Wifi without buying package?

[brookmill18]

Just trying to figure out options for someone on a Brilliance Med.  she’s just looking for basic wifi to check texts, FB, email.  Is there any way to buy wifi by day or by hours any more?  She might be able to just use internet cafes in port, but curious if there were more options than just buying the package.  She is Platinum so no onboard discounts.

[blackshirt]

She can buy Voom by the day (24 hour period). Just FYI, unless she has WiFi calling or is using an alternative messaging system, you don’t check texts over WiFi. That requires cellular service.

Edited August 19, 2019 by blackshirt

[twangster]

The basic Surf package is cheaper than Surf & Stream but it's still a purchased Voom plan.

 

Med can be port intensive.  Her cell phone provider might have a paid international plan that will work in port and sometimes on the ship when it's closer to land.  TMobile for example includes this for free.

 

Other than free hotspots at restaurants and places like Tapas bars it's going to cost to be connected to the internet on a regular basis.

[brillohead]

A 24-hour period of time is typically $20-$25.  She could technically get two days' worth out of each purchase if she times it properly.... Buy it at 2pm and get to use it all afternoon/evening that day, plus have it the next morning and lunchtime.  

Another economical way of getting WiFi is by joining in with others on your Roll Call to split a multi-device package.  I can often get a 4-device package on sale for $28/day, so sharing that among four people brings the price down to $7/day/person.

[h20skibum]

Texting on iPhones using iMessage to other iPhones will work on WiFi, but will not work sending to non-Apple devices

[SamTimeDining]

1 minute ago, h20skibum said:

Texting on iPhones using iMessage to other iPhones will work on WiFi, but will not work sending to non-Apple devices

 

Yes and you need to buy VOOM for this.

[h20skibum]

3 minutes ago, SamTimeDining said:

 

Yes and you need to buy VOOM for this.

Or use a WiFi connection in port

 

Our experience in the Med was, that we really didn’t have time to track down WiFi spots in ports. 

Edited August 19, 2019 by h20skibum

[Clarea]

12 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

Texting on iPhones using iMessage to other iPhones will work on WiFi, but will not work sending to non-Apple devices

 

It's been reported that other messaging apps work without VOOM, such as Google Hangouts.

[awestover89]

5 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

It's been reported that other messaging apps work without VOOM, such as Google Hangouts.

 

I've had hit or miss with Google Hangouts, I could usually receive messages without Voom, but not send, and not 100% of messages came through.

[brookmill18]

Basic voom was down to $12.99 so thats prob the best bet.  Thank you!

[Tree_skier]

1 hour ago, brookmill18 said:

Just trying to figure out options for someone on a Brilliance Med.  she’s just looking for basic wifi to check texts, FB, email.  Is there any way to buy wifi by day or by hours any more?  She might be able to just use internet cafes in port, but curious if there were more options than just buying the package.  She is Platinum so no onboard discounts.

I bought a pay as you go SIM card in the Rome airport and slipped it in my "unlocked" Android phone and was golden for the entire cruise.  It was super cheap

 

[twangster]

54 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

Texting on iPhones using iMessage to other iPhones will work on WiFi, but will not work sending to non-Apple devices

 

On Brilliance?   Not in my experience.  

 

[Clarea]

1 minute ago, twangster said:

 

On Brilliance?   Not in my experience.  

 

 

These firewall holes were only reported on ships that originally supported the Royal IQ App.  These were Quantum class ships and Harmony.

[vacationlover_mn]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

Another economical way of getting WiFi is by joining in with others on your Roll Call to split a multi-device package.  I can often get a 4-device package on sale for $28/day, so sharing that among four people brings the price down to $7/day/person.

An even cheaper thing to do is buy one, 1 device plan, and share it with others in your group.  Only one of you can be online at a time, but it has worked well for me on my last 5 cruises...

[brillohead]

10 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

An even cheaper thing to do is buy one, 1 device plan, and share it with others in your group.  Only one of you can be online at a time, but it has worked well for me on my last 5 cruises...

Yes, assuming nobody needs full-time access.  

[brookmill18]

1 hour ago, Tree_skier said:

I bought a pay as you go SIM card in the Rome airport and slipped it in my "unlocked" Android phone and was golden for the entire cruise.  It was super cheap

 

Would that work on the ship too or only when in ports?

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, brookmill18 said:

Would that work on the ship too or only when in ports?

 

Only in ports.

[hapster85]

A 24-hour period of time is typically $20-$25.  She could technically get two days' worth out of each purchase if she times it properly.... Buy it at 2pm and get to use it all afternoon/evening that day, plus have it the next morning and lunchtime.  

Another economical way of getting WiFi is by joining in with others on your Roll Call to split a multi-device package.  I can often get a 4-device package on sale for $28/day, so sharing that among four people brings the price down to $7/day/person.

When buying a 4-device package, do you get 4 single device codes, or one code that's good for 4 devices? If the latter, I could see the sharing scenario causing problems on ships that kick a previous device, when a new one logs on. Such as when Person1 from Cabin A forgets to logout before Person2 logs on, and Person3 from Cabin B gets kicked off. Or Grandma shares the code with Junior, who monopolizes the connection by immediately logging back on every time he's booted off.

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, hapster85 said:

When buying a 4-device package, do you get 4 single device codes, or one code that's good for 4 devices? If the latter, I could see the sharing scenario causing problems on ships that kick a previous device, when a new one logs on. Such as when Person1 from Cabin A forgets to logout before Person2 logs on, and Person3 from Cabin B gets kicked off. Or Grandma shares the code with Junior, who monopolizes the connection by immediately logging back on every time he's booted off.

 

One code good for 4 simultaneous devices.

[brillohead]

23 minutes ago, hapster85 said:

When buying a 4-device package, do you get 4 single device codes, or one code that's good for 4 devices? If the latter, I could see the sharing scenario causing problems on ships that kick a previous device, when a new one logs on. Such as when Person1 from Cabin A forgets to logout before Person2 logs on, and Person3 from Cabin B gets kicked off. Or Grandma shares the code with Junior, who monopolizes the connection by immediately logging back on every time he's booted off.

I always explain to everyone exactly how to log off one device before logging on another device.  I also recommend that if letting someone else use it, they log the person on and off themselves, rather than give out the access code / password.

 

Everyone is grateful to have the cheaper WiFi and want to keep it available to themselves, so I haven't experienced people sharing it willy-nilly with others.  

[karena1]

7 hours ago, blackshirt said:

She can buy Voom by the day (24 hour period). Just FYI, unless she has WiFi calling or is using an alternative messaging system, you don’t check texts over WiFi. That requires cellular service.

I use my free WIFI all the time on ships and I get text messages.  My phone is on Airplane mode and I get emails/texts and can use FB.  I normally just check them first thing in the morning but in Jan/Feb when my husband's mom was really bad, we had text messages coming in all day.

[hapster85]

I always explain to everyone exactly how to log off one device before logging on another device.  I also recommend that if letting someone else use it, they log the person on and off themselves, rather than give out the access code / password.

 

Everyone is grateful to have the cheaper WiFi and want to keep it available to themselves, so I haven't experienced people sharing it willy-nilly with others.  

 

Sounds like you've handled it well when you've done this. [emoji106] 

 

Will have to keep it in mind in the future.

 

 

[blackshirt]

17 minutes ago, karena1 said:

I use my free WIFI all the time on ships and I get text messages.  My phone is on Airplane mode and I get emails/texts and can use FB.  I normally just check them first thing in the morning but in Jan/Feb when my husband's mom was really bad, we had text messages coming in all day.

As I said, unless using an alternate messaging service. FB is an alternate messaging service. The term “text” is used generically to describe many different messaging systems but the most commonly used messaging system is the one provided by your cellular carrier. For most people, “text” means SMS/MMS messages through their cellular provider and that requires cellular service or WiFi calling. Either way, it requires a connection to the cellular provider’s network.

[karena1]

1 minute ago, blackshirt said:

As I said, unless using an alternate messaging service. FB is an alternate messaging service. The term “text” is used generically to describe many different messaging systems but the most commonly used messaging system is the one provided by your cellular carrier. For most people, “text” means SMS/MMS messages through their cellular provider and that requires cellular service or WiFi calling. Either way, it requires a connection to the cellular provider’s network.

I get texts on Verizon Messenger + with no issue if I have the WIFI package and my phone is on airplane mode.

 

[blackshirt]

8 minutes ago, karena1 said:

I get texts on Verizon Messenger + with no issue if I have the WIFI package and my phone is on airplane mode.

 

I think you mean Verizon Messages. Through their app, Verizon is effectively granting access to their messaging system through the internet. ATT has a similar capability but it is something you must sign up for, it is not automatic.