Receiving text messages while cruising

[HHHawkeye]

1. Maybe be a silly ?, but no one at Royal Caribbean could answer if we could receive text messages while cruising.

 

2. RCL Serenade of the Seas has Wi-Fi hot spots....it is true that those can't be used unless Internet is purchased @ $20/day ---? We feel pressured to buy the internet package.

 

Thanks

[lisajm]

I always put my phone in airplane mode while cruising. There are many places in the ports where there is free Wifi so you can get caught up with correspondence then.

[LuckyStar]

1. Maybe be a silly ?, but no one at Royal Caribbean could answer if we could receive text messages while cruising.

 

2. RCL Serenade of the Seas has Wi-Fi hot spots....it is true that those can't be used unless Internet is purchased @ $20/day ---? We feel pressured to buy the internet package.

 

Thanks

 

In have not had great luck with WIFI on the ships. I won't pay for it again. But other poster is correct, lots of WIFI in ports.

[Essiesmom]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Yes, you will have to pay for Wifi, how much depends on how many minutes you buy. Texting does not use wifi, it uses the cell tower on the ship. Your cellphone provider can tell you how much it costs. General consensus is that it is $.50 to send and $.05 to receive. But the best source of information is the board here for Royal Caribbean, located in Cruise Lines P-Z. EM

[Flatbush Flyer]

Before you trust "free" port wifi, google and watch the NBC news segment on the frequent hacking in tourist locations.

[Underwatr]

If you plan to use your smartphone on the ship, make sure you have turned Data Roaming off before leaving home.

[babs135]

We picked up text messages whilst recently on the QM2. With some providers they are free to receive but you have to pay to send. Just remember to switch off your data roaming.

[njmomof2]

I agree with the above posters. Turn off data roaming and you can get text messages on Royal.

 

With Verizon as my provider, I pay $.50 to send and $.05 to receive. However, since I'm almost always with my kids and mom, I don't have any one I need to communicate with so I usually just turn it off.

 

Mom arranges with my sister to communicate, and since my sister pays for mom's phone, she is frugal about texting.

 

This trip, we'll be in Florida on day 4 so we'll check in from there for free, then probably not again until the weekend.

[HHHawkeye]

Verizon is my carrier, have always been able to send receive texts on Disney and Viking River Cruises all over Europe....Just couldn't get a "concrete" answer this time!

[kitty9]

Yes, you can send and receive texts on the ship. Five cents to receive and fifty cents to get. Be careful. It can add up quickly. If you have teens, don't let them text home to friends. I've known teens who can text 500 times a day.

[spookwife]

1. Maybe be a silly ?, but no one at Royal Caribbean could answer if we could receive text messages while cruising.

 

 

 

2. RCL Serenade of the Seas has Wi-Fi hot spots....it is true that those can't be used unless Internet is purchased @ $20/day ---? We feel pressured to buy the internet package.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

1 for A cost. Depending on your carrier anything from 5-50 cents per is typical

 

2: all mainstream lines charge for Internet and cellular access. Top loyalty membership free time Ira reduced rate.

[Underwatr]

Not always top loyalty level; Cunard awards each passenger two hours of Internet access (enough for a week of checking email and occasional Facebook if used judiciously) beginning with the third cruise and four hours beginning with the eighth.

[sail7seas]

HAL does not give any free WiFi even to those who are Platinum Cruisers---- over 700 actual days on board.

 

[RSLeesburg]

Didn't I read that RCI is going to offer free Internet as suite perk with their new suite package in 2016 on the ships with Voom?

[SuiteTraveler]

The newer the ship or the more recent the dry dock the more likely you will be to have good internet service onboard. So check that out about your ship. If the ship is 10 years old and has not been to dry dock, your internet service will likely be poor to very, very slow. If it is a brand new ship, internet service should be quite good most of the time. The main times we have found new ship internet service slow is on sea days when everyone onboard is using their electronic devices.

 

For your cellphone, it is a good idea to call your provider prior to your cruise and let them know where you will be cruising and the dates as many offer a discounted roaming package.

[Beth8649]

Call your phone service provider. AT&T offered some kind of cruise package for certain cruise lines, but HAL wasn't one of them. Then, after boarding AT&T sent me a text offering something... I don't remember the details.

 

However, I could make texts & free calls from San Juan & allegedly St. Thomas. (I didn't try on St Thomas) I would check with your service provider for your ports of call. Some might be included with free nationwide calling.

 

As other posters said, just make sure DATA Roaming is turned off for the whole trip.

[kelkel2]

As others have said, make sure data roaming is OFF. Technically, you don't have to have wifi to send or receive a text message. It's just how much you will pay for the sending and receiving of the message that will vary if you don't

I have aways flipped my phone on while on a cruise and checked in with my mom who is watching my dogs, I never purchased the wifi on the ship. However you will either pay the international rate (while ship is docked or while you are in port) or you will pay the fee for pulling off the ship's cell tower. Neither are the cheapest.

I am not sure of your itinerary, but generally you can find a wifi hotspot in port if you look hard enough and are willing to wait to check your phone until then. For instance, in Grand Cayman there is a coffee shop that gives you free wifi if you purchase a coffee, you get the code at the bottom of your receipt.