QQ texting on Luminosa

[audcc77]

My friend has not purchased Wi-Fi on Luminosa.   I did.  
 

We’ve texted the past few days. She’s been on airplane mode the entire time.  
 

Today, ATT texted her and said they are turning off her data service in US and international because she has incurred over $100. 
😳

 

Has anyone run into this before?

 

 

[Colorado Beach Bum]

Was on Luminosa and this happened to person we were with.  But he turned off airplane mode.  That is when he was roaming and used data.  He was all excited thinking he had cell service but while sailing it was using ship cellular and he got the message you spoke about.  He did this multiple times and we kept telling him to leave it on airplane mode. 

[audcc77]

She turned on airplane mode before we left the port. 
 

She was going to call ATT when we’re in Juneau.  
 

But is that going to incur charges once she turns off airplane mode?

ATT completely locked her phone.  
 

I’m sure she can get the charge waived once she returns home.  

[1025cruise]

Are you sure she didn't accidentally turn off airplane mode? Found out the hard way that my wife accidentally turned it off on our last cruise by accident. Fortunately, our charge wasn't that bad.

[Bagbklyn]

They will give probably give your friend a credit but now waive the fee.  Happened to me on a cruise with Verizon and my parents and they gave me a $30 credit which was better than nothing.  They did state that they should have put the phone on airplane mode and they were absolutely correct.

[audcc77]

4 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

Are you sure she didn't accidentally turn off airplane mode? Found out the hard way that my wife accidentally turned it off on our last cruise by accident. Fortunately, our charge wasn't that bad.

No. She had them both in airplane mode.  
 

Since Juneau is in US, can we turn off airplane mode and not incur fees?  

[Old Fart Cruisers]

What is a QQ text?

[audcc77]

Lol.  It means quick question.  

[Old Fart Cruisers]

26 minutes ago, audcc77 said:

Lol.  It means quick question.  

🥴  I hate abbreviations.  I thought it was some kind of texting using wifi instead of cellular service. 

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, audcc77 said:

No. She had them both in airplane mode.  
 

Since Juneau is in US, can we turn off airplane mode and not incur fees?  

Yes, once you are in port and can get a cell signal. For AT&T, the same is also true for Canada and Mexico. 

[stevethepirate]

Wifi calling on maybe. Texting needs a cell network. Messaging you can do over wifi. Some kind of way she was using the ships network.

[Haljo1935]

3 minutes ago, stevethepirate said:

Wifi calling on maybe. Texting needs a cell network. Messaging you can do over wifi. Some kind of way she was using the ships network.

@audcc77Correct and even though Juneau is in US, you still have to turn ON airplane mode when you're in water near but not actually on lan in Juneau.

[SailawayKC]

Typical ships turn off the on board cell network when they come into port. Most smart phones will tell you which network you are on at the top of the screen. Once in port you join the land based network and this will usually work for a few miles out to sea. When leaving port you will see no service before they turn the ship base Cellular at Sea service back on. Some networks will give you a roaming message on what the costs are when you are not on an included partner network.

[audcc77]

We’re back on the ship.  I think we were afraid to turn off airplane mode because we may incur a fee. 
 

I tried going to the AT&T page, and googling, and could not really get a straight answer.

 

probably should’ve figured this out before we left our houses. 
 

Thank you to all .

[Colorado Beach Bum]

Sorry you had these issues.  I’ve had AT&T forever and airplane mode has worked every time on tons of cruises including Luminosa last month.  This includes using ship WIFI or just the ship app without WiFi.  It must have unknowingly/accidentally came out of airplane mode.  One additional thing to try in the future is to turn off data roaming.  That way if you accidentally turn off airplane mode you won’t incure data charges. 

[Old Fart Cruisers]

On 7/29/2023 at 4:29 PM, Haljo1935 said:

@audcc77Correct and even though Juneau is in US, you still have to turn ON airplane mode when you're in water near but not actually on lan in Juneau.

I always turn airplane mode off as we are close to port since Cellular at Sea is supposed to be turned off long before that, so you won't be charged.  I also take a couple pictures with location turned on, so I have proof of my location and time just in case I am charged.  I started doing this after the one and only time that I did get charged for phone calls while in port (around 4 years ago).  I happened to have time stamped photos with location showing that I was in port when I was charged.  I called my provider and explained that I was in port at the time and shouldn't have been charged since Cellular at Sea should have been turned off at least 9 miles sooner, according to their documentation.  They apologized and removed the charge.  I've never had any issues of being charged on while in any port since then, but I still take pictures to prove my time and location before and after using the phone, just in case I have any charges show up again.

 

Facts about using your AT&T Cruise package

When you can use a cruise package
While cruising onboard your eligible ship in international waters, your phone will connect to the cruise ship’s cellular network, and the network name Cellular at Sea, Nor-18, or 901-18 will appear in the upper left corner of your device screen.

Note: When the ship is within 9-12 nautical miles from shore, your cruise ship will turn off their cellular network, and your device will register on the nearest land-based cellular provider.

 

Explore AT&T Cruise Packages - AT&T Wireless Customer Support (att.com)

[audcc77]

Yes. I have ATT and spoke with a couple while at port in Skagway.  Sure enough, you can turn off airplane mode and not be charged while in Skagway and Juneau.