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Quick cruise question

A

AppleFan360

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 26, 2008
2,217
735
When on a cruise and using AT&T and an iphone, my plan is to:

1. Turn data roaming off
2. Leave the phone turned on so I can make and receive calls ($2.49 per minute).

My question is: Does the ship (Royal Carribean) place another charge on top of the $2.49 per minute that AT&T is charging me?

Thanks.
 
Chris Blount said:
When on a cruise and using AT&T and an iphone, my plan is to:

1. Turn data roaming off
2. Leave the phone turned on so I can make and receive calls ($2.49 per minute).

My question is: Does the ship (Royal Carribean) place another charge on top of the $2.49 per minute that AT&T is charging me?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

No, but why would you want to? Enjoy your vacation!
 
Depending on where you go, if you make your phone calls when you're off the boat, the rates go down. Add World traveler to your package just for the trip and pull it off when you get home. Turn off data roaming and keep the phone off and only turn it on to make the calls you see as necessary. You still pay for people calling you. So if you have a MIL that calls your wife every time she sneezes, you're best to shut it off.
 
Based on my recollection, the ships do charge if you make calls on their cellular network. If you're at sea, that's going to be your only option and it's really expensive. I have always put mine in airplane mode and then just hopped on the ship's wifi to send and receive email (again, pretty expensive).
 
Personally, I'd put it in Airplane mode and then turn wifi on (I'm assuming you can get wifi on the ship) and tell people to Skype call or Facetime you.

If they can't manage either of those things, tell them that email's the only way to reach you!
 
AustinIllini said:
1) Not Funny
2) too Soon
Click to expand...

Very true. Six (??) people have died, and there are approximately 500,000 gallons of diesel fuel still on board that is at serious risk for leaking into a protected marine sanctuary, and potentially causing massive damage to the island community it crashed in. The salvage crews are saying 2-4 weeks just to offload the fuel, because scrapping or righting can begin.

Small White Car said:
Personally, I'd put it in Airplane mode and then turn wifi on (I'm assuming you can get wifi on the ship) and tell people to Skype call or Facetime you.

If they can't manage either of those things, tell them that email's the only way to reach you!
Click to expand...

Don't they charge per minute for wifi on a cruise? Personally, I'd just put airplane mode on and tell people before I leave that I'M ON A BOAT.

The $2.49 is it, but there might be another charge if the OP were to make an international call from that for some reason.

I think it is free for incoming texts, and $.50 per outgoing, but check, as I'm not sure. If they are free, that would be the way for people to reach the OP.

EDIT: Wording.
 
BiggAW said:
Don't they charge per minute for wifi on a cruise? Personally, I'd just put airplane mode on and tell people before I leave that I'M ON A BOAT.
Click to expand...

No clue. Yeah, if that's the case, forget it. I kind of assumed it'd be a weekly fee or something. But who knows, you're probably right.
 
If I rememeber from my last cruise, they have a charge for cellular, because they are providing the connection while at sea.

They also have wi-fi available, but I believe they have several options for the wi-fi. Check with Royal Carribian, they should have some info on their website. That is who I sailed with the last time, but that has been a couple of years ago.
 
CSMchris376 said:
If I rememeber from my last cruise, they have a charge for cellular, because they are providing the connection while at sea.

They also have wi-fi available, but I believe they have several options for the wi-fi. Check with Royal Carribian, they should have some info on their website. That is who I sailed with the last time, but that has been a couple of years ago.
Click to expand...

They have a charge because they can make a crapload of money by taking people for a ride, instead of actually doing the right thing and working with US carriers to have native US service on US flagged vessels.
 
wifi was also insanely expensive for a set amount of minutes on my cruise.

if possible, keep the phone off and enjoy the cruise. it was THE most relaxing non-connected week ever :cool:
 
BiggAW said:
They have a charge because they can make a crapload of money by taking people for a ride, instead of actually doing the right thing and working with US carriers to have native US service on US flagged vessels.
Click to expand...

There is only one US Flagged Cruise ship the Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America..... sooooo try again
 
I just went on a cruise in December on royal carribean's allure of the seas. I can tell you this: wifi and cell phone services while at seas is awful. I used wifi sparingly because it was so slow it wasn't worth my time. I turned on a 50mb international roaming plan for the month and used my phone as normal while on islands. My bill wasn't too bad when I got back. Less than 200 anyway. Just don't go crazy uploading photos.

They also rent out iPhones for use while on the ship to sort of use as 2 way radios amongst your family. They are kind of cool but don't think you'll get any Internet out of them.
 
Chris Blount said:
My question is: Does the ship (Royal Carribean) place another charge on top of the $2.49 per minute that AT&T is charging me?
Click to expand...
Why not check with the source?
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experience/html.do?exCode=805
What are the mobile phone rates while onboard?
  • Rates for usage of your mobile phone are determined by your home carrier.
  • For more information, please contact your home carrier customer service.

How will I be billed for the usage time on my mobile phone?
  • You will be billed by your home carrier for your international roaming usage on your regular mobile phone bill.
  • It can take up to 60 days for charges to appear on your phone bill.
Click to expand...

Chris Blount said:
When on a cruise and using AT&T and an iphone, my plan is to:

1. Turn data roaming off
2. Leave the phone turned on so I can make and receive calls ($2.49 per minute).
Click to expand...
Keep in mind (especially note the second point!):

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/faq.jsp
Q. How am I charged for voicemail calls while roaming internationally?

A. Voicemail calls are charged as follows:

When your device is on:
  • Calls that you do not answer that are routed to the AT&T voicemail system will be charged as an international roaming incoming call to your device.
  • In addition, the foreign carrier's routing of that call to the AT&T voicemail system may generate an outgoing call charge from your device's location to the U.S.
  • These charges apply even if the caller disconnects from the voicemail system without leaving a message.
Click to expand...
Note that while that is for international roaming, cruise ships are probably handled the same way. I'd suggest confirming directly with at&t international support.

You can avoid this by turning your device on or using airplane mode. If you want to check for voicemail then temporarily turn or your device or disable airplane mode.
 
Last edited:
takeshi74 said:
Why not check with the source?
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experience/html.do?exCode=805



Keep in mind (especially note the second point!):

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/faq.jsp

Note that while that is for international roaming, cruise ships are probably handled the same way. I'd suggest confirming directly with at&t international support.

You can avoid this by turning your device on or using airplane mode. If you want to check for voicemail then temporarily turn or your device or disable airplane mode.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I saw that stuff but I wanted to get some real-world experience just to make sure...people who have actually made or received calls from ships.
 
Go to their website and they will explain the whole thing in detail. So many answers here when the website will give you facts:eek:
 
Small White Car said:
No clue. Yeah, if that's the case, forget it. I kind of assumed it'd be a weekly fee or something. But who knows, you're probably right.
Click to expand...

There are weekly packages but my recollection is that the pricing is not all that reasonable. Depending on your itinerary you might be better off just finding a wi-fi hotspot in the ports.
 
GraphicsGeek said:
No, but why would you want to? Enjoy your vacation!
Click to expand...

There are a handful of reasons. Some people have children. Something happens, they need to know. Some people have pets. Same deal. Some people are high up in a company and need to be contactable. I would hate for my company to lose millions and my only response be "I was enjoying my vacation".
 
$2.49? If i remember correctly, my AT&T plan was much cheaper when I went on a cruise.

What I did- international roaming with 20mb package (could be wrong but got the cheapest international package $19.99 i believe, used it, and canceled it once I got back.) Also got 10 cent text messaging so I told people to either email me or text me and i would send longer text messages, no pics, no videos, no phone calls. Wifi on the ship is like $100 for 100 minutes or something.
 
Beavis3 said:
Based on my recollection, the ships do charge if you make calls on their cellular network. If you're at sea, that's going to be your only option and it's really expensive. I have always put mine in airplane mode and then just hopped on the ship's wifi to send and receive email (again, pretty expensive).
Click to expand...

IIRC correctly Disney Cruise line did this. Internet and voice was beyond expensive so I just left it in Airplane mode till we got to port.
 
BiggAW said:
They have a charge because they can make a crapload of money by taking people for a ride, instead of actually doing the right thing and working with US carriers to have native US service on US flagged vessels.
Click to expand...

US flagged vessels??? I don't believe any of the cruise ships are registered in the U.S. - it costs way way too much money.

They add a surcharge to cell service and it is very expensive.
 
old-wiz said:
US flagged vessels??? I don't believe any of the cruise ships are registered in the U.S. - it costs way way too much money.
Click to expand...

As someone mentioned up thread, NCL's Pride of America is the only major American flagged cruise ship - based in Honolulu it does seven night trips around the islands. And yeah, it's a little pricier than the typical cruise on NCL. On the upside all of the ports are in the US so no international roaming :)
 
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