reedl

Two thoughts:

1. For the people who are saying that this never happened to them so therefore it disproves that it happens, well we now know that you can be moved.

2. For the people worried about being moved, the chances of that happened are quite low.

It is all about probability. There is a 1 in something chance that you will be moved.

Speedtest uses the IP address to determine which server it uses for the test. That is different than when you use maps to display a location and it locates you via gps.

Speedtest does not use GPS locations to determine the server.

But it takes a few minutes for the GPS to "catch", and until then then Maps app is relying solely on WiFi to guess where you are. It shows me in Naples most often, sometimes in Barcelona, sometimes in FLL. And then GPS kicks in and I get mapped accurately. So, seems VOOM relies on servers in Naples, Barcelona and FLL?

The reason is that iPhones at least have a database with WiFi names and locations. My office moved a couple of years ago, and when we were in the office, the maps app showed the old location since the office's WiFi name was associated with the old location. In about 4-5 weeks it updated to the new location.

The issue with ships is that of course they move all the time, so it is not possible to use that fixed location data. So the phone guesses where it is based on where that access point's MAC address has been seen before.

Going back to the THINGS I HAVEN'T DONE ON A CRUISE THREAD, I've never seen them separate the saucer section.

 

LLAP

The Northstar is kind of like that. It is round and almost separates from the ship.

...And here I thought that this topic was about a second bridge that controls the ship...

Oh well.

I second the rental car idea. That way you can go where you want without issue.

If your phone does wifi calling you can call someone shoreside if they are using it as well. Newer iPhones do this.

It does not matter if the person you are calling has WiFi calling. You will be calling a regular number with WiFi calling on the new iPhones and Android phones.

Your end goes over a data connection to your cell phone provider's center and then is sent out the phone network as usual.

If you want constant connectivity, purchase the WiFi package on the cruise, and you will be able to make and receive calls all the time using WiFi calling. Just make sure to put your phone into airplane mode, and then re-enable WiFi.

If you do not need constant connectivity, you can use WiFi in ports. The bes thing is to ask the crew where good WiFi is in the port.

What's an upgrade? :D I have never seen one myself

Be careful. This could lead into a dress code thread. ;o)

It could turn into a 'everything other people do offends me' thread also.

As has been said before, if you do not like something, just turn your head. It is like television. If you do not like the program on, just change the channel.

As long as it is not illegal or against the rules, just go with the flow.

You will be able to get pretty much any speciality dining reservation for the rest of your cruise on the first day without issue. It might not be the exact time you want, but will be within a half hour or so.

Someone can wear panties on their head and it's not going to affect my cruise unless I choose to let it.

Yes. People who are offended or bothered by something let themselves be bothered by it.

Hey All,

I am hoping to book a first cruise in January for my girlfriend and I and was hoping for some help whittling down the bewildering array of choices. I do know we would like a balcony and for excursions we would like to snorkel and zip line. For first timers in our 40s which cruise line or ship would provide the best experience?

Thanks

Tom

Being that you are in the same state as myself, I would recommend a Royal Caribbean Cruise that goes to Labadee at least. They have the longest zip line over water there which is a lot of fun.

If you want to start out with the biggest ships that they have, try the Oasis/Allure/Horizon of the Seas. They are massive ships with many things to do. You can fly into florida pretty cheaply. If you take Oasis, it leaves from Port Canaveral which is about an hour from Orlando. The other two ships leave from Port Everglades which is pretty much right next to FLL airport. Many airlines have non stops into FLL from Boston and Providence and Manchester. Depending on where you are in Mass, Jetblue has flights from Worcester to Orlando and FLL which are very convenient.

One more bit of advice, see if you can arrive into the port city the day before your cruise. It might not seem to be required, but I look at it as time to do some sightseeing without worrying about making the ship.

How in the heck is it disrespectful to decorate your cabin door? In what possible way could that bother anyone other than people who are 'professionally offended' as I like to call them?

...And I seriously doubt that the posts about spray paint are serious.

Give me a break.:confused:

This is the breakdown on how tips are distributed.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/faqSubject.do?faqSubjectName=Gratuities

The automatic gratuity is $13.50 USD, or $16.50 USD for suite guests, applied to each guest's SeaPass® account on a daily basis. Here's how it is shared between your onboard service team:

Standard Staterooms:

$6.35 - Dining Services

$3.45 - Stateroom Attendant

$3.70 - Other Hotel Services

 

Suites:

$6.35 - Dining Services

$6.10 - Suite Attendant

$4.05 - Other Hotel Services

So of the $13.50 that a standard cabin pays, 25% goes to the cabin steward, 47% goes to dining, and the rest goes to other employees.

...And I always win the 70's disco music trivia.

That is my one and only time I go to trivia.

I would agree with this as well. If they're selling the Balvenie Triple Cask in duty free, they may have it at one of the bars. They will happily sell you overpriced MacAllan.

The booze for the shops is a completely different department than the booze for on board drinking.

You just have to make sure you enable WiFi calling before your cruise.

Also make sure to put the phone into Airplane mode, and then re-enable WiFi to connect to the ship's WiFi signal. Otherwise you might use the ship's cellular tower.

Texting doesn't require an internet connection, just a cellular phone connection. You can (and should) turn data roaming off and still use your phone to send and receive text messages via the ship's cellular "tower." Typically receiving texts is free (or comes out of your allocated "bucket") and sending costs 50 cents.

Text messages use a cellular connection typically. iMessage on the iPhone and Android's messaging service use a data connection.

Now the wrinkle is the newer iPhones, and newer Android phones that support cellular WiFi. You can use the phone (even make voice calls) with only a data connection and no cellular connection.

But for the OP, the best thing is to leave the phone on, disable data roaming, and you will get texts without issue. Even iMessage will 'fall back' to a text message if the iMessage fails.

You have proven that when you see a good deal, always take advantage of it. I am glad you were able to 'snag' it.

Even though you will clear customs in Canada, there is a lot of time that usually occurs between the plane landing, and you being able to get to the plane.

As others have said, make it an earlier flight, or even the night before, and stay overnight in the Florida area.

As I said before, I only decorated the door once with some black paper cutouts of bats with magnets attached to them. We had three of them on the door.

I have never decorated the door before, and we only did it because it was halloween.

But to the people who consider it a personal affront to them when someone's door has something on it, I agree with a lot of people.... "Get A Life!"

If something attached to a door is something that causes your personal distress, you obviously cannot handle many issue in life.

There are signs directing you to the ship. Do not worry.

no way in hell would I ever use any free(UNSECURED)shore WiFi in another country to process payroll. in fact I am not even sure I'd trust the ship board wiFi to be secure enough.

Pretty much every email client uses SSL encryption for getting and sending email. Every financial app uses SSL encryption. Every financial web page uses SSL encryption.

If the WiFi link in the middle is unencrypted, there is nothing anyone can do with those packets as the data flowing is encrypted.

So do not worry.

Things I miss:

- I miss the book that used to arrive with the all the excursions listed, luggage tags, etc. I wished I had saved our old ones. When we got that, we knew we were near the cruise time.

- Being able to order the dining room's food in your cabin.

- No upsell of restaurants, etc.

- Less focus on 'what level are you'

Would it make you happy to do it? If so, do it! Don't worry about what others do or say. :)

I agree. As long as you are not doing anything against the rules (many things), or forcing someone to endure something that is not acceptable (music for example) Just be happy.

People who are offended by others perfectly reasonable actions need to 'take a chill pill'