Roaming charges on board
The following is being printed because it may apply to cruises to destinations other than the Caribbean, which ITN does not cover.
My husband, Aaron, and I cruised out of the port of Baltimore, Maryland, on May 18, 2007, for a 9-day trip to the Caribbean with Royal Caribbean International on the Grandeur of the Seas.
We have taken over 35 cruises, 13 of them with Royal Caribbean and their subsidiary, Celebrity Cruises, and are members of the frequent traveler groups of both cruise lines.
On this particular cruise, as on others, we carried our cell phone to see how long we would have a signal. We usually sail from Florida and know we are in the open seas. This time we noticed that we had reception bars while at sea. Since we had never experienced this before, we assumed that the signals were from nearby land towers and not from an international cell service charging much higher international rates.
Imagine our surprise when our cell phone bill arrived and charges of $4.99 a minute had been imposed for the 12 minutes we had used our phone. (None of the charges had been applied to our shipboard account.)
It’s not the amount of the charges that raises my dander but the absence of information given to us as passengers that this would occur.
When we book a cruise, we give a credit card imprint and are told that anything we purchase on board will be charged to us. It seems to me that the presence of cell service on a ship and the fact that international roaming charges will be made as a result of it is important information that must be given to passengers.
We have never been on a ship that advertised (or cautioned) that there was such a service on board, and we were never notified that it was present aboard this ship.
When I called the Royal Caribbean executive offices, the gentleman to whom I spoke told me that they do not impose the charges — this is done by AT&T, which provided the service — and that I should discuss my concern with AT&T. (We were billed by AT&T through our cell phone carrier.)
He also said that the cell service was for the ship’s communication and, essentially, if a passenger uses it, too bad. I also was told that there was information posted on the website.
Why would a passenger look on a website for information about the ship when all of it would have been received in presailing literature? All of our preboarding documents were given to us by our travel agent in a book she received from Royal Caribbean. It seemed quite complete in describing all of the amenities present, except there was no mention of the cellular charges.
I am writing to caution other cruisers. This is most likely occurring on ships all over the world. You should not assume you are receiving signals from land no matter how close you may be.
I did not ask for a refund. I only asked Royal Caribbean to inform passengers of this and inquired if we could be given shipboard credit for an upcoming January 2008 Celebrity cruise which we had booked a year before. These both were denied.
CAROLE MALL
Baltimore, MD
ITN mailed a copy of the above letter to Royal Caribbean International and was sent a copy of their reply to Mrs. Mall, as follows.
Thank you for contacting our Executive Office regarding the roaming charges on your cell phone bill. We appreciate this opportunity to respond to your concerns.
As the rates of roaming charges differ between cellular phone companies, the existence of roaming charges does not. Consequently, roaming charges can affect the cost of your phone service at any time that you are not near the cellular phone tower — similar to using your cellular phone while on an airplane. Further, when cellular phones are in the roaming stage, it is displayed on your cell phone screen.
We regret that you were not aware of this information and that it has caused an inconvenience for you. However, this information is provided on our website and in your Daily Cruise Compass, which is provided to you every day in your stateroom while on board.
We appreciate your suggestions regarding providing this information in your travel documents and will forward this to the appropriate management for future consideration. We trust that this single grievance has not caused you to lose faith in our cruise line.
JANELLE VALENTINO, Corporate Guest Relations, Royal Caribbean International, 1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, FL 33132
The following information can be found in a downloadable brochure on the line’s website: “Charges, Billing and Customer Service — Rates for usage of your mobile phone are determined by your home carrier. Please note that calls to 800, 888, 866 and 877 numbers are not toll free. You will be billed by your home carrier for your international roaming usage on your regular mobile phone bill. It can take up to 60 days for charges acquired while using your mobile phone at these times to appear on your phone bill. For more information, please contact your home carrier customer service.”
ITN found that the above information was difficult to locate, even for two different employees of the cruise line, so here are the directions:
Go to the website www.royalcaribbean.com. In the “Plan a Cruise” menu, select “Activities” and then “Stay Connected.”
ITN researched further and found that, according to Wireless Maritime Services (the company which provides the international cellular service that most cruise lines use while at sea), as a cruise ship approaches port, ship-based cell service is suspended.
Additionally, land-based towers can transmit a signal only about 12 miles out to sea.