Airplane mode on a cruise ship?

Lisa1971
Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
in Chit-Chat
Will turning my phone onto the airplane mode during a cruise prevent roaming charges? Will I still have access to apps and music? I have no idea how this airplane mode thing works but a friend said it would help stop any roaming charges.

Please tell me what this will do or won't do. Thanks!

Replies

  • GDLAZ
    GDLAZ Posts: 3,784 Member
    It should, but may be best to talk to your cell phone provider just to be sure. If the ship has WiFi you may be able to connect to that and avoid charges as well.
  • auzziecawth66
    auzziecawth66 Posts: 476 Member
    Most phones have a setting where you can turn off roaming or data usage
  • strong_er
    strong_er Posts: 109 Member
    Airplane mode will turn off all the radios so no, you won't incur any charges for using your phone while in that mode. You will still be able to use anything on your phone that does not require data/internet.
  • Smirnoff65
    Smirnoff65 Posts: 1,060 Member
    Airplane mode basically turns of your transmitting signal so you can't receive or make calls,texts, data etc... so if you are planning to use apps like MFP, Facebook etc... you will not be able to, as GDLAZ says use the ships wifi and you will be fine to use these apps. To be sure you don't get any charges make sure to disable data roaming on your phone.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,053 Member
    It only works on airplanes.................................I kid! As mentioned above, transmission is omitted so you shouldn't incur any roam charges. Have fun on your cruise and don't forget to ride the Aquaduck!!!!

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • pobalita
    pobalita Posts: 741 Member
    For iPhone. When I travel out of country, I turn on airplane mode then double check that cellular data, data roaming, and LTE are disabled in General under Settings. You should also reset your cellular data usage to zero so you can periodically check if any data has been downloaded just in case you missed something so you don't come home to an expensive surprise. I've never had any roaming charges by doing this. (If you have att, they have information on their site.)

    You can turn on your wifi if it's available on the ship and it shouldn't result in any charges to you phone. You will be able to use web based apps and music with no charges, but since you are sharing wifi with a lot of people it will likely be very slow - that's been my experience anyway. You might be better off downloading some of your own music onto your phone.

    If you must turn on your phone to make a call, don't be tempted to listen to voice mail as those are data downloads and very expensive. If you have an iPhone and use iMessage, you can use it like normal when you have wifi. Skype works well for texting too.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Airplane mode basically turns of your transmitting signal so you can't receive or make calls,texts, data etc... so if you are planning to use apps like MFP, Facebook etc... you will not be able to, as GDLAZ says use the ships wifi and you will be fine to use these apps. To be sure you don't get any charges make sure to disable data roaming on your phone.

    The ships wifi is usually crazy expensive. Just accept the fact you're going to lose your streak and not be able to log unless you want to pay the big money for it. Personally I just let it go. Enjoy the cruise and get back to MFP when you return.
  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Thanks so much everyone and yes, ninerbuff, I plan on riding the Aquaduck! Oh, and my daughter keeps asking me at the end of the ride does it dump you into a deep pool? Shallow pool? I know it's off topic but we're really trying to find out this info!
  • bergpa
    bergpa Posts: 148 Member
    There is Wi-Fi on the Fantasy but it isn't free. Last year I paid $50 for one hour of use which we split with another family. They did warn us about the possibility of roaming charges on the islands. For our party, St. Thomas wasn't an issue because it is a US island and it was covered by our phone plans. On St. Martin we all just turned off our phones.

    The Wi-Fi worked well all over the ship and the speed wasn't noticeably slower despite the warnings. We've been on two Disney cruises and both of them advertised that the ships had Internet cafes and both times when we asked on the ship, we were told that they did not exist.
  • bergpa
    bergpa Posts: 148 Member
    Thanks so much everyone and yes, ninerbuff, I plan on riding the Aquaduck! Oh, and my daughter keeps asking me at the end of the ride does it dump you into a deep pool? Shallow pool? I know it's off topic but we're really trying to find out this info!

    My husband said it is a pool of water but it isn't very deep. If you get there early in the morning, the line isn't very long.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,053 Member
    Thanks so much everyone and yes, ninerbuff, I plan on riding the Aquaduck! Oh, and my daughter keeps asking me at the end of the ride does it dump you into a deep pool? Shallow pool? I know it's off topic but we're really trying to find out this info!
    No, at the end the raft stops at the bottom and you get off and back onto the deck. Don't forget to record your boarding onto the ship for the first time...............there's a cool surprise when you reach the main lobby.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • SusanUW83
    SusanUW83 Posts: 152 Member
    Ships usually charge a lot for wifi and require a password. You should also disable network connection because it will drain your battery to keep trying to connect if you don't want it to, or only when you want to pay for connecting to wifi for checking emails every so often.
  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Thanks so much everyone and yes, ninerbuff, I plan on riding the Aquaduck! Oh, and my daughter keeps asking me at the end of the ride does it dump you into a deep pool? Shallow pool? I know it's off topic but we're really trying to find out this info!
    No, at the end the raft stops at the bottom and you get off and back onto the deck. Don't forget to record your boarding onto the ship for the first time...............there's a cool surprise when you reach the main lobby.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Thanks so much. Now I'm scared to record. Is Jason or Freddie going to jump out and get me??? LOL!
  • twinteensmom
    twinteensmom Posts: 371 Member
    Thanks so much everyone and yes, ninerbuff, I plan on riding the Aquaduck! Oh, and my daughter keeps asking me at the end of the ride does it dump you into a deep pool? Shallow pool? I know it's off topic but we're really trying to find out this info!
    No, at the end the raft stops at the bottom and you get off and back onto the deck. Don't forget to record your boarding onto the ship for the first time...............there's a cool surprise when you reach the main lobby.

    A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Thanks so much. Now I'm scared to record. Is Jason or Freddie going to jump out and get me??? LOL!

    May I suggest you check out a very cool website called Cruise Critic? You will find a wealth of knowledge from others who have cruise before you.

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