Cell Phone use warning

[Richard Lee]

My wife believed she had free roaming on her cell phone plan. On previous cruises we used the phone and never had a charge. My wifes dad had open heart surgery two days before our cruise so it was important that she check on him whenever the phone worked. This was in Mexico and Jamaica. She was shocked to see charges for $180.00 when the bill came. $3.44 a min. in both locations. I bring this up because I saw a lot of people using their cell phones including little girls calling their boyfriends back home. CHECK YOUR CONTRACT BEFORE USING THE PHONE FROM INTERNATIONAL TOWERS.

[Coral]

Good reminder - so does your wife's free roaming apply only to within the US?

[Richard Lee]

Thats what they are telling her now. They even went back to our bill on our last cruise in September and could give no reason why she wasn't charged then. It's a lot of money but no use getting upset. We spoke to two diffrent customer service agents and they would not remove the charges. We have called from Hawaii and there was never a charge. It's just these International towers.

[Pam in CA]

I'm sorry you were surprised but I would bet that your cell phone contract spells out that the free roaming is within the US unless you specifically set up an international contract. Even your "land" long-distance phone carrier would charge you considerably more for calling internationally.

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[Richard Lee]

Yea,I was concerned and expressed this to my wife but she assured me she had free roaming and to be honest, she would have made the calls anyway to check on her dad. By the way, We almost blew the cost of the cruise so she could fly home. We even expected she might have to fly home from one of the ports had her father took a turn for the worse. So $180.00 for peace of mind wasn't that much to pay. I just thought people with teenagers who have cell phones might want to keep an eye on the use.

[HighTech]

I was wondering if you could let us know what provider your wife has for her Cell phone, because I have read other posts concerning Cell phone use with verizon and the rates were about half that a minute. I have verizon and plan on taking my phone with me.

Thanks

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[CruiseFever]

This is a great post and one that I have some first-hand knowledge of (unfortunately)

I am really careful about where and when I use my cell phone when traveling like the above poster. I am on a fairly common national plan that allows free long distance with no roaming charges whenever I get a signal and the phone indicates that we are within range of our service provider (Cingular).

When we were in St Thomas I got my signal and home calling designation on the phone we had with us so we called home, thinking since St Thomas was part of the USA and we had met all the other requirements that we'd be good to go.

Nope

As noted above its withing the continental United States that counts.

Oddly, we had rented a satellite phone just so we would know what the charges would be and didn't use it. Cingular ended up taking off the charges which I thought was pretty good of them but they didn't have to.

When calling home while on a cruise there are a lot of variables that will determine the best way to go...and that's not even starting to talk about phone cards...thats a whole other world.

Here's more:

http://www.lifeiscruising.com/calling_home

Happy Cruising

Chris

www.LifeIsCruising.com (http://www.LifeIsCruising.com)

Next up:
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[Richard Lee]

Her plan is Cingular also.

[isujim]

Does anyone have any first hand knowledge as it relates to Sprint??

Going to St. Thomas in November and curious as to what to expect with Sprint/

Thanks in advance.

Jim

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[*KristenInCT*]

With cingular you can talk in Puerto Rico and St Thomas...they are included in roaming plan. Even at $3.44 a min, thats still cheaper then ship to shore...isnt it like $20- a minute or whatever. Yikes...! I learned my lesson in Las Vegas, we called home from the hotel...BIG MISTAKE...our bill was almost $180 in calls and we hardly used the phone. Live and learn...cell phone comes with me on any trip now.

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[KAJOKG]

Chris -- The same thing happened to me in St. Thomas. I have AT&T and my plan is similar to yours. Since my cell phone read AT&T, I assumed that the call would be in my calling range and I would not be charged. WRONG! It wasn't a whole lot of money, but I challenged it anyway. Their answers were so muddled I decided to just chalk if off to a learning experience. Those contracts are so complicated, even they have trouble coming up with an explanation.

KATY

NCL NORWAY - 2000
GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2001
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HAL NOORDAM - 2002
HAL VOLENDAM - 2003
ISLAND PRINCESS - NOV. 2003
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CORAL PRINCESS - OCT. 2004

[Italy52]

Kajokg--Knowing that we were going to be going on our cruise in a couple of months before we purchased our phone plan, I specifically asked if Puerto Rico would be included in our billing plan. The rep. said "Sure will." WRONG! We were also billed for a phone called made to our daughter back in California. Thank goodness we didn't talk long.

[Shelli]

There are so many varied plans with so many different providers that it's impossible to know what's included unless you speak with a rep at your service provider and have them specifically look it up in advance. That way, you'll know what to expect. Verizon told my husband last year before our cruise that St. Thomas and San Juan were both included in our calling plan... and sure enough, there were no additional charges for calls we made there.

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[laginog]

We used our Verizon wireless in Mexico for a cheap rate but I did have to change my phone to a different "zone" first. I agree to call your provider first and ask!!

Car Destiny-W Caribbean-6/1/00
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[CruiseFever]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> I specifically asked <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

So did I and I really had to fight with them to get my account credited. I've had more problems on cellphone billing than any bill I pay. Between busines and kids we have 5 phones and I keep really close track of all that stuff to be sure its right.

All before when the bill's been wrong a I'd call them and they'd take care of it, very apologetic. This last time when I KNOW they said I should be within plan they said they couldn't credit accounts anymore, then they said they'd give me half back.

These companies are fighting for our business but they really don't have much going for them sometimes.

I'd sure love to have someone recommend a cell phone service provider that they think is just wonderful. One that they've had problems with but they were resolved quickly and fairly.

I really don't think we're dumb about this, I think they just don't know their own products very well

Happy Cruising

Chris

www.LifeIsCruising.com (http://www.LifeIsCruising.com)

Next up:
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[laginog]

I just got an e-mail back from Verizon and they said they could not guarantee roaming coverage in St. Thomas and that the local carrier would probably take over. So...they advised me not to use my phone there or I would probably have surprise charges!

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Kathi



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[Jacqueline]

Good thread. I jsut got a GSM cell phone. The nice thing is that means I dont need to rent a phone when we go to Europe this summer. IT is sure nice to have one number that people can reach you at no matter where you are.
Int erms of charges, I am going to call my carrier and get the scoop. I dont plan on using my phone myself, but my husband always need to do some work with clients and we just bill them for the time they burn... I know we could use a cabin phone for this but its hard to charge people back those rates ! ALso its nice to sit out on the balcony and to be able to move around. Not to mention for any pre pr post cruise stays..

Jacqueline
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Tahitian Princess August 2003
Grand Princess Western Caribbean 2003
Brilliance of the Seas Baltic 2002
Ocean Princess- Alaska 2001
Celebrity Zenith- Bermuda 2001
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[Nitemare]

I'm not sure any cell phone company gives free roaming outside the 50 states (maybe in Canada?). Even if I called their customer service and they told me it was free, I'd still call a second time, just like we've all learned to do with Princess and everyone else, the state of Customer service being what it is and all!

[PMD]

Cingular's web site is very specfic about roaming and internatiional roaming along with international long distance rates.

(do not know is poster had Cingular)

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[flapr]

I asked Sprint specifically about calls from St. Thomas, USVI, and got an e-mail response stating that, as long as it's from a US territory, calls are included in my cellular's long distance service. I imagine that the same applies to calls from PR.

BTW, calls from the Bahamas are also included, because of the close proximity to Florida.

It seems that each cell carrier is different!

[KAJOKG]

flapr -- all companies ARE different, but the frustrating part of the cell phone business is that the reps within one company have different answers to the same question!!! Grrrr! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif

KATY

NCL NORWAY - 2000
GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2001
GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2002
HAL NOORDAM - 2002
HAL VOLENDAM - 2003
ISLAND PRINCESS - NOV. 2003
HAL VOLENDAM - JAN. 2004
CORAL PRINCESS - OCT. 2004

[coiran]

Get a Sams Club ATT card and use it at a payphone - probably the cheapest way to go.

NCL PRIDE OF AMERICA Oct. 2004
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REGAL PRINCESS 2003 Europe
GOLDEN PRINCESS 2002 Canada New England
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SEA PRINCESS 2001 Alaska
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REGAL PRINCESS 1999 Panama Canal
PACIFIC PRINCESS 1999 Europe
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[MNYTRPS2GO2]

Has anyone had any experience with Cingular in Alaska?

[rolando]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MNYTRPS2GO2:
Has anyone had any experience with Cingular in Alaska?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Work like a charm. I was surprised how much it even worked while on the ship near the coast. All local usage.

(this was on the older non GSM network)

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[jajohnson]

We just came back from Europe and used our Cingular GSM phones. Text messaging was only .10 per message incoming and outgoing, a very cheap method of keeping in touch. A 3 minute call in Sweden was approimately $5 due to our our having the Cingular Europe calling plan which was $1.39 per minute anywhere in Eastern Europe. Be aware you have to be a customer for 6 months before they will turn on Overseas roaming.

Also a note that you have to have GSM phone with European frequencies, which are different than US GSM frequencies. Look for tri or quad band designation. I believe that Cingular will rent you a phone if needed.

[bunky144]

Just a note to any Canadian's viewing this site, I put roaming on my Bell Cellular prior to our cruise and it not only does not work but as soon as you hit send you are charged even if you do not connect be careful the charges are just out of control. It works as soon as you land in the US but once you leave port, forget it.

2003 November Golden Princess
2004 February Grand Princess
2004 June Diamond Princess

[DDJ]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by coiran:
Get a Sams Club ATT card and use it at a payphone - probably the cheapest way to go.<<<<<

I have a 600 minute Sam's Club AT&T calling card which I tried to use on several Islands in the Caribbean and It would not work at any pay phone. You have to buy there own calling cards. I ended up using my Sprint phone on roam and got through and it didn't cost too much at all. Now I have included free roaming on my Sprint and it's supposed to work on some of the islands. We'll see in September if it does.

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[natesfirewife]

We have Sprint and was able to use it from Alaska and Vancouver, B.C. without any charges. Our phone has an indicator for when we are in roaming and that gives us the option to make our calls in other ways. Good Luck.

Misty


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[pmcrusta]

While on my last cruise I carried my cell phone with me in case of emergencies. We took a number of tours on our own and wanted a way to keep in contact. Before I left I asked and asked ATT where I could use my phone. Yes I could use it in South America no I couldn't. So I persisted and finally got the a correct answer. Because South America uses digital like the US I could use my digital phone. But it would be expensive if memory serves me correctly it was like $1.99 to $4 a minute depending on what country we were in. My friend had purchased a GSM phone and uses Cingular. She didn't get a signal until Aruba.
A lot of the crew had GSM phones. They told us
down in that part of the world the Satelite connection was so hard to make a contact. They were almost useless in that part of the world.
My phone was useable I did have a connection.
I had messages left. But never needed to make a call. But if I had needed it I was glad I had it.

[cal2632]

We have Virgin Mobile which uses the Sprint network. We've used it from PR and St. Thomas, same per minute charge as in the US.

2 X RCI
5 x HAL
2 x Carnival
2 x Celebrity (way back when it was Chandris)
1 so long ago I don't even remember who!

[Aquarian]

Yikes, you're scaring me. I used my Sprint cell phone to call from Jamaica - now I'm afraid to get my bill! I'll let you all know when I get the bad/good news.

[TWA4Ever]

I have 2 T-Mobile phones. One is a "standard digital" (Nokia 5190). No roaming or long distance charges in continental US or Hawaii (yes, it worked great in Hawaii - on land and when our ship was close enough to shore). No service whatsoever in the carribean.

Also have a tri-band (international) phone. Have used it from Holland for $.99/min and from Kuwait for $1.49/min (I didn't get any service in Iraq!).

Point is, before I got the tri-band, I called T-Mobile (think they were Voicestream then), and got all the restriction on the phone. Then I got them in writing so there were no misunderstandings.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

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