Early contract change.

[Cleoriff]

Hi all. This is a question of two parts.

Currently I am paying for a contract for my grandson via CPW on O2. This contract expires in May of this year.

However, he is 21 in Feb and I want to upgrade him, via CPW, to an S10+ or similar. I expect I will have to pay the outstanding balance off the S9 contract to do this if I want him to have a new device in Feb?

Also, I have nothing to do with the phone, I just check the money comes out of my account. (I had him here and spoke to O2 so he could control My O2 himself.) I want to do the same again as he has never exceeded his limit.

Re his number, should he just use the same sim, OR ask customer services to migrate his number (even though he is still with O2)?

Now for the 2nd part of the question...

He is off on a Caribbean cruise for his 21st.... courtesy of his Mum and her partner who will be going with him.

They had absolutely no idea of the charges whilst on a ship.

I have warned him about charges whilst on board. It's a Caribbean cruise and I have told him turn Wifi off and voicemail and not use his phone whilst on board.  Problem is he is always on his phone, Whatsapp, Messenger etc etc etc.

As an alternative, someone suggested he should get a PAYG sim of ANY network, with a lot of data on. If he is cruising, as I am NOT paying a high bill!

However, a PAYG sim could cause it's own issues as I'm not sure data is available in some of the countries he is visiting. (Whatever network he chooses)

All very complicated. Might be cheaper to pay for him to see F1 in Vandvoort!!

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

Firstly re the phone, it will be cheaper to take a new contract rather than upgrading, then just call customer service to migrate the number which will generate the final bill for the current contract. There's no way around paying the full term up to May unfortunately. 
mad for the cruise, firstly I'd apply a spend cap, which can be removed when he gets back. A PAYG sim won't help as there are no masts at sea, so he'll have no choice but to use ships WiFi. He'll have to check the prices of this and how to pay it if you don't want it on the phone bill. 

Additionally, his use on land will depend on which travel bolt one he has.
Hope that helps 

[gmarkj]

If you are upgrading via o2 directly they do sometimes offer a discount on the upgrade fee (they will waive my fee currently if I do this) but you may still get a better deal elsewhere for the new contract (more data, lower cost).
New contracts tend to attract a better deal as well - I have been looking and can get more data for less £ on new contract rather than upgrade.
On cruise I would agree with @MI5 (surprise!) - he would be better off buying a WiFi package to see him through.
For on land, I would be tempted to say get a PAYG sim with lots of data - 3 or Voda tend to do good ones, but would depend on where he is going and what coverage they have.

[Cleoriff]

Right I understand that now, thanks @MI5

A further couple of questions though? 

1) Why is is better to get a new contract as opposed to upgrade?

2) I thought the PAYG sim may be better, because if he runs out, he will have to top up himself!? (I knew he would be using ships Satellite.. but thought any overspend would have to be funded by him)

The disadvantage of PAYG, is that it 'may' not be available in the countries he visits whilst on LAND.

3) He is currently on a 60gb tariff. If he applies a spend cap could that be to the full 60GB?

[Cleoriff]

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@gmarkj wrote:
If you are upgrading via o2 directly they do sometimes offer a discount on the upgrade fee (they will waive my fee currently if I do this) but you may still get a better deal elsewhere for the new contract (more data, lower cost).
New contracts tend to attract a better deal as well - I have been looking and can get more data for less £ on new contract rather than upgrade.
On cruise I would agree with @MI5 (surprise!) - he would be better off buying a WiFi package to see him through.
For on land, I would be tempted to say get a PAYG sim with lots of data - 3 or Voda tend to do good ones, but would depend on where he is going and what coverage they have.

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Not going through O2 directly @gmarkj . Much better deals via CPW which has served him well for the past 19 months.

Also what do you mean by 'buying a Wifi package'? Currently on 60Gb data and Unlimited everything else.

As I said he is cruising around the Caribbean. Not sure what islands they will be visiting....

[gmarkj]

The kick-back for new customers is different (higher) than the one for upgrades. That is why new contracts generally are cheaper through 3rd parties like CPW @Cleoriff.
I would imagine that there are different deals on the on-board WiFi (30Gb for £x and 40Gb for £y, etc).
Just a guess as it would depend on operator, but it is a similar thing in hotels.

[MI5]

A spend cap won't effect the data he has.

New contracts attract a big commission from the networks so the likes of cpw always do better deals that way. 

If he has the 60gb tariff he should also have travel inclusive so he should be ok on land but as always he should turn off voicemail and use WiFi where possible.

[Cleoriff]

Thanks @MI5 and @gmarkj.

I have pointed Ben to this thread. (The 21st present isn't a secret). More important (for my bank balance) that he sees the options re using his phone whilst on the cruise ....which is just 7 weeks away

[Cleoriff]

I'm adding another comment to this thread.

After further discussions with @MI5 it is quite apparent that whatever Ben does regarding his phone WHILST ON BOARD, he will be charged at the cruise liners own satellite system rates which will go directly to his phone, incurring excessive charges. So there is absolutely no point in increasing his data or using a PAYG sim (which were the options I was exploring)

P&O do 'internet packages' and some of you may be interested to know the costs, which can range from

£8.00-£25 for a 24hr period!!!! 

All packages and costs here https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/life-on-board/access_internet 

Ben has decided he will turn his phone off whilst on board and just use WiFi when he docks on the various islands. As someone who is locked to his phone 24 hrs a day, I'm sure he is wishing they were going anywhere else bar a cruise.

[gmarkj]

Ouch. Knew it would be bad but didn't expect that!
Sensible option really even if it means he is out of touch for a few days.