Communicating onboard

[Freedom2014]

Does RCCL offer some sort of way to keep in touch with other members on the cruise?

[Clarea]

Does RCCL offer some sort of way to keep in touch with other members on the cruise?

Stateroom phones have voice mail capability.

 

Oasis and Allure have iPhones to rent, but some say they are not reliable.

[gr8.guy]

Unless you are on Quantum or either of the Oasis Class vessels, No. There has been some talk on here of iPhone and Android apps that may work but have varying degrees of usefulness. I am going to "try" to use Ripple Communicator on my upcoming Vision of the Seas cruise on 11/15/14. The developer of the app assures me that it works and should have no issues onboard so I am taking his word for it and if it doesn't work, I will request a refund.

[Clarea]

Unless you are on Quantum or either of the Oasis Class vessels, No. There has been some talk on here of iPhone and Android apps that may work but have varying degrees of usefulness. I am going to "try" to use Ripple Communicator on my upcoming Vision of the Seas cruise on 11/15/14. The developer of the app assures me that it works and should have no issues onboard so I am taking his word for it and if it doesn't work, I will request a refund.

Sounds good, but I don't know how the developer knows if the ship allows peer to peer communications between wireless devices. Please report back.

[matj2000]

I have been on quite a few cruises with my family.

 

And can name only one time where there was an issue finding each other( and it was a long time ago).

 

Just leave messages on the phone, post it's, or just let others know where you will be.

 

Don't complicate it with silly devices, it isn't that hard to keeping track..

[cb at sea]

It's your FAMILY! Talk! Tell everyone what your plans are! It's really not that hard to keep in touch with the others in your party!

 

The "public" areas are limited..you won't need to search every cabin deck....you'll find that everyone gravitates to the same places over and over...pool, sports deck, casino, etc...

 

Just tell the rest of your group where you'll be...it's easy to find each other!

Edited November 4, 2014 by cb at sea

[Big_G]

It's your FAMILY! Talk! Tell everyone what your plans are!

 

... or not. ;):D

[DaNana]

Review here about Ripple:''http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2119326&highlight=ripple

[hellsop]

Sounds good, but I don't know how the developer knows if the ship allows peer to peer communications between wireless devices. Please report back.

 

The last three I've been on did. Not officially supported, of course, but functional for LAN video games and IRC to function pretty well. Now I just need to find an IRC server that doesn't crash twice a day...

[Clarea]

The last three I've been on did. Not officially supported, of course, but functional for LAN video games and IRC to function pretty well. Now I just need to find an IRC server that doesn't crash twice a day...

I don't think IRC uses the same connectivity method as Ripple. With Ripple, no external server is involved, so no internet access is required.. It's direct communication between wireless devices. That's the selling point, no internet package purchase is needed.

[hellsop]

I don't think IRC uses the same connectivity method as Ripple. With Ripple, no external server is involved, so no internet access is required.. It's direct communication between wireless devices. That's the selling point, no internet package purchase is needed.

 

It doesn't, but it shows that inter-device networking works just fine on the "pervasive wifi" ships. If IRC works, Ripple should be fine.

[Clarea]

It doesn't, but it shows that inter-device networking works just fine on the "pervasive wifi" ships. If IRC works, Ripple should be fine.

Maybe I'm missing something, but my understanding of IRC is that the client devices are not communicating directtly with each other, but rather are relaying messages through an IRC server, so no direct peer to peer connections. That's different than Ripple which has no relay server, so must send messages directly from one wireless device to another.

[masonpips]

We buy $1 whiteboards (magnets on back) at Dollar Tree and install on all of our group's doors. We write notes

 

DB at pool 11 am

CC WJammer 1 pm

M & L - Florider, 1:45

 

Be at dinner at 8:20

 

etc..

 

Works great and no one has messed with them enough to bother us. Sometimes we get fun notes from other people too!

[ehfl]

Just arrange meeting times/places (as well as a backup time/place). No need to micromanage or stay in constant contact with everyone. The great thing about a cruise is that everyone can do their own thing. Make plans to meet periodically, but no need to constantly bother everyone in the party.

[hellsop]

Maybe I'm missing something, but my understanding of IRC is that the client devices are not communicating directtly with each other, but rather are relaying messages through an IRC server, so no direct peer to peer connections. That's different than Ripple which has no relay server, so must send messages directly from one wireless device to another.

 

The bit that's missing is that since the server was running on my laptop in my stateroom, and the client was on phones on the same network, as far as the ship was concerned, no billable traffic was happening, just like how Ripple works. (Ripple still goes phone->accesspoint->ship-network->accesspoint->phone, not directly phone->phone like "ad hoc networks" that can be set up between two laptops. If it tried that, it would have a range of about 50 feet shipboard, and drain the battery in a couple of hours. )

[Clarea]

The bit that's missing is that since the server was running on my laptop in my stateroom, and the client was on phones on the same network, as far as the ship was concerned, no billable traffic was happening, just like how Ripple works. (Ripple still goes phone->accesspoint->ship-network->accesspoint->phone, not directly phone->phone like "ad hoc networks" that can be set up between two laptops. If it tried that, it would have a range of about 50 feet shipboard, and drain the battery in a couple of hours. )

OK, now I understand. Then you did in fact prove there was peer to peer communication over wireless.

 

That's a very clever idea (using the laptop as the IRC server) by the way. Did you just program the IP address of the laptop on the phones, and the laptop IP did not change throughout the cruise?

[ewenix]

It's your FAMILY! Talk! Tell everyone what your plans are! It's really not that hard to keep in touch with the others in your party!

 

The "public" areas are limited..you won't need to search every cabin deck....you'll find that everyone gravitates to the same places over and over...pool, sports deck, casino, etc...

 

Just tell the rest of your group where you'll be...it's easy to find each other!

 

If only we had thought of that wonderful tip. ;)

 

Talking and setting plans isn't the problem. It's when you decide to change plans when it falls apart, especially since people are mobile.

If I can text my teenager and say "hey, change of plans, do this instead." Then they reply back "ok." Everyone is happy and we continue about our business.

If we want to change plans but our next 'meeting' time isn't for another hour or two we might miss out on the new activity.

Or I spend a ridiculous amount of time looking for them in the teen club while they manage to use a different set of elevators to run down and get some pizza, then go play mini golf.

 

We're just looking for a more efficient way of communicating a change of plans. If that sort of thing isn't for you, that's fine. Please enjoy your vacation in that manner.

I would appreciate that you consider this when you post, since what you wrote comes off as sounding like the rest of us are too stupid

to figure out that we can verbally communicate or too lazy to check the pool deck.

 

(Personally, I'd much prefer a quieter method than those walkie talkies that people use.)

[ewenix]

OK, now I understand. Then you did in fact prove there was peer to peer communication over wireless.

 

That's a very clever idea (using the laptop as the IRC server) by the way. Did you just program the IP address of the laptop on the phones, and the laptop IP did not change throughout the cruise?

 

I'm glad to hear that hellsop was able to do this. It's interesting that Royal doesn't block peer to peer traffic. (In the wireless system I manage for work, blocking this type of traffic is a single checkbox.) It makes me wonder if royal is using this capability for their own systems. I suspect if very many passengers start doing things like this they will put a stop to it and implement their own paid solution.

[Clarea]

I'm glad to hear that hellsop was able to do this. It's interesting that Royal doesn't block peer to peer traffic. (In the wireless system I manage for work, blocking this type of traffic is a single checkbox.) It makes me wonder if royal is using this capability for their own systems. I suspect if very many passengers start doing things like this they will put a stop to it and implement their own paid solution.

I feel the same way.

[hellsop]

OK, now I understand. Then you did in fact prove there was peer to peer communication over wireless.

 

That's a very clever idea (using the laptop as the IRC server) by the way. Did you just program the IP address of the laptop on the phones, and the laptop IP did not change throughout the cruise?

 

Yes, the IP lease didn't change over the entire cruise. The flaw in the plan was keeping the irc server up -- I didn't have sufficient testing time between thinking of the idea and departure to find one that worked long enough between crashes to be really useful. Still got time for this year, so I suppose I'd better start digging into it again.

 

(Edit to add: The IP lease was only for about 24 hours, but the assignment preferentially handed out the same address again at lease renewal, as is typical unless forced otherwise. I didn't do too much network exploring beyond that -- not my business, and that would otherwise be getting a little too much like work...)

Edited November 6, 2014 by hellsop
more details

[Clarea]

Yes, the IP lease didn't change over the entire cruise. The flaw in the plan was keeping the irc server up -- I didn't have sufficient testing time between thinking of the idea and departure to find one that worked long enough between crashes to be really useful. Still got time for this year, so I suppose I'd better start digging into it again.

 

(Edit to add: The IP lease was only for about 24 hours, but the assignment preferentially handed out the same address again at lease renewal, as is typical unless forced otherwise. I didn't do too much network exploring beyond that -- not my business, and that would otherwise be getting a little too much like work...)

Really appreciate the info. If you would not mind sharing the names of the apps (client and server) you used, I'd be interested in giving this concept a try myself. I've got about a month before our next cruise and it might be fun to try it out.

[Deatsch]

Dare I say it?

 

TALKING?

 

 

 

I have been on quite a few cruises with my family.

 

And can name only one time where there was an issue finding each other( and it was a long time ago).

 

Just leave messages on the phone, post it's, or just let others know where you will be.

 

Don't complicate it with silly devices, it isn't that hard to keeping track..

[dvcdisney]

I'd be interested as well about ways to communicate. This is our first RCCL cruise. We've always used the wave phones on DCL cruises.

 

It's not always changes of plans, for us, it was also a way for our son to let us know what he is doing. Sometimes, they meet with their friends and just decide what they want to do. Teenagers rarely have plans, and if they do, and I can speak from experience, it changes often.

 

So any ideas would be great.

Edited November 6, 2014 by dvcdisney

[hellsop]

Really appreciate the info. If you would not mind sharing the names of the apps (client and server) you used, I'd be interested in giving this concept a try myself. I've got about a month before our next cruise and it might be fun to try it out.

 

Gladly, as soon as I find a stable one.

[hellsop]

Really appreciate the info. If you would not mind sharing the names of the apps (client and server) you used, I'd be interested in giving this concept a try myself. I've got about a month before our next cruise and it might be fun to try it out.

 

Following up:

 

UnrealIRCd worked pretty well on Independence last week. Android users were mostly using Rice Beta as a client. I don't remember what iOS users picked. Connections tended to get lost while moving around the ship, so a client that does not close channel windows and automatically reconnects and rejoins is a must. Make sure that the machine running UnrealIRCd is also set to automatically reconnect to the royal-wifi network as well as it may well lose a connection too. No troubles reaching the server from anyplace that there was a good connection on the ship, though.