Data in Europe Zone on PAYG Classic

[Exazet]

I might be taking a cruise holiday in the near future. The countries on the itinerary would all be in O2's Europe Zone and I'm on the PAYG Classic tariff. The "Roaming with PAYG" section in this helpful post indicates that any outgoing calls & texts will just be charged as if I were in the UK with no charges for incoming calls, which is great. The one thing I'm likely to want though is data, and I can't see from that post what data charges would be. Is it the same 1p/MB as I'd pay in the UK, and are there any data bundles available for PAYG Classic? Alternatively, would it be possible (and cost-effective) to use a separate data SIM in my phone's second slot?

Another thought: what happens if I use my phone while at sea (if it's even possible)? Presumably it would be considered within the Europe Zone out to 12nm from the coast of a Europe Zone member but is it ROW outside that, even when within the exclusive economic zone?

[Enlli]

If you use the phone at sea and are on the ships system, be prepared to take out a mortgage

Also be careful around Greece Turkey and Cyprus 

Guide: Roaming in Turkey and Cyprus 

Not sure of data charges

[pgn]

The PAYG Classic tariff is an old one, no longer available.

https://www.o2.co.uk/termsandconditions/archive/mobile/classic-pay-as-you-go-terms-and-conditions shows costs in the Europe Zone.

You could look at switching to a big bundle tariff and you would be able to use your phone in most of the European countries, with the caveats pointed out by @Enlli above, as you do at home, up to the limits shown in this Guide: Roaming MegaGuide for latest info.

Note https://www.o2.co.uk/help/pay-as-you-go/big-bundles

And https://www.o2.co.uk/international/calling-abroad-pay-as-you-go

Good luck, @Exazet.

[MI5]

@Exazet 

Your costs in any EU zone are exactly as at home for everything.

I'd advise to keep phone off whilst on board the ship. 

Guide: Cruise Liners / Aircraft Charges 

[Exazet]

@Enlli I was surprised to hear that phones might be usable on a ship at all, but I guess it's not surprising that it's very expensive.

[Exazet]

@pgn Thanks for the suggestions but the PAYG Classic tariff suits my usage (almost nil) extremely we...

[Exazet]

@MI5 Thanks for the link, interesting stuff. I don't want to switch my phone off completely because it's my camera, my watch and alarm clock etc. but I can put it in flight mode. Just to clarify though, if I forget to turn off or use flight mode would I be hit with charges even if I don't use it? Clearly if I make/receive calls or send texts I would expect to pay, but if I avoid that and mobile data is off?

I gather the ship has WiFi, which is no doubt very expensive too since it will all be going via satellite. Don't know if it's used for access to on-board services, must try to check before setting off.

[MI5]

@Exazet 

Your phone will try and use data (assuming it's a smartphone) so definitely need to keep data and data roaming off if you forget to use airplane mode.

[Exazet]

Yes, it's a smartphone. In normal (UK) usage IIUC it would only be able to use data if I consciously mobile data or consciously connect to a WiFi hotspot. Does it behave differently when abroad or onboard a ship with a satellite-backed service? Apologies if these are daft questions, I really have very little idea of what "roaming" actually is and how things behave when it's enabled/disabled.

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

@Exazet 

Your phone will work the same way when roaming as it does in UK.

The point of safety is to make sure data connections are off if not in use to prevent the phone connecting automatically without your knowledge and racking up charges unintentionally.