Breakaway iconcerige

[Chrisp2017]

hey all, just read somewhere that you can make unlimited calls text while in ship for 9.99$ anyone have any info or used this befor e?

 

Thanks

[BirdTravels]

Correct. Each device pays a fee. Then you can call/text eachother on the ship (only works while you are on the ship's wifi network).

[Chrisp2017]

Correct. Each device pays a fee. Then you can call/text eachother on the ship (only works while you are on the ship's wifi network).

 

Can it call people off ship as well? Or purely people on the wifi?

[laurabegorrah]

Only people on the ships WiFi that paid the fee. I believe there is an option to use it for ship to shore calls as well, but it's an additional charge/fee

[Bellyflopchamp]

Since it uses the ship's WiFi do you also have to have an internet plan to use it or is the a free WiFi setup that the app uses?

[Chrisp2017]

Yeah that's my question .. I was about to buy the unlimited internet for just wifi calling but that's 205$ of iconcierge is cheaper would defiet the purpose

[Lineaway]

Last time we tried this app it was over a year ago and almost unusable. Can I assume it has gotten a lot better or is it still a poor app?????

[ColinIllinois]

https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/iCONCIERGE_062714.pdf

[Chrisp2017]

So I called ncl and the women I spoke with said you can not place calls to land from the ship. I advised her what ncl link and explanation of the service read. She then asked her manager who confirmed that information. Guess I am stuck going with the unlimited internet

[mking8288]

I've explained this before on how things're setup on the BA (Breakway) in simplistic terms - their WiFi inTRAnet is in a close loop, internal to the ship only, WiFi inTERnet has additional access, external or inTERnet based which require satellite connections (and, thus, it's expensive ... typically charged by the minutes but on the BA, by MB data used and a better "deal")

 

The free iConcierge App use the inTRAnet to interface with various features and functions, but the paid options within the iConcierge App needs to be unblocked for access (voice calling and messaging within the ship to/from other activated/registered users) There is also the extra ability (for a per minute fee of 79 cents a minute then) to call from the App's own dedicated/exclusive built-in dialer (not your "regular" smartphone or iphone dialer).

 

Currently, you do NOT have access to any social media features or functions via this App, unless you subscribe to one of the paid WiFi inTERnet data plan. If you do have the plan (some of us selected the "Free At Sea" 250 minutes or 1,000 MB free data option and it can be used to do VoIP calling (Skype, Hangouts or FaceTime audio/video). This isn't necessary an always-on 24/7 setup as you need to be logged in and active, the system will timed out the connection after it detected inactive connections and drop it.

 

The new social media plan is very specific about what it support and does not ... until it's rolled out and tested/verified ... we can only go by what NCL's press release said. Some of the information released last July about the "new" rollout then with a different partner, MTN (formely referred to as "Cellular At Sea") seemed to be misleading and not accurate, IMO and other actual users. I find it "interesting" for NCL to drop their former satellite broadband partner in about 7 months after promoting it and now launching another multi-year partnership ... time will be the judge of whether this new venture is a success or a flop.

 

For light to moderate users who can tweak their devices to optimize and minimize data usage, the 250 minutes/1 GB plan available for sale at $125 (I believe) should be sufficient and a 40% savings over the typical "unlimited" plan for 7 days, where only 1 device is allowed access at any given time.

 

On the BA, each minute of on-air time used about 1 MB worth of data, thus the 250 minutes/1 GB data plan would yield about 1,000 minutes, allocated over 6.5 days (not all your time are on-the-ship) for about 2.5 hours of access per day.

 

When you are on land & away from the ship, there is zero access and will need (mix of home, roaming and/or International) data access via other means ... depending on the port of calls.

 

Satellite-based data has always been and will remain "expensive" ... be a smart user and learn/explore other options. On a sidenote - DW and I use Google's Project Fi for our voice/data connections (exclusive on her device, I have a special T-Mobile data & voice line and a global roaming voice only backup line, where our non-cruise ship data charges only run $10 per GB of usage + nominal taxes & surcharges, covering us for our home and abroad in about 120 countries.

[firstimecruiseronncl]

Last time we tried this app it was over a year ago and almost unusable. Can I assume it has gotten a lot better or is it still a poor app?????

 

I was on the Breakaway last week and used the app. Once I connected to the app, I had the option to pay $9.99 and it allows you to call or text anyone else on the ship who also purchased this option on their own phone. Our friends were with us so we both paid for the feature. This feature also gave me the ability to call home (through the iconcierge app on my phone) for $.75 a minute. There is a personal phone number provided and my daughter was able to contact me while on the ship as well -- also for $.75 a minute. You will receive a notification before placing an off-ship call or picking up an off-ship call that there is a charge of .75 a minute.