Cruise ship roaming/ longish rant

[PepperElf]

He did a man over board drill and they could see it and didnt like it because no one told them.

Heh. My last 2 ships usually did one of those whenever we went underway for at least a few days. And they might do one for a special show for the families on a day-cruise.

a business meeting he was in that did not allow cell phones.

i've been in military buildings that didn't allow those. and i've heard of some cases where someone thought the rules didn't apply to them... and they got pwned big time on it.

then again, whenever we were in meetings, or quarters etc... phones were to be off anyway (if they weren't already banned from the area).

same as my college classes really... although some teachers wanted them banned, the college used the cells to send out emergency texts... but they could insist that the phones were kept on silent at least and anyone caught using the phones or texting in class could get in trouble.

[protege]

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.

That's why I have mine. It's nice to have if the car breaks down and I need a tow, or if I'm running late to work. But, other than that, my cell sees very little usage. I can't understand how some people can't bear to be without their phone 24/7. Give me a break.

[Betweenshades]

I knew it would happen sooner or later. As cell phones became cheaper, pay phone calls were becoming more expensive. I got my first cell phone back in '97 when they jacked the price up from a quarter to 35 cents. Haven't used a pay phone since.

Ha! I did the same thing, but I wasn't able to get a phone until 2000.

[evilfarmer]

I do have to say, as i reply on my phone ^-^, that i am one who is attached at the hip but only in the last two months due to major health issues with my pawpa-in-law. By the 30th i was just about jumping out of my skin when it buzzed but after thursday he wil be laid to rest and hopefuly i can back off on the phone.

[Ironclad Alibi]

SC ... get me fired threats (bastards never came through for me on that one), ...

Well, as you will learn on this forum, SC s never do what they promise.

Welcome to the CS forum.

Since we are trading cell phone stories, my wife got her cell phone several years ago when we put her mother into assisted living and were traveling from northern Virginia to Baltimore several times a week to visit her and take car of her house. The cell phone was a replacement for two land lines we cancelled, although it turned out one of them was slightly out of the cell phone service area. It did prove to be useful on those trips to Baltimore.

When her first plan was up, she talked me into getting a cell phone also. It was an electronic thether for me to carry when I went out without her, and was useful for the train shows displays we participated in.

After several years of the typical cell phones, we moved up to smart phones last October. This was the result of some of her friends that had them and some of the usefull apps they had, such as the GPS function. So we both got them. Since they are just small computers that we carry around with us, they get used a lot for playing games. I have several e-readers on mine, but haven't used them yet.

Through all of this, neither of us text, don't have a text plan, and tell people to not text us. Most people respect this request. We also don't spend a lot of time on the phone. We have never come close to using up our minutes.

And when we went on a two week cruise several years ago, we left the cell phones at home.

[Chromatix]

I keep two phones - well, three phones, but two SIM cards.

The first is an old basic Nokia, which I keep a PAYG British SIM in to avoid roaming costs when I return there. I keep it on my person because it has a very long battery life by modern standards, and is thus potentially usefu in an emergency.

The second is a smart Nokia, which doesn't have a SIM in, but which I keep for emergency tethering - at that point I put in my local SIM and attach it to my firewall computer. On two separate occasions I have had to use that for multiple weeks as my main Internet connection - thank goodness for unlimited data (which actually *is* unlimited).

The third is an iPhone 3G. This is my primary phone, which I keep the local SIM in normally, and that number goes on my business cards. Those of you who have one of these know how much I like it.

[barainga]

The third is an iPhone 3G. This is my primary phone, which I keep the local SIM in normally, and that number goes on my business cards. Those of you who have one of these know how much I like it.

I hate the iPhone. I had to go through the 3 different releases/update to that thing. My hate is not rational, but was bred from the contempt that I had for many of the people who were not smart enough to own one, and all the people that wanted it but couldnt get it for various reasons but were the EWs and wanted me to give them one... which of course would have gotten me fired.

It was strange, SCs would threaten to get me fired if I didnt do something that would get me fired if I did it.

[Teefies2]

It was strange, SCs would threaten to get me fired if I didnt do something that would get me fired if I did it.

And this surprises you why?????

[Mytical]

Well..trying to figure out SC logic is like trying to read Martian, while standing on your head juggling and balancing on a beach ball. It is best not to attempt.

SC's bag of tricks is very old though, they need new material. The same old.

1) I know the manager
2) I'll sue
3) X has done it for me before..
etc was tired 20 years ago*

*Trying to be generous to the SC's with this estimation

As for roaming charges, hmm good thing I hate talking on a phone.

[EricKei]

Well..trying to figure out SC logic is like trying to read Martian, while standing on your head juggling and balancing on a beach ball.

Balancing on a beach ball? Now you're just asking too much

[Andara Bledin]

My Mom, Brother-in-Law, and I all share 1300 family plan minutes.....and we roll over minutes every month.

My boyfriend and I have a family plan with something like 700 minutes a month. It's a rare month we even manage to reach 10. I currently have texting blocked, although that will likely change sometime this year.

I've seen it on a bus. 2 teens sitting next to each other at the back of the bus texting each other. I'll admit it was a noisy bus, which would have meant that they would be yelling.

I've had IM conversations with the person sitting at the other computer in the same room I was in, with no other noises going on. Back when I would IM a lot, I would usually be involved in an average of nearly a dozen conversations at once. One more IM conversation was a lot easier to deal with than trying to swap from text to voice and back again.

They are right: if I'm stranded due to my scooter malfunctioning, or a sudden attack of more-severely-sick-than-normal, I probably can't go looking for a payphone.

As mentioned, these days, you'd be lucky if you found one.

The last local payphone that I knew of was ripped out about a year and a half ago. I actually let someone borrow my cellphone there shortly after 'cause she'd been planning to use the now-gone payphone.

^-.-^

[NateTheChops]

You can't hang up long enough to relieve yourself without yakking on the phone?

In all fairness, there are some people I like to piss and moan to when I call.

[hotelslave]

I really dont use my phone too much. But I also dont have a house phone and am currently looking for a job so use it some what. But I am far from being addicted to my phone. Mainly when I am on my phone its to talk to my bf. But I could go days with out touching it if you eliminate job search and need to talk to bf. Lol.

[EricKei]

I currently have texting blocked, although that will likely change sometime this year.

I have texting specifically because it lets me communicate with others over minor issues (e.g. "When should we be there for the Superbowl? Want me to bring anything to eat?") without wasting my minimum-available-minutes on the plan I have. It's also nice to be able to deal with issues in a non-immediate fashion, and allow the addressee to do the same.

[Moon]

My cell is a prepay, and whenever my balance goes below $10 (or $5, I can't remember) I get a notification before each outgoing call as to what my balance is. I can press one button to add money and another to just place the call. One idea could be to have such a notification before calls where they are notified the fee is XX.XX/minute, press 1 to accept. Of course, the annoyance factor for those who UNDERSTAND the fee and are willing to accept it (but for some reason want to be on the phone for half the cruise anyway) could be a factor for the "inconvenience" of it all (5-10 seconds and pushing an extra button). For the people who make one or two calls it shouldn't bother most of them, and it gives them a chance to re-evaluate rather the call is THAT important. If they don't press 1 they are not charged, but they also are not connected. Of course, notification does not come with incoming calls... but it will cut down on the complaints of "wawawa I didn't see the 500,000 signs every 2 feet telling me about it!" You have to acknowledge the message before your call is even connected so you KNOW about it!

Of course, I could be overly optimistic... SC's would still find a way to complain. And maybe it's not feasible to include such a warning on the ship's system.