Texting my daughter on board the same ship Verizon

[ToddMnIT]

We sailed on Disney last year and they have 2 phones in each room you can use to keep in touch. Was really nice to have flexible schedules and keep in touch with the kids. So I was trying to figure out what we could do. First got involved in a flaming conversation on Walkie Talkies (people do not like those). Then looked into Royal Connect and DECT phones (not available on FOS). Then debated text over wifi or data plan. Finally realized the cheapest option may be just texting via phones with mobile data off. But wanted to confirm my thoughts on using Cell at Sea via Verizon. Thanks for all the great advice.

[BallFour4]

As a business owner I never turn my phone off, so here's what I do on cruises.

 

If you have an iPhone tag your top numbers as Favorites and put your phone in Do Not Disturb mode. Only those you designate will get through to you.

 

Also, turn off all the Push features on your apps. You'd be amazed at how much data is pushed down to you every day. Go to Settings and then Notificaton Center and shut down all those green switches. Battery life will be much better too.

 

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Edited March 16, 2014 by BallFour4

[debee1015]

The message boards on Carnival.com are free while on the ship, your family could start your own thread....

 

Whatever happened to that App Carnival was testing a while back on the Breeze I believe where as long as you were on the ship you had the ability to message someone.... The Carnival Funphone app.

[megmno]

I work in global tech support at Verizon, .50 to send and .05 to receive a text is all you will pay onboard ship and most countries. Check out www.verizonwireless.com/tripplanner, have a great trip!

 

This is a really helpful link - thanks!

 

The link lets users input their itinerary and their phone model and gives a listing of Verizon's exact charges for each type of communication (voice, text, data) for each part of the itinerary, including cruise ships. It's really great!

[riffatsea]

I think it is really funny to need phones to keep in touch on a ship! To me it is kind of like phoning from downstairs in your home to an upstairs bedroom!

We are completely unplugged when we go on vacation!

A simple pen and paper in the cabin can be used to write where you are and when you'll be back.

IF your teens cannot be trusted to go up to the pool or up to the buffet without getting into trouble then I'd not let them out of my sight!!

[Julia1969]

Both my ds and dd are to shut phones off once we sail away and cannot be turned back on till we are in Miami. I will store in the safe so no temptation. lol

 

This is what we do now. We have come home to a "surprise" phone bill when my DS was 16 (he is now 26). He text his GF back home almost every night. After the cruise he said to us he did some texting and would gladly pay the bill. The bill was $600. Needless to say he was paying us back for a very long time. Since then I take the phones from our kids (the adult college students that are still on my plan) and lock them in the safe. My plan, my rules. lol

[AllmanJoy89]

So...how does this work with the new "MORE Everything Plan" with Verizon? This enhancement to their plan gives me FREE "Unlimited messaging to any mobile number in the world". Can I safely assume there will be no charges for incoming or outgoing texts?

[ToddMnIT]

I just got off the phone with Verizon. I got a really helpful gentleman that really seemed to know international. Here are the changes I had to make so my phones would work internationally.

 

First he had to add international capabilities to my account. Sounded like this is off by default, it was turned on for my account, but that could be from last years cruise (which I was too scared to use my phone).

 

Second you need to update the towers on your phone. Sounds like it is automatic on most 4G phones, but I have an iphone 4 and iphone 4s also. For those phones you need to dial *228 and select option 2.

 

Finally to make sure the iphone 4s worked internationally there is an iccid that you need to give them so they can enable the Sim card to be international.

 

Beyond that he confirmed each phone would work on the ship. And any extra steps to take. He also is going to email me a package confirming the rates and all the other details we walked through on the phone. Bottom line is it pays to call Verizon.

[pbsteve]

I just got off the phone with Verizon. I got a really helpful gentleman that really seemed to know international. Here are the changes I had to make so my phones would work internationally.

 

First he had to add international capabilities to my account. Sounded like this is off by default, it was turned on for my account, but that could be from last years cruise (which I was too scared to use my phone).

 

Second you need to update the towers on your phone. Sounds like it is automatic on most 4G phones, but I have an iphone 4 and iphone 4s also. For those phones you need to dial *228 and select option 2.

 

Finally to make sure the iphone 4s worked internationally there is an iccid that you need to give them so they can enable the Sim card to be international.

 

Beyond that he confirmed each phone would work on the ship. And any extra steps to take. He also is going to email me a package confirming the rates and all the other details we walked through on the phone. Bottom line is it pays to call Verizon.

 

Verizon iPhone 4 is not international capable fyi. That phone may not work on board.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[Roxaroon]

It makes me absolutely CRAZY how much misinformation there is on these boards about this subject!!!!

 

If you do not want to buy a global data plan ($25/month/100 MB) just turn off data on your phone. Data is almost non-existant on the ship anyway.

 

You are NOT charged anything extra from the "ship's towers) like many uninformed people think.

 

With Verizon it is only the .50 send .05 receive.

 

Also just to clarify - if you get a phone call you are NOT charged UNLESS you answer it - many have incorrectly posted that you are charged for phone calls that go to voicemail - not true. You ARE charged if you listen to that voice mail.

 

so each text between you & DD will cost .55 .50 to send & .05 to receive - there are charges for texting photos be aware.

 

All in all not a bad way to keep in touch on the ship and FAR LESS intrusive than radios!

 

I cruise with my Verizon phone on - all services running - I add the global data for the month I am cruising - I have never come home to a surprise phone bill.

 

I have tried this on a ship and have not been able to text on an iPhone. It won't send or receive. Is there any special settings I should do?

[solesman]

We use Whatsapp. It works with the Social Wi-Fi Plan.

[LongHill44]

If you are in airplane mode with data off and using the ships wifi, you will not be charged anything if you both text using iPhones/

 

is that correct?

[jbenneacruiser]

Why not use the Carnival HUB It only costs $5 and you can chat all week.

[Schoifmom]

Why are we resurrecting a 5 year old thread?

 

Put your phones into airplane mode. If you only want to message each other, use the HUB app and the $5 messaging option ($5 for the entire trip). If you want to iMessage or use any social media apps (FB Messenger, Whatsapp, etc), purchase the social media wifi plan for $5 per day (discounted if purchased prior to the trip).

[17andacruiseaddict]

Why are we resurrecting a 5 year old thread?

 

Put your phones into airplane mode. If you only want to message each other, use the HUB app and the $5 messaging option ($5 for the entire trip). If you want to iMessage or use any social media apps (FB Messenger, Whatsapp, etc), purchase the social media wifi plan for $5 per day (discounted if purchased prior to the trip).

 

 

IDK why they brought it back up. But, I do think it's pretty cool that we can see how far CCL has come. Worrying about texting prices is a thing of the past with set messaging and social media prices.

[teknoge3k]

I wish CC would set threads that are several years old to automatically archive so they can't be responded to.

[newcruiser1956]

I was wondering if anyone has used texting to keep track of family while on board the same cruise ship. We will be on the Breeze. We are Verizon is it .50 to send and .5 to receive texts. I was wondering if their were any other Charges. I know I need to call before I leave to turn on international calling.

 

 

 

Why not sign up for the social media internet package and just use facebook messenger? Who lot easier and less expensive in the long run.

[teknoge3k]

Why not sign up for the social media internet package and just use facebook messenger? Who lot easier and less expensive in the long run.

 

The comment you responded to/quoted is 5 years old. Back then, they didn't have The Hub app. The Hub app is $5 for the duration of your cruise, much cheaper than any Internet packages.

[LongHill44]

The comment you responded to/quoted is 5 years old. Back then, they didn't have The Hub app. The Hub app is $5 for the duration of your cruise, much cheaper than any Internet packages.

5 dollars per person or room?

[teknoge3k]

5 dollars per person or room?

 

$5 per person

[Schoifmom]

5 dollars per person or room?

 

Per device.

[pacruise804]

5 dollars per person or room?

 

Per device.

 

per folio number (person), and can only be used on one device at a time (if you switch devices it will sign you out of the other device)

[CaneDawg]

The social plan and using messenger works good. We all have iphones and could use apples imessage like we would normally text anywhere