Texting while on ship

[twinkle toes]

I have AT & T family plan. My daughters and I have unlimited texting on our plan. Can anyone tell me if they have used text messaging while on board as a way to "stay connected" and to let others of the family know where they are? If you did use it, did you have to do anything special to access it on board and did it cost you anything extra to do?

[cb at sea]

You may end up paying "roaming" charges....check your plan! It can get expensive to use your cell for texting....

A note in the cabin works well!

[dandro]

While you are onboard the ship out of port, you will be on the ship's cellular carrier service, which can be pricey.

 

We have ATT, and it was $2.49/min. for phone calls, 50 cents per text, and that did not include roaming charges that were assessed by ATT.

 

My suggestion is to do as we did....leave your phones off when you do not have your ATT service. Call ATT before you leave and inquire if your plan includes the area where you will be going.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

[kitty9]

You absolutely have to monitor your teen's and their texting. You might have unlimited texting, but you're going to be paying roaming fees and fees to access the ship's satellites, which can mean upwards of $2.50 per text. If your teens are texting to friends back home, you could come home to a four figure phone bill---I know teens who can text 200 or more times a day to their friends. IMHO, it's better to keep the cell phones with texting away from teens. AND, do not use your phones for email or internet browsers. There have been people coming home to bills of $2000 because they used their phones for email and all the other stuff. You need to turn off data roaming when on a cruise unless you don't mind huge bills.

[grandmato4]

As others have said, you plan at home does NOT apply when at sea for texting or calling so be sure your daughters understand there will be a bill to pay when you return home IF they use their phones. Enjoy your cruise!:)

[Donray]

I have AT & T family plan. My daughters and I have unlimited texting on our plan. Can anyone tell me if they have used text messaging while on board as a way to "stay connected" and to let others of the family know where they are? If you did use it, did you have to do anything special to access it on board and did it cost you anything extra to do?

 

It will cost extra..................

 

http://www.wireless.att.com/travelguide/coverage/coverage_details.jsp?MNC=CING&CIDL=1578&dropFormChoice=2.49%3B2.49%3B1578&product1rate=%242.49&product2rate=%242.49&x=55&y=3

 

Roaming:

Calls Placed/Received

While in Carnival Cruise Line AT&T Standard International Roaming $2.49AT&T World Traveler $2.49AT&T Canada $2.49AT&T Mexico $2.49Data Usage:All GPRS pay per use rates are $.0195/KB, except in Canada rate is $.015/KB Text, Picture and

Video Messages:Send Text Message$0.50 per message sentSend Picture and Video Messages$1.30 per message sentReceive Text, Picture and Video MessagesHome pay-per-use or package rates apply to all text, picture or video messages received when roaming internationally. Please visit www.att.com for details.

[Essiesmom]

And using you phone as an alarm clock cam be expensive, too. EM

[Party Teacher]

We have the same plan. We turned our phones off when we left the docks. Once in port, we turned them back on and texted/called our family back home, even if we were still aboard the ship. Our ports were Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Whittier. We didn't turn our phones on at all when we were in Vancouver so we didn't incur any international fees.

[MicksMom]

We have Verizon & were able to block texting for a week on DD's phone. Just called the day before & set up a stop & start time for the block. No charge. I used texting to check in once a day with parents due to a recent illness. Allowed DD to use my phone to text 2 friends once a day. Total charges were just over $10.00 for a week. If you must check in, texting is much cheaper than the $2.49 per minute charge for calls.

[Gathina]

I think the cheapest way is to either use post it notes on your room door or gawd forbid, the old fashiond way of deciding where and what time to meet and showing up.:eek:

[RandSluv2cruise]

I have to agree with the other posters, LIMIT that phone access. With AT&T they will charge you a missed call fee if the phone is on and somone calls. You don't get this fee if the phone is off. You will be shocked at how the fees can add up. Don't even think about it while at sea. In port, the least expensive alternative is to text. I found that all of the ports we went to in Europe had very affordable internet cafes. I checked e-mails for about 10 minutes and it cost me 1 Euro.

 

You may just need to have a new family rule...while on vacation, no electronic communication. It's a vacation!

[chipmaster]

I have AT & T family plan. My daughters and I have unlimited texting on our plan. Can anyone tell me if they have used text messaging while on board as a way to "stay connected" and to let others of the family know where they are? If you did use it, did you have to do anything special to access it on board and did it cost you anything extra to do?

 

Tell them to lose the habit and enjoy the cruise and some quality time with the parents. If they text it'll cost a lot! :eek:

[Gathina]

Good point. Who is in charge anyway, the kids or the grownups?

 

Tell them to lose the habit and enjoy the cruise and some quality time with the parents. If they text it'll cost a lot! :eek:

[Ninjachyck]

You can always check with your provider to see if they can give you a short term roaming package. I'm with Rogers in Canada, and I can get a short term roaming package for phone, texting and Data (I have a Blackberry).

 

They just add it on for as long as I need it. I've done packages for around $20 for the time I've been gone and it's worked really well, as the roaming can definitely add up quickly!

 

And yes, why text when you can enjoy the cruise and scenery???

[reallyitsmema]

You absolutely have to monitor your teen's and their texting. You might have unlimited texting, but you're going to be paying roaming fees and fees to access the ship's satellites, which can mean upwards of $2.50 per text. If your teens are texting to friends back home, you could come home to a four figure phone bill---I know teens who can text 200 or more times a day to their friends. IMHO, it's better to keep the cell phones with texting away from teens. AND, do not use your phones for email or internet browsers. There have been people coming home to bills of $2000 because they used their phones for email and all the other stuff. You need to turn off data roaming when on a cruise unless you don't mind huge bills.

You have posted that you get charged a fee for texting and a roaming fee for accessing the "ship's satellites" on a couple of different threads now. What carrier does this? I have never seen anyone say they were charged in this manner.

 

Anytime we have used our Verizon cellphones we have been charged $2.49/min for a call using the ship's tower and $.50/text to send a text.

[Donray]

You have posted that you get charged a fee for texting and a roaming fee for accessing the "ship's satellites" on a couple of different threads now. What carrier does this? I have never seen anyone say they were charged in this manner.

 

Anytime we have used our Verizon cellphones we have been charged $2.49/min for a call using the ship's tower and $.50/text to send a text.

 

It is Cellular at Sea that is charging you through Verizon. http://www.cellularatsea.com/

This is what they are referring too…..

[kristyintx]

We also have AT&T and the unlimited texting plan. DH & I used texting as our main way of communicating with our two boys (who both have cell phones) during our 7-day cruise on the Mariner in 2007.

 

We were charged $0.50 for each text that we sent. Since we have unlimited texting there was no fee for receiving a text. Or was it the other way around? LOL Anyhow we ended up being charged $0.50 per text among us during the cruise. Does that make sense?

 

I did the math when we returned home and it worked out to around $30.00 for the cruise. That's cheaper than a good set of good walkie talkies, plus we didn't have to lug those bulky things around. It worked out great for us.

 

I would say call AT&T to make sure.

 

Good luck!

[reallyitsmema]

It is Cellular at Sea that is charging you through Verizon. http://www.cellularatsea.com/

 

This is what they are referring too…..

I know it is cellular at sea that charges you when you make a call from the ship using the ship's tower. I post that same link on these threads too. Cellular at sea does not charge you an additional $2.49 on top of the $.50 text fee in our experience. That is why I am asking which carrier ends up with a $3.00 charge for a text because that is not what I have seen anyone post in the past.

[Gonzo70]

I know it is cellular at sea that charges you when you make a call from the ship using the ship's tower. I post that same link on these threads too. Cellular at sea does not charge you an additional $2.49 on top of the $.50 text fee in our experience. That is why I am asking which carrier ends up with a $3.00 charge for a text because that is not what I have seen anyone post in the past.

 

The $2.49 is for phone calls (and is per minute). This is separate from texting.

[reallyitsmema]

The $2.49 is for phone calls (and is per minute). This is separate from texting.

Exactly my point which is not what I have read here and on another cell phone thread.

[EGG]

Just be very careful if you decide to use the phones to communicate on the ship. All it takes is your child to get a few text messages from friends at home. Hi, hi, what you doing, on a cruise, yeah, yeah, wish i was there, it is cool, what you doin, hangin, and, played some videos, like what, ....and before you know it you have a humungous bill. Or they get lonesome for their boyfriend/girlfriend and talk for an hour.

 

You don't think your child would do this? Our friends had 2 great teenagers, grade A students in school, who ran up a thousand dollar sea pass bill drinking on a 7 day cruise. One is now a bank V.P. and the other is a forensic expert for the FBI.