Wonder if the Seas - Beware - No WiFi Calling

[DeputyDawg46]

I am currently on the Wonder of the Seas and have the Surf and Stream Wi-Fi package. However, I can send emails and texts, but you cannot use Wi-Fi calling. The IT advised me that this ship does not have agreements with US carriers and subsequently cannot allow that option.  It is a real disappointment for such a new ship!!  I’m not sure what RCI is doing to rectify this issue. Will do more inquiries and update as applicable. 

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, DeputyDawg46 said:

The IT advised me that this ship does not have agreements with US carriers and subsequently cannot allow that option.

That sounds like some made up BS. I assume @twangsterused it last week. 

[Lane Hog]

I used it last week on Liberty.

[DeputyDawg46]

Every other ship I’ve been on in the last several years has had it.  All of the 16 cruise ships I’ve been in since Aug 21 had it. 

[DeputyDawg46]

26 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

That sounds like some made up BS. I assume @twangsterused it last week. 

I talked to an IT guy and 2 GS staff officers and they told me the same thing, independently. I’m hoping it’s in the works behind the scenes and we’ll have it soon. I have 2 other cruises on this ship in the next 6 weeks, to include a TA, and I hope it gets fixed. 

[smokeybandit]

Back in July, despite being on the same carrier with identical phones, I was able to make wifi calls but my wife couldn't.

 

YMMV. I don't know what agreement they'd need with carriers. That's the whole point of wifi calling.

[Charles4515]

43 minutes ago, DeputyDawg46 said:

The IT advised me that this ship does not have agreements with US carriers and subsequently cannot allow that option.

That is BS. No agreement is needed with US carriers. If WiFi calling is not working they either have it blocked or there is not enough bandwidth. 

[DeputyDawg46]

3 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

That is BS. No agreement is needed with US carriers. If WiFi calling is not working they either have it blocked or there is not enough bandwidth. 

Probably is BS but the BL is it is not available and that’s disappointing. 

[gmerick]

Sorry, but the post is bogus.  There is no identifiable internet protocol for generic "WiFi calling".  The same process that is used to add sound to a YouTube video is also used for VOIP calls.  All voice traffic is tunneled over HTTPS protocol, and no deep packet inspection can decrypt the traffic in real time to specifically block VOIP without breaking all other traffic.  I have access to phone calls no matter where as long as there's a network.  My job requires me to be available, so I quite willingly pay for internet, and call into work periodically to ensure I have connectivity.

Another factor that cries "Bogus", RCI's bread and butter are the folks who can work on board while vacationing.  Those travelers absolutely depend on network connectivity of all types;  the high paying customers habitually use VPN access through the ship internet.  If that breaks, the passengers will change ships in a heartbeat.

[DeputyDawg46]

9 minutes ago, gmerick said:

Sorry, but the post is bogus.  There is no identifiable internet protocol for generic "WiFi calling".  The same process that is used to add sound to a YouTube video is also used for VOIP calls.  All voice traffic is tunneled over HTTPS protocol, and no deep packet inspection can decrypt the traffic in real time to specifically block VOIP without breaking all other traffic.  I have access to phone calls no matter where as long as there's a network.  My job requires me to be available, so I quite willingly pay for internet, and call into work periodically to ensure I have connectivity.

Another factor that cries "Bogus", RCI's bread and butter are the folks who can work on board while vacationing.  Those travelers absolutely depend on network connectivity of all types;  the high paying customers habitually use VPN access through the ship internet.  If that breaks, the passengers will change ships in a heartbeat.

The post is NOT bogus and I resent the implication. I am currently on the WOS, as shown by photo in another post. You can post all the technical jargon you want but there is NO WiFi calling on this ship using THIS ship’s WiFi. I am tech savvy and I understand the system very well and that is why it is so frustrating. The reason(s) this ship gives may be “bogus” but the fact remains as I breath and eat on the WOS is there is NO WiFi calling a available no matter what the reason is. 

[Charles4515]

14 minutes ago, gmerick said:

Sorry, but the post is bogus.  There is no identifiable internet protocol for generic "WiFi calling".  The same process that is used to add sound to a YouTube video is also used for VOIP calls.  All voice traffic is tunneled over HTTPS protocol, and no deep packet inspection can decrypt the traffic in real time to specifically block VOIP without breaking all other traffic.  I have access to phone calls no matter where as long as there's a network.  My job requires me to be available, so I quite willingly pay for internet, and call into work periodically to ensure I have connectivity.

Another factor that cries "Bogus", RCI's bread and butter are the folks who can work on board while vacationing.  Those travelers absolutely depend on network connectivity of all types;  the high paying customers habitually use VPN access through the ship internet.  If that breaks, the passengers will change ships in a heartbeat.

VoIP can be blocked. One way around that is a VPN. However they can also block VPN's. VPN's are  blocked on some ships. 

[Lane Hog]

It might be your phone.  My wife couldn't use wifi calling but I could.  

[berbician]

Are you able to make a video call using WhatsApp? I will be on WOS next Friday and have the surf and stream package. Hopefully, we can use the video calling feature. 

[Lane Hog]

You can also try Google Voice. They have a web based app as well as Android and IOS apps.

[jrapps]

2 hours ago, DeputyDawg46 said:

I am currently on the Wonder of the Seas and have the Surf and Stream Wi-Fi package. However, I can send emails and texts, but you cannot use Wi-Fi calling. The IT advised me that this ship does not have agreements with US carriers and subsequently cannot allow that option.  It is a real disappointment for such a new ship!!  I’m not sure what RCI is doing to rectify this issue. Will do more inquiries and update as applicable. 

What US carrier are you using?

[DeputyDawg46]

4 minutes ago, jrapps said:

What US carrier are you using?

AT&T 

[jrapps]

3 minutes ago, DeputyDawg46 said:

AT&T 

Sadly, WiFi calling is one of those things that can be affected by so many things, it far more likely that the issue is your device than that RC somehow found a way to restrict WiFi calling without closing down ports used for other services. I'm not saying they gave you incorrect info, just that it could be a pre-canned reply they are told to give to discourage it's use. I had no issues with WiFi calling on Symphony a few months back (I have Android on T-Mobile). It is also possible that AT&T uses different ports than T-Moible and if they are trying to block it, it may be blocked for some providers and not others. Only way to know for sure is to test for open ports AT&T uses (500, 4500, and 143). If you have a Windows PC with you, connect it to the Wifi and run NetStat.exe

 

https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1114459/

 

I did read somewhere once that for WiFi calling to work, you must enable it and connect to WiFi BEFORE you disconnect from the cell tower. Not sure if there is any validity to that or not, but I did enable it, select WiFi preferred, verified I could make a WiFi call, and then went into airplane mode when I last used it.

 

You should also make sure HD calling is enabled on your phone. depending on what phone/provider it can be called different things (VoLTE), but it basically means use data for all voice calls. If that is disabled, then even if you are in WiFi calling mode, it cant establish a voice call because there is no legacy "voice" service connection.

 

Good luck, let us know if you find out more info.

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, DeputyDawg46 said:

I am currently on the Wonder of the Seas and have the Surf and Stream Wi-Fi package. However, I can send emails and texts, but you cannot use Wi-Fi calling. The IT advised me that this ship does not have agreements with US carriers and subsequently cannot allow that option.  It is a real disappointment for such a new ship!!  I’m not sure what RCI is doing to rectify this issue. Will do more inquiries and update as applicable. 

I was able to get Wi-Fi calling using AT&T on an iPhone to work on the Wonder. It took a bunch of tries to get the Wi-Fi calling to start, and I am not sure what I did each time to get it to work. 

 

Yes, it was unreasonably hard and the first ship across cruise lines that it would not setup immediately. 

 

I would endorse a general warning that it didn't work very well. 

Edited March 12, 2022 by BirdTravels

[Charles4515]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

I was able to get Wi-Fi calling using AT&T on an iPhone to work on the Wonder. It took a bunch of tries to get the Wi-Fi calling to start, and I am not sure what I did each time to get it to work. 

 

Yes, it was unreasonably hard and the first ship across cruise lines that it would not setup immediately. 

 

I would endorse a general warning that it didn't work very well. 

Sounds like the problem is either the speed of the connection or the router. Probably not done on purpose. Hopefully it is one teething problems of a new ship and will be fixed. 

Edited March 12, 2022 by Charles4515

[DeputyDawg46]

 

 

I queried several people today and no one had WiFi calling available, even though they thought they did.  And those that could make calls either had an outside plan or were using an app. I posted a conversation I had with the Internet desk this morning on the WoS for  those that think this is a “bogus” post. 

[LilBlackDress]

13 minutes ago, DeputyDawg46 said:

 

IMG_2958.MOV 161.39 MB · 0 downloads  

 

I queried several people today and no one had WiFi calling available, even though they thought they did.  And those that could make calls either had an outside plan or were using an app. I posted a conversation I had with the Internet desk this morning on the WoS for  those that think this is a “bogus” post. 

If your phone locked to AT&T or iis it an unlocked phone?

[Charles4515]

24 minutes ago, DeputyDawg46 said:

queried several people today and no one had WiFi calling available, even though they thought they did.  And those that could make calls either had an outside plan or were using an app. I posted a conversation I had with the Internet desk this morning on the WoS for  those that think this is a “bogus” post. 

 

I am sure he believes that it has something to do with the carrier because that is what he has been told. Most likely their routers are blocking. I am not saying on purpose. They can be misconfigured. They may not want to admit that..........

Edited March 12, 2022 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

19 minutes ago, LilBlackDress said:

If your phone locked to AT&T or iis it an unlocked phone?

Locked or unlocked would not make a difference. WiFi calling is over WiFi. There are some Android phones that can not do WiFi calling. In any case pretty sure he mentioned doing WiFi calling on other cruises. 

Edited March 12, 2022 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

 

I am sure the crew member believes that it has something to do with the carrier because that is what he has been told. Most likely their routers are blocking. I am not saying on purpose. They can be misconfigured. They may not want to admit that..........

Edited March 12, 2022 by Charles4515

[jean87510]

28 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

I am sure the crew member believes that it has something to do with the carrier because that is what he has been told. Most likely their routers are blocking. I am not saying on purpose. They can be misconfigured. They may not want to admit that..........

absolutely.  My husband just said its something to do with how his phone is set up.  Plus your phone has to allow you to have wifi calling.  Your settings should look like this.