Seeking guidance in dealing with $500 cell satellite bill

[*Miss G*]

This is very suspicious. I would love to know if others have had the same issue. I have North America coverage with Verizon and had my phone on full roaming and data, on the ship, while in port in Mexico. There were no additional charges.

[OlsSalt]

MexTel's Carlos Slim did not become one of the world's richest men selling fish tacos in Ensenada - some background on MexTel's operations: https://www.forbes.com/sites/doliaestevez/2015/08/03/mexican-tycoon-carlos-slims-telcel-erases-mobile-borders-between-the-u-s-and-mexico/#4de9b75d4214

[0bnxshs]

Thank you all for your very thoughtful responses. It was Maritime charges by ATT. Our plan has coverage in Mexico, so our phones work in Mexico like they do in the US without any additional cost. We do not need to buy the $10/day International package while in Mexico.

 

I did think at first that some in our group were not fessing up, but my phone and my husband's phone were in the safe on airplane mode. Funny enough, the 3 young people (23-18) had the LOWEST bill. The only person that was not charged anything had their phone totally turned off. My 83 year old mom was the greatest offender and she has no apps and never uses her phone.

 

ATT has a "deal" with HAL for Maritime charges and it's $120/pp per week to join for cruising. No one in our group exceeded this number, so if they switched us into this program now, it wouldn't better the situation.

 

The charges are also posted to our account in the middle of the night when I'm fast asleep and the phone is in the safe. ATT says the times don't match up to anything, so there is no way to piece the puzzle together and see really when the charges incurred.

 

Lesson learned: Completely turn off the phone and do not turn it on until you are a bit of a distance from the ship. Airplane mode is not enough. It was not only ATT that told me the ship can connect while you are in port, but also the HAL guest relations person I spoke with. I don't know if they were misinformed, but that is the information both sources gave me. Every once in a while you got to bend over and take it because it's not worth the hassle.......this is one of those times.

 

Truly not arguing with you here, but trying to be sincerely helpful in getting ATT to abate your charges. Here is a quote off of the "cruise package" deals on the ATT website, all in fine print (I've increased the size):

 

"Cellular at Sea" Display: On-board networks operate only while in international waters. Therefore, your AT&T cruise package allowances and overage rates for usage on-ship only apply when "Cellular at Sea" displays on your device. Cruise package allowances and overage rates also apply off-ship, but only to the extent you are attached to land-based cellular in Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Everywhere else (including where "Cellular at Sea" is not displayed), pay-per-use rates apply, unless an additional current package offer applicable to country visited is active on the line of service.

ATT says it only works in international waters, so their CS reps are saying something completely different and I would call them on it. It does say that you can use the "cruise package" in certain regions but only to the extent you are attached to "land based cellular" in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

 

I'm somewhat confused when you say the charges were posted at night; were they posted to your HAL account? Or to your ATT account?

 

Again, I don't see how HAL would have anything to do with the charges. The package you reference not a service offered by HAL but by ATT to ATT wireless customers.

 

Here's the ATT webpage that I used above: https://www.att.com/offers/international-plans/cruise-packages.html

 

I haven't got ATT wireless service and have never had any problems using "Cellular at Sea" to make calls from the ship while at sea or my international roaming add-on when in port, even while still on the ship. Perhaps something is fishy with your account/phones?

[roberts2005]

When a shoe there is way to turn your phone so that you pick the network. Not on auto. This way it will never accidentally go to cellular at sea.

 

Last April after disembarking a celebrity cruise, in Hawaii, and waiting for a rental car pickup I used my phone and was billed for cellular at sea usage. ATT removed the charge

[iltutcruiser]

The best way to make sure you never get a bill is to turn your cell off & leave it in the safe until you get home.

Allan

 

This is the most effective way to deal with this type situation. It works every single time.

[KirkNC]

Just to ensure accuracy, if you leave your phone on airplane mode 100% of the time you will never have extra charges. That’s what we used to do when we had ATT and we traveled all over the world on dozens of cruises. Plus you can still connect to Wi-Fi.

[RDC1]

The OP never said it was a cellular at sea bill - only that he had an additional $500 cell phone bill.

 

I will be the voice of experience to say that we have never had any connection to the ship service while in port and have never had any charges reflecting that. Any charge we incurred was relative to the local cell service in port with which we were connected.

 

LAFFNVEGAS's post offers a good explanation as to port of call cell services.

 

Actually the op did say that ATT told them is was a HAL issue

 

I contacted our cell carrier (ATT) and they said it's an issue with HAL. You can be OFF the ship and in port and their satellite cell system can push you data (email, location service, etc.) if you are in their range. One ATT rep said the range could be 8 miles.

[CHOPPERTESTER]

Hey Martha, hi how are you. No we're on a cruise ship approaching Cozumel I can see the city lights. How's Uncle Joe.. Good blah blah blah. No we're getting off the ship now... blah blah blah. Look I'm going to have to let you go out tour guide has just shown up.

 

See them on every cruise. Usually at high volume, pacing around, oblivious to their cone of silence and everyone around them.

 

Sounds like the OP does have an issue with Mextel. Middle of the night could just be GMT time stamping where phone shows 4 am GMT but it was 9 pm local when call was made.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Sometimes they will give you a break.

[KroozNut]

Thank you all for your very thoughtful responses. It was Maritime charges by ATT. Our plan has coverage in Mexico, so our phones work in Mexico like they do in the US without any additional cost. We do not need to buy the $10/day International package while in Mexico.

 

I did think at first that some in our group were not fessing up, but my phone and my husband's phone were in the safe on airplane mode. Funny enough, the 3 young people (23-18) had the LOWEST bill. The only person that was not charged anything had their phone totally turned off. My 83 year old mom was the greatest offender and she has no apps and never uses her phone.

 

Just suck it up and pay the bill. Lesson learned!:rolleyes:

ATT has a "deal" with HAL for Maritime charges and it's $120/pp per week to join for cruising. No one in our group exceeded this number, so if they switched us into this program now, it wouldn't better the situation.

 

The charges are also posted to our account in the middle of the night when I'm fast asleep and the phone is in the safe. ATT says the times don't match up to anything, so there is no way to piece the puzzle together and see really when the charges incurred.

 

Lesson learned: Completely turn off the phone and do not turn it on until you are a bit of a distance from the ship. Airplane mode is not enough. It was not only ATT that told me the ship can connect while you are in port, but also the HAL guest relations person I spoke with. I don't know if they were misinformed, but that is the information both sources gave me. Every once in a while you got to bend over and take it because it's not worth the hassle.......this is one of those times.

 

Just suck it up and pay the bill. Lesson learned!:rolleyes:

[Florida_gal_50]

Just suck it up and pay the bill. Lesson learned!:rolleyes:

If you have endless amounts of money, sure. I'd make some effort to getting it resolved. Business would love customers like you:rolleyes:.

[RDC1]

I have a travel phone that is a pay by the minute in most countries (calls 15 cents a minute). I have roaming disabled. In my over 30 cruises on different lines I usually turn it on in port. Even while on the ship I have never connected to the ship tower when in port. I have always gotten a land based service.

 

If I saw a bill like that my first assumption would be that someone thought that the phone was put in airplane mode when it really wasn't.

 

One way to check for that is to see if any mail messages were received during a time when the ship was out at sea. If it was then you know that it was not in air plane mode like you thought. Same with text messages.

[RDC1]

the following is from the providers FAQ

 

1. How does your service work?

Our service operates over a satellite, or “VSAT” connection. Once your ship is at least 12 nautical miles out to sea (or at least 2 nautical miles in EU countries), the WMS network turns on and you will automatically connect to it. Please note that cruise ship roaming rates will apply. Our service will stay on for the duration of the time that the ship is sailing at sea. Once your ship approaches land again and is within 12 nautical miles from shore (or 2 nautical miles in the EU), our service is turned off and the mobile device will pick up local service. If you are able to pick up local service in the port areas you will be charged a different rate by your carrier then the Cruise Ship Roaming rate. Contact your carrier for pricing and details.

4. How much will it cost to use my cellular mobile device onboard a ship?

 

Rates are set and determined solely by your cell phone carrier—WMS has no involvement in the retail rates your carrier charges for cruise ship roaming or the billing process. For precise rates you will pay onboard, please contact your carrier’s international roaming department directly to confirm their Cruise Ship Roaming Rates for voice calls, texting, and/or data.

6. If my mobile device is left on and I do not use it, will I be charged?

 

 

In some cases, a mobile device that is left on, but not used, may incur charges. If a voice call is received but not answered, and the caller leaves a voicemail, it is possible you will receive a charge for a voice call. If a text message comes through and the mobile device is left on, you may be charged for a received text message. Please note that smartphones (Blackberries, iPhones, Androids, and other wireless devices) are constantly looking for data connections in order to perform updates and other synchronization steps. Therefore, it is highly possible that if you leave your wireless device on, you will incur data charges. Please contact your carrier for more information on data charges.

 

7. I did not use my mobile device onboard a cruise ship and I received charges, how do I dispute charges or get a refund?

 

 

Any questions or issues regarding billing must be handled solely through your carrier. WMS has no involvement at all with retail charges applied to the monthly bill by the cell phone provider. The cell phone carrier is the only entity with the ability to make any necessary adjustments to a customer’s bill.

[RDC1]

One other thought most telco companies give users access to usage data that shows the exact time of use. I know both the travel phone account and my verizon account gives me that capability. If you go into the usage area and it shows either voice, data or text when the ship was out at sea then you know that a phone was not in airplane mode.

[iancal]

I believe that your issue lies with the company that billed you. They have the power to reverse the billing. I suspect that your cell provider is giving you their version of HAL's front desk patter that goes something like....we have never had this complaint before.

 

Not certain what happened. When we lived in the BC Lower Mainland it was, at one point in time, not unusual for those using their cell phones close to the US border, to get a roaming charge added to their bill. A quick call to the cell phone provider reversed the charges. I would assume that the technology has evolved since I have not heard of this occurring in the past few years.

[msmayor]

Last March on Zuiderdam, I had to make a call to home while docked in Colon, Panama. I was able to determine that I could get coverage through Sprint in Panama and what the approximate per-minute charges were (we had free internet package on HAL so I looked it up before making the call).

 

While ON the ship and docked, I called home and spoke with my daughter for about 8 minutes. No HAL 'cellular at sea' charges at all, only charges from Sprint on my regular bill of about $9 for the call.

[igraf]

An alternative method is to use an MVNO that has no extra charges. I use Pure TalkUSA and they have no billing mechanism of any kind to charge me unexpected fees. I can use my phone on the ship, either in port or whenever passing by a USA city with no concern at all.

 

For the other days where I have no signal, well, I have learned that life continues without cell phone service (and I have some offline apps).

 

igraf

 

 

 

The best way to make sure you never get a bill is to turn your cell off & leave it in the safe until you get home.

Allan

[Jade13]

This is not a HAL issue.

 

What service did you purchase with ATT, and what pricing did you expect in each port for data, text, and phone service? What rates were you expecting off of the ship?

 

Did you opt for a special ATT rate for the ports where you planned to use your phones?

 

We keep our phones on airplane mode while on the ship. Off the ship we pay for Verizon service that is $10.00 per day in many ports for unlimited cell, data and text. We only pay for the days/ports where we turn it on.

 

You would have had to have data roaming off. Otherwise you would be paying the roaming charges.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited February 5, 2018 by Jade13

[Jade13]

Thank you all for your very thoughtful responses. It was Maritime charges by ATT. Our plan has coverage in Mexico, so our phones work in Mexico like they do in the US without any additional cost. We do not need to buy the $10/day International package while in Mexico.

 

I did think at first that some in our group were not fessing up, but my phone and my husband's phone were in the safe on airplane mode. My 83 year old mom was the greatest offender

 

The charges are also posted to our account in the middle of the night when I'm fast asleep and the phone is in the safe. M.

 

 

This pretty much tells us that you thought your phone was in airplane mode, but it wasn’t.

 

You needed to have data roaming off.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[drowelf]

Just an FYI, T-Mobile plans provide free connection in something like 140 countries for data and text so the problem of huge bills goes away. You still can’t connect to Cellular at Sea for free but land base connections have no surcharge.

 

Yep, thats the way we go (T-Mobile) and on my plan International is only $0.20/minute, so in the case we actually have to get or make a call, its does not break the bank. Especially as I'm not inclined to talk for a long time when away on a cruise. Most everyone I speak with is really Ok when I tell them I'm on vacation out of the country and really can't talk long.

 

Also, when in port, I'll often use the Hot-Spot feature to allow our devices to get some wifi access.

 

I also stay pretty cognizant of what my phone is attached too in terms of service, wifi, etc. when I'm on a cruise.

Edited February 5, 2018 by drowelf

[sail7seas]

Is AT & T still saying the charges resulted because of HAL not shutting off their signal?

[Charles4515]

Thank you all for your very thoughtful responses. It was Maritime charges by ATT. Our plan has coverage in Mexico, so our phones work in Mexico like they do in the US without any additional cost. We do not need to buy the $10/day International package while in Mexico.

 

I did think at first that some in our group were not fessing up, but my phone and my husband's phone were in the safe on airplane mode. Funny enough, the 3 young people (23-18) had the LOWEST bill. The only person that was not charged anything had their phone totally turned off. My 83 year old mom was the greatest offender and she has no apps and never uses her phone.

 

ATT has a "deal" with HAL for Maritime charges and it's $120/pp per week to join for cruising. No one in our group exceeded this number, so if they switched us into this program now, it wouldn't better the situation.

 

The charges are also posted to our account in the middle of the night when I'm fast asleep and the phone is in the safe. ATT says the times don't match up to anything, so there is no way to piece the puzzle together and see really when the charges incurred.

 

Lesson learned: Completely turn off the phone and do not turn it on until you are a bit of a distance from the ship. Airplane mode is not enough. It was not only ATT that told me the ship can connect while you are in port, but also the HAL guest relations person I spoke with. I don't know if they were misinformed, but that is the information both sources gave me. Every once in a while you got to bend over and take it because it's not worth the hassle.......this is one of those times.

 

Sorry. In airplane mode the radios are turned off. So your scenario is impossible.

 

Your roaming charges are either from Cellular at Sea or the Mexican cell carrier. If you truly have included Mexican coverage then AT&T should adjust that. If it was Cellular at Sea then you were not in Airplane Mode or the the supposed impossible happened and Cellular at Sea was on while you were in port. Again AT&T would have to adjust for that if you can convince them.

 

By the way, the owner of Cellular at Sea is AT&T.....

[TiogaCruiser]

:mad:W

 

By the way, the owner of Cellular at Sea is AT&T.....

:mad::mad:

 

I think AT&T has some ‘splainin to do...

[Oville]

The biggest issue is how expensive HAL’s WiFi packages are. We just got off the Koningsdam Sunday and needed to have WiFi for calls in both directions. If you have a smart phone you can have calling and texting free through the ship’s WiFi. Unfortunately, on HAL um Carnival the WiFi packages are over the top expensive and the service on Koningsdam was unbelievable slow. How can a ship this young have so poor service?

[ellieanne]

The biggest issue is how expensive HAL’s WiFi packages are. We just got off the Koningsdam Sunday and needed to have WiFi for calls in both directions. If you have a smart phone you can have calling and texting free through the ship’s WiFi. Unfortunately, on HAL um Carnival the WiFi packages are over the top expensive and the service on Koningsdam was unbelievable slow. How can a ship this young have so poor service?

 

I agree the new internet per-day pricing plans are insanely expensive. I wish they would go back to the per-minute pricing plans.

 

Unfortunately, there is very little that can be done right now about the speed. Satellite connections are slow, there is a lag, even on regular phone calls. When I'm in Australia, I call my mother on my landline, cellphone, and using a Skype-like VOIP service. There is always a lag due to the satellite connection. Internet on the ships is no different. It's going to be slow because it can't not be slow. Then add on al the people on the ship using the internet and it slows it down even more. It's just the way it is with the currently available technology.