Using your cell phone on a cruise ship is a big mistake because of costly roaming fees, but there's a new trend looking to reverse it.
Two of the largest wireless carriers in the United States have announced new plans that cover cruise ships and provide coverage in a similar way to being on land.
Day passes have become very popular for consumers, as they offer an instant option to call, text, or use data in a foreign country without crazy high roaming fees later.
Traditionally cruise ships have not been covered under such plans, and consumers who have used their phone on a cruise have come home to bills in the thousands of dollars.
This year we've seen two new approaches to how you can use your phone at sea without incurring those kind of issues.
It's an interesting new offer that could change how you stay connected on a cruise vacation.
International Day Pass from AT&T
AT&T rolled out a brand new option to cover cruise ships on March 16, with its International Day Pass that covers up to 400 ships, in addition to the 210+ land destinations and select airlines it already covers.
If you try to use your phone at sea, it will cost you $20 per device for 24 hours.
If you happen to be using it on land and on your ship on the same day, then it's $20 per device for 24 hours.
There is no additional line discount, all lines are charged $20/day.
This allows you to use your phone like you would at home.
You can sign up before you leave for this day pass, or if you try to use your phone on the ship, you'll automatically get it added once you try to use your phone at sea.
Cruise Daily Pass from Verizon
Verizon has a $20 per day offer as well, known as Cruise Daily Pass.
It offers unlimited data, talk and text. The data component is 0.5GB of high speed data, and then unlimited data at 3G speeds for the remainder of the session.
If you disembark the ship during a Cruise Daily Pass session, you’ll pay applicable rates for the country you’re visiting.
Text “CRUISE” to 4004 before or at the start of your cruise to add a daily pass to your line.
Making it easier to stay connected
Whether someone accidentally leaves their phone on during their cruise or purposefully wants to be able to use their phone on a cruise like they would at home, there are a lot of people on any cruise that would want phone coverage on a cruise ship.
Phone and texting at sea has largely been available for years, albeit at a higher cost.
WiFi calling has made it much cheaper and easier to use, but getting WiFi calling set up is cumbersome for those unfamiliar with the deep settings on their phone.
If you want to briefly use your phone for a few emails, calls or texts, buying a ship WiFi package is overkill and costly.
The flexible alternative: Royal Caribbean's Voom
In lieu of a wireless carrier's plan, you could get an internet package on your Royal Caribbean ship and use that on your phone.
Thanks to WiFi calling features, you will still be able to call or text during your cruise. In my experience, some automated text messages sometimes don't come through when using WiFi calling, but it generally works just fine.
The real advantage of Royal Caribbean's internet packages are the data speeds.
Because Royal Caribbean uses Starlink internet, the data speeds can be just as fast as being at home. It's unlimited data during your cruise, and you can use the internet interchangeably between devices and share access, which is something a wireless day pass won't offer.
I cannot comment on the speeds offered by either AT&T or Verizon, but Voom speeds are quite fast because of the Starlink technology.
