Voom Surf vs Voom Surf and Stream + general Q's

[sas80]

Apologies about asking this again, as I am sure it has been asked but im having difficulty figuring out how to perform a narrow search in the RCCL forum.

 

Question -

We will be departing with our 11 and 13 y.o. in march.  I know they will want to explore the ship and would like to be able to phone/call them (facebook, whatsapp, google voice etc) when they are not with us.

 

Which internet package will be sufficient to do that?  Voom Surf?  or do we have to upgrade to Voom surf and stream?

 

Also, does anyone have suggestions as to when abouts package prices drop for soda, alcohol, internet, etc?

 

Thank you in advance 🙂

[blackshirt]

You only need surf and stream to stream video. Surf will be sufficient for communication via Facebook, WhatsApp, google voice or WiFi calling.

[Biker19]

25 minutes ago, sas80 said:

Also, does anyone have suggestions as to when abouts package prices drop for soda, alcohol, internet, etc?🙂

Can happen at any time on any of them - keep checking the planner.

[Biker19]

26 minutes ago, sas80 said:

  I know they will want to explore the ship and would like to be able to phone/call them (facebook, whatsapp, google voice etc) when they are not with us.

Depending on the ship, the ability to communicate on board may be free.

[sas80]

4 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Depending on the ship, the ability to communicate on board may be free.

how so?  Could you elaborate, please?

[Biker19]

5 minutes ago, sas80 said:

how so?  Could you elaborate, please?

On Anthem and Ovation, internet traffic related to texting gets through without a VOOM package. On Allure and Harmony (and eventually other ships) the free RCI app has a texting/chat feature.

 

Follow this spreadsheet for roll out of the chat feature in the app by ship: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kZ1gCFtt1eiX1OWw9q-8tnEU5uQCWIjBwQt-w3t040s/edit#gid=1881900306

Edited August 8, 2019 by Biker19

[sas80]

22 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

On Anthem and Ovation, internet traffic related to texting gets through without a VOOM package. On Allure and Harmony (and eventually other ships) the free RCI app has a texting/chat feature.

I can only find documentation that it works on Anthem and Ovation 😞  Need it for Liberty.

Edited August 8, 2019 by sas80

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, sas80 said:

Need it for Liberty.

For now, you are out of luck in terms of free communications choices.

[Zephanor]

I've been on a few cruises and I remember that getting the wifi onboard ended up being cheaper than purchasing it before sailing, usually a sale after the first day for much cheaper per day. Is that not the case anymore? Perusing the forums here seems that this is no longer the case.

And it sounds like they've upgraded their wireless service which might be a good reason why. The wireless wasn't great when I did get it but it was good enough for iMessage and general non-bandwidth intensive applications.

[Merion_Mom]

Not cheaper on board.  Right now on Majesty, the "look how cheap we are!" rate is $20 per day per device.

[lovesthebeach2]

We were on Radiance in May and when I bought VOOM prior to the cruise I only got surf by accident and had a very hard time connecting to anything. Not mail or Facebook.

I usually always get surf and stream, and now I’ll be sure I get the right one. 

Surf was frustrating!

[brywood]

To confirm, if you choose the one device option; does that mean only 1 device can be connected at 1 time?  Meaning, when DD is finishing streaming, I can connect on my device to check email, etc?

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, brywood said:

  Meaning, when DD is finished streaming, I can connect on my device to check email, etc?

Correct.

Edited August 9, 2019 by Biker19

[Silvara7]

On 8/9/2019 at 8:46 AM, Biker19 said:

 

On 8/9/2019 at 8:46 AM, Biker19 said:

On 8/9/2019 at 8:45 AM, brywood said:

Meaning, when DD is finished streaming, I can connect on my device to check email, etc?

Correct.

Edited yesterday at 08:46 AM by Biker19

So we could get by with one pkg for two people if we trade off on screen time? Really? 

 

[Biker19]

5 hours ago, Silvara7 said:

So we could get by with one pkg for two people if we trade off on screen time? 

Yes, that's how many people use the package.

[gatour]

The best value is buying a "package" for one person.  That package can be for one device, two devices, or more.  So if  two people want one device connected at the same time, buy a two device package under one name.  Cheaper than buying two one device packages, one device package under each name.