Sunset on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Sea

Just came back from a weekend getaway cruise (first cruise! snapshot above).

Here’s what I’ve learned:

  • The ocean can be quite scary at night.
  • Tall places with little railing is also a bit scary.
  • Apparently, I’m still a wuss.
  • Not locking or turning off your cell phone while roaming can cost you an extra $24.95 in charges.

T-Mobile international roaming charges.

I forgot to lock the keypad on my Blackberry while I was dancing badly aboard the cruise ship, and an accidental call was made to a friend. Thankfully her answering machine only allowed a message length of four minutes, or else I’ll be weeping terribly as I write this post.

Half an hour after the accidental call, my friend checked the message and called me back, wondering why she wasn’t invited to whatever party I was at. The call went straight to my voicemail box, as I didn’t have reception by the time she called back.

Here’s the kicker:

If you have T-Mobile, as per their International Roaming FAQ, unless you switch your device off or activate Unconditional Call Forwarding on your device, you will be billed for calls delivered to your voice mail box while you are roaming internationally.

So even though I didn’t pick up the call or check the voicemail, I was charged the spectacular rate of $4.99 per minute for receiving a voicemail message while roaming.

Ouch.

If you have T-Mobile and you see an expensive call coming from 805-637-7249 on your bill, you were most likely charged for receiving a voicemail while roaming internationally. Turn off your phone or lock your keypad and save some money.

The really stupid part is that this is the third time I’ve accidentally made a call while traveling abroad. You’d think I’ll learn by now…