to turn data transmissions off while roaming, and do something i don't often - not check my email for a week!

[djacobson]

Will my blackberry work to check e-mails on the Victory? Is there an additional fee? Sailing from SC to the Bahamas.

 

I had my BB on for part of my last cruise, and it ended up being about $100 over 5 days, most of all it for e-mail that I ended up deleting. I would strongly advise to shut off the phone and the e-mail while on the ship. The BB makes for a great nice alarm clock while aboard the ship.

[kadams718]

It's Vacation.. leave BB at home!!!

 

Small business owners do not have this luxury in this economy. Thanks for understanding!

[GB Chicago]

Unfortunately mine worked the entire time. I got an email the last day at sea that required I be on a conference call that day! What a drag to end a nice vacation!

[dlbutler5]

It depends on who your provider is. Mine is Sprint and theirs only works for voice. Try calling the compnay that provides cell phone service to the ship. That is who I called to be sure. The charges appear on your phone bill later.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Small business owners do not have this luxury in this economy. Thanks for understanding!

I think its business specific though..............It might kill me but I know I can most likely shut my BB and not miss an important email. If just for email I can check it online for pennies and not have to be concerned if my data is shut off or what have you........its odd but a good feeling to be disconnected when on holiday!

[futaba951]

Small business owners do not have this luxury in this economy. Thanks for understanding!

 

Yes, you do have the luxury. You just have to do it. I usually just look to see who the e-mail is from and then wait until I get home to take a peek. Most have pdf attachments I can't open on the BB anyway. BB has single handedly caused me more grief and annoyance than anything else in the known world. I regret the day that I got it. One of these days I will carry out my fantasy of running over it with my truck, and then backing over it again just to make sure the little bas**** is really dead. God, I hate phones. God bless the person who invented caller ID so that I can screen. :)

[Brneyznfl]

on my bb curve 8310, it's like this:

 

to turn off ALL connections (to just play games, etc.)

manage connections->turn all connections off

use this if you want to turn off phone and data in one swoop

 

to turn off data connections (but still use phone)

manage connections->mobile network options->data services - change to 'off when roaming'

 

it'll probably be the same for other curves, and very similar for other models

 

and fyi, txt messages are 0.50 each to send, free to receive (though roaming charges still apply).

 

i'm not looking forward to getting my recent bill.

 

you'll notice that you're off your provider's network and on the ship's network when the 'AT&T' (or other provider) on the home screen under the date changes to something funny... on destiny it was something like 9240-6 or something else like that.

 

You've been a lot of help. Thank you! I have a curve also and just want to being able to listen to my music on the ship. I'm hoping that when we are in port, it won't be as expensive to take a peek at my email and send a tm home to make sure everything is okay.

[trock]

My Crackberry worked on both the Miracle and the Victory.. (Work pays for it..)

 

At times though- email and phone service was intermittant (email is one service (??) and the phone is Verizon and we have international)

 

Texting always worked for some reason..

 

and I left the CB in the cabin...

[HiiPocket]

Will my blackberry work to check e-mails on the Victory? Is there an additional fee? Sailing from SC to the Bahamas.

Blackberry will work, I have one. Rates for international are very high. A better option is if you have your blackberry with internet turned on, go to a starbucks, and use them as a hot spot. Then internet email is free.

[Drew B]

My Crackberry worked on both the Miracle and the Victory.. (Work pays for it..)

 

At times though- email and phone service was intermittant (email is one service (??) and the phone is Verizon and we have international)

 

Texting always worked for some reason..

 

and I left the CB in the cabin...

 

Do you have any idea what just the Blackberry e-mail service COSTS, though? I have no intention of using it for phone or texting, but it would be nice to be able to be reached easily and respond easily if something comes up. My work pays for it, normally, but I need to find out if they'll pay for it at a higher rate while I'm on vacation. It would be cheaper than me calling them collect to check in...

[rcandv]

I have Blackberry service through AT&T and I was told that the service would work. We just cruised on the Fantasy, but I turned my unit off because the cost it would have costed me about 12 cents an email. If you have an unlimited data plan, I don't believe it covers service once you enter international roaming. Best bet would be to call your provider.

[Drew B]

I did a 3-day to Ensenada, Mexico, and it came out to about $10 extra per day. I wonder if the Caribbean would be the same...

[trock]

Do you have any idea what just the Blackberry e-mail service COSTS, though? I have no intention of using it for phone or texting, but it would be nice to be able to be reached easily and respond easily if something comes up. My work pays for it, normally, but I need to find out if they'll pay for it at a higher rate while I'm on vacation. It would be cheaper than me calling them collect to check in...

 

Texting does not work on the email server.. it works on the phone service..

I dont know what it costs but we cruised with my boss and his other half... and I did question the expense and he told me that we (company) do not pay by minute.. they purchase the service in blocks and its unlimited.. his terms not mine.. :)