I know the cell phone topic has been talked about to death but..

[frugaltravel]

.....

[bearbait]

I have unlimited text plan...but if I get a text while on the ship, will I get charged a bunch of money since we'll be using the ships tower?

 

Yes. When you're at sea you really need to turn your phone off. Or you'll get hit with a bunch of extra charges.

[tel2]

Hi

 

Ive posted this before but let me post again here. If you have Verizon, Verizon has a global data traveler plan. They will pro-rate it for the number of days you will be on the ship if you want. They have a partnership with NCL. So, if you have Verizon, you do NOT have to buy NCL's dataplan to get your email messages/use internet via your iPhone. The Verizon global data plan is VERY inexpensive - far less expensive than NCL's plan. Two caveats -- you cannot tether your iphone to another device under this plan, and it does not apply to voice. It applies only to data.

 

It is $25 for 100MB for a month. I generally take the full month so I get the 100 MB. If you pro-rate it for 7 days, you pay only 6.25, but you also get only 25MB. I use it for emails only, get probably 50-75 emails a day, and have never exceeded the allowance I would have had if I had pro-rated, but I am always afraid to take the risk becuase it is $20. for every MB by which you exceed the allowance. So I want the full 100 MB just in case. For verizon voice, on the ship, it is

Voice Roaming Rate:

$2.49 per minute

 

Text Messaging Rates:

$0.50/address sent

$0.05/message received

 

 

Go to the Verizon wireless site and search for "cruise" and you will get all the relevant info, as well as a full listing of the ships on which this will work.

 

terry

[melodyina]

Holy jeepers. We often go on journeys through the wilds of Alaska without any type of phone service for days on end. As of yet, knock on wood, the world has not come to an end without us knowing about it. People thinking that they have to know every time little Johnny farts is just getting outlandish. If you hold such an important position in life that you cannot go for 2 days without cell phone service while you are travelling through Canadian waters then maybe you should just stay home. It's nuts what technology has done to people. Gotta go, my Iphone is making that sound for an incoming text!!!!!!!!

 

 

I agree and I must chuckle, I live in ANchorage, I have an I-phone, and my phone service is with GCI. I consider myself L U C K Y if my phone finds coverage 10 miles out of town, especially around turn-again arm. :) Those travelers attached to their phone will go through frustration. :):)

[mickeysgal]

Hi

 

Ive posted this before but let me post again here. If you have Verizon, Verizon has a global data traveler plan. They will pro-rate it for the number of days you will be on the ship if you want. They have a partnership with NCL. So, if you have Verizon, you do NOT have to buy NCL's dataplan to get your email messages/use internet via your iPhone. The Verizon global data plan is VERY inexpensive - far less expensive than NCL's plan. Two caveats -- you cannot tether your iphone to another device under this plan, and it does not apply to voice. It applies only to data.

 

It is $25 for 100MB for a month. I generally take the full month so I get the 100 MB. If you pro-rate it for 7 days, you pay only 6.25, but you also get only 25MB. I use it for emails only, get probably 50-75 emails a day, and have never exceeded the allowance I would have had if I had pro-rated, but I am always afraid to take the risk becuase it is $20. for every MB by which you exceed the allowance. So I want the full 100 MB just in case. For verizon voice, on the ship, it is

Voice Roaming Rate:

$2.49 per minute

 

Text Messaging Rates:

$0.50/address sent

$0.05/message received

 

 

Go to the Verizon wireless site and search for "cruise" and you will get all the relevant info, as well as a full listing of the ships on which this will work.

 

terry

 

Thank you.

 

I'm still confused. So please bear with me.

 

Please, someone recap for me...I have an iphone through Verizon. I want to be able to get an emergency texts from tour family at home if they truly need me. I will call Verizon and check into the above mentioned global plan. That I understand.

 

On the ship:

To not incur roaming charges, what do I do with the phone while on the ship...turn it completely off (which means no texts come through), turn Airplane Mode on, turn WiFi off, etc. What is the right combination of these functions here? I'm still confused.

 

In port:

I can hope to get a 3G signal and if Verizon covers that port, I should be ok as a text or phone call would be charged according to my plan as if I was anywhere else on the continental US, right?

[CMcG]

I have unlimited text plan...but if I get a text while on the ship, will I get charged a bunch of money since we'll be using the ships tower?

 

The way I understood the AT&T page about charges while on cruise ship is that each outgoing text is $.50, each outgoing picture or video is $1.30. For incoming text it says "Home pay-per-use or package rates apply to all text, picture or video messages received while roaming internationally. Please visit www.att.com for details." As I understand it you will not be charged for incoming text messages since you have an unlimited plan. But if those texts include a picture they will be charged as data and data is charged at $.0195 per KB - so you might want to see if AT&T has an international data plan that would apply if you get a lot of texts with pictures - something similar to the Verizon plan noted by tel2.

 

I am not an expert - have a simple phone and rarely get texts - so please call AT&T for clarification - especially about my assumption that incoming texts would fall under your unlimited plan. My logic & AT&T logic may not be the same.:eek:

[dread_pirate]

Thank you.

 

I'm still confused. So please bear with me.

 

Please, someone recap for me...I have an iphone through Verizon. I want to be able to get an emergency texts from tour family at home if they truly need me. I will call Verizon and check into the above mentioned global plan. That I understand.

 

On the ship:

To not incur roaming charges, what do I do with the phone while on the ship...turn it completely off (which means no texts come through), turn Airplane Mode on, turn WiFi off, etc. What is the right combination of these functions here? I'm still confused.

 

In port:

I can hope to get a 3G signal and if Verizon covers that port, I should be ok as a text or phone call would be charged according to my plan as if I was anywhere else on the continental US, right?

I just walked into the Apple store with the exact question.

 

To allow getting phone calls & texts on the ship, but no data, go to Settings>General>Network. Then turn Cellular Data off. That should do it.

[allen43]

First, let me say this, in the interest of full disclosure, I do work for one of the cell carriers :).

 

Having said that....the answer to charges is "it depends". On the ship (at sea), the system is owned by the ship itself. Charges are for receiving and sending texts. The rates for Verizon are:

 

Voice Roaming Rate:

$2.49 per minute

 

Text Messaging Rates:

$0.50/address sent

$0.05/message received

 

 

For ATT, the rates are:

 

Roaming:

Calls Placed/Received

While in Norwegian Cruise Line AT&T Standard International Roaming $2.49

AT&T World Traveler $2.49

AT&T Canada $2.49

AT&T Mexico $2.49

 

Data Usage: All GPRS pay per use rates are $.0195/KB, except in Canada rate is $.015/KB

Text, Picture and

Video Messages: Send Text Message $0.50 per message sent

Send Picture and Video Messages $1.30 per message sent

 

Now comes the complicatd part :). AT&T and T-Mobile phones adhere to International cell standards, so the phones will work in many, many countries, even if the rates are very high. Many Verzion and Sprint phones use a very specific version of the International specifications that work only in a few places. Some Verizon phones can work worldwide and they are known as "Global Ready". Ask first if you phone is Global Ready. If not, it will be a brick in many countries (like all of Europe/UK). If it is Global Ready, it will work in most countries around the world.

 

The second part is a tad more technical. It is possible that turning off data roaming will prevent SMS and MMS (picture) messages from coming. The reason for this is technical. Today, the cell services sees pretty much everything as "data". That was not the case when SMS messages were first implemented over 20 years ago. You will need to check with Verizon on this before you leave.

 

The last thing is that text messages are "best effort" delivery. They work most of the time, but there is guarantee that the message will be delivered. If you have a specific need for someone to reach you in an emergency, the best way is turn off data services and have whoever it is call your phone. Yes, it is more expensive, but in time terms, it is the fastest and most reliable way to communicate.

 

Enjoy the trip!

[mickeysgal]

I just walked into the Apple store with the exact question.

 

To allow getting phone calls & texts on the ship, but no data, go to Settings>General>Network. Then turn Cellular Data off. That should do it.

 

First, let me say this, in the interest of full disclosure, I do work for one of the cell carriers :).

 

Having said that....the answer to charges is "it depends". On the ship (at sea), the system is owned by the ship itself. Charges are for receiving and sending texts. The rates for Verizon are:

 

Voice Roaming Rate:

$2.49 per minute

 

Text Messaging Rates:

$0.50/address sent

$0.05/message received

 

 

For ATT, the rates are:

 

Roaming:

Calls Placed/Received

While in Norwegian Cruise Line AT&T Standard International Roaming $2.49

AT&T World Traveler $2.49

AT&T Canada $2.49

AT&T Mexico $2.49

 

Data Usage: All GPRS pay per use rates are $.0195/KB, except in Canada rate is $.015/KB

Text, Picture and

Video Messages: Send Text Message $0.50 per message sent

Send Picture and Video Messages $1.30 per message sent

 

Now comes the complicatd part :). AT&T and T-Mobile phones adhere to International cell standards, so the phones will work in many, many countries, even if the rates are very high. Many Verzion and Sprint phones use a very specific version of the International specifications that work only in a few places. Some Verizon phones can work worldwide and they are known as "Global Ready". Ask first if you phone is Global Ready. If not, it will be a brick in many countries (like all of Europe/UK). If it is Global Ready, it will work in most countries around the world.

 

The second part is a tad more technical. It is possible that turning off data roaming will prevent SMS and MMS (picture) messages from coming. The reason for this is technical. Today, the cell services sees pretty much everything as "data". That was not the case when SMS messages were first implemented over 20 years ago. You will need to check with Verizon on this before you leave.

 

The last thing is that text messages are "best effort" delivery. They work most of the time, but there is guarantee that the message will be delivered. If you have a specific need for someone to reach you in an emergency, the best way is turn off data services and have whoever it is call your phone. Yes, it is more expensive, but in time terms, it is the fastest and most reliable way to communicate.

 

Enjoy the trip!

 

I went online to Verizon and walked through their trip planner function. It allowed me to pick the Norwegian Pearl as my location. They said based on my phone, (I-phone 4) I was good to go. It does list the costs for texts sent, text received, voice rates, and data rates. I get that.

 

But no where does it say that I have to turn off cellular data to not incur roaming charges while on the ship. So do I or do I not turn off cellular data? If I turn it off, but leave the phone ON to get any emergency texts, will I incur minute roaming charges because the phone is still technically on? Still confused... Please, no one laugh...:rolleyes:

[mickeysgal]

I called Verizon. They told me that for my IPhone, I have to turn off both Cellular Data and WiFi.

 

She also said I had to leave Data Roaming in OFF position and Airplane Mode in the OFF position (she said that's like a master switch).

 

I can leave the phone ON and it will not incur any roaming charges but I will still be able to receive/send texts and/or voice mail (for fees as posted earlier in the thread).

 

 

Does this make sense?

[allen43]

No laughing, it's a perfectly good question! A couple of things the Verizon rep did not mention...

 

Data roaming note, if you turn off data roaming, Visual Voicemail, picture texts (MMS) and iMessages will not work. Both rely on the data network. The WiFi should incur no charges since you have to "login" to WiFi in most cases and the iPhone just isn't smart enough to do that for you :).

 

The Verizon iPhone 4 is not global ready, so off the ship, it could be a brick. This means, no text, voice or anything. The Verizon iPhone 4S is global ready and will work in many countries.

 

BTW, Alaska is not considered "overseas", so your phone should work just phone off the ship and without any special charges.

 

Hope this helps!

[bearbait]

Simple, just turn your phone off when you're on the ship. If it's an emergency you'll find out when you get into port. Nothing you can do about them anyway when your on the ship. I find that too many people have dysfunctional relationships with their mobile devices. It won't be the end of the world if you have to turn it off and go a few hours without being instantaneously connected. If it's a true emergency you can always have your loved ones call the emergency number for the cruise lines. They'll get the message to ya. Safe travels!

[vette-ss]

I tried to understand all of the above but still have a couple of confusions.

 

My plan was to put my iphone into airplane mode so that I could still use it as an ipod or play some games on it. I don't want to rack up any additional carrier charges.

 

So it sounds like voicemails will stack up and you can retrieve them the next time you turn off airplane mode. But did I read this is not true with texts? I assumed the same to be true.....return the phone to service and 8 days worth of texts will hit the phone. Are they really lost? I don't really want to hear from the outside world while on the cruise, but it would be nice to know who tried to contact me while gone.

 

Two of my port stops (San Juan and St. Thomas) have local coverage for my provider (already checked). I plan to turn off airplane mode on those two days. Especially in San Juan, we may leave kids on the boat so having a way to reach them on their phones is a benefit.

[bearbait]

I tried to understand all of the above but still have a couple of confusions.

 

My plan was to put my iphone into airplane mode so that I could still use it as an ipod or play some games on it. I don't want to rack up any additional carrier charges.

 

So it sounds like voicemails will stack up and you can retrieve them the next time you turn off airplane mode. But did I read this is not true with texts? I assumed the same to be true.....return the phone to service and 8 days worth of texts will hit the phone. Are they really lost? I don't really want to hear from the outside world while on the cruise, but it would be nice to know who tried to contact me while gone.

 

Two of my port stops (San Juan and St. Thomas) have local coverage for my provider (already checked). I plan to turn off airplane mode on those two days. Especially in San Juan, we may leave kids on the boat so having a way to reach them on their phones is a benefit.

 

No doubt they'll try again once you get back. Have a safe cell phone free trip!!