Verizon Phone Service on Carnival

[boxerdognj]

Does anyone know if u can use your verizon cell phone service on Carnival Liberty.

Do I need to change exisiting service to add international. I have no clue about this and want to make sure I can make emergency calls if necessary.

Thanks for your help.

[CapeCodCruiser]

I have a VZ Blackberry with national unlimited email & web and also have been curious about usage on cruise. I am one of those internet addicts - when I want to check something out - I want an instant answer! Here is my best understanding of the VZ service on the ship:

 

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roa..._coverage.html

 

Cruise Ship Roaming Terms and Conditions

Cruise Ship roaming rates apply only to calls made and received when traveling in international waters on the cruise lines and ships currently published on International Roaming Rates & Coverage. Calls made and received when you are in port or cruising in an area served by a foreign roaming partner are billed at the applicable roaming rates for that country.

 

 

Voice calls while on the ship AND in international waters - no special plan needed but calls cost $2.49/min

 

Voice call while in port - on or off ship - you will pay international roaming rates for the area - you may or may not have service in certain areas unless you have a global capable phone.

 

 

Standard Int'l roaming rate in Mexico is only $.99/minute but it appears there are many cruise ports where there is no standard (non-global phone)coverage

 

Email or web access from your blackberry while on the ship in international waters costs $.02/kb for pay per use or you can add the unlimited Global email for 64.99/mo (you should only be charged the difference between the 64.99 & whatever your current email/web plan is) and you can add this coverage for just the days you be on the cruise. (for me that is an additional $35/month or a little over a $1 a day) well worth the unlimited email.

 

VZ Global email

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Glo..._coverage.html

 

If you also have broadband (use your cell phone as modem for laptop) on your phone the pay per use is $.02/kb as well or you can add Global Access for about an extra $100/month or about $3.33/day which gives you about 170MB per day of usage and $.05/MB for overages.

 

VZ GlobalAccess

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Glo..._coverage.html

[*Mach*]

No one, Verizon included, has cell phone service on any ship.

Cellular at Sea provides a satellite connect for virtually all cell phones back to the mainland. The connect charge is $2.49/minute and is billed to you by your cellular provider.

It's recommended that you add international roaming to preclude those fees. I have Sprint and international roaming cost me $4.00/line/mo which is quite a bit cheaper than the roaming charges...

:)

[jgardn]

I have verizon and so does my dh and we have been able to use our phones on all of our cruises. Call and ask them to turn on international use. Also if you have email capability ask them to turn off the roaming. This is the first cruise I have had email but I know from other posters it will roam and charge you if you dont disable.

[Megan_Strick]

I have Verizon and was able to use my phone. It wasn't cheap but it worked fine. We were in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Grand Turk.

[njmomof2]

I have Verizon as well (and a blackberry). We will be on Sensation in the Bahamas. I'll have both kids with me, but not DH.

 

Not sure if it's worth it to enable international (as I'm not sure there is any reason to call him from there), but if I just keep the phone off and don't turn it on at all, will I have to worry about disabling anything?

 

Since it's hooked to my work email, there is ZERO chance that there will be no emails while I'm away. If I turn it off before we leave port in FL, and don't turn it on until we hit land again on the return, will I be charged anything extra? Just need to know whether it's all about access or being received by the phone.

[purplekisses]

My husband and I were on the Ecstacy last May. We went to Grand Caymen and Jamacia. Most of the time at sea my phone wouldn't work. It wouldn't even keep the correct time so I ended up buying a watch at the $10 store. When we got near port it would work. I did call Verizon before we left and set up international calling and they said it would work, but it didn't.

[mdguy99]

Does anyone know if u can use your verizon cell phone service on Carnival Liberty.

Do I need to change exisiting service to add international. I have no clue about this and want to make sure I can make emergency calls if necessary.

Thanks for your help.

 

The simple answer is yes you can, but call Verzion to turn on international roaming. If you'll only use it in case of an emergency I suggest you don't bother pre-paying for roaming, just have them turn it on and pay the per-call fee. Also, if you have a blackberry or smart phone you'll need to figure out how to disable the data connection, the phone will automatically start transmitting and racking up data charges otherwise.

[bakechef]

My husband and I were on the Ecstacy last May. We went to Grand Caymen and Jamacia. Most of the time at sea my phone wouldn't work. It wouldn't even keep the correct time so I ended up buying a watch at the $10 store. When we got near port it would work. I did call Verizon before we left and set up international calling and they said it would work, but it didn't.

 

May have been an issue with your phone. My Verizon phone has worked on Carnival and NCL no problem, even data worked, although very slowly.

[bplazo]

I was just talking to my sister about her first cruise last year and she mentioned to me that ther phone bill was $1,000.00 that month. Her children kept calling her and asking what she was doing. She did not realize the cost of using a cell phone on the ship.

[CapeCodCruiser]

I was just talking to my sister about her first cruise last year and she mentioned to me that ther phone bill was $1,000.00 that month. Her children kept calling her and asking what she was doing. She did not realize the cost of using a cell phone on the ship.

 

WOW!!!:eek:

 

Thats like talking an hour a day on a 7 nighter!

[CanWeGoYet?]

On our transatlantic cruise last spring, I wasn't sure if I wanted to rent global phones for my son as well as myself - I was thinking I could get by with just a global phone for me & have my son use his regular phone to text. We use text to keep in touch on the ship if need be. I was told it was better to get the global phones for both of us, or we would have had roaming charges on top of the charges for minutes & texts.

[jsgrandma]

Does anyone know if u can use your verizon cell phone service on Carnival Liberty.

Do I need to change exisiting service to add international. I have no clue about this and want to make sure I can make emergency calls if necessary.

Thanks for your help.

 

Last year on Carnival Freedom I was able to send and receive text messages for very cheap. Receiving was same as in US. and sending was a few cents more. My son kept texting me so I was always updated about home. I kept my phone off and checked it once a day. Call Verizon and check that nothing has changed. I don't have a text package on my plan (I hate to text) and just pay for individual.