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Princess LTE fee is a rip off


sachielles
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Just to make sure I understand correctly, if I was in a Caribbean port and I only got the "welcome to cellular at sea" text when I turned on my cellular service on the ship, the ship was in violation of law? Sincerely asking, as I had this happen to me with NCL and found it frustrating because I wanted to be able to test my new international plan. Think it would have been Cozumel.

 

Just to make it really clear, I'm not the OP and not arguing with you. I've only sailed Princess once. Just asking.

 

In order to get the message "welcome to cellular at sea" would mean you were connecting to the ship cell tower. The cell tower should not be on when near land or in port according to international law no matter what port you are presently located. If you was in Cozumel, you should have connected to one of their cell towers depending on who your cell phone supplier is (eg AT&T) who all have agreements with Mexican cell companies.

 

That being said I have found that I needed to power cycle my cell phone so that it would pick up the correct signal. For some reason it seems to remember what it last saw and will not change over to the new service. I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 and AT&T. I have had this problem in foreign ports.

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Less passengers on it for sure.

Thats also when crew are using it. :o

I'm an early riser. On sea days, I head down to the Piazza for a cup of coffee and some CC posting. I usually head down between 0600 and 0700. 99.9% of the time the signal is great and internet works well for the most part.....:):):)

Bob

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I have sailed Princess for years, and always have paid for the internet. It is absolutely crucial that you use the log off signature, and then go to log in to make sure you are logged off. I have also taken to having a pad next to the computer to log for my own information on how much time I had when I logged on and then log off, so when I log in again, I compare it to the minutes I had when I logged off previously. Any problems, off to the internet cafe.

 

Also, I live a few miles from the Canadian border. When I drive to a certain area, I have to put my phone into airplane mode, because it seems that the closest tower is in Canada, even though I am driving in the US. If I don't watch I could end up having international and roaming charges if I were to receive a call.

 

 

Easy solution for this would be to set your phone to manual network selection, this way your phone will not switch from your own network. No need for airplane mode at all.

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I recently took a Northern European cruise with Princess and they basically robbed us. They internet package was expensive and slowed. You basically spent 5 minutes of your allotted time to get to a website. When we were docked they took over the LTE and charged $9 per giga byte. Usually without an international it is $.98 so basically 9 times more than the regular price. By the time we realize that our LTE was taken over by Princess it was $2000 bill. Just really disappointed with Princess and I will never cruise with them.

 

Was the $2000 bill from Princess or from your cell phone company?

 

If from Princess I am sure if you spoke with the Internet manager they would have adjusted it.

 

If from your cell phone company, do not blame Princess.

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I think we all understand by now that the OP isn't going to take any responsibility for his/her mistake, period. It is Princess' fault, period. This is so laughable. But, whether the OP takes responsibility or not, there's that $2000 bill he/she will have to pay, period. Gosh, Princess is really going to pay for the OP's mistake because he/she will no longer cruise with them. How horrible but I suspect Princess and their great product will somehow be able to survive this.

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Easy solution for this would be to set your phone to manual network selection, this way your phone will not switch from your own network. No need for airplane mode at all.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I never knew any of this. I knew, that if we were in St Thomas or San Juan we could turn on our phones and not be "penalized", but was unaware about the switching of networks. See, one man's misfortune is another's fortune.

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I think we all understand by now that the OP isn't going to take any responsibility for his/her mistake, period. It is Princess' fault, period. This is so laughable. But, whether the OP takes responsibility or not, there's that $2000 bill he/she will have to pay, period. Gosh, Princess is really going to pay for the OP's mistake because he/she will no longer cruise with them. How horrible but I suspect Princess and their great product will somehow be able to survive this.

 

I am a long term AT&T user. My guess is the $2K was from AT&T and that the OP called AT&T. They "blamed Princess" and then removed the charges.

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Warning- this post will be in blue, because it reminds me of the open sea! ;p

 

We love Princess and are on her two more times next year and have NEVER felt "bothered" by our wait staff. We interpret their suggestions as helpful suggestions to enhance or meal. We appreciate them offering the perfect after dinner drink, etc. We can accept or decline. The crew members are serving us to make a living and performing their duties. I appreciate their efforts! We do not view them as "flim flam" salespeople.

 

Cruising and vacationing is a frame of mind- I have the freedom to say "No, thank you" to any staff member and continue to enjoy my cruise.

Yes, there are ships/ cruise lines we do not care for but we have found a lovely cruise line home with Princess and one other.

And we ALWAYS turn our phone off when on the ship. We have never been charged when in port, however, I will admit that this has been a very informative thread and we will continue to be cautious on our future cruises.

Happy Sailing to All!!!

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I know placing the phone in Airplane Mode and then activating WiFi is popular on this website, however, Verizon recommends just turning Data Off. This still allows WiFi access, email, text, and calls. We've done this on six cruises and have yet to receive a huge bill. BTW, we got a text from Verizon every time the coverage changed from one provider to another along with a brief summary of rates.

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I know placing the phone in Airplane Mode and then activating WiFi is popular on this website, however, Verizon recommends just turning Data Off. This still allows WiFi access, email, text, and calls. We've done this on six cruises and have yet to receive a huge bill. BTW, we got a text from Verizon every time the coverage changed from one provider to another along with a brief summary of rates.

 

Both accomplish the same thing and the former is easier for many technologically challenged people to understand. Telling them to turn of data boggles them. Telling them to turn on Airplane Mode and then turn on WiFi is something that seems to be easier for many folks to handle. The result is the same either way and there is no hassle telling iPhone folks how to turn of data and then having to tell various Android users how to turn of data.

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Both accomplish the same thing...
Not really... With Airplane mode on and Wi-Fi off, an iPhone does not allow cellular calls, texts, and email to reach the phone. With Airplane mode and Wi-Fi on, iMessage texts and email will function...also communication apps such as WhatsApp work.
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Both accomplish the same thing and the former is easier for many technologically challenged people to understand. Telling them to turn of data boggles them. Telling them to turn on Airplane Mode and then turn on WiFi is something that seems to be easier for many folks to handle. The result is the same either way and there is no hassle telling iPhone folks how to turn of data and then having to tell various Android users how to turn of data.

 

Still confused - how do you receive calls and texts if you are on WiFi only? And if you could, you would also need to be connected to the ship's WiFi (and burning minutes) while waiting for those calls and texts.

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Was the $2000 bill from Princess or from your cell phone company?

 

 

 

If from Princess I am sure if you spoke with the Internet manager they would have adjusted it.

 

 

 

If from your cell phone company, do not blame Princess.

 

 

 

It's what princess charged the phone company for using their tower. So this was a Princess surcharged through the phone company.

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Still confused - how do you receive calls and texts if you are on WiFi only? And if you could, you would also need to be connected to the ship's WiFi (and burning minutes) while waiting for those calls and texts.
There are a number of apps that allow calling and texting over Wi-Fi. We have never waited for a call while onboard, but outgoing calls work well. Best use of these apps is over Wi-Fi while in port.
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Not really... With Airplane mode on and Wi-Fi off, an iPhone does not allow cellular calls, texts, and email to reach the phone. With Airplane mode and Wi-Fi on, iMessage texts and email will function...also communication apps such as WhatsApp work.

 

Ummmm.... That isn't what people are suggesting. It isn't even what you said people are recommending. Turning on Airplane Mode and then enabling WiFi is exactly the same as disabling data - which is what I said.

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There are a number of apps that allow calling and texting over Wi-Fi. We have never waited for a call while onboard, but outgoing calls work well. Best use of these apps is over Wi-Fi while in port.

 

I don't even use an app. I got into my phone settings and enable Advanced Calling Features. That allows me to make calls using WiFi. I did this in Canada recently where there is no Verizon service. I called a couple of airlines and had fairly long (and unproductive) calls using WiFi. No charges incurred and no app needed.

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There are a number of apps that allow calling and texting over Wi-Fi. We have never waited for a call while onboard, but outgoing calls work well. Best use of these apps is over Wi-Fi while in port.

 

Ah - gotcha. VoIP apps.

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If your phone is on airplane mode you won't get any telephone calls or texts.

 

Nope. I get phone calls and texts all the time. Just can't access the internet.

 

I am curious how you received phone calls and texts when your phone is on airplane mode. Airplane mode turns off the cell service. You must have an amazing phone :D. WVBill and I have never heard of such a phone in airplane mode that receives phone calls. That is why airlines require phones to be in airplane (duh!) mode during a flight so that it prevents phones from sending or receiving texts or phone calls or trying to access cell towers.

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Both accomplish the same thing and the former is easier for many technologically challenged people to understand. Telling them to turn of data boggles them. Telling them to turn on Airplane Mode and then turn on WiFi is something that seems to be easier for many folks to handle. The result is the same either way and there is no hassle telling iPhone folks how to turn of data and then having to tell various Android users how to turn of data.

 

Well, OK, but why would taking two steps, ie, turn on airplane mode and then turn on WiFi, be easier to explain than just "turn off data"? Is this an iPhone thing? One wonders if the iPhone users have more trouble on cruise ships than Android users?

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Well, OK, but why would taking two steps, ie, turn on airplane mode and then turn on WiFi, be easier to explain than just "turn off data"? Is this an iPhone thing? One wonders if the iPhone users have more trouble on cruise ships than Android users?

 

I don't know why but it seems to be true. Having worked in IT for many years I was always boggled that many people can do things one way but an alternate method turns their brains off and they "can't do that". Over the years I found it was usually easier to tell people the methods of doing things that seemed to be easiest for "most people" to grasp. The fact that it makes little sense to me doesn't alter the fact that people seem to work that way.

 

I just turn data off. It's quick and easy. I've just found that the two step process, while more cumbersome, seems to be better "understood" or at least easier for many to follow. You would be amazed at the mental roadblocks people set up for themselves when it comes to understanding technology. Heck, I can't even get people to understand that their wallpaper is not a screensaver.

 

As for being an "iPhone thing"... Apple makes me crazy. They give people one way to do stuff. Their way is the only way. GAH! No thanks. I don't like training wheels. Give me something I can tweak and play with and allows me to do things the way I want rather than the one and only way offered by Apple products.

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