Cruise ship roaming/ longish rant

[barainga]

I have never been on a cruise ship. Ever. I once went on a one day cruise on the USS Austin, the ship that my brother was serving on at the time and it is one of the most memorable trips ever. I was 14 and got to steer the ship and hear the captain tell the Coast Guard to go to hell. He did a man over board drill and they could see it and didnt like it because no one told them. We were in intl waters and there wasnt anything to tell them anyway, but I digress.

Back to the commercial cruise liners.

It looks like it could be a lot of fun. Meals, pools, saunas, and all kinds of myriad games and shows to enjoy.

Apparantly on a cruise ship they have signs warning that cell phones can be used but that there is a charge of 2.49 a minute. During my time working at a call center this was one of the more popular 'Why is my bill so high?' scenarios. Now youd think that with all the available entertainment people would have things better to do than spend HOURS on thier cell phones. I would be content to lounge in the sun by the pool and enjoy the eye candy myself while sipping on the unlimited alcoholic beverages included in the ticket price, I sure as hell wouldnt be on my phone. I could understand the call home to check on the kids or something similar. But isnt the whole point of spending a few thousand on a vacation is to get away from all the other crap that happens at home?
I saw several bills that amounted to well over 5,000 dollars for cruise ship roaming.

The basic call went something like this:

SC...
Me.

After opening
SC. Why is my bill so high?!

Me. Im showing almost 2,500 in cruise ship roaming (gets interupted)

SC But no one told me! (looks at account and she/he never called and asked), but its not on your website!! (yes it is and is very very easy to locate), but its not on the cruise ship anywhere (not even remotely true if some of my coworkers are to be believed).

After this goes back and forth with me basically pointing out how easy the information is to acquire they will then get to the heart of why they are actually calling.

SC Can you do ANYTHING to help me? (Generally delivered in the whiney EW voice that we all know so well if female and if its a male its more of demanding intimidate voice. The whiney voice makes me roll my eyes and the intimidate makes me want to laugh at them, how the hell do you think you can imntimidate a 6'2" Iraqi war veteran over the phone?

Me These are charges from the cruise liner and not from <company>. I can submit a credit request because all I can offer you is a small courtesy credit, however I cannot promise you that it will be credited. In this case <company> would be paying for your cell phone usage

SC But Ive been a customer for <some obscene amount of time that is incorrect and even if it is correct>

Me I am showing that you have been a customer for X amount of time. In that time you have paid us a total of Y amount. That is Z dollars less than what you are asking for in a credit. That would amount to us paying you to use our service. All I can do is submit the credit request or offer a 25.00 courtesy credit.

SC Wahrgbrrl about how great a customer they are, how many billions of friends they have that they will get to leave or never come to the company, cancel threats, media threats, lawyer threats, BBB/consumer affair/attorney general threats, get me fired threats (bastards never came through for me on that one), and lest we not forget the ever myriad and creative insults heaped upon my person (sarcasm there, most of these people were about as creative as the Twilight Movies... glitterpyres.. yuck))


Sometimes they demanded to speak to a supervisor, who would tell them the same thing which later in my employment at same company was me. In rare cases the credit was approved, most of the time it wasnt. A lot of the charges would also be from internet usage too. The credit was never given if they had called in before the trip and were told about the fee.

Just a rant. I always had one question that I desperately wanted to ask these people "What the hell are you doing using your cell phone on vacation?"

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

At least in the U.S., we have all become totally obsessed and attached to our cell phones.

A friend of mine told a story of a business meeting he was in that did not allow cell phones. All phones were to be placed in a bin at the front of the room. He told me how nervous and awkward people were without their phone and when a break was called they all rushed to check their phones, like drug addicts in need of a fix.

At work I see many, many people who stay attached to their phone the entire time they are in the sandwich shop, even some who sit down to eat!

I constantly see people fiddling with their phone while driving (not illegal in this state) AND during church services.

I am convinced they are worse than crack for some people.

[Sheldonrs]

I don't understand the cel phone addiction either. When I'm on vacation, the only thing I use mine for is the time. Or ordering a pizza to my hotel. :-)

Even when I'm not on vacation, the MOST calls I make is 3 per week.

[Tora]

I really don't get the cell phone fixation. I don't even average one phone call a month, much less texting. However, I think it might have something to do with the phenomena of social media. It's less being addicted to your phone and more being addicted to finding out what everyone is doing at every moment.

[Betweenshades]

What kills me are the people that use their phones in the bathroom. Seriously?? You can't hang up long enough to relieve yourself without yakking on the phone?

I use my phone a lot- my books are on it, I read the news on it, my emails and texting. But, I put it down! I'm not like a freaking crack addict about it! The only exception being when I fly.

I'm not even THAT addicted to social media, anymore. Lately, I've been sitting on the sofa with Terry watching TV while I knit. Much better suited for conversation!

[Catwoman2965]

I don’t get the obsession either; my plan, which is the cheapest I can get, is 300 minutes a month, and 250 texts, and for that, I pay about $40 before taxes. I maybe use 100 minutes a month, if that. But due to certain new policies from my carrier (including requiring a data plan for all but very few of their phones), when my contract is up, I’m going with prepaid. My friends however, whole different story. I absolutely hate being out with them because their phones are glued to their hands, ears etc. to the point they spend more time surfing the web, texting, etc. than they do talking to me. It’s just rude. I read an article somewhere recently, and in it, the author said he forgot his blackberry one day, and literally felt withdrawal. No wonder they call them crackberries!

And don’t get me started on my annoying CW who, along with his entire family, has the fancy, schmancy phone from the fruit company. And just can’t understand WHY I won’t pay the extra $30 a month for a dataplan. Um, how about because I don’t want it, and refuse to pay for something I know I won’t use! I already pay too much, IMO, for what I have, so why would I pay more?

[orcprincess]

When I worked on my cruise ship (In HAWAII, no less) we would tell people as soon as they came to the front desk, and we even had signs printed and in their cabins that said "cell phone usage is XXXX per minute, while sailing, XXXX in port"
But the thing that always got me was that, we were in port EVERY DAY! all they had to do was walk off the gang way and do the conversation thing in Maui, or Kauai...or Hilo, etc. Wouldn't that make more sense than spending a bajillion extra dollars to talk to someone from the stupid buffet line? Call from the beach, where it is even more beautiful, and can send a pic as proof. But, oh wait. I forgot where I was.

[Teskeria]

Guess I am just a weirdo. Dont have a cell phone. dont want one. my oldest daughter has a cell phone with unlimited text and talk. costs her $50 a month. that can be lowered to $30 a month if she pays her bill before the due date for 6 months in a row (which she is working on, this is a new thing with that co.). She maybe spends 30 minutes on a talkitive day using voice or text, usually with her BF. thats it.

[Catwoman2965]

Guess I am just a weirdo. Dont have a cell phone. dont want one. my oldest daughter has a cell phone with unlimited text and talk. costs her $50 a month. that can be lowered to $30 a month if she pays her bill before the due date for 6 months in a row (which she is working on, this is a new thing with that co.). She maybe spends 30 minutes on a talkitive day using voice or text, usually with her BF. thats it.

Nope, not a weirdo at all - I have one as I live alone, and travel quite a bit, mainly for emergencies, and peace of mind when I'm traveling. But other than that, I hardly use it at all.

[Betweenshades]

Guess I am just a weirdo. Dont have a cell phone. dont want one.

Not at all! I don't have a home phone- it was cheaper for me to just have the cell phone.

[Jetfire]

Count me in as a luddite without a cell phone.

I have a home phone, and just go without when I'm on the road. Granted there are times when I'd like to have a phone available, but I just wait.

Ok not quite a full luddite. When I go to Vegas, I have a PAYGO phone I reload, local to Vegas, that I can use to contact people in the area. (Since I'm usually trying to get ahold of EQ friends during fan faire when I'm in Vegas). Otherwise, no phone.

[Andara Bledin]

Cell phones are very useful; most people should have access to one.

But I, too, don't get that neediness people have to be constantly connected.

^-.-^

[Ben_Who]

My smart phone from the fruit company gets quite a lot of mileage, but it has about a dozen E-readers on it. I'm sure that when I'm sitting quietly in a restaurant reading a book on my cell phone, it looks like I'm obsessing over it.

Love, Who?

[MadMike]

I'll admit to using my cell phone a lot, especially for texting. But I've also had it since there were roaming charges if you went too far out of your area, and after getting hit with that once, I looked up what it would cost when I went on a cruise.

I texted everyone one last time when I got to the ship, and then turned off. I used it one time on the ship, and one time only. That was to call my friend who was taking care of the house and the cats for us, and I did that when we were in San Jan, where it was 65 cents a minute, rather than $2.50 or whatever it was at sea and at all the other ports.

[MoonCat]

If I were ever able to afford a cruise, you bet your sweet patootie I wouldn't waste my time texting anybody. People are goofy. And it really frosts me that they can use the service and then demand that you remove the charges. You play, you pay!