Wi-Fi and text

[minniegidget]

If you get the wi-fi package would that include texting? or just  something like facetime?

Thanks for your input

[canderson]

Yes.  Regular text messaging works over X WiFi.  Better than FaceTime since texting works well with slow connections.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, minniegidget said:

If you get the wi-fi package would that include texting? or just  something like facetime?

Thanks for your input

Text works fine

 

[DCPIV]

Messenger apps work fine. Cellular texting only might if you can do so via wifi. 

[canderson]

28 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

Messenger apps work fine. Cellular texting only might if you can do so via wifi. 

Easily tested on a home router, if in doubt.

[veggie59]

3 hours ago, minniegidget said:

If you get the wi-fi package would that include texting? or just  something like facetime?

Thanks for your input

Check with your cell provider. Many will charge roaming while on a cruise ship as texting uses data. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by veggie59

[canderson]

Price?  Different question, different answer.

 

Shipboard:

Forget roaming/not-roaming worries and instead turn off cellular service altogether!  Often done by a switch to 'airplane mode'.  Enable only ship's WiFi for your connectivity.  That will avoid accidental roaming charges.  You won't have issue with being charged for texting services with most carriers.  Your carrier can advise yes/no for sure, but international has become a sizable market segment, and the larger carriers have to compete.  As far as Celebrity is concerned, it's just another WiFi connection on a Celebrity plan that you've already purchased, so no extra charge there.

 

On the Pier:

Many carriers also do NOT charge extra for 'roaming' texts.  Many even provide low speed data and text for free when using foreign carriers in some 200 countries.  Sprint's Global Connect package is part of the deal with any recent phone.  T-Mobile has a similar basic plan called Magenta.

 

Where you will get socked for roaming is if you don't turn off cellular roaming and your phone is capable of making use of the ship's cellular connection capabilities and is allowed to do so.  That could cost you a pretty penny.  The folks at Wireless Maritime Services don't give that service away.  The charges are then billed by your own carrier (not WMS).  Your own carrier can advise as to any additional costs involved on their end, but expect  WMS to charge $2.49 a minute for their end of a cellular voice call.  It will show up on your regular cell bill. 

So you can see, WiFi is definitely the way to go if you need to make voice contact back home.

 

http://media.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/content/pdf/cell_phone_faq_02_07.pdf

 

 

[irvington]

3 hours ago, canderson said:

Price?  Different question, different answer.

 

Shipboard:

Forget roaming/not-roaming worries and instead turn off cellular service altogether!  Often done by a switch to 'airplane mode'.  Enable only ship's WiFi for your connectivity.  That will avoid accidental roaming charges.  You won't have issue with being charged for texting services with most carriers.  Your carrier can advise yes/no for sure, but international has become a sizable market segment, and the larger carriers have to compete.  As far as Celebrity is concerned, it's just another WiFi connection on a Celebrity plan that you've already purchased, so no extra charge there.

 

On the Pier:

Many carriers also do NOT charge extra for 'roaming' texts.  Many even provide low speed data and text for free when using foreign carriers in some 200 countries.  Sprint's Global Connect package is part of the deal with any recent phone.  T-Mobile has a similar basic plan called Magenta.

 

Where you will get socked for roaming is if you don't turn off cellular roaming and your phone is capable of making use of the ship's cellular connection capabilities and is allowed to do so.  That could cost you a pretty penny.  The folks at Wireless Maritime Services don't give that service away.  The charges are then billed by your own carrier (not WMS).  Your own carrier can advise as to any additional costs involved on their end, but expect  WMS to charge $2.49 a minute for their end of a cellular voice call.  It will show up on your regular cell bill. 

So you can see, WiFi is definitely the way to go if you need to make voice contact back home.

 

http://media.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/content/pdf/cell_phone_faq_02_07.pdf

 

 

Thanks so much for posting this. It’s been so long since I cruised that I forgot what the rules were, and this really helps.

 

so I think on the ship we turn it to airplane mode and enable Wi-Fi. I know we can use WhatsApp for people that we can’t otherwise text or call. I’ve done that before on cruises.

 

it sounds like it would be a good idea to turn off roaming anyway.

 

what I can’t remember is if you’re on the ship but you’re in port do they have the ship to shore type thing going on? So let’s say we’re in Mykonos but we’re back on the ship after our tour is ended. Can we turn off airplane mode and make calls even though we’re on the ship?

[sanger727]

1 hour ago, irvington said:

Thanks so much for posting this. It’s been so long since I cruised that I forgot what the rules were, and this really helps.

 

so I think on the ship we turn it to airplane mode and enable Wi-Fi. I know we can use WhatsApp for people that we can’t otherwise text or call. I’ve done that before on cruises.

 

it sounds like it would be a good idea to turn off roaming anyway.

 

what I can’t remember is if you’re on the ship but you’re in port do they have the ship to shore type thing going on? So let’s say we’re in Mykonos but we’re back on the ship after our tour is ended. Can we turn off airplane mode and make calls even though we’re on the ship?

question number 1 is what phone do you have? 
 

yes, you should turn off roaming if you don’t want to pay additional charges. When you are on the ship you can log into their wifi. When you are off the ship you will have no access.

 

sms text and phone calls traditionally use cellular only. No cellular means you can’t do those. However, iPhones in particular, use iMessages and can use wifi calling. So if you have an iPhone, as long as iMessages are wifi calling are turned on, your phone will work relatively normally. If you have android, then yes, you will need whatsapp and to see if your phone supports wifi calling. 
 

note: iMessage only works iPhone to iPhone. Wifi calling will call to any phone.

Edited August 14, 2021 by sanger727

[canderson]

5 hours ago, irvington said:

what I can’t remember is if you’re on the ship but you’re in port do they have the ship to shore type thing going on? So let’s say we’re in Mykonos but we’re back on the ship after our tour is ended. Can we turn off airplane mode and make calls even though we’re on the ship?

No "ship to shore type thing" - unless something has changed in a huge way since I last sailed - No!

Don't get caught in that trap!

 

If you have a plan that allows for cheap or 'free' calls in foreign countries, you'll want to be sure that you don't accidentally get connected to the ship's cellular service.  I could talk about configuring the APN and all kinds of stuff like that but it wouldn't mean much to you, and not knowing which phone and phone OS you have, it's not easy to walk you through it.  Better to be off the ship far enough not to get connected through the ship. 

 

As has been suggested above already, you'll  want to find out whether your phone is capable of managing voice calls over WiFi.  If so, your texting over WiFi should work equally well.

 

Separately, since WhatsApp has been mentioned, there are a lot of apps out there (including Google voice) that substitute for missing phone WiFi calling features.

 

[paulh84]

It's really very simple with most carriers anymore. Phone goes in airplane mode, connect to the ship WiFi, then use your phone like you're at home. There is no difference at all. You do need Stream rather than Surf to use WiFi calling or any other streaming content. No special apps needed.

 

When you're off the ship in port, check with your carrier. Our plan has Mexico and Canada included so again, use the phone just like normal. Almost all carriers have some sort of International Package that will give you an inexpensive day rate if you want to use your phone on land. Ours is $10/day. Super easy. With ship WiFi there is really no reason to look into the cruise specific packages that some of the carriers still offer. 

[canderson]

11 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

It's really very simple with most carriers anymore. Phone goes in airplane mode, connect to the ship WiFi, then use your phone like you're at home. There is no difference at all.

100% agree, though you'd be surprised how many people with 'smart phones don't realize that their phone probably supports that feature.  That's why I recommended above practicing at home using a home WiFi router as a test.  If a person can learn to get that to work properly, they're good to go aboard.

[irvington]

thanks, I appreciate this. I have an apple phone, as does my son. I have a 12, he has an earlier model. I've navigated this successfully before and I appreciate the refresher. I have to stay in touch with work a bit, and I hear the wifi may not be great on board, and I know he will want to stay in touch with his girlfriend.

 

I get what to do on board - airplane mode, connect to wifi etc. And we have a Verizon plan which for $10 pppd we can connect while we are in Greece and Croatia. Just sounds like we should be careful to be completely onshore before we turn off airplane mode. I won't do that every day we are in port. The reason I was asking is that there's one day we are only going to be off the ship for a tour for a few hours, and when we get back to the ship it might be a good time to make calls - but sounds like we shouldn't do that from the ship. 

 

I think texting should work with non-iphone users but my memory of the last time we cruised it didn't work onboard with my 2 coworkers/friends who don't have iphones, so we used what's app. I'm currently in some what's app groups, including one with a family member in Morocco, so I'm just mentioning what I am familiar with. But take the point about google voice and so on.

[Jim_Iain]

IPhone supports both IMessages (via apple server) and SMS/MMS  -   Major differrence is IMessaages are encrypted while sms/mms are not.    If you send a message and it goes through Imessage the text bubble will be in blue while SMS/MMS will be green.  

 

SMS/MMS on an IPhone require a text messaging plan with your carrier while IMessages do not. 

 

I have TMobile and both work on Celebrity ships using the Internet.   I've also messaged using WhatsAPP and Facebook Messanger.

 

iMessages only work between iPhones (and other Apple devices such as iPads). If you are using an iPhone and you send a message to a friend on Android, it will be sent as a SMS message and will be green

Edited August 14, 2021 by Jim_Iain

[irvington]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

IPhone supports both IMessages (via apple server) and SMS/MMS  -   Major differrence is IMessaages are encrypted while sms/mms are not.    If you send a message and it goes through Imessage the text bubble will be in blue while SMS/MMS will be green.  

 

SMS/MMS on an IPhone require a text messaging plan with your carrier while IMessages do not. 

 

I have TMobile and both work on Celebrity ships using the Internet.   I've also messaged using WhatsAPP and Facebook Messanger.

 

iMessages only work between iPhones (and other Apple devices such as iPads). If you are using an iPhone and you send a message to a friend on Android, it will be sent as a SMS message and will be green

Thanks, that’s helpful. I get all that (and know that’s how it works domestically) so it must be something with the international plan with Verizon. Not worth worrying about since as you say we can use Messenger and so on. Really appreciate all the help!

[Jim_Iain]

30 minutes ago, irvington said:

Thanks, that’s helpful. I get all that (and know that’s how it works domestically) so it must be something with the international plan with Verizon. Not worth worrying about since as you say we can use Messenger and so on. Really appreciate all the help!

May be.    TMobile has free internet and texting worldwide but at a slower speed when overseas.   They even have free texting on many airlines.   

 

Bad news I got a Text from Celebrity one hour before landing in FLL about the suspension of cruising.   Ugh.