[brians0105]

I'm taking a cruise in August on Norwegian Cruise Lines. I just got my BlackBerry Tour on Verizon. I'm a little confused about their global plans that are on their website.

The ship I will be on has both GSM and CDMA service on-board and I believe that in the Bahamas there is both CDMA and GSM service.

I am mainly interested in data (email) while I'm traveling but might make several short phone calls as well. Should I look into the Global Email plan that is $64.99 per month? Do I just call to add this to my plan for that month and then cancel it?

Also, if I don't add a plan and use occasional data, will it just charge me $.02 per kb?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Brian

[FF2]

I don't know about cruising and the Global plan. But I can tell you that they prorate the Global plan so you only pay for the time it is active. So if you use it for one week, divide by approximately 4. At the same time, it replaces the BIS $30 plan which is also prorated. If you actually use it for a month, it would be like $65 - $30 or an additional $35 over your normal billing (although I thought it was 69.98 which is what my bill shows for last month when I was in Italy). In other words the 65 is not on top of or additional to your normal rate.

Oh, maybe I added the phone plan, too, which is $5/month - calls then are $0.99/minute

[brians0105]

FF2, thanks. Let me see if I understand it correctly before I call VZW. I'll only be traveling for one week.

I currently pay $29.99 for BIS. If I pay this for 3/4 of the month, it would be $22.49.

I could add GlobalEmail for $69.98 for 1/4 of the month... and it would be $17.50.

So for my data, it would be $39.99 for the month?

Would I experience any data charges for email/web other than the upgraded price for GlobalEmail?

Would this change anything with my phone plan? Calls from the Bahamas on VZW are $1.99. Would the GlobalEmail plan lower the phone call costs?

Thanks

Brian

[michael12005]

I have had the 8830 since it's inception and now have the Tour. I have taken the 8830 on many cruises and also to Europe. I pay as I go-I find it much less of a hastle and cheaper. In other words I pay for each call I make when overseas and also for data/email. As long as your SIM card is in the phone you should have no problems connecting anywhere, although the service in the Bahams and parts of the Caribbean is not very good!

[FF2]

Originally Posted by brians0105

FF2, thanks. Let me see if I understand it correctly before I call VZW. I'll only be traveling for one week.

I currently pay $29.99 for BIS. If I pay this for 3/4 of the month, it would be $22.49.

I could add GlobalEmail for $69.98 for 1/4 of the month... and it would be $17.50.

So for my data, it would be $39.99 for the month?

Would I experience any data charges for email/web other than the upgraded price for GlobalEmail?

Would this change anything with my phone plan? Calls from the Bahamas on VZW are $1.99. Would the GlobalEmail plan lower the phone call costs?

Thanks

Brian

I _THINK_ your math is probably correct but I'm not verizon, so you should check. Actually, someone suggested that calling Verizon anytime you are leaving the country is a good idea to make sure that the sim card is "turned on!" I was not aware of that.

On the Global plan (maybe there is just data for 65 and for data/phone for 70??), my phone calls were 99cents per minute. I believe they are more expensive in Europe than that.

The previous responder mentioned, just use the normal phone charges and pay-as-you-go. If you can figure out your general data charges, that might work. I have not sat down with my bill to figure out my Europe data and what it might have been if I had not opted for Global. I'm not sure that I every was clear where the decimal went on the verizon data charges outside of the US!!! (G)

[akosnitzky]

Originally Posted by brians0105

FF2, thanks. Let me see if I understand it correctly before I call VZW. I'll only be traveling for one week.

I currently pay $29.99 for BIS. If I pay this for 3/4 of the month, it would be $22.49.

I could add GlobalEmail for $69.98 for 1/4 of the month... and it would be $17.50.

So for my data, it would be $39.99 for the month?

Would I experience any data charges for email/web other than the upgraded price for GlobalEmail?

Would this change anything with my phone plan? Calls from the Bahamas on VZW are $1.99. Would the GlobalEmail plan lower the phone call costs?

Thanks

Brian

This was my understanding as well. I live in Miami area and did several cruises but never used the service

[bostonnerd]

Originally Posted by brians0105

...The ship I will be on has both GSM and CDMA service on-board and I believe that in the Bahamas there is both CDMA and GSM service...
Brian

Be very careful with the on-board cell service!! This is a separate charge from your provider and unless things have changed, the charge for voice and/or data is exorbitant!

[akosnitzky]

Free service at the Key West stop.

[2 Samuel 22]

VZW International Roaming

Cruise Ship Coverage:

Roaming Rate: $2.49 per minute

Text Messaging Rates:
$0.50/address sent
$0.05/message received

Voice and Text Messaging only

International Dialing:
Dialing Internationally: 011 + Country Code + Number
Dialing to the U.S.: 011 + 1 + Number

[brians0105]

Originally Posted by 2 Samuel 22

VZW International Roaming

Cruise Ship Coverage:

Voice and Text Messaging only

Ahh, I didn't see that before. So can I not use data/email while on-board the ship?

I'm leaning toward not buying a package and just paying as I go. I will make very few calls and will limit my data...

But can anyone with experience clarify the on-board ship statement about "voice and text messaging only"?

Thanks

[stricni]

im pretty sure that you will be using the cruiz ship cell service. i know royal caribian and carnival charge there own rates for the phones and that goes on your cell bill.

[akosnitzky]

Wirelessly posted (Its All About the U!)

Originally Posted by brians0105

Ahh, I didn't see that before. So can I not use data/email while on-board the ship?

I'm leaning toward not buying a package and just paying as I go. I will make very few calls and will limit my data...

But can anyone with experience clarify the on-board ship statement about "voice and text messaging only"?

Thanks

Please inform us of what you did

[PPCMD]

I have used both Verizon and AT&T phones on cruises over the past few years. GSM fared better but both worked out. It can get easy to just chat things up and comea back to a bil in the hundreds you don't expect so I would keep in your room safe and watch the usage.

[lindros2]

Of all the cruises I've taken, I've never used the cruise ship service.

I always have a GSM phone (now the Tour - unlocked by Verizon) and buy a SIM card in one of the places we dock (i.e. Italy, Netherlands, Bermuda, etc.). While out-of-country rules have become more strict ("to prevent terrorism" they say), for the most part you can pick up a SIM and use it in another country (except for UK SIMs I've found).

[akosnitzky]

Wirelessly posted (Its All About the U!)

I have never used the cruise ship service because I usually go with my wife and it may affect my trip.

[LamD83]

was on a cruise last week; phone only worked via voice - no Data

[djdonnyk]

Where did you cruise to/from?

[brians0105]

I just got back from the cruise.

I ended up getting the Global Data plan that is $64.99 per month, but it was pro-rated and I only had it for one week. So this month's bill will be $22.50 for my domestic pro-rated price and $16.25 for the one week of global access.

That all worked fine when we docked and I was able to find a GSM signal on shore. Most of the times I connected to either BTC (Bahemian Telecom) or Vodafone. I believe that using data on these carriers will be covered in my Global Data plan for that week.

I did turn the wireless connection on several times when were in the middle of the sea just because I was curious. The ship's staff told me that the CDMA and GSM "towers" on the ship would not pass data along to my phone... only voice. However, when I turned my phone on and connected to the ship's CDMA service (1X), it did slowly receive emails. I wasn't able to get in the internet browser, but it downloaded emails.

I'm not sure how much that will cost me... but I used 42KB that is labeled on my account online as "CDMA ROAMING/KBU." I am assuming that this is the usage when I connected via the ship's CDMA service.

[brians0105]

FYI, I cruised out of Miami to Freeport, Bahamas. Then to Nassau, Bahamas. Then to Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (private island). The first two ports had GSM but the private island did not.