Voom question

[BNL1213]

Hello,

I am going on the Freedom of the Seas in June with my 16 yo son and not sure how to stay connected on the ship.  I want to be able to text/iMessage with him when we are not together on the ship.  Do I need to get Voom for that or does the regular RCCL app work for that?  I don't really care to use our phones for the rest of the week, no need to call home or anything unless there's an emergency.  I only really want to be able to communicate on ship.  I've never sailed RCCL before so not sure how it works or if the wifi is very reliable.  Thanks for the help!

 

Thanks!

[Clarea]

At this moment in time, the RCI App does not offer a texting (or any) option on Freedom.  That will probably change by June.

 

If the RCI App does not have texting by your cruise, you can either purchase VOOM so that your existing texting apps will work, or pay your cell carrier by the text.  AT&T charges $0.50 per text sent while at sea.

 

 

[BNL1213]

Thank you for the info!  If no app yet, I would probably only need the basic Voom Surf package for 2 devices, correct?

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, BNL1213 said:

Thank you for the info!  If no app yet, I would probably only need the basic Voom Surf package for 2 devices, correct?

 

Yes.  You would only need the higher speed service if you wanted video streaming.

[hapster85]

Be aware that the connection won't be as reliable as on land, so it's not at all unusual for texts to be delayed, or missed entirely. Also might want to make sure both phones are set up for WiFi calling before going.

[BNL1213]

4 hours ago, hapster85 said:

Be aware that the connection won't be as reliable as on land, so it's not at all unusual for texts to be delayed, or missed entirely. Also might want to make sure both phones are set up for WiFi calling before going.

Really? Is it even worth it then?

[hapster85]

Really? Is it even worth it then?

We think so, yes. We've used it on a variety of ships. It's flaky, but it does mostly work.

[debgreg]

What we did when 6 of us went was bought one package between us, set up a what’s app group and messaged where we were , going etc in that group and all just kept checking. As soon as someone else logs in it logs the other person out, that worked for us and saved having to for more than one device 🤗

[SRF]

Also, on some ships, you will be logged off for inactivity.

 

So even with a two device package, if you try to send a message a few hours later, both phones may be off the network.

So everyone needs to check every so often.