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out of plqn charges


I have a charge of £10 for out of plan charges added whilst on ferry Holyhead to Dublin. I did not use my phone, so why the charge. I switched phone off when I was notified I’d apparently used 80% of my cap and when I switched it back on promptly was notified I’d use 100%!!?? Why??

Best answer by MZone

Sounds like you connected to the Ferry’s mobile network. Even though you may not have used your phone the phone is always connected and downloading data in the background for updates/app notifications etc  

When you’re at sea, we strongly recommend you don’t use your phone, and put it into flight mode until you get to shore. We’re advising this because roaming charges at sea can be very expensive.

If you’re going on a cruise, or taking a ferry on a journey like Dover to Calais, roaming charges could apply, even if you’re travelling between any of our ‘Inclusive Roaming’ countries.

The reason for this is because ferry and cruise operators often use their own phone network that’s operated via satellite. Connecting to a satellite network is much more expensive then connecting to a land operated network, so that’s why your usage at sea isn’t included as part of your Inclusive Roaming allowance.

Here’s a table showing the costs of roaming at sea:

Roaming Pay monthly Pay-as-you-go****
Calls to UK* £6.00 £6.00
Calls to Ships, Ferries, Cruise Liners* £6.00 £6.00
Calls received* £1.50 £1.50
Texts to Ships, Ferries, Cruise Liners** £1.20 £1.20
Texts to UK** £1.20 £1.20
Picture message (MMS) sent** £0.60 £0.60
Internet and Data (per MB)*** £9.60 £9.60

* Price per minute

** Please note: MMS charges vary. For further information, refer to Terms & Conditions. If you joined or upgraded on or before 20th June 2023 the MMS cost is £0.30 per message for Roaming within EU Bands 1 and 2.

*** Data is charged or deducted in one kilobyte (KB) increments and any part KB used will be rounded up to the nearest KB

**** The charges below will apply to all Pay-as-you-go customers starting from 1st October 2024. Find out more about the current charges here.

Prices shown include VAT where applicable.

To avoid these high charges, we’d advise you not to use your phone when at sea. Just pop it in flight mode until you reach land.

Some ferry and cruise operators offer Wi-Fi on board, and you can still connect to Wi-Fi when in flight-mode. Simply go into your settings and manually turn on Wi-Fi.

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MZone
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  • 1207 replies
  • Answer
  • May 22, 2025

Sounds like you connected to the Ferry’s mobile network. Even though you may not have used your phone the phone is always connected and downloading data in the background for updates/app notifications etc  

When you’re at sea, we strongly recommend you don’t use your phone, and put it into flight mode until you get to shore. We’re advising this because roaming charges at sea can be very expensive.

If you’re going on a cruise, or taking a ferry on a journey like Dover to Calais, roaming charges could apply, even if you’re travelling between any of our ‘Inclusive Roaming’ countries.

The reason for this is because ferry and cruise operators often use their own phone network that’s operated via satellite. Connecting to a satellite network is much more expensive then connecting to a land operated network, so that’s why your usage at sea isn’t included as part of your Inclusive Roaming allowance.

Here’s a table showing the costs of roaming at sea:

Roaming Pay monthly Pay-as-you-go****
Calls to UK* £6.00 £6.00
Calls to Ships, Ferries, Cruise Liners* £6.00 £6.00
Calls received* £1.50 £1.50
Texts to Ships, Ferries, Cruise Liners** £1.20 £1.20
Texts to UK** £1.20 £1.20
Picture message (MMS) sent** £0.60 £0.60
Internet and Data (per MB)*** £9.60 £9.60

* Price per minute

** Please note: MMS charges vary. For further information, refer to Terms & Conditions. If you joined or upgraded on or before 20th June 2023 the MMS cost is £0.30 per message for Roaming within EU Bands 1 and 2.

*** Data is charged or deducted in one kilobyte (KB) increments and any part KB used will be rounded up to the nearest KB

**** The charges below will apply to all Pay-as-you-go customers starting from 1st October 2024. Find out more about the current charges here.

Prices shown include VAT where applicable.

To avoid these high charges, we’d advise you not to use your phone when at sea. Just pop it in flight mode until you reach land.

Some ferry and cruise operators offer Wi-Fi on board, and you can still connect to Wi-Fi when in flight-mode. Simply go into your settings and manually turn on Wi-Fi.


Tyler
iD Mobile Employee
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  • iD Mobile Employee
  • 4297 replies
  • May 22, 2025

Hey there, we hope the kind advice from ​@MZone has been able to help.

 

Please let us know if any further questions.

 

Thanks,

Tyler


  • Author
  • New
 Contributor
  • 1 reply
  • May 25, 2025

Thank you. Fully understand now with that answer I had. Think I marked it as Most Helpful the other day. Thanks loads Gilli 


Tyler
iD Mobile Employee
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  • iD Mobile Employee
  • 4297 replies
  • May 26, 2025

That’s great, thank you ​@Gilli5359!

 

Have a lovely day :)

 

Kind regards,

Tyler