Cruise Ship Cell Phone Charge Warning

[69RoadRunner]

Make sure your phone is in airplane mode and then turn on WiFi. Turn off international data roaming on ship, too. If you have the cell connection on it will connect to the on ship cell service which is VERY expensive. I forgot and got a text from AT&T about cruise ship plans. I had the whole family shut it off quickly. We had used the AT&T international day pass in port, which is reasonable at $10/day for the first phone and $5/day for the rest for unlimited data, calls and text.

I got my AT&T bill and we do have some text and data charges for the time we connected to the ship's cell service. It's not horrible, but if we had failed to do so, the a la carte charges are insane. The monthly cruise ship packages are still very expensive per line.

I really wish there was a way block the ship cell access without having to do it manually and still be able to use the international day pass in port.

[69RoadRunner]

Oops! I didn't mean to put this in the rumors section. Can a mod move it over to the proper place?  Thanks!

[Xaa]

Yeah, it's really pretty standard advice to put your phone in airplane mode then re-enable wifi (if you choose) when on the cruise ship.  if you want to use the international plan on land, click it off airplane and then back on as you board.  Not really too big of a burden.

It is nice that AT&T (and verizon too) sends that text for cases where you might forget or where other things happen to get you out of airplane mode.

[smokeybandit]

You do not need to turn off international data when you're in airplane mode. That would defeat the point of there being an airplane mode.

[HeWhoWaits]

49 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

You do not need to turn off international data when you're in airplane mode. That would defeat the point of there being an airplane mode.

The benefit to doing so is in case your phone inadvertently goes out of airplane mode. Because of a system alert, my phone briefly activated in Cartagena, Colombia and three text messages and two work emails came through before I could react. Cost wasn't crazy high but if it had happened when the phone wasn't on my person it could have added up (it was 5.5 days worth of stuff that could have come through and that would have been quite a bit).

[Jolly Ogre]

Just power it all off and lock it in the safe for the entire cruise and will have no problems at all.

[tjcruisers]

I've never put it in airplane mode, just turned the data roaming off.

[ScottD]

46 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

Just power it all off and lock it in the safe for the entire cruise and will have no problems at all.

That'd be great if we didn't rely on the app for activities, schedules, reservations and keeping in touch with other family members on board

[69RoadRunner]

21 minutes ago, ScottD said:

That'd be great if we didn't rely on the app for activities, schedules, reservations and keeping in touch with other family members on board

This is all true. I've enjoyed trips when I was a scoutmaster where we completely unplugged, but a cruise with the family is not one that would work well for us. If others have success, that's great. We're all on our own vacations.

[Jolly Ogre]

45 minutes ago, ScottD said:

That'd be great if we didn't rely on the app for activities, schedules, reservations and keeping in touch with other family members on board

 

23 minutes ago, 69RoadRunner said:

This is all true. I've enjoyed trips when I was a scoutmaster where we completely unplugged, but a cruise with the family is not one that would work well for us. If others have success, that's great. We're all on our own vacations.

That is just sad that you "have" to rely on cell phones.

I have never used my phone on a cruise, and have had many many family vacations in the last 40 yrs and never communicated to anyone using a phone while on a vacation.

I don't understand on a cruise ship were it is impossible to get lost and where there would be nobody around to ask how to get anywhere on board why you would "need" to use a phone. 

All the activities are in the cruise compass and you can still get one the night before to help plan your next day.

If family members can't make it to functions on time if they are off doing their own thing then they will just miss out and maybe next time they will be on time.

[ScottD]

37 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

 

That is just sad that you "have" to rely on cell phones.

I have never used my phone on a cruise, and have had many many family vacations in the last 40 yrs and never communicated to anyone using a phone while on a vacation.

I don't understand on a cruise ship were it is impossible to get lost and where there would be nobody around to ask how to get anywhere on board why you would "need" to use a phone. 

All the activities are in the cruise compass and you can still get one the night before to help plan your next day.

If family members can't make it to functions on time if they are off doing their own thing then they will just miss out and maybe next time they will be on time.

It's just called modern convenience.  I like having the activities on hand..and they get updated as the day goes on,so that's nice to see on the app. I like making reservations and keeping track of activities on the calender. All much easier than constantly looking at a compass that you can't even get all the time anymore. My kid is old enough to wander but would still like to be sure he doesn't want to meet up earlier or left an activity before scheduled. Oh..and pictures. I use my phone to take pictures. We did lots of stuff before cell phones...doesn't mean it was better or easier then

[Zacharius]

2 hours ago, tjcruisers said:

I've never put it in airplane mode, just turned the data roaming off.

Yep...I travel internationally for a living, have done so for 17 years, and I have never had one penny of unexpected international phone fees. That includes on cruises. It's pretty easy to keep your phone on the whole time and avoid charges. 

[Xaa]

44 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

That is just sad that you "have" to rely on cell phones.

Have to and prefer to are two different things.  I love me a paper compass.  You'll always find me with one, but I like to have the app to make or modify a reservation without having to visit anyone.  I also like to take pictures of the sunrise, my wife and family as well as other interesting things.  Lastly we generally all meet up just fine, but sometimes plans change and when they do nobody is waiting for me if I decide to do something else vs what we discussed and I'm not waiting for them either.

I'm not making calls or accepting them if it rings and I could replace all of that with other methodologies, but I already own the phone and it's really good at those things.

[69RoadRunner]

57 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

 

That is just sad that you "have" to rely on cell phones.

I have never used my phone on a cruise, and have had many many family vacations in the last 40 yrs and never communicated to anyone using a phone while on a vacation.

I don't understand on a cruise ship were it is impossible to get lost and where there would be nobody around to ask how to get anywhere on board why you would "need" to use a phone. 

All the activities are in the cruise compass and you can still get one the night before to help plan your next day.

If family members can't make it to functions on time if they are off doing their own thing then they will just miss out and maybe next time they will be on time.

Not sad at all. We had a great time. Phones enhanced our experience. If you prefer no phone, that's fine, too.