IPhones on Board

[ContingentSea]

Will we be able to use our IPhones at sea or in ports for calls and texts? We have stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. If so, is there an extra charge over our normal service charge?

[tracyanns]

Will we be able to use our IPhones at sea or in ports for calls and texts? We have stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. If so, is there an extra charge over our normal service charge?

 

Yes, you will be charged for roaming and for calls and texts. I think the texts are like .99 each on the ship and the calls are like 1.99 or 2.99 a minute.

 

I do not bring a smartphone on a cruise. Something about the airplane mode and being turned off and to make sure your data roaming is off...

[happy cruzin]

Will we be able to use our IPhones at sea or in ports for calls and texts? We have stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. If so, is there an extra charge over our normal service charge?

 

Yes - but definitely with extra charges!!

 

On board and in the ports is consider "international roaming" - which costs extra. On the ship it is 2.49/minute for AT&T - not sure if the other carries add to the basic charges or not. Data (email, internet, etc. are also charged separately.

 

I would check out http://www.cellularatsea.com - which is the satellite provider on board and with your provider to see which options will work best for you.

 

You will want to research it BEFORE you go so that you don't have any surprises!

[croozluv]

I cruised the Legend the first week in March and made a post about iPhones in port and was flamed right and left for it. Here's the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1579651

 

Here's the jist of it:

 

I have AT&T, but I've heard it's the same with any carrier. Some plans include international roaming, some do not.

 

My iPhone plan did not include international roaming, while my sister's iPhone plan did have international roaming. Much to my surprise, my plan specifically stated that the phone will only work in the contiguous US.

 

(This also happened when we went to Mexico a few years back - when trying to make a call, the phone simply would not connect. We received the lovely AT&T lady saying "I'm sorry, this call cannot be connected.")

 

Now, my sister's plan, because she had international roaming on her plan, her iPhone would have worked fine in port. Yes, fees would have been outrageous, but she would have the capability to use her phone nonetheless.

 

Like I stated in my post, we were not planning on using the phone for anything: not calls, not texting, not email. We simply like to be prepared for an emergency. God forbid, someone in our large party had an accident, got arrested, missed the ship, etc.....we wanted to be able to use our phone to call for help. Many people in my post made comments such as "You're on vacation to get away from that!" or "If you use the phone you'll have to pay for it. Period!" This had nothing to do with my post. I was trying to let people (like you!) know that your phone may not work in an emergency.

 

What you need to do is call your carrier and ask if your plan has International Roaming. This is a FREE service. Completely FREE. It's just not added onto many plans (like mine). For AT&T, the service is titled "international roaming expanded". All it does is allow you to use your phone - at a very high per-minute rate.

 

With AT&T (not sure of other iPhone carriers) there is a package you can purchase for $5.99/mo which will give you discounts on calls and texts while in port. One fellow CC poster gave me a great tip, which I took advantage of: This $5.99 is pro-rated, which comes to somewhere near $0.20/day. Both my husband and I had this added to our plan for our 8 day cruise, which came to $1.60 each, or $3.10 for both of our phones. No, this did not give us any actual minutes to use in port, but it did give us about half price on minutes and texts in the unfortunate case that we would have needed to make use of our iPhones. (We never did.) Just don't forget to call and cancel this service when you get back from vacation if you decide to do this.

 

I was also advised to go to my settings and turn OFF "Data Roaming" and "Fetch New Data", so that when you do turn your phone on while in port, all of your emails/texts don't come barreling through causing you outrageous fees.

 

If anyone needs the phone for AT&T International Department, it's 800-335-4685. I hope this helps you!

[happy cruzin]

I cruised the Legend the first week in March and made a post about iPhones in port and was flamed right and left for it. Here's the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1579651

 

Here's the jist of it:

 

I have AT&T, but I've heard it's the same with any carrier. Some plans include international roaming, some do not.

 

My iPhone plan did not include international roaming, while my sister's iPhone plan did have international roaming. Much to my surprise, my plan specifically stated that the phone will only work in the contiguous US.

 

(This also happened when we went to Mexico a few years back - when trying to make a call, the phone simply would not connect. We received the lovely AT&T lady saying "I'm sorry, this call cannot be connected.")

 

Now, my sister's plan, because she had international roaming on her plan, her iPhone would have worked fine in port. Yes, fees would have been outrageous, but she would have the capability to use her phone nonetheless.

 

Like I stated in my post, we were not planning on using the phone for anything: not calls, not texting, not email. We simply like to be prepared for an emergency. God forbid, someone in our large party had an accident, got arrested, missed the ship, etc.....we wanted to be able to use our phone to call for help. Many people in my post made comments such as "You're on vacation to get away from that!" or "If you use the phone you'll have to pay for it. Period!" This had nothing to do with my post. I was trying to let people (like you!) know that your phone may not work in an emergency.

 

What you need to do is call your carrier and ask if your plan has International Roaming. This is a FREE service. Completely FREE. It's just not added onto many plans (like mine). For AT&T, the service is titled "international roaming expanded". All it does is allow you to use your phone - at a very high per-minute rate.

With AT&T (not sure of other iPhone carriers) there is a package you can purchase for $5.99/mo which will give you discounts on calls and texts while in port. One fellow CC poster gave me a great tip, which I took advantage of: This $5.99 is pro-rated, which comes to somewhere near $0.20/day. Both my husband and I had this added to our plan for our 8 day cruise, which came to $1.60 each, or $3.10 for both of our phones. No, this did not give us any actual minutes to use in port, but it did give us about half price on minutes and texts in the unfortunate case that we would have needed to make use of our iPhones. (We never did.) Just don't forget to call and cancel this service when you get back from vacation if you decide to do this.

 

I was also advised to go to my settings and turn OFF "Data Roaming" and "Fetch New Data", so that when you do turn your phone on while in port, all of your emails/texts don't come barreling through causing you outrageous fees.

 

If anyone needs the phone for AT&T International Department, it's 800-335-4685. I hope this helps you!

 

That is EXACTLY what we do - and with that international plan the texts at .50 each, sent and received. So we use a text every day or so to check in at home because it is a MUCH more reasonable option than the 2.49 per minute.

[INTERLINER13]

We have Verizon. Just make sure you call before you go and have your roaming capabilities changed.

 

Be sure to shut your data off. Settings->General->Network->Cellular Data OFF. If you do not shut it off you will continue to recieve emails and other data and be charged.

 

Texts for us were $0.50 to send and $0.05 to receive on the ship, as well as in the Bahamas. Maybe be different in other countries. NOTE: Texts consist of 160 characters. On an Iphone if you type 500 characters you will charged for sending 4 text messages.

 

Also the time on my phone was fine, my girl friends was not. We had to change the clock to not set automatically, and manually change it to ship time. Settings->General->Date & Time

[clinthi]

daleswife-- thanks for taking the heat and posting the info. Your response was very helpful and I love that I can go to CC to get info even though we have to put up with all the comments from rude posters.

[SCUBA Mark]

I find free or cheap wi-fi when I get to port to check my email and make free phone calls over wi-fi using Skype or Textfree.

 

As an example, in Cozumel, there is a coffee shop that gives you wi-fi for an hour if you spend $4. That is 2 diet cokes please. You can get free wi-fi in town at several different restaurants.

[ContingentSea]

Thanks to all for your sage advise. Considering my e-mails from work come to my IPhone, I guess I better disable that. I don't want any whopper bill surprises when we get back.

[CharmedMom]

I have the iPhone 4s - just got it a few weeks ago. While I was upgrading from the iPhone 3, we were talking to our sales representative (at AT&T) - I had questions regarding my unlimited data plan (I got my iPhone back before they started charging the $30/month for 3GB etc). Before my recent upgrade, I would just put my phone in airplane mode - my roaming is always off, and never incurred extra fees, but was able to play any non internet apps.

 

Anyway, while getting my upgraded phone, our sales representative was telling us how he isn't allowed to use his company phone when he travels internationally, however, there are a couple of apps that allow for free text and calls while you are in other countries.

 

Tango is a video conferencing app - you can "call" someone using it (or send them a video message) ... the other party must also have this app. Viber is an app that allows you to call others with this same app (using the app) that doesn't charge you to use (and you can use it while in Cozumel, etc ... probably on the ship as well). And finally TextPlus is an app that allows you to text wherever with other who have this app.

[croozluv]

daleswife-- thanks for taking the heat and posting the info. Your response was very helpful and I love that I can go to CC to get info even though we have to put up with all the comments from rude posters.

 

No problem! I would have been mortified if we'd have had an accident and couldn't use our phone. I'm glad the info was helpful to others besides myself. :)

[INTERLINER13]

I have the iPhone 4s - just got it a few weeks ago. While I was upgrading from the iPhone 3, we were talking to our sales representative (at AT&T) - I had questions regarding my unlimited data plan (I got my iPhone back before they started charging the $30/month for 3GB etc). Before my recent upgrade, I would just put my phone in airplane mode - my roaming is always off, and never incurred extra fees, but was able to play any non internet apps.

 

Anyway, while getting my upgraded phone, our sales representative was telling us how he isn't allowed to use his company phone when he travels internationally, however, there are a couple of apps that allow for free text and calls while you are in other countries.

 

Tango is a video conferencing app - you can "call" someone using it (or send them a video message) ... the other party must also have this app. Viber is an app that allows you to call others with this same app (using the app) that doesn't charge you to use (and you can use it while in Cozumel, etc ... probably on the ship as well). And finally TextPlus is an app that allows you to text wherever with other who have this app.

 

Airplane mode will shut off the phone as well, so if you want to use your phone you will not be able to. If you just shut off the data it will stop from incurring any data charges.

[Nannydd12]

Thanks for starting this thread and for all the info about the I phone. I just got an Iphone 4S and now I will know how to turn off the data and how to set the clock. Interliner13 did you have your phone turned on while on the ship? We also have Verizon and will call about the International calling being added to our plan but even though some people go on aboiut being on vacation and to turn the phone off some people can not do that. You see my 30 year old daughter is handicapped and functions at an 8 year old level so we need to be able to have our cell phone on during the cruise in case her caregiver needs to contact us. We of course purchase computer time on the ship and email her but we also call her at least 2 times while we are at sea. This will be our first cruise with Iphones so am just wondering if we will be able to have my phone on in case we need to use it.

 

I know that I will be more relaxed and enjoy the cruise more if my phone is able to be on. Thanks for all the help. We cruise on the 15th of April on the Legend. Cindy

[CharmedMom]

Airplane mode will shut off the phone as well, so if you want to use your phone you will not be able to. If you just shut off the data it will stop from incurring any data charges.

 

airplane mode does NOT shut off my phone ... I use it while in airplane mode for my game apps, iPod, camera, use my kindle app to read. And just to prove my point and make sure - my son and I just used Tango to video conference while both in airplane mode.

 

Now there is a slight correction (or addition to this) - you do have to be connected to wifi - so you would only want to use it with free wifi (unless you want to pay for it - thus I would suggest finding a wifi hotspot in the country you are visiting).

[INTERLINER13]

airplane mode does NOT shut off my phone ... I use it while in airplane mode for my game apps, iPod, camera, use my kindle app to read. And just to prove my point and make sure - my son and I just used Tango to video conference while both in airplane mode.

 

Now there is a slight correction (or addition to this) - you do have to be connected to wifi - so you would only want to use it with free wifi (unless you want to pay for it - thus I would suggest finding a wifi hotspot in the country you are visiting).

 

I was strictly talking about the telephone part of the phone. You will not be able to make or receive phone calls(airplane mode on). Anything done over wifi will work granted you are connected to wifi. Also, in airplane mode I am pretty sure no texts will come through. I do not use airplane mode just in case of emergencies at home that I need to be notified about right away.

 

However, if you leave your phone on(airplane mode off) calls will continue to ring to your phone if you have service. So if you get a lot of business or work calls this could be a hassle. My phone hardly ever rings.

[Nannydd12]

We have Verizon. Just make sure you call before you go and have your roaming capabilities changed.

 

Be sure to shut your data off. Settings->General->Network->Cellular Data OFF. If you do not shut it off you will continue to recieve emails and other data and be charged.

 

Texts for us were $0.50 to send and $0.05 to receive on the ship, as well as in the Bahamas. Maybe be different in other countries. NOTE: Texts consist of 160 characters. On an Iphone if you type 500 characters you will charged for sending 4 text messages.

 

Also the time on my phone was fine, my girl friends was not. We had to change the clock to not set automatically, and manually change it to ship time. Settings->General->Date & Time

 

Did you have your Iphone on while you were on the ship? I need to be able to have my Iphone on during the cruise and I also have Verizon but this is the first time I have cruised with an Iphone. Thanks

[INTERLINER13]

Did you have your Iphone on while you were on the ship? I need to be able to have my Iphone on during the cruise and I also have Verizon but this is the first time I have cruised with an Iphone. Thanks

 

Yes I had it on, and with me at all times. Its my everything lol. Camera, MP3player well lounging, watch.

Calls and texts will come through if you have service. But service is not guaranteed all over the ship. We usually did not have it in our rooms, but im sure it just depends where you are.

 

Just make sure you call Verizon and update your roaming, and get the rates for the countries you will be in. As soon as your in port it is not the ships rate, even if you are still on the ship. You will be charged whatever the rate in that country is.

[Nannydd12]

Yes I had it on, and with me at all times. Its my everything lol. Camera, MP3player well lounging, watch.

Calls and texts will come through if you have service. But service is not guaranteed all over the ship. We usually did not have it in our rooms, but im sure it just depends where you are.

 

Just make sure you call Verizon and update your roaming, and get the rates for the countries you will be in. As soon as your in port it is not the ships rate, even if you are still on the ship. You will be charged whatever the rate in that country is.

 

Thanks so much for the info and I have Verizon on my list of calls to make before we leave. Now I will have a much more relaxing cruise knowing my Iphone can be on. Cindy

[my3boysmom]

I gotta quick reading these boards! We leave Friday and I keep finding things I don't know about.

 

What about blackberry? Does that matter? Ipods?

[INTERLINER13]

Thanks so much for the info and I have Verizon on my list of calls to make before we leave. Now I will have a much more relaxing cruise knowing my Iphone can be on. Cindy

 

Just make sure the data is off, the guy was telling me people call all the time because there bills are sky high.

 

I gotta quick reading these boards! We leave Friday and I keep finding things I don't know about.

 

What about blackberry? Does that matter? Ipods?

 

Any phone will make calls/send texts. Just call your service provider for rates, and information. Im not sure how you shut off data on a blackberry, or if you can. But they will tell you everything you have to know.

 

Ipod will work if you connect to the wifi, which on the ship is expensive. But if you can find a coffee shop, or wifi cafe you can use it there. You will need the apps for texting and talking like the other person stated above.

 

Personally the best/cheapest way to talk to my family was using the free funville forums in the internet cafe. But texting/calls is good for emergencies.