Cell phone use on board

[stjlo]

Can someone tell me what I should set my phone on to avoid charges for calls made and received? I know you are supposed to put it on airplane mode. We have signed up for the ship's wifi. I don't plan on making any phone calls at all while on ship. 

 

Ideally, I would like to be able to have my family Facetime me, post on Facebook and send messages via Facebook Messenger. I'd like to be able to check email and that's about it. 

 

So, if I put my phone on airplane mode, how will I use wifi? Also, using the Royal wifi, can you text other people in your group? Do they need to have wifi, too?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

[topnole]

Airplane mode on.  Wifi on.  Simply as that I think.  If you want to be extra careful you can turn cellular off too in case you accidentally take it out of airplane mode.  Others can chime in.  I may be forgetting something.  

[BND]

Just keep in airplane mode.  You need to for the app and onboard wifi anyway.  Wifi works in airplane mode, cell service does not.

 

Edited May 6, 2022 by BND

[psumother]

Make sure “WiFi calling” is turned on.  You may need to enter emergency information.  You can do this at home and connect your phone to your internet.  When you get on the ship, connect to their internet.  Instructions how to connect will be in your cabin if you pre-purchased the internet.  Turn on airplane mode.  If you have an iPhone, the only way to message friends/family or to receive messages from them is by using Facebook messenger.  If you have an android, you will be able to use regular text messages.  Sometimes when on a cruise ship, you may lose connectivity.  Turn off the phone and restart.  Airplane mode … connect to ship internet … WiFi calling on.

[cruise1957]

You could also download whatsapp, it has text, phone and video call feature, you would use it on wifi

[Biker19]

58 minutes ago, stjlo said:

Also, using the Royal wifi, can you text other people in your group? Do they need to have wifi, too?

If you use something other than the texting feature inside the RCI app ($1.99/day/person), everyone would need a Voom package.

[smokeybandit]

RC needs to ditch their kludgy chat app and give access to the various popular messaging apps like several airlines do. You could easily charge $5 per day for that and you wouldn't have to support that clunker of a chat app.

[Sunshine3601]

If you plan on using facetime or wifi calling you may find that Surf alone will not work well.     We always get at least 1 device with surf & stream.    

Also, if your ship is going thru any rain or storm is nearby the satellite signal may not be that great.  

Your wifi may not work as good in your cabin as it does any places of the ship.   

[stjlo]

2 hours ago, cruise1957 said:

You could also download whatsapp, it has text, phone and video call feature, you would use it on wifi

Good idea!