Viking WIFI and tips for phone usage

[CAFs]

I am going on Viking Homelands is a couple weeks.  I understand how to use "airplane mode" to make sure I don't incur roaming charges while in Europe.  But when I am on the ship and using the ship's WIFI, what will I be able to do?  Send a message?  Make a call?  Facetime?  I understand I can download google maps (before leaving home.)  What other things would you suggest.

 

Thank you.  This is my first post, so please advise if I didn't get something right.  Appreciate it!

[Jim Avery]

Your post is just fine.  We use the wi-fi call setting on our T-Mobile iPhones and have had good results.  FaceTime is possible but please, please, please use it in private.  It's not fun trying to have a conversation in one of the lounges and some granny next to you is Face Timing her dozens of little squeaky grandkids.  Sort of defeats the No Kids policy......🍺

[TayanaLorna]

37 minutes ago, CAFs said:

I am going on Viking Homelands is a couple weeks.  I understand how to use "airplane mode" to make sure I don't incur roaming charges while in Europe.  But when I am on the ship and using the ship's WIFI, what will I be able to do?  Send a message?  Make a call?  Facetime?  I understand I can download google maps (before leaving home.)  What other things would you suggest.

 

Thank you.  This is my first post, so please advise if I didn't get something right.  Appreciate it!

Through the ships WiFi we send and receive emails, use the Internet, use Google Maps, What'sApp or Messenger for communication at home or with friends on board the ship.  We never do video calls as we find them annoying.  We do not watch videos or download books when on board in respect of Vikings request to limit our bandwidth use so other passengers can get on line.

 

We have a $10 per day plan with our cellular carrier IF we need to get on line, text or make a phone call when on shore if there is no WiFi available.  We have never used it.

[FetaCheese]

On Venus last year.  Have Android Tracfone, no service outside of US.  It's set to use wifi calling, but did not try calling.  But thought it strange that I received text messages from US.  Will try calling on next V cruise.  BTW, internet was perfect at all times on ship, but only about 400 pax.  Also did not do streaming, downloads, uploads, etc., just basic stuff, emailing, surfing, airline chat.

[cmaasfamily]

Check your plan with your carrier. With our AT&T plan (as much as it pains me to say nice things about AT&T 😀), we discovered that while 'in country' our unlimited data and messaging plan was included - no roaming charges at all, just like being home. I heard folks with other providers say the same thing.

 

The only thing we had charges for were when we were at sea (e.g. ship to shore) and sent messages while inadvertantly *not* on Viking wifi. Text messages were $0.50, picture/ video messages were $1.30, and data was somewhere around $2/per mb. Again, no charge at all (per use or daily) for unlimited data while in France, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Denmark and Norway. And we used our phones A LOT. 

[ericosmith]

11 hours ago, CAFs said:

I am going on Viking Homelands is a couple weeks.  I understand how to use "airplane mode" to make sure I don't incur roaming charges while in Europe.  But when I am on the ship and using the ship's WIFI, what will I be able to do?  Send a message?  Make a call?  Facetime?  I understand I can download google maps (before leaving home.)  What other things would you suggest.

 

Thank you.  This is my first post, so please advise if I didn't get something right.  Appreciate it!

Just to be clear, you put your phone in airplane mode and then turn the wifi back on.  That way you can generally do anything including making phone calls if you have wifi calling.    

[H2Otstr]

I was wondering how those who needed to call Viking's emergency number from Europe did so if they did not have an international plan? I have AT&T prepaid plan and not sure how much it would cost if I had to call Viking. I was thinking about purchasing an international SIM card and installing it in an older (compatible) phone before I leave. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. 

[Mich3554]

3 minutes ago, H2Otstr said:

I was wondering how those who needed to call Viking's emergency number from Europe did so if they did not have an international plan? I have AT&T prepaid plan and not sure how much it would cost if I had to call Viking. I was thinking about purchasing an international SIM card and installing it in an older (compatible) phone before I leave. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. 

This is what we do when we travel.  At least one of our phones has a data plan when we get to Europe.  We have used Vodafone in the past, they work in all countries we have tried, but you cannot be in a different country than where you bought it to top off your data plan  (we discovered that the plan bought in Germany cannot be topped off in Prague).  This was my goof, I should have bought a bigger data plan than the smallest available, even if it was in excess.

 

Next trip, I think we are going to try Airalo.  Downloaded the app, but haven’t had a chance to try it out yet.  

[Heidi13]

43 minutes ago, H2Otstr said:

I was wondering how those who needed to call Viking's emergency number from Europe did so if they did not have an international plan? I have AT&T prepaid plan and not sure how much it would cost if I had to call Viking. I was thinking about purchasing an international SIM card and installing it in an older (compatible) phone before I leave. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. 

 

Once we get to Europe, we purchase a local SIM card, as plans over there are way cheaper than we pay. We don't get into contracts, we just purchase 30 days of service, which can be renewed online, if still over there.

 

Back in 2017, it cost us about UKP 10 per month for calling, text, reasonable data and limited calling back to Canada.

 

For this to work, you require an unlocked phone.

[H2Otstr]

52 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Once we get to Europe, we purchase a local SIM card, as plans over there are way cheaper than we pay. We don't get into contracts, we just purchase 30 days of service, which can be renewed online, if still over there.

 

Back in 2017, it cost us about UKP 10 per month for calling, text, reasonable data and limited calling back to Canada.

 

For this to work, you require an unlocked phone.

 

I do have an unlocked phone. I was thinking about purchasing a prepaid card here and having it ready to activate once in France. I didn’t want to bother getting a card in each of the countries we would be visiting. 
 

thank you for your answer. 

[Heidi13]

36 minutes ago, H2Otstr said:

 

I do have an unlocked phone. I was thinking about purchasing a prepaid card here and having it ready to activate once in France. I didn’t want to bother getting a card in each of the countries we would be visiting. 
 

thank you for your answer. 

 

Shouldn't need a new SIM card in each country, as while UK was still in the EU at that time, we could use the phone in each EU country we visited.

[Mich3554]

3 hours ago, H2Otstr said:

 

I do have an unlocked phone. I was thinking about purchasing a prepaid card here and having it ready to activate once in France. I didn’t want to bother getting a card in each of the countries we would be visiting. 
 

thank you for your answer. 

Vodafone worked in Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Czech Republic.  You do not have to get a plan in each country.  You just cannot buy a plan in one country and top off with more data in another.