Cruise Ship Charges

[Asdic_Ping]

Hi All,

I'm going on a cruise ship where the mobile phone service provider is a company called Wireless Maritime Services (WMS) which is a subsidiary of AT&T. Before we sail I thought I'd better check whether O2 has a roaming agreement with WMS and more importantly, if it does have an agreement, how much does it cost to make a call to the UK, send an SMS and use data? By the way I'm a pay monthly customer.

Thanks in advance.

[PhoneDoc · Accepted solution]

Hiya. You should get a text message once you connect to the cruise ships network advising you of the charges. They'll probably be pretty extortionate though, I don't think O2 have special agreements with any cruise lines, piracy on the high seas. If its a North American cruise you could try getting a PAYG american sim card, may be slightly cheaper to use on the cruise and at least youd have tighter control over spending. Hope you have a great trip though

[jonsie]

It will cost you an arm and a leg and ruin your holiday. Do not use it.

[Bambino]

@Asdic_Ping If you search the forum you will find nothing but horror stories from anyone who has ever used their phone on a cruise ship. The general rule of thumb is to avoid using your phone while on board. Avoid it like the plague.:smileywink:

[Beenherebefore]

I can't see a U.S. SIM would produce a different outcome.

[Bambino]

It wouldn't.

[Asdic_Ping]

Thanks for all your replies. Since posting I found this on the O2 website http://international.o2.co.uk/internationaltariffs/travelling_abroad# . If you look under ships/ferries/airplane networks it says that making a call to the UK will cost £1.50 per minute, receiving a call £1.25 per minute and data is capped at £40 for 50 MB. Quite pricey but similar to the charges I encountered when I was in China a few years ago. I think I will have to do a bit more research to confirm these costs, but if the O2 website is correct a bill shock should be avoided. 

[Cleoriff]

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@Asdic_Ping wrote:

Thanks for all your replies. Since posting I found this on the O2 website http://international.o2.co.uk/internationaltariffs/travelling_abroad# . If you look under ships/ferries/airplane networks it says that making a call to the UK will cost £1.50 per minute, receiving a call £1.25 per minute and data is capped at £40 for 50 MB. Quite pricey but similar to the charges I encountered when I was in China a few years ago. I think I will have to do a bit more research to confirm these costs, but if the O2 website is correct a bill shock should be avoided. 

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Hi @Asdic_Ping the rates you have posted are for using your phone in the countries shown...The difference is. you aren't in a country until the ship docks. If you turn mobile data on to connect to the internet you will be using the cruise ships Wifi...and that IS extortionate....You would be wise to contact the cruise line before you sail and ask for a breakdown of their costs

[Asdic_Ping]

Hi @Cleoriff thanks for your reply, but that's not how I understand it. If you click on the link in my earlier post then instead of entering a country name enter "ships/ferries/airplane networks" those prices quoted in my earlier post are shown. If the prices shown don't apply to all ships etc then O2 are providing information that is misleading. Having said that, I'm going to contact O2 to seek some clarification and I'll post their reply here for future reference.

[Cleoriff]

Hi @Asdic_Ping yes I see the link you have posted.

Have a look at this link posted by an O2 staff member. It is dated 2014 but carries on through to 2015 so I presume it is still current. Your best bet is to ring the cruise company and O2 for further clarification.

http://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Pay-Monthly-and-Pay-Go/Ferry-roaming-charges-also-relevant-for-cruise-s...