Cell Phones during the cruise

[Ptwolfman]

No, turning your phone off may not stop all the background things from connecting to the Internet. You should put it in Airplane mode.

Probably a dumb question but how can my phone connect to anything if it's turned off the whole trip since there's no way for it to receive a signal? Just curious

 

[PrincessShmoo]

No, turning your phone off may not stop all the background things from connecting to the Internet. You should put it in Airplane mode.

I realize I'm a bit slow on all the high tech stuff out there, but, if the phone is OFF how can it do anything?

 

[tvguy]

Probably a dumb question but how can my phone connect to anything if it's turned off the whole trip since there's no way for it to receive a signal? Just curious

It can't. Poster is mistaken.
Also, some phones don't call it"airplane mode" they call it "stand alone mode".

 

[linco711]

Think I'll just turn it off so I won't have to worry about it...thanks for the the information though..I appreciate it..just don't want to get hit with any extra charges..

 

[Disney_Alli]

For the posters who wish to 'just turn their phones off' do ensure that your phone is fully off and not just in sleep mode. In sleep mode your phone can and will still connect and you could be hit with huge charges on your return.

 

[tahoe9813]

All you have to do on an iPhone is go to settings >> general >> network and ensure that data roaming is switched off.

Once you've done that, you do not need to worry about any data charges. The only charges would be for calls or text messages.

You should know that AT&T does have a stupid rule that if you're roaming, your VMs are charged at the international rate. If you want to avoid that, go Into airplane mode.

I travel a lot internationally for work.

 

[artemis908]

Whether or not you make a phone call, your phone will roam and try to find a tower. There have been tons of horror stories I've read about people forgetting their phone was on during a cruise and coming home to a huge bill, they didn't even touch their phone.

So turn it off or put it into airplane mode. I'll also turn off cellular and data roaming too just to be double safe.

 

[tahoe9813]

Whether or not you make a phone call, your phone will roam and try to find a tower. There have been tons of horror stories I've read about people forgetting their phone was on during a cruise and coming home to a huge bill, they didn't even touch their phone.

So turn it off or put it into airplane mode. I'll also turn off cellular and data roaming too just to be double safe.

Horror story or not: If your data roaming is turned off YOU WILL NOT GET CHARGED FOR DATA. You can still be charged for calls you make, voicemails you receive (yes, just getting the message), and text messages sent/received. Regardless of your settings, AT&T still sends the "warning" text (you are not charged for that message).

BTW, with data roaming turned off, you will not receive visual voicemails.

When I travel, I leave data roaming off and connect to wifi networks, when possible.

Just be smart with your settings, and you'll be fine.

 

[MKwatercraftPilot]

A tip I think I should mention for iPhone users is that you can turn on Airplane mode on the ship, which other posters have said, (since many of us use our phones as calendar, camera, alarm clock, watch, crutch, etc. and want to keep it on and with us on the ship.) but when you are in port, if you happen to stumble upon somewhere with free WiFi, you can switch on only the WiFi without disabling airplane mode.

This will allow you to surf the web, send iMessages (texts to other iPhone users), use FaceTime, post your pictures to facebook/twitter, email family and several other things.

Once you are done soaking up some free WiFi, simply switch the WiFi back off.

You have never touched the airplane mode switch, which means your phone never looked for a cellular signal, never tried to retrieve (regular) text messages or anything like that.

I just recently discovered that you could use WiFi while airplane mode is on, so I thought it would be nice to share, in case I wasn't the only one who didn't realize this.

 

[triciari]

A tip I think I should mention for iPhone users is that you can turn on Airplane mode on the ship, which other posters have said, (since many of us use our phones as calendar, camera, alarm clock, watch, crutch, etc. and want to keep it on and with us on the ship.) but when you are in port, if you happen to stumble upon somewhere with free WiFi, you can switch on only the WiFi without disabling airplane mode.

This will allow you to surf the web, send iMessages (texts to other iPhone users), use FaceTime, post your pictures to facebook/twitter, email family and several other things.

Once you are done soaking up some free WiFi, simply switch the WiFi back off.

You have never touched the airplane mode switch, which means your phone never looked for a cellular signal, never tried to retrieve (regular) text messages or anything like that.

I just recently discovered that you could use WiFi while airplane mode is on, so I thought it would be nice to share, in case I wasn't the only one who didn't realize this.

Awesome post! I will do exactly this! Thanks!

 

[scottb8888]

Verizon does not cover the US Virgin Islands under domestic plans.

A bit of overkill, I know, but I totally removed my SIM card when we left Port Canaveral. I put it back in when we docked in St. Thomas, and removed it again when we left.

I was able to use the camera app, read my books, watch my movies, listen to music, etc... - and I didn't have to worry about accidentally knocking it out of airplane mode.

Does Verizon cover San Juan?

 

[Jestocost]

Does Verizon cover San Juan?

Yes. Verizon does cover PR.

 

[ludari]

Warning to All.... Make sure if you take your cell phone with you on the ship and most of us do that you either turn it off, put in airplane mode or turn off roaming.

On a Mexican Rivera cruise I left my cell phone on in my stateroom but was not using it and it was pinging all the towers in roaming mode. When I got home I received a cell phone bill nearly $400. Lucky for me I called AT&T and they did verify that I was not using my phone so they voided all the roaming charges. I've learned to completely just turn off my phone whenever I cruise.

 

[disney1990]

We have always kept ours on. We have Verizon. That way, we can receive text messages if somebody at homes needs to reach us. If we don't answer it when it rings, we aren't charged for minute usage. Just text messages, 50 cents to send and 5 cents to receive. Don't know about other carrier, but Verizon hasn't charged us for anything else.

 

[tahoe9813]

We have always kept ours on. We have Verizon. That way, we can receive text messages if somebody at homes needs to reach us. If we don't answer it when it rings, we aren't charged for minute usage. Just text messages, 50 cents to send and 5 cents to receive. Don't know about other carrier, but Verizon hasn't charged us for anything else.

AT&T does charge for received voicemails, which I think is stupid.

Turning off the data roaming PREVENTS any charges despite the phone searching for cells.

 

[islandtimect]

We called my mother in law from Magens Bay in St Thomas on our at&t cell phone for free. Other than the day we boarded the ship in Port Canaveral, that was the only other day we kept the phones on. Ps. M MIL unexpextedly passed away just hours before we arrived back into Port Canaveral, so you can imagine how important that phone call was...

 

[disney1990]

I have an 89 year old Mother and my DH has a 90 year old Father. We have to keep the telephones on just in case.

We are not charged for voice mails unless we call and check our voice mail.

 

[Disney 24/7]

I was able to use my cell phone in St Thomas with T mobile.

 

[zstyles]

I just called At&T they said that adding a package etc will not be valid ON the ship as the ships have their own towers(didn't know this) and can charge what they want..they did say incoming texts are included in your plans, but outgoing are not.

I say this because I have read many threads where people have added international plans but 7 miles out its Disney network at that point...and they can charge whatever they want for data/voice and messaging..

 

[luv2sleep]

I just called At&T they said that adding a package etc will not be valid ON the ship as the ships have their own towers(didn't know this) and can charge what they want..they did say incoming texts are included in your plans, but outgoing are not.

I say this because I have read many threads where people have added international plans but 7 miles out its Disney network at that point...and they can charge whatever they want for data/voice and messaging..

Will Disney charge for the incoming texts?