Verizon phone on the Escape

[Dramamamahil]

Will this work in Europe too? We are on the Epic in the western Med at the beginning of July.

[luvtheships]

I just had the opportunity to add the travel plan to my phone and believe it or not Verizon wireless has finally realized that the prorating nonsense and the billing date nonsense was just that....nonsense....

 

They have finally come around and made it simplified!!!

 

Fwiw.....still call and have a rep add the plan for you as the website doesn't give the info about the 250/250/250 plan for $85.

 

Maybe they will fix that also

 

My child will be abroad for 30 days so the larger plan is best for her this time

Edited June 7, 2016 by luvtheships

[gmazz]

I just called to look into this and will be calling back on the 18th to add it to my phone. We leave on the 19th on the BA and my girls will be home so this will be a great way to keep in touch and have piece of mind that they can reach me in an emergency. Totally priceless!

[zteamtwo]

Thanks for all the Verizon info.

[TommyBoy2016]

I have an International pkg with ATT. I found out the hard way, international does not apply to "Cellular at Sea" coverage. Ie, International is not international. $900 bill waiting for me when I got home. Turn off all connections and put your phone in "Airplane Mode". And just use at Starbucks joints in the ports. That's enough.

 

 

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[julie3fan]

Bummer, TommyBoy. ☹

[esm54687]

another point to make clear when you talk to VW... when they pro rate the $40 because you signed up for the plan mid billing cycle, that also means the package (data, text, etc) is also pro rated.... found that out the hard way!!

 

Here is the link to the TravelPass countries..... Bahamas is not included!

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/plans/travelpass-countries/

Edited June 8, 2016 by esm54687

[luvtheships]

I just called to look into this and will be calling back on the 18th to add it to my phone. We leave on the 19th on the BA and my girls will be home so this will be a great way to keep in touch and have piece of mind that they can reach me in an emergency. Totally priceless!

 

 

You can call now and have them set it to start whenever you want. They send you an email confirmation with the start date on it

 

I called yesterday and my email clearly states that the international $85 250/250/250 plan starts on July 5

 

She also clearly stated on the phone that it would be a one time $85 charge and I would have access to the international usage for 30 days following July 5 and billing cycle start/end dates were of no significance any longer

 

1 time charge ....that's it!!!

 

If I wanted a 2nd month of usage I would need to call and set that up separately. We dont need that though

 

Kid traveling abroad for a month so that's why we took the larger plan for her

 

One less thing to do later on

Edited June 8, 2016 by luvtheships

[luvtheships]

I have an International pkg with ATT. I found out the hard way, international does not apply to "Cellular at Sea" coverage. Ie, International is not international. $900 bill waiting for me when I got home. Turn off all connections and put your phone in "Airplane Mode". And just use at Starbucks joints in the ports. That's enough.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Or switch to Verizon as they have a deal with Ncl

[luvtheships]

another point to make clear when you talk to VW... when they pro rate the $40 because you signed up for the plan mid billing cycle, that also means the package (data, text, etc) is also pro rated.... found that out the hard way!!

 

Here is the link to the TravelPass countries..... Bahamas is not included!

 

http://www.verizonwireless.com/plans/travelpass-countries/

 

 

No no no ....that was the point of my updated post # 27 to this thread

 

You are quoting old info and now it's changed so

 

No more need to prorate

 

No more worries about traveling over your billing end/start dates

 

They are just charging you $40 as a one time fee and that's it

 

Use your 100/100/100 for the 30 days following the day you start your plan.

 

The Verizon rep said they changed this in May because of all the complaints they had about the billing date /prorate thing

 

 

It's simple now

 

But fwiw....go old school here....call a rep to set it up and dont set it up online

 

Also the $10 daily travel pass is totally different than the 100/100/100 $40 plan or the 250/250/250 $85 plan

 

 

That's why people NEED to speak to the REP

 

The website is not clearly written and human interaction will make it so you get the right plan

Edited June 8, 2016 by luvtheships

[esm54687]

No no no ....that was the point of my updated post # 27 to this thread

 

You are quoting old info and now it's changed so

 

No more need to prorate

 

No more worries about traveling over your billing end/start dates

 

They are just charging you $40 as a one time fee and that's it

 

Use your 100/100/100 for the 30 days following the day you start your plan.

 

The Verizon rep said they changed this in May because of all the complaints they had about the billing date /prorate thing

 

 

It's simple now

 

But fwiw....go old school here....call a rep to set it up and dont set it up online

 

Also the $10 daily travel pass is totally different than the 100/100/100 $40 plan or the 250/250/250 $85 plan

 

 

That's why people NEED to speak to the REP

 

The website is not clearly written and human interaction will make it so you get the right plan

 

I got off the BA in March 2016 and probably one of the last groups that got burnt for several hundred dollars above the $40... great new info! and ironically, I spoke to the customer service rep who never educated me about the "pro rated" challenge even though I specifically asked if there was a penalty not to start it on my bill date ... thanks for updating me!!

Edited June 8, 2016 by esm54687

[luvtheships]

I got off the BA in March 2016 and probably one of the last groups that got burnt for several hundred dollars above the $40... great new info! and ironically, I spoke to the customer service rep who never educated me about the "pro rated" challenge even though I specifically asked if there was a penalty not to start it on my bill date ... thanks for updating me!!

 

 

As I posted previously I had many many long conversations with incompetent reps at Verizon each giving me incorrect info about the pro rating nonsense

 

Now these reps make very good money so you might think they can understand these issues. Lol

 

The woman I spoke with yesterday stopped me right away when I was starting to say about how difficult this plan was to set up...not to use..but to set up and said they started the new plan in May because of so many customer complaints which btw necessitated giving credit adjustments

 

She seemed more than knowledgeable but of course the skeptic/detailed planner in me will of course reconfirm everything at some point prior to July 5

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my DD does in fact only get charged $85 and does get 250/250/250 which no doubt she will but she will overlap 2 billing cycles and the rep said nope....only 1 time charge...and plan goes for 30 days starting July 5

Edited June 8, 2016 by luvtheships

[luvtheships]

I got off the BA in March 2016 and probably one of the last groups that got burnt for several hundred dollars above the $40... great new info! and ironically, I spoke to the customer service rep who never educated me about the "pro rated" challenge even though I specifically asked if there was a penalty not to start it on my bill date ... thanks for updating me!!

 

 

I hope you had them adjust your charges to reflect at maximum an $80 charge which would be the cost of 2 months of 100/100/100

 

Btw if they hadn't made these changes in May I was going to start month 1 on my June bill start date even though she would still be in the USA and set up the end date to be my bill cycle end date in August and instruct my dd that she would have 100/100/100 for the first 2 weeks of July and the same for the last 2 weeks and to make sure she didn't use more than 100/100/100 in either 2 week segment lol

 

That's what I had to do in March for my other dd who was traveling over a billing cycle even though it was just 7 days

 

Her prorated thing was 60/60/60 for the first 4 days of her trip and 40/40/40 for the next 3 days. Lol

 

Of course I only knew this because I was on the phone for 3 hours total trying to get proper info from Verizon

 

 

So ridiculous!!!! Especially in 2016 when technology is so commonplace

Edited June 8, 2016 by luvtheships

[EleventyBangBang]

Follow up: I bought the 40$ Verizon package, nothing else. I ended up never using the voice option, however I was NOT able to use data on the ship. Any attempts to bring up a browser on my phone were met with NCL's login page. I was able to use it in all ports once I walked far enough away from the ship to no longer be on the "Cellular At Sea" tower.

[megansdad1]

I just went through the web site to add the 10.00 a day plan while in Bermuda. Super simple and it allows you to put the day you want it to start. I chose this plan because I am going to keep my phone in airplane mode while at sea and then use it normally while in port.

[buckeyefrank]

I have an International pkg with ATT. I found out the hard way, international does not apply to "Cellular at Sea" coverage. Ie, International is not international. $900 bill waiting for me when I got home. Turn off all connections and put your phone in "Airplane Mode". And just use at Starbucks joints in the ports. That's enough.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

International calling actually gives you international calling using AT&T cell towers. The same holds true for Verizon, Sprint, etc. The cell tower on the ship is not AT&T, VZW or any other 'standard' carrier. The company that owns the cell site is Cellular At Sea. Without an agreement between your cell phone carrier and CAS (such as the VZW / CAS agreement), you unfortunately were stuck paying the charges for using CAS.

[luvtheships]

Just an FYI. Since I'm a nut for accuracy I just looked up the $40 plan for cruise ship use and I don't see it any longer. I only see a pay as you go option.

 

When I call tomorrow to reconfirm my land based international plan I will question this

 

It could be the Verizon website is wrong or it could be that the $40 is just land based now and not ship based any longer.

 

Geez Verizon does one thing right then messes up something else

 

Fwiw I took the free wifi option for my October cruise but will still add the $40 plan for use in ports if need be

[luvtheships]

International calling actually gives you international calling using AT&T cell towers. The same holds true for Verizon, Sprint, etc. The cell tower on the ship is not AT&T, VZW or any other 'standard' carrier. The company that owns the cell site is Cellular At Sea. Without an agreement between your cell phone carrier and CAS (such as the VZW / CAS agreement), you unfortunately were stuck paying the charges for using CAS.

 

 

Is there still a vzw/cas agreement?

 

As I posted the vzw website is just showing me pay as you go for cruises

[PNWMomma]

To use the Verizon/CAS pay as you go option does one just turn on the phone and make the phone call as normal? Or do we need to contact Verizon ahead of time? No special downloads? I saw the $1.79 (IIRC) a minute listed on the vzw website when searching compatibility with NCL ships, but thought maybe we would have to download and use the iconcierge app.

 

We only have one phone call that NEEDS to be made on our first sea day(hubs has to call out from work: vacation approved the rest of the week but the one day).

[luvtheships]

To use the Verizon/CAS pay as you go option does one just turn on the phone and make the phone call as normal? Or do we need to contact Verizon ahead of time? No special downloads? I saw the $1.79 (IIRC) a minute listed on the vzw website when searching compatibility with NCL ships, but thought maybe we would have to download and use the iconcierge app.

 

We only have one phone call that NEEDS to be made on our first sea day(hubs has to call out from work: vacation approved the rest of the week but the one day).

 

 

Call Verizon to set it up

 

Dont assume anything

[Crusin6]

I too was just perusing the Verizon website to set up the $40 plan for my upcoming cruise just like I did for my Jan 2016 cruise and the $40 option isn't coming up....just $1.79 pay as you go option!!!!

 

 

That's ridiculous what happened to 100/100/100 for $40 on an ncl ship?

 

 

Luvtheships I know all about the proration issue and I too had some long calls with them regarding travel to Europe that spanned a cycle end date but am thrilled they worked out that little bug in the system

 

 

But now.....what happened to the cruise ship package from Verizon?

 

I'm calling tomorrow too

 

Luv I know you will update us if you get to call first. Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[luvtheships]

I too was just perusing the Verizon website to set up the $40 plan for my upcoming cruise just like I did for my Jan 2016 cruise and the $40 option isn't coming up....just $1.79 pay as you go option!!!!

 

 

That's ridiculous what happened to 100/100/100 for $40 on an ncl ship?

 

 

Luvtheships I know all about the proration issue and I too had some long calls with them regarding travel to Europe that spanned a cycle end date but am thrilled they worked out that little bug in the system

 

 

But now.....what happened to the cruise ship package from Verizon?

 

I'm calling tomorrow too

 

Luv I know you will update us if you get to call first. Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

Thanks crusin6

 

I'm hoping that the vzw website just isn't showing the $40 ship plan but I'm not so sure anymore

 

And yes the landline thing for my dd is great but then again the vzw website only showed the $40 plan and not the $85 plan and I only found out about from the rep

 

Has anyone here used the $40 plan recently like last few weeks on an Ncl ship?

 

If so do they still offer it?

 

Alternately any vzw customers who just used the phone on an Ncl cruise...what kind of costs?

 

$40 for 100/100/100 or $1.79 talk pay as you go???

 

I won't call outside of 9 to 5 because I want to speak to a daytime vzw rep. Lol not that that helped during my March issue.

[luvtheships]

Well I just called vzw and the bad news is they have done away with all cruise ship deals. So while on the ship it's pay as you go pricing only

 

While in ports we have the options of:

 

$10 per day pricing

 

Or

 

$40 100/100/100

$85 250/250/250

 

So technically on board during sea days it's costly now as the $40/$85 or $10 packages aren't an option any longer while at sea.

 

So this is what my plan is....

 

3 sea days down from NYC....I'm using my Ncl promo I chose...250 minutes of wifi and using texts and FaceTime audio to keep in touch with the 20 somethings and the 15 yo who is in charge of the 20 somethings. Lol all of them are great responsible kids but of course I want to touch base with them daily and also be sure they can contact us too.

 

St kitts...St Martin...Antigua...St Thomas....using my wifi only iPad mini if free wifi is found in port....BUT....as a fall back position...i will add the $10 daily packages for 3 or all 4 of the ports...AND IF i feel the need to make a call I will just make it...if I do nt make a call I'm not charged the $10 either way so no loss to me

 

If I were to add the $40 package for the ports I'm limited to 100/100/100 plus I'm charged regardless of whether I make calls or not

 

So it's $10x4 ports unlimited use while in port OR $40 for 100/100/100 while in port

 

Neither option is good on the ship because as I said its pay as you go now only

 

The $10 daily in port gives me more usage of course as call minutes are unlimited

 

It really shouldn't be so complicated in this day and age but it still is

 

Good news is I read here on CC that Ncl is upgrading all ships to high speed internet by mid June so I guess picking the 250 minutes was a good choice

[Crusin6]

I called too and got the same info that luvtheships did from verizon

 

 

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[gmazz]

OMG I am so darn mad!!! I called yesterday and was told that I could use the phone on the ship and now today you can't!

 

I was so excited about being able to keep in contact with my girls back home but now I don't think it is worth $40 to only be able to use it for 3 days on land. We can just get the $15 dockside internet for those 3 days and email or face time. So disgusted with Verizon right now I could scream! :mad::mad::mad: