Airplane mode?

[rdtpm64]

14 hours ago, ober134 said:

slightly off topic but... we don't use cell phone for clock while cruising. Get an inexpensive wrist watch and set it to ship time. no need to worry about ship time vs port time.

Excellent advice.

[PlanoTim]

On 3/20/2024 at 11:43 AM, dallasdan said:

I have AT&T and when we are in Mexico I take my phone off of airplane mode and use it like normal.  No extra charges. With AT&T Canada and Mexico are included.  

My AT&T plan used to include just Canada and Mexico - in addition to the US territories.  But a couple of years ago when we got new phones they added all of the Americas - North, Central, & South.

[ober134]

8 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

Great idea. Question: where do I find an inexpensive watch? Here in NE NJ you can’t find too many inexpensive things! 🤯😳😣

I think we actually bought one at Dollar General and one at the $10 sale on board a ship

[tha sista]

I use my apple watch.  I just go into General-date and time-turn off set automatically and select the correct time zone when I walk on the cruise ship.  Then when the time changes, I just change it in my phone.  When the cruise is over and I am on land, I go back in and turn set automatically back on.  This has worked for me for years.

[Moonarino]

On 3/19/2024 at 9:41 PM, Sabalon said:

...

Another thing you can do is turn Cellular Data off.  It's been a while, but from what I recall, incoming text messages don't cost - that is because you basically can't control that.  I know in the past, with cellular data off and on Cellular at Sea, we could receive SMS text messages.  But playing with fire if you're not careful.  

 

Caution with this. Data is just data, not calling. Cellular calling is "always on" unless airplane mode is enabled, which means that roaming charges are likely unless airplane mode is turned on.

 

[mz-s]

28 minutes ago, Moonarino said:

 

Caution with this. Data is just data, not calling. Cellular calling is "always on" unless airplane mode is enabled, which means that roaming charges are likely unless airplane mode is turned on.

 

 

You can turn cellular data OFF but keep the cellular modem active so that SMS and calls are still active.

[mamiamjo]

13 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

Great idea. Question: where do I find an inexpensive watch? Here in NE NJ you can’t find too many inexpensive things! 🤯😳😣

Amazon

[APDMOM]

Be  very careful to check with your own cellular service… not all plans are the same.

 

About a month ago, we switched to T-Mobile, because I think Verizon coverage is going the way of the dodo.  For our Verizon plan, we had to pay $5 per day for Mexico and Canada, and $10 per day for other specific countries to use our phones.  For T-Mobile, we chose a plan that includes 215+ countries for free data and texting, and 25c per minute for phone calls.  
 

It really depends on the plan you get and how old your plan is! 🙂 Don’t assume these answers apply to your specific contract with the cell company.

[jimbo5544]

8 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Be  very careful to check with your own cellular service… not all plans are the same.

 

About a month ago, we switched to T-Mobile, because I think Verizon coverage is going the way of the dodo.  For our Verizon plan, we had to pay $5 per day for Mexico and Canada, and $10 per day for other specific countries to use our phones.  For T-Mobile, we chose a plan that includes 215+ countries for free data and texting, and 25c per minute for phone calls.  
 

It really depends on the plan you get and how old your plan is! 🙂 Don’t assume these answers apply to your specific contract with the cell company.

Verizon used to be very superior (imho) and we still have them, but agree with your assessment of their coverage plan.  Seems when they to 5g they gave up on coverage, esp locally.  Your analogy rings true. 

[jimbo5544]

Pun intended

[Old Fart Cruisers]

5 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Pun intended

[mz-s]

13 hours ago, APDMOM said:

It really depends on the plan you get and how old your plan is! 🙂 Don’t assume these answers apply to your specific contract with the cell company.

 

Best advice on this thread. Just because one plan offers it doesn't mean yours does!

[Sabalon]

18 hours ago, Moonarino said:

 

Caution with this. Data is just data, not calling. Cellular calling is "always on" unless airplane mode is enabled, which means that roaming charges are likely unless airplane mode is turned on.

 

 

That is a very good point - Even though the data is off, you can't really separate out SMS and calls. So that spam call about your car warranty can and probably will incur a charge even without answering!!!    I think in the past we'd turn airplane off long enough to see if there were any text messages, and then right back on.

[mz-s]

15 minutes ago, Sabalon said:

 

That is a very good point - Even though the data is off, you can't really separate out SMS and calls. So that spam call about your car warranty can and probably will incur a charge even without answering!!!    I think in the past we'd turn airplane off long enough to see if there were any text messages, and then right back on.

 

I've never gotten billed for a call unless I answered it, but I guess all plans are different.

 

I have gotten billed for received text messages however.

[Moonarino]

On 3/21/2024 at 8:40 PM, mz-s said:

 

You can turn cellular data OFF but keep the cellular modem active so that SMS and calls are still active.

 

Yes you can certainly do that. But what I was getting at is that one has to be careful about roaming charges. I'll just quote Carnival's help page on this:

 

Carnival Cruise Line, through agreement with Wireless Maritime Services, offers an advanced roaming network on board Carnival Cruise Line ships, allowing you to make and receive calls while at sea using your own mobile phone and telephone number. International roaming charges will be conveniently billed to you by your home mobile carrier. Please contact your mobile carrier for specific rate information.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1129/~/cellular-phone-service

 

 

[Moonarino]

On 3/22/2024 at 2:51 PM, Sabalon said:

 

That is a very good point - Even though the data is off, you can't really separate out SMS and calls. So that spam call about your car warranty can and probably will incur a charge even without answering!!!    I think in the past we'd turn airplane off long enough to see if there were any text messages, and then right back on.

 

Yep. The risks vary somewhat depending on carrier and cruise itinerary. I prefer not to take the risk, especially because I'm on vacation, on a cruise where (a) I want the rude interruptions to be as few as possible, and (b) I'm already spending a ton of money and I'm not rich. Emailing loved ones is always enough for us. We do turn off airplane mode at some ports and maybe make a check-in call or two. Or a few texts, they're cheap.

 

Some islands actually have Verizon or T-Mobile service.

 

AND there's always Wifi calling if we really want or need to do that.

 

But bottom line, to each his or her own.

 

 

 

Edited April 2 by Moonarino

[Moonarino]

On 3/22/2024 at 6:15 AM, jimbo5544 said:

Verizon used to be very superior (imho) and we still have them, but agree with your assessment of their coverage plan.  Seems when they to 5g they gave up on coverage, esp locally.  Your analogy rings true. 

 

They're doing 5G a different way than T-Mobile or AT&T, kinda typical for VZW and why we finally dumped them after more than 25 years. (Not that I need 5G but who knows when it will be the only thing out there.) I don't like T-Mobile either (horrible experience the first time I tried to sign up), but I use an mvno that is a LOT cheaper than anything else out there, and it offers a choice of VZW or Tmo SIM cards. When we cruise we actually take at least one of each.

Edited April 2 by Moonarino

[mz-s]

8 minutes ago, Moonarino said:

 

Yep. The risks vary somewhat depending on carrier and cruise itinerary. I prefer not to take the risk, especially because I'm on vacation, on a cruise where (a) I want the rude interruptions to be as few as possible, and (b) I'm already spending a ton of money and I'm not rich. Emailing loved ones is always enough for us. We do turn off airplane mode at some ports and maybe make a check-in call or two. Or a few texts, they're cheap.

 

Some islands actually have Verizon or T-Mobile service.

 

AND there's always Wifi calling if we really want or need to do that.

 

But bottom line, to each his or her own.

 

 

 

 

Carnival blocks wifi calling.

[Moonarino]

2 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Carnival blocks wifi calling.

 

Carnival does, but we've used Wifi calling at a couple of different ports.

Edited April 2 by Moonarino

[mz-s]

11 minutes ago, Moonarino said:

 

Carnival does, but we've used Wifi calling at a couple of different ports.

 

Great way to do it! I remember using wifi calling at Princess Cays. As I recall there were a few spots at the resort with free Wifi even though I was on a Carnival cruise.

[Moonarino]

4 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Great way to do it! I remember using wifi calling at Princess Cays. As I recall there were a few spots at the resort with free Wifi even though I was on a Carnival cruise.

 

Yep... can't remember which ports we called from, but there are several islands where free wifi can be found. Cafes and such. I believe at one port we actually connected to a carrier that was friendly to our mobile service.

 

Our mobile service also offers international plans, on a monthly basis I think it is... something like $15-25, which also includes a certain amount of data,

[Kelownabccan]

On 3/21/2024 at 4:13 AM, vwgolf2 said:

I've just found out that my provider (ID Mobile; I'm British) does not offer a US plan so I intend to switch off data roaming mode for the whole of my stay. The only time I'll use my phone is when I can connect to wifi in ports, bars, hotels etc. 

 

I may need to make the odd call in Miami, though, so I have wondered; would I still need to type +1 in front of numbers if calling a US number? And similarly, would they need to type +44 in order to call me?

See if you phone has esim capability....they you can buy a package that covers the country you are in and get data....I use Airalo

[klfrodo]

5 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Carnival blocks wifi calling.

But they don’t block WhatsApp 

[SRF]

On 3/19/2024 at 10:13 PM, Old Fart Cruisers said:

This is what T-Mobile offers in most countries.  I'm pretty sure this is on all T-Mobile plans.

 

 

 

My T-mobile plans gives unlimited wifi and texts and 25 cents per minute for calls in over 210 countries, plus each month my first 5 GB of data is high speed each month

[Old Fart Cruisers]

52 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

My T-mobile plans gives unlimited wifi and texts and 25 cents per minute for calls in over 210 countries, plus each month my first 5 GB of data is high speed each month

 

I think you mean unlimited data, not wifi.  Also, the speed of the high speed data varies by country.  Much of the Caribbean will be at 256Kbps, while other areas are higher speeds.