AT&T International Day Pass

[jnsma]

I just wanted to pass along some issues we had with buying this on a recent cruise.
We stopped in Nassau and weren't getting off the ship. After 2 very busy days at Disney we decided that we just wanted to relax and enjoy the ship and have been to Nassau enough anyways.

While in port, I got a text from AT&T about a $10/day international plan and we purchased it for a couple of devices to check in (mostly for my teenage daughter to chat with friends). Given our plans for the day, $10 for the day didn't seem like a big deal. Yeah I know, put the phones away....

On one phone the plan worked as advertised, we connected and did whatever we wanted and just a $10 fee. On my daughter's phone she connected and did what teenagers do, but then we got an additional roaming charge of $100+ in addition to the $10 day plan.

AT&T is saying the extra roaming charges are coming from the cruise wifi and are real. They can't really explain why we got the text and were able to sign up for the one day pass but some of the data was classified as roaming, maybe as you move around the ship you lose the cellular signal? Or why 1 phone worked fine while the other got charges. We were all sure to turn the phones off once we left port so not to be charged. AT&T did refund some of the charges but not all and tried to put a happy spin that they were doing all they could.

I just wanted to pass it along. Best advice is probably not to connect at all....

 

[cvjw]

If you call to add the international day pass before you leave, they tell you to be careful using the plan too close to the cruise ship. I added international day pass before our first cruise 2 years ago, and have called before each subsequent cruise to make sure it is still on our phones.

I have been told every time I call to make sure I am on the cruise pier before using it. If you are too close to the cruise ship, it might not work properly.

 

[deliela999]

I had sort of a similar issue. While on the ship I got a text that my roaming charges exceeded $100 so I put it in airplane mode and enjoyed the rest of the cruise. When I got back they told me it didn't actually get added to my plan as I was told. They refunded 1/2 of the roaming charges and said that's all they could do. They told me it wasn't meant for cruises and might not work on the ship but never said it would be a problem being on the cruise besides possibly not getting a signal. I'm not sure what we'll do on our next cruise.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I have verizon and part of my unlimited data plan includes 5 travel passes per month and then $10 per 24 hour period after that. . In each port or foreign city I have always connected and used phone and data just like home including any time I’m on the ship but still in port. It’s never been a problem. Except if you sign in with another device it will count that as another day against your 5 day limit. I’ve used it all over the world without an issue.

 

[Heather07438]

I have verizon and part of my unlimited data plan includes 5 travel passes per month and then $10 per 24 hour period after that. . In each port or foreign city I have always connected and used phone and data just like home including any time I’m on the ship but still in port. It’s never been a problem. Except if you sign in with another device it will count that as another day against your 5 day limit. I’ve used it all over the world without an issue.

Verizon is more expensive but service is better overall. It's the only carrier by me where the calls don't drop out occasionally. I need reliable service for business so it's worth me paying more. And now my Verizon plan just gave me a free year of Disney+

 

[sethschroeder]

Normally I suggest being honest but when working with the cell carrier I wouldnt even say about being on a cruise.

I mean think of it this way. You are telling me if I go and look at the cruise ship in the port I may get roaming charges when never having stepped on the ship?

Sorry not acceptable from my point of view.

 

[sethschroeder]

Best advice is probably not to connect at all....

I followed up looking at this and ATT states Disney is required to turn off their cellular at sea when 9-12 miles from land or in port. This actually sounds like Disney is at fault.

https://www.att.com/ecms/dam/att/consumer/upperfunnel/2018/pdf/Travel-Tips-Cruise.pdf

 

[lds0191]

I am confused about connecting to the ships wi-fi. We have used International Day Plan may times when cruising with no issues. We have sat on deck while in port in Nassau, Castaway Cay and ports in England and Ireland. I thought in order to even connect to the ships wi-fi (except for the app which your phone has to be in airplane mode to use) you have to be signed up for a ship plan and when that data has been used you have to add more before you can use it. I know you have to be careful about having your phone out of airplane mode while at sea as it may connect to roaming that goes into effect when you are a few miles off shore but that does not apply while in port. My question is exactly what wi-fi is the phone company saying the phones are connecting to? I am asking because after reading this I am going to be even more paranoid about using my phone.

 

[WvT3rd]

I had a similar problem in Europe with AT&T. I bought a data plan that I figured would offset my costs. But was getting the $10 a day notice. When I got my bill I saw they never activated the data plan. I called them and they removed the unused package (the total cost difference between the two was $10). But really was a head scratcher...

 

[BruinEd03]

I just wanted to pass along some issues we had with buying this on a recent cruise.
We stopped in Nassau and weren't getting off the ship. After 2 very busy days at Disney we decided that we just wanted to relax and enjoy the ship and have been to Nassau enough anyways.

While in port, I got a text from AT&T about a $10/day international plan and we purchased it for a couple of devices to check in (mostly for my teenage daughter to chat with friends). Given our plans for the day, $10 for the day didn't seem like a big deal. Yeah I know, put the phones away....

On one phone the plan worked as advertised, we connected and did whatever we wanted and just a $10 fee. On my daughter's phone she connected and did what teenagers do, but then we got an additional roaming charge of $100+ in addition to the $10 day plan.

AT&T is saying the extra roaming charges are coming from the cruise wifi and are real. They can't really explain why we got the text and were able to sign up for the one day pass but some of the data was classified as roaming, maybe as you move around the ship you lose the cellular signal? Or why 1 phone worked fine while the other got charges. We were all sure to turn the phones off once we left port so not to be charged. AT&T did refund some of the charges but not all and tried to put a happy spin that they were doing all they could.

I just wanted to pass it along. Best advice is probably not to connect at all....

You may want to see if they will make a one time waiver of the charges, especially if you've been a customer of theirs for a while.