Travel Pass phone usage by Verizon

You can make the calls but you are using wifi minutes from the ship. You have to have bought a plan or be Platinum/Elite and using those free minutes.

 

I was in Canada when I discovered that Delta had totally trashed my flights for an upcoming cruise. I spent an hour or so on the phone with both Delta and Alaska Airlines and incurred zero cost as I made the call using the hotel WiFi. I simply enabled "advanced calling services" on the phone and it worked just like a normal phone call. I had entered airplane mode but then turned WiFi back on to connect to the hotel system.

 

Thanks to you both. I don't plan on buying any plan from the ship, my phone stays in airplane mode unless we are docked somewhere. There are enough places with WiFi in port that I could access it for free or much less cost. I'll either use Thark's suggestion or go with Verizon's $25/month text & data or $40/month talk, text & data. Or I could do the $10 / 24hours Travel Pass that we've used before. Decisions, decisions.

IF you choose to use Verizon’s Travel Pass, what settings do you need to enable on your phone once you’re in port? I’ve recently returned from a Panama Canal Cruise. I had checked with my local Verizon store before leaving (as did a friend traveling with me) and we were both told that a text message would pop up on our screen once we disabled airplane mode, allowing us to choose the $10/24 hour plan. Neither of us could get our phones to work! I know there was something we were not doing! I want to be better prepared for my next trip!

Be advised that not all Verizon phones work so easily. If you bought a phone "off contract" not specifically branded for Verizon, it may not work. This happened to me in Vancouver...I purchased a motor x pure from Motorola...this is a open carrier phone meaning you can put in almost any SIM card and it should work. I tried using the Verizon travel pass and after talking to some people with various cell company stores in Vancouver, they thought the easiest thing to do was to buy a single card from a carrier in Vancouver much like a prepaid phone would work. I was there less than 24 hours so in the end I just found wifi and ysed it for data calling until I got on the ship and then used my platinum minutes.

IF you choose to use Verizon’s Travel Pass, what settings do you need to enable on your phone once you’re in port? I’ve recently returned from a Panama Canal Cruise. I had checked with my local Verizon store before leaving (as did a friend traveling with me) and we were both told that a text message would pop up on our screen once we disabled airplane mode, allowing us to choose the $10/24 hour plan. Neither of us could get our phones to work! I know there was something we were not doing! I want to be better prepared for my next trip!

Google Travel Pass Verizon or something similar. Verizon has on their website a page where you list what phone you have and it will tell you if you can do International calling. You can also list what countries and ship you will be on/in and it will tell you if it applies. Somewhere it also tells you how to call back to US and also how to call within the country. They also have a dedicated 800# for International calling.

$10 a day! My goodness. With T-Mobile we pay nothing above our regular monthly payment...except that phone calls in some countries do cost us 20 cents a minute. Consider that we travel internationally about 200 days a year. If we had Verizon it would cost us a mere $2000 extra. With T-Mobile...it generally costs us zero And by the way, T-Mobile and many ATT plans include free usage in Mexico.

 

Hank

This. I realize this doesn’t address the OP’s question but if there are others reading who are interested in changing their cell provider, it’s definitely worth looking into T-Mobile.

In almost three months of being overseas, we incurred one 20 cent phone charge when an excursion operator called us back. Otherwise, we used the free internet through T-Mobile and Vonage (For 1 cent per minute! Get the app!!) to make all of our phone calls. We pay $60 per month for TWO phones of unlimited voice, data and testing in the US, Canada and Mexico and unlimited data and texting in 140 countries. $10 a day, heck, even $5 a day seems exorbitant.

This. I realize this doesn’t address the OP’s question but if there are others reading who are interested in changing their cell provider, it’s definitely worth looking into T-Mobile.

 

 

In almost three months of being overseas, we incurred one 20 cent phone charge when an excursion operator called us back. Otherwise, we used the free internet through T-Mobile and Vonage (For 1 cent per minute! Get the app!!) to make all of our phone calls. We pay $60 per month for TWO phones of unlimited voice, data and testing in the US, Canada and Mexico and unlimited data and texting in 140 countries. $10 a day, heck, even $5 a day seems exorbitant.

We have the same plan...and that $60 a month includes all the taxes :). In the interest of full disclosure we should mention that its a plan only available to Seniors (in this case 55+) and the offer could be withdrawn at any time (the history of T-Mobile would be that those who have the plan are Grandfathered). What makes it such a great plan is that everything in Unlimited....and it just works darn near everywhere. For me its been extra nice because I know longer have to drag my old Garmin Nuvi (with European maps) to Europe....as now I can simply use my phone (with unlimited data) as our GPS.

Hank

You can make the calls but you are using wifi minutes from the ship. You have to have bought a plan or be Platinum/Elite and using those free minutes.

 

 

 

Thanks to you both. I don't plan on buying any plan from the ship, my phone stays in airplane mode unless we are docked somewhere. There are enough places with WiFi in port that I could access it for free or much less cost. I'll either use Thark's suggestion or go with Verizon's $25/month text & data or $40/month talk, text & data. Or I could do the $10 / 24hours Travel Pass that we've used before. Decisions, decisions.

 

If you plan to use WiFi calling please make sure your phone supports it. Go to your settings and look for Advanced Calling. If it's there select it and check for WiFi calling and turn it on. Then you can disable your data and check the feature out at home using your own WiFi to verify that it works. You can also use Google to find out if it is supported on your phone.

Most smartphones now have the ability to make wifi calls. I have made a lot of calls this way and they are all FREE! If you have internet on the ship you can get calls while on board which can be good or bad. Got a call from my M-I-L in our cabin while we were somewhere mid-Atlantic!

Has anyone used Travel Pass by Verizon on a cruise? Supposedly it's only $5 per day phone usage when used in Mexico. If so, aside from having it on your account, how'd it work once off the ship? Did you need to change any settings or did it just start working for you? Thanks very much.

The $5 Verizon Travel Pass plan works for Mexico or Canada. I used it in Canada last June, worked great for those places you dont have access to wifi. Max is $5 per day and you are only charged if you use it that day.

I keep cellular OFF when on the ship, just turn cellular back on when you get off the ship and you are good to go

Anyone know on an IPhone how to set up for WiFi calling?

Anyone know on an IPhone how to set up for WiFi calling?

there are a few different apps you can use for free calling via wifi, here is one of them

https://www.whatsapp.com/

The $5 Verizon Travel Pass plan works for Mexico or Canada. I used it in Canada last June, worked great for those places you dont have access to wifi. Max is $5 per day and you are only charged if you use it that day.

 

I keep cellular OFF when on the ship, just turn cellular back on when you get off the ship and you are good to go

It really depends on "where" you are in Canada. Almost all the way through BC we had zero cellular connectivity. Of course there were no towns so it wasn't all that surprising. Canada is a really big place with not many people so it's kind of dangerous to generalize. There are more people in California than in all of Canada. (Canada is definitely the big winner in that comparison.)

Anyone know on an IPhone how to set up for WiFi calling?

Yes (for most models), Go to Settings and scroll down until you see "phone." Under Phone you should have a "WiFi Calling" which you need to turn on. HOWEVER, this will only work if it is supported by your Cell phone carrier and you may need to set this up with your carrier before you leave home. Another issue is whether your ship's WiFi is fast enough and supports phone via WiFi. A recent post indicated that Carnival no longer allows WiFi calls.....but not sure this is true since its been a long time since we cruised on that line..

Hank

Thanks Hank!! Just did it and tested it by calling someone. It worked. This will come in handy while traveling out of USA and I am with free wi-fi somewhere.

To call California from Mexico do I just dial the 1 and then the number, or something more complicated? Thanks.

To call California from Mexico do I just dial the 1 and then the number, or something more complicated? Thanks.

Dial 00 1 (area code) (number)

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We have the same plan...and that $60 a month includes all the taxes :). In the interest of full disclosure we should mention that its a plan only available to Seniors (in this case 55+) and the offer could be withdrawn at any time (the history of T-Mobile would be that those who have the plan are Grandfathered). What makes it such a great plan is that everything in Unlimited....and it just works darn near everywhere. For me its been extra nice because I know longer have to drag my old Garmin Nuvi (with European maps) to Europe....as now I can simply use my phone (with unlimited data) as our GPS.

 

Hank

Does Tmobile require a contract? Can I buy a sim card and use in my current phone or do I have to buy a tmobile phone?

Thanks,

Susan

Does Tmobile require a contract? Can I buy a sim card and use in my current phone or do I have to buy a tmobile phone?

Thanks,

Susan

No contracts. You can use your own phone as long as its unlocked. I brought my own iPhone to T-Mobile.

Hank

We have used Travel Pass on several International cruises, including Mexico, and it works well. You will be notified when entering each country where you will be charged $10 per 24 hours (if you use your phone) which gives you access to the same voice, text and data plan you have at home. If you also use their service on-board ship, you will be charged for all talk, text and data at per-usage pricing. If you want to be available for messages while at sea and not face exorbitant charges, simply disable data roaming instead of placing your phone in airplane mode. The charge for incoming texts (at least on our plan) is only .05 each, and no charge for voice unless you actually connect. Service, however, is not the best so you may not receive the texts until you get in range of a land-based tower.

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I really need answer from someone who has actually tried this. I've read a million things on what it "should" do and there is a lot of vague information.

Usually we do RCCL and buy the unlimited data, so never have an issue. We will be cruising on Princess which only offers data by the minute. Because my husband needs to work (yes, I know, he should turn it off, but he can't!!) it's important to be able to receive calls at all times. Using "by the minute" means that if phone is turned on, the clock is running, even if you never talk to anyone !! If my math is correct, that's about $400 per 12 hours. Obviously, we can't afford that and most say it takes about 5 minutes just to log on because Princess wifi is bad bad bad. Wifi on board this ship is not an option.

Has anyone used Travel Pass and been able to use their phone for calls while ON THE SHIP? Did you incur charges per minute? I'm hoping that IF there is a signal while on board that it's from a close island and the International Travel Pass fee will cover the connection. IF it catches the ship's cell tower, Verizon charge us the minutes used price in addition to the Travel Pass price?

Mostly we can use the Travel Pass minutes/data/text while in port, but we have 3 days at sea. Any help is greatly appreciated. I have probably thoroughly confused everyone :) I know that I am thoroughly confused!!

Thank you in advance,

Susan

No contracts. You can use your own phone as long as its unlocked. I brought my own iPhone to T-Mobile.

 

Hank

Wow, Hank that sounds great! I currently have Verizon. I wonder if I could disable Verizon for 10 days and use Tmobile? How do I sign up for Tmobile?

No you can not use Travel Pass on the ship.

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. We will be cruising on Princess which only offers data by the minute.

Susan

I am sailing next week on Coral Princess and I have purchased unlimited internet.

Wow, Hank that sounds great! I currently have Verizon. I wonder if I could disable Verizon for 10 days and use Tmobile? How do I sign up for Tmobile?

Not Hank, but have same T-Mobile plan.

Suggest you talk to or visit T-Mobile ... there are 2 major network technologies: GSM (T-Mobile and AT&T) and CDMA (Verizon and Sprint)...not sure CDMA devices are compatible on GSM network. Go to T-Mobile, tell them what you want to do, have them put one of their SIMs in your device and make sure talk, text, data will work.

When we changed to T-Mobile, they tedted and verified our fevices worked on their network

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One possible issue to be aware of using Travel Pass in the Caribbean is when you pass an island overnight. Normally, I have my work phone on 24/7 for texts. I do not have WiFi from the ship. It appears from the "welcome" texts that I received on a very recent cruise that I MAY be charged the $10/day for islands that we passed during the night. Previously, this wasn't a problem as there was little to no data being used on those passing islands. Now I think I will be charged $10/day for islands/countries that I didn't actually visit. After a couple unexpected "welcome to XX" texts, I put my phone in airplane mode overnight to avoid double billing. I didn't mind Travel Pass charging me for the islands/countries that I actually visited.

I am sailing next week on Coral Princess and I have purchased unlimited internet.

Caribbean Princess does not offer unlimited. I wish it did.