Enchantment questions: Baltimore parking and Smart phones

[Ninababy]

We have not cruised in 10 years and I booked a 12 day out of Baltimore on enchantment.
First my hubby and I both have I phones. Can we use the ship wifi and will we be charged?? Any info would be helpful
Second any ideas on where to park cheaply for the 12 days? Thanks

[MCPayne]

Nina

From what I understand regarding smartphones at sea, your best bet would be to turn off the data feature. Otherwise, the phone will be constantly looking for a signal, and running up international data charges, which are the killer. On my 7 day cruise coming up, I'll probably just leave my phone in the safe turned off for the duration of the cruise.

As far as the wi fi and your phones, I doubt you can tether your phone to the ships wi fi. Like your phone, the ship's wi fi is a satellite signal, so it won't be fast like you may be used to at home.

Again, this is my understanding, and maybe somebody can answer this better than me.

Enjoy the Enchantment! She's a great ship!

[Ninababy]

Thanks! I may call my provider as well. So glad you like Enchantment! We like a little smaller ship with fun things on board. We hope it's great! Thanks

[MCPayne]

Nina

Good plan to call your provider on your smartphones. That's something I forgot to mention in my earlier post.

[Sonny V]

I used both my phone and my laptop on the Mariner last week. Turn on the airplane mode on your phone to prevent unwanted connections. You can buy a wi-fi package for about 65 cents per minute(the price varies on how many minutes you buy). They give you a map to show you where the "hot spots" are. As you know, you don't connect a wire to anything using wi-fi--it's wireless. If you use your phone to make a call from the ship while sailing, expect to pay around $2.75 per minute.

Sonny

[Ninababy]

thanks Sonny this is all great Info! Glad I found all of you!

[Cruise Fanatic]

Ninababy,
Please change your ticker to BB code to make it work. Thank You.

[Ninababy]

Thanks! wondered what was up! I am new to this stuff!

[fallsgable]

I will be cruising Enchantment of the Seas out of Baltimore in November...
If you have a Smart Phone with Verizon, like I happen to have the Droid, here is what I did.
I have the unlimited $29.99 Internet and Data plan. That works out to .99 a day normally. I call Verizon on the phone before I ge on the ship, and have them switch me to their "Global Data plan for Smartphone"...it runs $69.99 a month, but I will only need it for the 9 days I am on the ship....that comes out to $2.33 a day of UNLIMITED internet AND E-Mail while onboard the ship or on any of the islands....in actuality, it's only $1.34 more than I was paying before, and its UNLIMITED daily Access for the $1.34...MUCH better than ANY ship price!!
Then when I get off the ship back in Baltimore, I immediately call Verizon and have them switch my datqa plan back to the $29.99 a month unlimited plan.....they are happy to do it and it takes only a few seconds by phone....
look into it!
I dont know if the other carriers do the same, since most GSM phone networks (AT&T) use GSM, and SIM cards....
But if you are with Verizon, and have a Smartphone, this is a NO BRAINER....

Hope it helps!


Michael S.
Baltimore, MD