If the phone doesn't ring, it's me

[RRB]

First of all, thank you to everyone that answered my individual posts on various threads regarding cell phone use, texting, internet, etc. We have not cruised since the new DCL app, Internet Plans and the Cellular@Sea system were incorporated and I’m trying to understand how everything works. I called DCL, read all the posts and now think I might understand the systems on the ship. Please let me know if the information below is right and if not, please correct me.


1 – While in foreign ports, cell service is available and you need to make sure that you carrier is set up to use that foreign cell service. Costs for these services are charged by your service carrier, not by DCL.

2 – When away from land, it is my understanding that cell phones can send/receive voice calls and send/receive texts by using the Cellular@Sea service that is on the ships. This service does not require registering and does not add charges to the stateroom. There are charges for these calls but they come from the carrier (Sprint, ATT, etc) not from DCL. This service is similar to Roaming charges on land. That said, you could go on a cruise, NOT purchase the internet plan and NOT use the DCL app and make calls/texts and pay for them when you get home. If all this is correct, here is the question – my cell phone also receives emails and has internet capabilities, all through cell service. Will my phone do the same thing using the Cell@Sea? If so, why do I need to purchase the internet plan?

3 – Internet service; If you want internet service, you need to sign up for either a “by the minute” plan or a pre-paid plan. This is done through DCL and is charged to your room. So why do I need an internet plan if Cell@Sea does the same thing? Is it because laptops don’t have cell capabilities?

4 – DCL App – The DCL app works on the ship’s wifi system and accesses ship information and specific itineraries for your cruise. This app also lets you text to other smart phones (who also have the app) while on the ship. The app does NOT connect voice or text to land. That said, you could go on a cruise, NOT sign up for internet, NOT make a phone call and use the app and not spend any money. This app is a separate system/service from the internet and the Cell@Sea. What is confusing is that posts have warned users about incurring charges without setting the phone on ”Airplane mode” but I’m now thinking that the charges are coming from the cell carriers (via Cell@Sea), not the app and not charged to the stateroom.


Thanks in advance for the help. Although I would love to disconnect from the rest of the world for the cruise, I just can’t.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Yes...

Internet you sign up from your device on the ship when you want,..

 

[bumbershoot]

This app also lets you text to other smart phones (who also have the app) while on the ship.

Yes but not just phones. If you have an iPod that gets wifi it can work. iPad, decommissioned (no SIM) phone works too. Something that gets wifi and has a way to type!

That said, you could go on a cruise, NOT sign up for internet, NOT make a phone call and use the app and not spend any money.

Absolutely. That's what we do.

The app does NOT connect voice or text to land.

Correctamundo.

What is confusing is that posts have warned users about incurring charges without setting the phone on ”Airplane mode” but I’m now thinking that the charges are coming from the cell carriers (via Cell@Sea), not the app and not charged to the stateroom.

Right. It's showing up on the cell bill when you get home. If it were onboard charges you'd figure it out quickly and be able to stop it.

 

[clten]

Why might you want an internet package from DCL rather than just using Cellular@Sea? Cost. You can use Cellular@Sea for data rather than purchasing an internet plan on board (btw, DCL plans are now per MB, not per minute). But there are data charges for the Cellular@Sea -- it doesn't come out of your regular data allotment. So you would have to see if the Cellular@Sea charge for data is more or less than the onboard internet if you plan on using data. (I took a quick look at AT&T and their price is per KB not MB so you'd have to convert to compare.)

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I am in no way a tech person.

When my husband was just in Seoul, S Korea for 2 weeks we did not do anything international rate-wise with our cell service and we talked & texted every day. He turned his phone to airplane mode and turned on wifi. We used FaceTime voice & iMessage to talk and it worked very well. I'm not sure how that could translate into the services on the ships. Just buy a data package, I think? iMessage is fabulous. Seriously. It was a wonderful thing to be able to stay in touch almost as we would in our daily lives (bar the 14 hr time difference, LOL).

 

[Saamh]

I've heard horror stories of cruisers leaving their phones on (not in airplane mode) and returning to a bill totaling thousands because it connects to Cellular@sea and automatically updates apps, downloads emails, etc. With DCL internet you can track your usage and cost with no surprises (also make sure to turn off automatic updates, etc. and log off when you are not actively using the Internet. )

 

[shelbell77]

Money is why you would use DCL internet instead of Cellular at Sea. Your cell provider would have to provide you the rates, but data roaming is outrageously expensive in general. As are calls over cellular at sea. DCL internet package likely way cheaper. And you know precisely your usage on an ongoing basis and can control your costs.

 

[RRB]

All good points, thanks. With each reply, I'm getting a better understanding of the systems.......

1 - Cell@Sea is like a cell tower on the boat that costs money to use. It's always connected to everyone's phone so you better either have the phone off or in airplane mode or suffer the financial consequences. Depending on the type of use for each individual, the bill could be small or thousands like Saamh said.
2 - you can use Cell@Sea OR sign up for a internet plan with DCL. The DCL plan tells you what you're using as you go so you can monitor the use and cost. That brings up another question - if you choose to use DCL internet, how does the phone know if it is using DCL or Cell@Sea? Is the DCL service on wifi and the Cell@Sea not? Is this why people are saying to put the phone in Airplane mode, then activate the wifi?

Again, thanks

 

[shelbell77]

If you put your phone in airplane mode it will never connect to cellular at sea. you use wifi to connect to DCL internet.

 

[RRB]

OK Sprint users, the costs for Cell@Sea are as follows....

phone calls in or out or listening to voice mail - $2.99 per minute
texts sent - $0.50 per text
texts received - $0.15 per text
set up phone for international roaming (required for Cell@Sea) - $0.00

 

[bumbershoot]

RRB, what is it that you want to do? Maybe we can start from there?

 

[RRB]

I believe there is a way turn off the phone's data so you can use the phone calls or texts, correct?

 

[RRB]

RRB, what is it that you want to do? Maybe we can start from there?

3 things - understand how the systems work so I know how to prepare/use my devises while on board, check emails once or twice a day (I get allot of attachments with my emails) and be able to communicate with the people at home, phone calls are preferred but texts can work too. As longs as I know how everything works, I should be able to to #2 and #3 effectively. Plus, I don't want to make any "thousand dollar" mistakes

 

[Msidescooter]

Connect@Sea is an expensive option to remain connected to land. Depending on your carrier will ultimately depend on what you pay, but it's always cheaper to sign up for a plan ahead of time than to do pay for use. For example, Verizon charges $2.05 USD per MB if you pay for use, verses $25 per line for 100 MB or $50 for 250 MB. In comparison, a gig of the ship's WiFi costs just under $100. But if you use the ship's WiFi you will want to be sure to log out of the webapp when you're done using the internet. I made the mistake of staying signed in and burned through 75% of my data the first night.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/landingpages/international-travel/

 

[bumbershoot]

DH mentions that if you can get a decent int'l data plan, you can do everything through data. Skype or What'sApp for phone calls. He says Skype can be better because you can call a regular phone if you pay Skype. Whatsapp requires other cellphones and that the other people have the app.

Just an idea.

And if it's a port-heavy itinerary, using the int'l data plan could be a good way, too. Just wait until you get to the port to check email.

 

[Shane Leith]

It was a wonderful thing to be able to stay in touch almost as we would in our daily lives

 

[michellekcm]

On the ship they also have flyers about what else to turn off in your phone settings etc to avoid using up tons of data. They have different flyers for iPhone, android, etc. Just go to the Internet cafe area and get them.

That assists in not using up all your data on day 1 because something is updating in the background etc.

 

[RRB]

DH mentions that if you can get a decent int'l data plan, you can do everything through data. Skype or What'sApp for phone calls. He says Skype can be better because you can call a regular phone if you pay Skype. Whatsapp requires other cellphones and that the other people have the app.

Just an idea.

And if it's a port-heavy itinerary, using the int'l data plan could be a good way, too. Just wait until you get to the port to check email.

Actually, I was hoping to be able to use Android's "wifi calling" feature which makes phone calls over a wifi/internet connection. Then I looked at the Sprint web site and found this.....

Does Wi-Fi Calling work while the device is in Airplane Mode?
Android Devices: Wi-Fi Calling is not currently available in Airplane Mode.

That means as soon as I take it off airplane mode, it will use the Cell@Sea connection.

I'll look at skype to see what their rates are.

 

[RRB]

Skype's phone rates are pretty cheap and far less than Sprint's roaming charges. However, I looked at Dis Boards, Skype's boards and Cruise C and have yet to find anyone who has reported first hand knowledge on how well or bad Skype works. Because of the bandwidth required for any video transmission, I would assume to use their phone calls, not video calls. If anyone has first hand knowledge with using Skype, please reply

Thanks

 

[KristiMc]

Skype's phone rates are pretty cheap and far less than Sprint's roaming charges. However, I looked at Dis Boards, Skype's boards and Cruise C and have yet to find anyone who has reported first hand knowledge on how well or bad Skype works. Because of the bandwidth required for any video transmission, I would assume to use their phone calls, not video calls. If anyone has first hand knowledge with using Skype, please reply

Thanks

I have always heard that Skype does not work on the ships.