Verizon cell service

[FirstTimeWeCruise2010]

Hello,

I am not sure if this was answered somewhere on the boards, so I will ask it here. :confused:

 

Does anyone from the NY/NJ metro area have any information regarding Verizon cell service on the boat or in the Bahamas? I am wondering if I should get the int'l plan for the time that we are cruising? And what about roaming and text messaging?

 

Thank you in advance.

Jennifer

[greatam]

Hello,

I am not sure if this was answered somewhere on the boards, so I will ask it here. :confused:

 

Does anyone from the NY/NJ metro area have any information regarding Verizon cell service on the boat or in the Bahamas? I am wondering if I should get the int'l plan for the time that we are cruising? And what about roaming and text messaging?

 

Thank you in advance.

Jennifer

 

On the ship-$2.49 per minute to use your Verizon cell phone, $.50 to send a text, $.05 to receive a text.

 

You don't need a "plan" to use your phone on the ship. Just a lot of money-it can be VERY pricey AND if you have one of the new Droid/Blackberries/other Smartphones that looks for email/updates constantly, you could come home to one heck of a bill. DATA SERVICE is charged per megabit and is a totally separate billing from using the phone as a phone.

 

Verizon international service is NOT cheap. You WILL need to add international roaming to call from land. You will also need a quad band (or at least an international phone that works on GSM-only some Verizon phones have GSM capability). Average international price is $1.99 per minute.

[cruiser429]

There is a Verizon plan that allows you to get your email, texts, etc. for a small amount. We did that on our last cruise. Unfortunately, we had problems with our phone, but they do have a reasonable plan.

 

Vicki

[Danmassman]

Unless you have some pressing need to use the phone, its best to turn it off and leave it off once you lose your regular service. The previous posts are correct that it can get VERY expensive even if a single unsolicited text comes in once you leave port.

[greatam]

There is a Verizon plan that allows you to get your email, texts, etc. for a small amount. We did that on our last cruise. Unfortunately, we had problems with our phone, but they do have a reasonable plan.

 

Vicki

 

ON THE SHIP you don't need any kind of plan, etc. There is a FIXED fee for connecting via the ship's cell tower. With Verizon, it is as posted previously. Most other USA cell carriers have about the same charges EXCEPT T-Mobile and AT&T (I Phone). Those charges can be as high as $4.95 per minute using the phone as a phone.