Has anyone used their cell phones on their cruise??

[MKJEcruisers]

I've heard that there are special SIM cards that you can buy that offer really good rates for international calling. We have been researching this for our upcomming med cruise in may. I would definitely research/call your cell company to make absolute sure that you know their policies for international calling. I have heard horror stories about phones automatically downloading new phone info even if the phone if OFF! Someone I read about on a cruise ended up with $4800 in data charges this way. BEWARE!!!

 

[star2500]

That's one text every 6 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 31 days.

Wow, and to think I blew my stack when my son went over his 500 message a month limit.

Lol yeah it blows my mind too. It was only one month when school ended and she has a new "friend" can't say the word yet...still blows my mind she's old enough for that lol. So most of their texting is "hey", "whats up" lmao

Both of them got the "lecture". lol

I've heard that there are special SIM cards that you can buy that offer really good rates for international calling. We have been researching this for our upcomming med cruise in may. I would definitely research/call your cell company to make absolute sure that you know their policies for international calling. I have heard horror stories about phones automatically downloading new phone info even if the phone if OFF! Someone I read about on a cruise ended up with $4800 in data charges this way. BEWARE!!!

OMG All batteries are coming out of the cell phones when we are on the ship. My son and I have the Verizon Storm. My phone beeps all the time because of email alerts....that's all I need is to come home to a phone bill that's way more than my vacation

Thanks everyone....if it wasn't for these boards I wouldn't have thought twice about the phones.

 

[Scooby3x1y]

OMG lol....the phone is staying home! lol....she had 8000 text messages last month.....I'll be coming home to a texting bill that cost more than our cruise lmao

Unfortunately 8000 isn't too many, my friends DS and another friends DD, had more than 20,000 a month. They had a local news program that said teens were texting between 20 and 30k a month. Totally crazy. Luckily, my teens haven't hit that many, but since we have unlimited texting, it doesn't matter as long as their school work stays being done.

 

[accola]

I did in February on St. John - called back to St. Thomas cab driver as we were getting on the ferry.

Verizon Wireless is my carrier, roaming charges were $0.69 per minute (looked at the bill online from back then).

Haven't ever called from the ship out at sea or from any other port.

 

[star2500]

Unfortunately 8000 isn't too many, my friends DS and another friends DD, had more than 20,000 a month. They had a local news program that said teens were texting between 20 and 30k a month. Totally crazy. Luckily, my teens haven't hit that many, but since we have unlimited texting, it doesn't matter as long as their school work stays being done.

I know...my daughter informed me what the Guiness Book of Word Record is for texting (forget off hand having a senior moment ) but she told me next summer she wants to try and break it. I told her and I will then break your phone

She's a great kid and listens....so far! lol

 

[disneynut2007]

My 17 year old freaked as well when she found out she couldnt text. I called Verizon and they added international features. However, txting costs .45 cents to send and receive, (even with unlimited txting) so it can add up. I don't even know what calls cost, because it is very expensive. Verizon told me that normal rates apply at Port Canaveral and up to 12 miles out to sea

 

[Seahunt]

It's good most DISers who have used their phones while traveling haven't had the same problem CNN had a report on last Friday night. It was about a couple who racked up an $8000 cell bill when they traveled to Indonesia! Holy Moley
Partial info
Take what happened to P. Morgan Brown when his wife decided to take a spur-of-the-moment vacation to Indonesia.
Her Verizon bill came to a staggering $8,000. Text-messages home cost an astounding $2.50 each and the meter was running at an eye-popping $1.75 a minute for phone calls.
"We almost missed a mortgage payment when the auto-withdrawal for the first bill came through and wiped out our checking account," says Brown, who works for an Internet company in Aliso Viejo, California. "What a waste of money".

Rest of article (including CNN's tips to avoid this ):

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/traveltips/08/28/cell.phone.saving/index.html

 

[MKJEcruisers]

Rest of article (including CNN's tips to avoid this ):

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/traveltips/08/28/cell.phone.saving/index.html

[/QUOTE]


Thank you for the link to this article. Using our cell phone on the cruise is one of the things that we are researching extensively. We have heard horror stories of exorbitant fees during international travel. It's unbelievable that US cell phone companies are still being allowed to overcharge people like they do. It's nice to see that the EU has finally done something about it.