Keep daughters from texting?

[sandi422]

As other posters suggested, I would contact your carrier to see what options are available. Then, I would lay out these options for your teens. Explain the additional cost will be their responsibility. Also explain to them that they have the option to turn their phone off at certain times. By giving them this information, they have the ability to make an informed decision. I would also advise them of the awful consequences if they rack up a huge bill.

[maggieworkman]

We take everyone's phones (me, DH, DDs, grandma), turn them off and put them in my safe for the trip. I have read too many horror stories on this board to pay for $$$$$ cell phone bill. My niece is going on our cruise with us this summer and I have already told her the rules.

 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do a search and read some threads from people who have come back from their cruise to high phone bills and then are very angry. Show these threads to your daughter. Once my girls read some of these threads, they didn't give me any trouble about locking their phones away.

 

As another poster mentioned, its not so much the texting charges (although it sounds like that could be a large bill in your case anyway), but it can be the data charges. If your daughter has any apps on her phone that constantly connect to the internet (like weather app that will continuously update the current weather), the data will be going the whole trip. Also, if people call her and the voice mail picks up, it charges roaming minutes. Etc.

 

Potentially you can let her use her phone to text in the port at a Wifi spot. But don't turn the phone on until you have wifi. If you turn it on outside of the wifi and all the backlog data things download (or whatever you want to call it), you will get charged for that.

 

I was just thinking of the article where the kids STREAMED movies while on vacation. Imagine the phone bill!!!!!!!!!!!! Family billed $11,000. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/02/vacation-nightmare-family-billed-11000-for-streaming-movies/

 

Also this one:

"There was an Illinois man who complained he was charged $27,000 for streaming a Chicago Bears game while he was on a Caribbean cruise."

 

Maggie

[Swayde]

My son was 16 and he was fine with us taking his phone away. He understood how easily it can accidentally run up unwanted charges and that it could make for a huge phone bill. It's reality. You don't do your children any favors by not explaining reality to them and by not setting rules and boundaries and if you don't think you can trust them, then it's your job to take the phone away.

[bdtmoult]

Son is a testing junkie. Our rule is airplane mod as soon as we sail away. This way he can keep the phone, get phone numbers, use the clock and some other things but not incur any charges. Have never had a problem, he just understands that is the rule.

[lions1995]

I work for AT&T and can tell you ALL 5 of our Iphones will have all cellular Data and Data Roaming turned off (essentially a ITouch). If you have any type of Smart Phone, it will receive over the air data updates that are hard to control. So if you leave your phone on, with cellular service and lock it up and never use it (calls, texts), you may still get whacked with a data usage bill.

 

Now if you have a WIFI plan from the ship that would be OK, as long as you are attached to WIFI. I understand the WIFI on board is still not cheap and certainly not fast. Again, if you go the WIFI route, turn off Cellular Data and Data Roaming.

 

Or as above posted stated -Airplane Mode

[ibcnusoon]

Not only do I take away phones and shut them down as we pull away from our homeport, but I also take the battery out of my Blackberry just for reassurance that it won't turn on. I also buy internet minutes on the ship and we all share it. That seemed to help her still stay connected to home without having to use her phone.

[Seago2]

I work for AT&T and can tell you ALL 5 of our Iphones will have all cellular Data and Data Roaming turned off (essentially a ITouch). If you have any type of Smart Phone, it will receive over the air data updates that are hard to control. So if you leave your phone on, with cellular service and lock it up and never use it (calls, texts), you may still get whacked with a data usage bill.

 

Now if you have a WIFI plan from the ship that would be OK, as long as you are attached to WIFI. I understand the WIFI on board is still not cheap and certainly not fast. Again, if you go the WIFI route, turn off Cellular Data and Data Roaming.

 

Or as above posted stated -Airplane Mode

 

Shout OUT to AT&T. They are the best. I have five lines, all with iPhones, and a separate iPhone line. They have: backdated international roaming plans, forgiven chunks of mistaken teenage overcharges, understood repeatedly that I live on the CDN border and pick up other towers, etc etc etc. If you have AT&T. Work with them. They will hook you up with a plan the girls can use in port, off the ship. Then the girls will be off your hands for those days ;).

[bitemyfly]

as others have posted , turn off or go to airplane mode/no data or cellular.

by the way , my daughter gave cell phone shock once on a cruise in 2005/2006. I was certainly dissapointed in her as we discussed the costs while at sea.

when I got the invoice I freaked..650.00 and all I got was daddy im so sorry I didnt think is was that much.

so I bought a lawn mower, edger, and a leaf blower. fired my lawn service.

and had her do the lawn for one year. we both laugh about it today and both agree it was a great life lesson

[jenn6743]

That won't be happening, I'm not going to start our cruise by taking their phones, I simply don't want to have the worry in the back of my mind the whole trip. I want to know how are texting and wifi paid for? Obviously, they have to know whose phone does the texting or surfing, so how is that established? Do they limit how much you can spend on these services, or is it, "sorry, you owe us $1.2 million, thanks"? I'd like to be able to say, "OK, Honey, you can spend 'x' for texts this trip, so govern yourself accordingly." Is this feasible?

 

Haha We did a family cruise with my Niece last yr and we took them and put them in the safe. She didnt seem to mind it...I could tell by the end of the week she was really missing her friends and internet so I got her an hr internet package which was much less than having a huge phone bill. I work for Verizon I see it at least the good bad and VERY UGLE when it comes to kids texting on vacation. Keep in mind that its .50 cents to send .05 to receive on Verizon. I dont know what other carriers are..

[eriedearie]

You can block the texing on their phones so they only have an hour or two to text. I had to do this to my daughter a few years ago, I blocked it from 9pm to 6am. Remember you are the boss.

Have a great cruise.

[jenn6743]

Opps * I see the good bad and very ugly

[Athankfulheart]

I must be very blessed because my kids are just thrilled to be on a cruise and couldn't care less where thier phones are.

[JP4GA]

I have a 16 year old. I recently went with him and his class to Paris and London for a school trip. Parents were told to remind kids of international roaming charges, texting charges, and data charges. I told my own son to turn off his phone and only turn it on if he was seperated from the group. He brought his iPad to use in the hotel at night with the free WiFi. So each night he could upload a few photos, give a few highlights and message with friends for free. IT DID NOT KILL HIM.

 

We recently received a normal phone bill. However, several members of the group have received bills in the range of $650 to $1200. These kids felt the need to text, tweet, and FB everything. Parents are upset, and guess what they blame the teacher for not taking the phones. Really.... the teacher and I constantly told the kids they were being charged.

 

On cruises we let our son keep his phone in the home port. He can take pictures of the room, lunch and a little pre-trip fun. He can message, text, FB and tweet all he wants until we start to leave the port. We buy an internet package for the week and tell him when its gone its gone. He is good about dividing the minutes up and using only a few each night to give an update of his day and respond to FB and Tweets he received from friends.

 

If you let the girls keep the phones really make sure they are aware of DATA charges those will kill you. I think the best thing to do is to just put the phones away.

[Sinusoid]

When I was 16, I was an Internet/chat ADDICT. We didn't have smart phones back then so I'd just go to the computer every day after school. When we went on the cruise band trip there was too much to do to miss the computer, and I wasn't even a social butterfly at the time like it sounds your children may be.

 

Seriously, put the phones away for Day 1 and if they're gonna DIE from lack of communication, Internet package. But I bet they'll be fine, and they could probably use this time to connect as siblings.

 

Try not to consider this as issue of being a mean parent or not trusting them. By that logic, none of us trust ourselves since we all turn our phones off. It's really the devices and the carriers that can't be trusted.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Expect flawless grammar and spelling.

[lgsshedden]

In my experience with teen girls they may say they understand billing but they don't really believe it applies to them.

Some thoughts and ideas:

1. airplane mode is the only way to ensure no extra billing occurs

2. it is also much better to pre-pay whatever travel package your cell provider offers (even though they are expensive) than face the much higher invoice after

3. present an alternative: buy the on board wifi package and have your teens post a daily (hourly?) update on Facebook or the free Carnival site -- give them an alternative way to stay connected but one with greater cost certainty

[BeachChik]

That won't be happening, I'm not going to start our cruise by taking their phones, I simply don't want to have the worry in the back of my mind the whole trip.

 

This line caught my eye. Is it going to ruin their trip if they can't access their cell phone? If its so important to them maybe they shouldn't go.

And worry? How old are they? If they are teens you simply set up times and locations for them to check in with you if they are going off on their own.

 

Smartphones today receive data constantly just by being turned on. You may be able to tell them they can only text X amount of texts for the week but you can't control what is coming in. And if you refuse to do the smart thing and take them away at the beginning of the cruise you will end up with a huge bill.

 

Parents today still manage to stun me. If I had been in this situation when I was young my parents would have told me too bad. I couldn't have the phone and if I didn't like it then I didn't need to go.

 

I will be on the lookout for the thread when you return called Carnival screwed me and now I have a huge cell phone bill.

[KatPem]

Travelling with our teenage daughters on Victory in June, one of which would think nothing of amassing 5,000 texts while at sea, regardless of cost. they are staying in their own stateroom. How is texting paid for? I was planning to attach a credit card to our S/S cards, but I'm not interested in an "oh, by the way" at the end of my cruise. I suppose the same problem exists with wifi usage. How do I protect myself?

 

 

As the parent of a 15 year old, I told mine that the phone would be in our safe turned off except in San Juan where we could use it without incurring extra charges. I told her if she wasn't ok with that, she could stay home with Grandma while we were on the cruise and text to her hearts' desire.

 

For example, Verizon has the following charges while on the ship that would then show up on your next Verizon Bill: $2.49 per minute on top of your cellphone plan. $0.50 to send a text, $0.05 to receive on top of your text plan. Also, if any data is used, knowingly or unknowingly, Verizon normally charges you a flat fee of $29.99 for the use of up to 2MB per billing cycle. Well if data is being received by your phone while at sea, CellularAtSea tacks on a another $20.99 per MB used by the phone.

 

So, you now have all the knowledge you need and know what your finances are to know whether this is affordable for you. If it isn't, take the phone away...plain and simple.

[luddite]

Confiscate their phones. Turn them off and put in the safe.

 

Pull the batteries as well.

[luddite]

That won't be happening, I'm not going to start our cruise by taking their phones, I simply don't want to have the worry in the back of my mind the whole trip. I want to know how are texting and wifi paid for? Obviously, they have to know whose phone does the texting or surfing, so how is that established? Do they limit how much you can spend on these services, or is it, "sorry, you owe us $1.2 million, thanks"? I'd like to be able to say, "OK, Honey, you can spend 'x' for texts this trip, so govern yourself accordingly." Is this feasible?

 

You're gonna get a big bill.

[babyher]

The answer seems pretty unanimous. Since you're the one that pays the cell phone bill, and you don't want to come home to sticker shock when you get your cell phone bill, do as others have said and turn the phones off and lock them away. Then, hand each of them a nice note pad and a pen and say "Here's how I communicated with friends when I was your age. Write a letter." Oh, they'll probably hate you for a day or two, but they'll survive.

 

 

 

 

Yea they will hate you and grumble and curse your very existence ...........Until the next time they want something and then they will be sweet as pie *LOL*

[DirtyDawg]

When I was 16, I was an Internet/chat ADDICT. .....

 

When I was 16 I also had a constant communication addiction. I would spend hours and hours on the telegraph chatting with my friends.:o

 

When we started to have kids, I thought the biggest expense was going to be the cost of university educations for them. SILLY ME!:eek:

 

Just turn the phones off, lock them up, and use the money you save to buy yourself a house in Cleveland.;)

[Algebralovr]

I am the parent of two teens, now 17 and 19 years old. When they are with us and it will be roaming, their phones are off. They have no need of them on the ship once it pulls away from home port, and I refuse to pay the international roaming charges for teens.

 

When we pull into port, if it is a US port where the phone won't cost anything, everyone turns on their phone, checks and responds to messages. If it is not a US port, the phones stay off. I take mine ashore in case of emergency.

 

I would speak to your phone company about the charges and I would probably block international calling and data on the teen phones.

 

This thread reminds me of conversations I sometimes have with parents of teens who don't do their homework. I advise the parents to take away the car keys and enforce study hours at home. The response from the parents has often been, "but I can't take their car away, then I would have to drive them everywhere!" Well, yeah, you might, unless you tell them they aren't going "everywhere" until they show some responsibility and pass their classes - even those they don't like.

 

Honestly, if taking away the phones will ruin their vacation they have bigger problems.

[Badfinger]

Don't put them in the safe. Just leave them in car or better yet, at home.

 

However, perhaps an alternative would be to buy the unlimited internet, and have them use a device like an IPod Touch or IPad to send text messages through the internet. I know my kids are able to do that with their IPods (I have no idea how so please don't ask).

[babyher]

When I was 16 I also had a constant communication addiction. I would spend hours and hours on the telegraph chatting with my friends.:o

 

When we started to have kids, I thought the biggest expense was going to be the cost of university educations for them. SILLY ME!:eek:

 

Just turn the phones off, lock them up, and use the money you save to buy yourself a house in Cleveland.;)

 

 

 

 

:)

 

 

Hey I remember you from those old telegraphing days ....Weren't you on that old Morse code web site DOT, DOT, DASH. Dot Com ?? *LOL*

[akm107]

IMO, dont take their phones away. Let them keep it, tell them how the situation works and why the phone shouldnt be used while at sea and give them ways to still use the phone (i.e., play games, take pictures, etc. by keeping the phone on Airplane Mode if using an iphone/smart phone), and explain the ramifications for going outside those parameters.

 

I used my phone while in the American ports (St. Thomas and Puerto Rico, specifically) because I knew my data/voice package supported those locations. While I was on the ship, I put my iphone in Airplane Mode and did exactly what I mentioned above: played angry birds, listened to my music, took pictures, etc. and all was fine. I also intentionally turned off the wifi just in case.

 

In my recent travels to Asia, I did the same thing -- used airplane mode but turned on the wifi. i-messaging on the Apple phones (texting to other apple phone users) is utilized through wifi and is FREE, requiring you not to have to use your data to send/receive messages. You can tell who has and doesnt have i-messaging by the color of your texts (i.e., the text log is blue if you are using i-messenger, and non-i-messengers text logs are green with users who are not iphone users). However, that does require you to be attached to a wifi. I was lucky in that a lot of places had open free connections.