Data charges Maritime Network

I know somebody had reported a nasty shock when they got their phone bill, it seems Vodafone are doing something about it.

"Due to the cost of using data on ferries and ships, some of our customers have been running up unexpectedly high bills. To ensure you avoid these charges, we'll no longer be offering data services on Maritime Networks from 4 Feb 2018. For more information visit http://www.vodafone.uk/Maritime If you have any concerns about this change, please call our dedicated team on 03333 041 621 to discuss your options. Just to confirm, you'll still be able to call and text while you're on board."

Good news :-) Yes we got caught out and was charge £50 (our maximum) but Vodafone did agree to write it off after a bit of arguing.

Although the lack of data service may be a problem for some (especially in view of the poor internet services on board), this may be very helpful for those of us who forget to turn the data services on our phones off as we sail down the Solent drinking champagne and singing Jerusalem. On a cruise a few years ago, despite reminders to do so, one of our children did not turn off her data, and we were hit with a huge bill when we got home. We were not happy.

My carrier (T-Mobile USA) doesn't offer cruise ship data and I'm glad.

Although the lack of data service may be a problem for some (especially in view of the poor internet services on board), this may be very helpful for those of us who forget to turn the data services on our phones off as we sail down the Solent drinking champagne and singing Jerusalem. On a cruise a few years ago, despite reminders to do so, one of our children did not turn off her data, and we were hit with a huge bill when we got home. We were not happy.

The simple solution is to switch off "Data Roaming". That way one can utilise data services whilst the device is connected to its "home" network but will not work when it goes out of range.

The simple solution is to switch off "Data Roaming". That way one can utilise data services whilst the device is connected to its "home" network but will not work when it goes out of range.

That's fine as long as you remember, easy enough on a TA but on a Mediterranean cruise where every port is your home network you needed to remember to switch off every day previously.

I don’t like the idea of not giving us a choice. We have often had legal messages and important sports results that I wanted to check on, and tuned on the data for a few minutes instead of dealing with the undependable or non-existent wi-if.

The phone companies send lots of warnings about the expense. If I want to spend the money (a very small amount compared to my bar bill in the past), why should I not be allowed.

David

That's fine as long as you remember, easy enough on a TA but on a Mediterranean cruise where every port is your home network you needed to remember to switch off every day previously.

I got caught out this year around the med. I'm on 3, and almost every country we went to is treated just the same as being in the UK for data (I think the other providers are doing the same now). But sometimes my phone would switch to the maritime network and then it started running up the costs.

And the other thing to remember now is that it's not just the charge for email or the web sites anymore. You think because you are not checking your email or looking at a website then you are not using data. But now, lots of phones will do all sorts in the background, like sending you news updates or checking your location and sending you stuff about were you are etc.

So it's really simple to get a large bill when you think you are not even using data - when in fact you are. So having the maritime network blocked is a very good idea.