A CRUISE expert has revealed one simple mistake that passengers make on board ships all the time that could end up costing them hundreds.
The main appeal of a cruise is that they often pass through several different countries.
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However, that can also leave passengers out of pocket if they aren’t careful.
Tiktoker Preston, who goes by the handle @ship_facts explained how a cruise holiday can heap unwanted costs onto your phone bill and how to stop it happening.
In a video he said: “Keep your phone on airplane mode throughout the entire cruise.
“So many passengers have been billed thousands of dollars on their phone bill due to the fact that they went on the internet, made calls or even sent messages without having airplane mode turned on.
“Even if you do buy the wifi on board, still be sure to keep airplane mode turned on.”
Passengers who don’t put their phone on airplane mode are vulnerable to roaming charges, with their ships passing into different countries.
Therefore, by leaving their phones on airplane mode, they can avoid a nasty surprise when the bill arrives at the end of the month.
The video has been seen more than 200,000 times, with plenty of people thankful for the advice.
However, for some it came too late.
One person wrote: “When I was 12 and I had my first phone I didn’t know the airplane mode one and we got billed $2000 and I got grounded on the ship.”
A second person said: “My daughter ran up a $1700 phone bill.”
Preston isn’t the only person to recommend leaving phones on airplane mode during cruises either.
Christine Kesteloo lived and worked on a cruise ship half of every year in her old job and knows all about how to make the most out of her time on board.
She said: “I would never get on a cruise and not put my phone on airplane mode before we start sailing.
“I don’t care what phone plan you’re with, you can rack up some huge charges if you leave your phone not on airplane mode on the ship.”
It’s not the only costly cruise mistake either.
Erica DePascale, who has worked on cruise ships for seven years, said she sees first-time cruisers making silly errors all the time.
She warned against getting flights that land the same day the ship sets sail, due to it being “super risky”.
She said: “Flights can be canceled or delayed, so it’s best to fly in the day or night before and choose a hotel with a port shuttle to make your connection to the ship seamless.”
Meanwhile this couple missed their cruise after making a very simple passport mistake.
And this is the secret code word you never want to hear when you’re on board a cruise ship.
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