Verizon on the Dream

[Takia]

Per Verizon, they do have access on the ship for some of their phones. I understand that it does require international data and that the service is only available in staterooms.

I did a general search of the board, but was hoping for some updated info. Has anyone utilized their Verizon cell while on the Dream? Is it acceptable (i.e. was the call quality okay, did you have connectivity issues, etc)?

 

[pluto1979]

I used my phone without any problems. Be careful as the cost is high!!! Turn off any texting or automatic receiving of emails because this will be charged to you. Also know that if you are on the ship or even by the ship and you make a call when in PC you sometimes pickup there antenna and will be charged international rates even though you are still in the US and on land. I needed to call them at one point to point that out to them and have the charges changed. Hope this helps! Have a Magical cruise!!!

 

[TXDCLfan]

I used my phone without any problems. Be careful as the cost is high!!! Turn off any texting or automatic receiving of emails because this will be charged to you. Also know that if you are on the ship or even by the ship and you make a call when in PC you sometimes pickup there antenna and will be charged international rates even though you are still in the US and on land. I needed to call them at one point to point that out to them and have the charges changed. Hope this helps! Have a Magical cruise!!!

Sorry but this is not true. The carrier cellular at sea can only activate their service once the ship is out of a port by 12-15 miles, the FCC has very strict guide lines covering this matter.

 

[castawaycayfans]

We have Verizon and called from the top deck of the Wonder while docked in San Francisco and were not charged anything different from normal.

 

[TXDCLfan]

Per Verizon, they do have access on the ship for some of their phones. I understand that it does require international data and that the service is only available in staterooms.

I did a general search of the board, but was hoping for some updated info. Has anyone utilized their Verizon cell while on the Dream? Is it acceptable (i.e. was the call quality okay, did you have connectivity issues, etc)?

I have Verizon and have used it on both the Magic and the Dream with no issues on calls or texts When the ship is 12-15 miles out to sea the cellular provider Cellular at Sea activates and you are charged $2.49/minute by them plus any charges that Verizon has.

 

[Amy162]

We just called Verizon yesterday to get info about what to do with our phones. I have an iphone and DH has an LG Ally. We don't plan on making calls while on the cruise, but I was worried about the data charges for texts, etc.

The important thing is to turn off your cellular data and data roaming options. This way you don't receive any text messages while overseas. She said to also put it in airplane mode.

If you call, they can email you instructions and rates if you do choose to use it.

 

[ILoveToRun]

Do you have access to data? If I have an iPhone, can I go online at all, or onto facebook?

 

[TXDCLfan]

We just called Verizon yesterday to get info about what to do with our phones. I have an iphone and DH has an LG Ally. We don't plan on making calls while on the cruise, but I was worried about the data charges for texts, etc.

The important thing is to turn off your cellular data and data roaming options. This way you don't receive any text messages while overseas. She said to also put it in airplane mode.

If you call, they can email you instructions and rates if you do choose to use it.

Also Verizon is good about sending you a free text message when you are in a port like Cozumel ( I just pick one of many ports) what you need to do if you want to make a call.

 

[MTmomma]

Do you have access to data? If I have an iPhone, can I go online at all, or onto facebook?

Theoretically you could, but it may bring a staggering bill. We didn't want to risk one of our phones accidentally updating, so we left them in airplane mode.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

I was under the impression that with Data Roaming turned off, you would only receive voice call's and text messages.
Wifi would be the only way to access the web for email and app's like FB, Twitter and such.

Ex Techie

 

[Amy162]

I was under the impression that with Data Roaming turned off, you would only receive voice call's and text messages.
Wifi would be the only way to access the web for email and app's like FB, Twitter and such.

Ex Techie

That's what I got from talking to the verizon rep yesterday. She said that you would get charged per text recieved, though, which is why you should also turn off your cellular data option. (I have friends that group text like crazy, so I didn't want to get charged for their bazillion messages!!!) She said with both of those options off, I could then use wi-fi if I wanted to connect to facebook, etc. I heard the Starbucks in Nassau has free Wi-Fi, so I wanted to use that, but didn't want to recieve any text messages while in the Bahamas.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Sounds like a good idea for you then! lol!

This page say's it's $0.05 per text received.

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Cruise_Ships/index.html

Ex Techie

 

[ILoveToRun]

Theoretically you could, but it may bring a staggering bill. We didn't want to risk one of our phones accidentally updating, so we left them in airplane mode.

I was under the impression that with Data Roaming turned off, you would only receive voice call's and text messages.
Wifi would be the only way to access the web for email and app's like FB, Twitter and such.

Ex Techie

Thanks . I wasn't thinking it'd be economically possible but I just thought I'd ask. If it was an extra $10-20 then I'd be ok with it, but not with anything more.

That's what I got from talking to the verizon rep yesterday. She said that you would get charged per text recieved, though, which is why you should also turn off your cellular data option. (I have friends that group text like crazy, so I didn't want to get charged for their bazillion messages!!!) She said with both of those options off, I could then use wi-fi if I wanted to connect to facebook, etc. I heard the Starbucks in Nassau has free Wi-Fi, so I wanted to use that, but didn't want to recieve any text messages while in the Bahamas.

Hm... for some reason I never thought of connecting in port. That's a good option although I'd have to look up places in Castaway Cay, St. Thomas and Sint Maarten to do so, but I also don't want to spend a lot of time on it either (<30 minutes).

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Unfortunately CC isn't an option.

St Thomas has these charges for Verizon customers:

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/Caribbean/St%20Thomas.html

I believe Sprint and some other's do not charge more as it is a US territory though.

Ex Techie

 

[My4PhillyGirls]

Hm... for some reason I never thought of connecting in port. That's a good option although I'd have to look up places in Castaway Cay, St. Thomas and Sint Maarten to do so, but I also don't want to spend a lot of time on it either (<30 minutes).

When you are in St. Thomas, you can use your cell phone at your regular rates because it is a US Territory

When we pulled into St. Thomas you should have seen all the cell phones being used on the verandas

 

[ILoveToRun]

When you are in St. Thomas, you can use your cell phone at your regular rates because it is a US Territory

When we pulled into St. Thomas you should have seen all the cell phones being used on the verandas

Do you know if this includes internet from phones?

 

[pluto1979]

Sorry but this is not true. The carrier cellular at sea can only activate their service once the ship is out of a port by 12-15 miles, the FCC has very strict guide lines covering this matter.

Actually it is true! It happened about a year ago before I switched to AT&T. I have the bill to prove it.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

Do you know if this includes internet from phones?

Since opinions vary on here about free or charged voice call's, I would call Verizon and state the webpages posted before if they offer you a different answer.

At the end of the day, they are the ones charging you and a discussion site answer isn't worth the screen it was written on!

Ex Techie

 

[TXDCLfan]

How WMS Service Works:
On the Open Seas

When the ship is sailing out of port, our system will turn itself on. When the ship is approaching port, the in-ship system will turn itself off. Once in port, you can connect to local roaming networks as permitted by your home carrier.

Taken from cellular at seas web site

 

[ILoveToRun]

Since opinions vary on here about free or charged voice call's, I would call Verizon and state the webpages posted before if they offer you a different answer.

At the end of the day, they are the ones charging you and a discussion site answer isn't worth the screen it was written on!

Ex Techie

I think I was asking more for a definitive no answer. With the ambiguity though, I probably will just end up calling them, but closer to the cruise date. I'm just trying to see my options.