Emergency back at home

We’re FINALLY going on our first cruise since our honeymoon 15 years ago. We’ll be on the Oasis of the Seas January 7th. I have all sorts of questions which I’m trying to find on here, but my biggest one is this: We’re leaving my 12 year old son back at home with my parents. What are my moms options of getting a hold of me in case of an emergency?? I really don’t want to buy the WiFi package if I don’t have to. We were hoping to just check our email in the evening to make sure everything is ok. Does Royal Caribbean have minute plans at all?

No per minute internet on Royal.

Emergency: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-phone-call-services

I am not sure of any options but my hubby and I are going on our first cruise without our kids and our first vacation just the two of us since our honeymoon 12 years ago too! We plan to buy one wifi on board and we just changed our carrier to t-mobile which has data and text plans included in your plan for over 200 countries!

You really should just buy a wifi package. Can get it for the whole week for $11/day or so. Then share it with your significant other, too. Just one device logged in at a time but it's nice to have. I would want to be connected back home 24/7 if I had even the slightest concern about potential emergency notification. What's $80 for that peace of mind? Plus, you will have fast wifi to use the entire time if you want it...

I am not sure of any options but my hubby and I are going on our first cruise without our kids and our first vacation just the two of us since our honeymoon 12 years ago too! We plan to buy one wifi on board and we just changed our carrier to t-mobile which has data and text plans included in your plan for over 200 countries!

Good point about T-Mobile, also. It's fantastic for frequent travelers. We get unlimited text/data almost all over the world. Even the calls are reasonable at 50 cents per minute for those quick 1 - 2 minute calls. It's nice being connected while traveling. Having the ability to use Google maps in real-time in Europe was awesome.

You really should just buy a wifi package. Can get it for the whole week for $11/day or so. Then share it with your significant other, too. Just one device logged in at a time but it's nice to have. I would want to be connected back home 24/7 if I had even the slightest concern about potential emergency notification. What's $80 for that peace of mind? Plus, you will have fast wifi to use the entire time if you want it...

I didn’t know it was that cheap. I thought it was closer to $20 a day for WiFi?? And can I text then or is that something I would have to contact my provider about?

I didn’t know it was that cheap. I thought it was closer to $20 a day for WiFi?? And can I text then or is that something I would have to contact my provider about?

I didn’t know it was that cheap. I thought it was closer to $20 a day for WiFi?? And can I text then or is that something I would have to contact my provider about?

You'd need to use a wifi messaging app such as Whatsapp, Wechat or even Facebook Messenger.

See https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-phone-call-services. If you are only concerned with emergency contact.

Check with your cell service provider for call and text rates at sea. If you want more frequent contact.

Buy a single device wifi package. Set your phone to wi-fi calling before you leave. Then turn on airplane mode, internet on - and you can make phone calls from your phone on the ship over wifi.

www. (domain) . com/2016/06/30/how-use-your-cell-phone-royal-caribbean-cruise-and-not-come-home-big-bill

put 'royal caribbean blog' without spaces in the domain name above

I didn’t know it was that cheap. I thought it was closer to $20 a day for WiFi?? And can I text then or is that something I would have to contact my provider about?

You would not use your cell service for texting. We use Facebook messenger which you can use for calling, video calls, and texting. Plus obviously email and anything else you would want to do on the internet. For my upcoming cruise, the surf + stream unlimited internet is $11.99/day for 1 device. And again, keep in mind that just means 1 device at a time. You can use as many devices as you want, just only 1 at a time.

Are you getting the drink package? Royal has drink + internet packages where you save even more. It's really not expensive to have internet at sea anymore. And being connected 24/7 is VERY nice. You don't have to use it constantly, but having the ability to check in, check messages, etc anytime you want is great.

... And can I text then or is that something I would have to contact my provider about?

If you enable WiFi calling on your phone (contact your cell provider for help on this), you can use your phone over the ship's WiFi the same as when the phone is connected to your home cell network. Voice calls and texting, no apps needed.

Get the ship number and give to them. Discuss what is an emergency ... calls are expensive

We’ll be on the Oasis of the Seas January 7th.

You mean the 6th?

You would not use your cell service for texting. We use Facebook messenger which you can use for calling, video calls, and texting. Plus obviously email and anything else you would want to do on the internet. For my upcoming cruise, the surf + stream unlimited internet is $11.99/day for 1 device. And again, keep in mind that just means 1 device at a time. You can use as many devices as you want, just only 1 at a time.

 

Are you getting the drink package? Royal has drink + internet packages where you save even more. It's really not expensive to have internet at sea anymore. And being connected 24/7 is VERY nice. You don't have to use it constantly, but having the ability to check in, check messages, etc anytime you want is great.

These are all great tips!! Never thought of using Facebook messenger. We are planning on getting the deluxe drink package. Next question...this is very VERY last minute. So last minute in fact that we’re finally pulling the trigger with our agent we found through ************* tonight. She’s holding a room for us so I’m not worried about that, but this cruise is literally less than 4 months away. Will we still be able to get deals through cruise planner?? And how about shows and restaurants? Do you think things are already booked up? Are we crazy booking last minute like this? It was such a good deal we can’t resist

Will we still be able to get deals through cruise planner?? And how about shows and restaurants? Do you think things are already booked up? Are we crazy booking last minute like this? It was such a good deal we can’t resist

Yes.

Not yet available and yes.

Some, maybe.

No.

Deals on this sailing were even better some time ago.

Yes.

Not yet available and yes.

Some, maybe.

No.

Deals on this sailing were even better some time ago.

Yes, I meant the 6th.

I know!! I wish we had booked sooner, but we did manage to get free gratuities and a nice obc so I’m not going to stress too much.

Why is it so cheap compared to other weeks? Is January a bad time to go??

Why is it so cheap compared to other weeks?

Seasonal discount.

We booked our cruise 2 months ago and we sail in 27 days. We were able to book everything at the time we wanted. You will be fine 4 months in advance. Also, watch for discounts for the VOOM package. It won't be a huge drop but every penny counts. Call your wireless provider and see if they can enable wifi calling on your phone. I use ATT and it was free but it had to be activated. Now I can make calls to any type of phone using wifi while in airplane mode as well as all other fun "iphone to iphone" perks using wifi only.

These are all great tips!! Never thought of using Facebook messenger. We are planning on getting the deluxe drink package. Next question...this is very VERY last minute. So last minute in fact that we’re finally pulling the trigger with our agent we found through ************* tonight. She’s holding a room for us so I’m not worried about that, but this cruise is literally less than 4 months away. Will we still be able to get deals through cruise planner?? And how about shows and restaurants? Do you think things are already booked up? Are we crazy booking last minute like this? It was such a good deal we can’t resist

4 months isn't very last minute. Plenty of time. Make sure to reserve your shows!

Keep an eye on the cruise planner for deals. I would think Black Friday/Cyber Monday for sure would be a good time. Since you are getting the drink package, for at least one of them, get the drink/internet package combo. It's $11/day extra looking at my next cruise. That's not bad at all.

If you BOTH get internet... I'm not sure how much time you spend doing things separate on the cruise, but we LOVE being able to just ping each other while on board to see where the other is and meet up. "Ready for lunch? Solarium Bistro." That kind of stuff. That's worth the $80 alone. For the price, I couldn't imagine sailing without internet. It's very affordable.

Good point about T-Mobile, also. It's fantastic for frequent travelers. We get unlimited text/data almost all over the world. Even the calls are reasonable at 50 cents per minute for those quick 1 - 2 minute calls. It's nice being connected while traveling. Having the ability to use Google maps in real-time in Europe was awesome.

25 cents per minute, up from 20 cents per minute not too long ago.

I didn’t know it was that cheap. I thought it was closer to $20 a day for WiFi?? And can I text then or is that something I would have to contact my provider about?

If you phone supports wifi calling and your carrier, you enable that at home, then you can text and call from your phone onboard with a wifi connection.

Make SURE your phone is in Airplane mode, with Wifi ON.

You'd need to use a wifi messaging app such as Whatsapp, Wechat or even Facebook Messenger.

NOT true.

Most smart phones, and all the major carriers support Wifi calling (and texting).

25 cents per minute, up from 20 cents per minute not too long ago.

I just had to look up one of my "Welcome to..." texts and you are right, it is only 20 cents. I could have sworn it was 50 cents when we were in Norway but it seems it's a flat 25 cents now for everywhere.

You would not use your cell service for texting. We use Facebook messenger which you can use for calling, video calls, and texting. Plus obviously email and anything else you would want to do on the internet. For my upcoming cruise, the surf + stream unlimited internet is $11.99/day for 1 device. And again, keep in mind that just means 1 device at a time. You can use as many devices as you want, just only 1 at a time.

See previous responses. You CAN use normal texting.