When you get on a cruise ship, you're opting into a vacation that's different than any land-based option.
The first thing to remember is that cruise ships move. They're affected by weather, and rough seas affect even the largest ships. That aspect of cruising has improved as stabilizer technology has advanced and ships have gotten bigger, but it remains an issue.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line addresses key drug-policy
Cruise ships also visit different countries, and passengers must understand that the laws vary depending upon where you are. Parents, for example, need to be aware that in many Caribbean countries the drinking age is 18. So if they let their able-to-vote-but-not legal-to-drink-in-the-U.S. kids explore on their own in those countries, they might choose to indulge.
Drug laws also vary by country. In Mexico, for example, vaping could land you in prison. Those rules are often confusing because in many countries where the penalties for foreigners possessing drugs are harsh, people on the street are readily offering to sell you drugs.
Passengers need to know what the rules are because while their cruise line will probably warn them about some situations, they may not hear that warning or it may not be issued.
That's also true when it comes to one potentially very expensive choice passengers need to make.
Image source: Royal Caribbean
Internet connections at sea cost money
Cruise lines sell internet packages. Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) -), Norwegian Cruises, and Royal Caribbean have invested heavily in improving their internet by offering Elon Musk's Starlink satellite-driven service.
MSC, Virgin, and Disney also sell internet but don't offer Starlink.
Passengers, of course, don't have to buy internet. If they do that, they have two choices. First, on some ships, the major phone carriers offer at-sea plans. To get one of those you have to specifically make that purchase, usually before you sail.
The second option is simply not to use your phone. That's getting harder to do as all the major cruise lines have to different extents pushed passengers to rely on their apps.
All the cruise lines offer free WiFi to access their apps, but using your phone just for that leaves you open to a dangerous situation. That's something Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald addressed in a recent blog post.
Carnival sends a phone warning
If you don't put your phone in airplane mode once you board a ship, you run the risk of incurring huge roaming charges.
T-Mobile sends a text message warning customers that they're at sea and could face charges, but the other major carriers do not.
Heald, responding to a recent question on his Facebook page, addressed what can happen when you don't put your phone in airplane mode.
"Just got my monthly cell phone charges through and there are $470 worth of charges from my cruise on Carnival Cruises Freedom," the passenger wrote. "Someone told me that the cruise line should be responsible because nobody told us that we should have the phone in airplane mode or off. All he did was play games on the phone."
They blamed the cruise line for not warning them about this situation.
"My complaint is this...nowhere on the ship does Carnival highlight that there will be extremely high prices for using data at sea and EXACTLY what that cost is," they wrote. "The reason for this is that no one will use the service. One thing I do know is Carnival must be getting paid very well for this service at the expense of their passengers and they try to be as covert as possible with the pricing structure. We should be compensated."
Heald made clear that Carnival does not get a cut of the charges from any of the phone carriers. But he was open to the idea that the cruise line could be better about warning customers.
"That must have been quite a shock to get home and have that bill. I am sorry that we cannot compensate for this. I am guessing that your son was doing online gaming and had not downloaded the internet and used the cellular network," he wrote,
Heald did push back on one point.
"I cannot agree we are being 'covert' and we do not get paid by the telephone companies. I do though want to ask those reading this if you think we can do a better job in letting people know about this kind of thing or is it something you are mostly aware of," he asked.
The vast majority of the 2,400 comments on the post put the onus on the passengers and not the cruise line.
"It is up to each individual that books any trip, not just a cruise, to make sure what their cell phone plan covers. That is not up to Carnival," Shay Harper wrote.
In many cases, the major phone companies have been willing to forgive these charges on a one-time basis, but there is no guarantee that will happen.
Unlock the secrets of the stock market with Real Money Pro. Gain direct access to elite portfolio managers' top stock picks and time-tested investment strategies. Embark on your journey to financial success — start now.
