T Mobile “ Essentials “ plan when cruising on Rotterdam

[horseymike]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone currently cruised on the Rotterdam with a T Mobile cell service called the “ Essentials “ plan ?
Pros - cons , overall experience.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

[horseymike]

Hi Everyone,

Anyone who has TMobile as their cell service provider willing to share their experience when cruising on HAL Rotterdam ?
Does the WiFi provide calls and or texts onboard when in airplane mode ?
Thanks in advance for your replies .

[RedIguana]

2 years ago on Rotterdam (pre-starlink), the premium WiFi was fine for using WiFi calling on my android phone. I also have T-mobile, but my plan is a relic from 2014, although it is similar to one of their current best plans. I find the WiFi calling more reliable than WiFi text, although the texts will eventually go through. Basic texting was much more reliable than adding pictures, or anything else that tried to convert it into a multi-media message. This is the same trend I have found on HAL, Princess, RCI, and Celebrity, with the last 2 I have taken having starlink.

My understanding from reading these boards is that the  premium WiFi is required for WiFi voice calls, as the lower tiers block voice. Hopefully if anyone has had success with WiFi calling on the lower tiers they will chime in. I have always had premium on every line I sail with so cannot comment on WiFi calling with the lower tiers.

All while in airplane mode, data roaming off.

[horseymike]

Thanks . 

[islandgirlejfan]

We are on T-Mobile on the Rotterdam presently.  Even though we have the upgraded net, which is fantastic by the way as we have not only used it for WiFi calling but FaceTime as well, we are on the senior Magenta Plus and every time we get close to an island with service, T-Mobile takes over and kicks off Starlink.  I was answering mail 5:30 in the morning on my balcony and noticed T-Mobile came across the top of my screen, so it seemed to work well.  I had to go back in and reconnect to Starlink.  

 

I paid 5 dollars extra for a 24 hour pass to use my phone in Bonfire as well.  No complaints.

[RedIguana]

34 minutes ago, islandgirlejfan said:

We are on T-Mobile on the Rotterdam presently.  Even though we have the upgraded net, which is fantastic by the way as we have not only used it for WiFi calling but FaceTime as well, we are on the senior Magenta Plus and every time we get close to an island with service, T-Mobile takes over and kicks off Starlink.  I was answering mail 5:30 in the morning on my balcony and noticed T-Mobile came across the top of my screen, so it seemed to work well.  I had to go back in and reconnect to Starlink.  

 

I paid 5 dollars extra for a 24 hour pass to use my phone in Bonfire as well.  No complaints.

Are you in airplane mode? Are your settings set to prefer cellular to wireless? In airplane mode, data roaming off, your cellular mode should not be active, and unable to detect any cellular network. Plus connecting to a cell network should not override your wifi connection. Granted I am used to android, so if you have an iphone or some fancy settings that can detect t-mobile approved networks only your mileage may vary. My daughters iphones work the same way as my android, but they a a generation or 2 behind the new ones.

[islandgirlejfan]

1 hour ago, RedIguana said:

Are you in airplane mode? Are your settings set to prefer cellular to wireless? In airplane mode, data roaming off, your cellular mode should not be active, and unable to detect any cellular network. Plus connecting to a cell network should not override your wifi connection. Granted I am used to android, so if you have an iphone or some fancy settings that can detect t-mobile approved networks only your mileage may vary. My daughters iphones work the same way as my android, but they a a generation or 2 behind the new ones.

We are in airplane mode.  We have iPhones now but are familiar with both Android and iPhone.  Can’t speak for Android on this issue, but both my hubby and I had the same thing happen.  It disconnects us and we go to T-Mobile.  You notice it because when you go to your home screen, it says in the left hand corner T-Mobile.  I’m not worried about it because with our plan, we get 5GB of net to travel with. As soon as I see it, I reengage Starlink.

[POA1]

For T-Mobile, you'll want data roaming on. Otherwise, your free T-Mobile international data won't work.

 

You want Wi-Fi calling on.

 

Then, turn airplane mode on. That will turn off both the cellular and the Wi-Fi radios.

 

Then, turn Wi-Fi on. At this point, the T-Mobile calls and text over Wi-Fi should work like a charm. You won't pick up the land based cellular services because that radio is off and not listening.

 

Once you are in port, cycle the airplane mode to turn your cellular radio back on.

 

Sadly, you have to run through the first set of steps when leaving port.

[RedIguana]

8 minutes ago, POA1 said:

For T-Mobile, you'll want data roaming on. Otherwise, your free T-Mobile international data won't work.

 

You want Wi-Fi calling on.

 

Then, turn airplane mode on. That will turn off both the cellular and the Wi-Fi radios.

For me airplane mode automatically disables data roaming, with no way to enable it. So it is airplane mode on, then turn on wifi while on the ship, and just airplane mode off in port. I'll usually then manually turn off data roaming while in port, and just switch it on and off as needed. Just a hedge in case I forget to enable airplane mode when I get back on the ship. What surprises me about @islandgirlejfan saying she gets a t-mobile symbol while in port on the islands is that the only islands I am aware of that actually have t-mobile as a carrier are Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. My phone shows the actual carrier I connect with, with the pop up message alerting me to free text and data with .25 cent calls. I've never owned a phone that would connect to a cell network with airplane mode on, it should not be possible.

28 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Sadly, you have to run through the first set of steps when leaving port.

If you are willing to risk not having that nice little airplane symbol  to let you know you are in a safe mode, you can skip airplane mode and just manually turn data roaming off and switch network connection to manual. I'm too paranoid to not have that reassuring symbol:)

[islandgirlejfan]

1 hour ago, RedIguana said:

For me airplane mode automatically disables data roaming, with no way to enable it. So it is airplane mode on, then turn on wifi while on the ship, and just airplane mode off in port. I'll usually then manually turn off data roaming while in port, and just switch it on and off as needed. Just a hedge in case I forget to enable airplane mode when I get back on the ship. What surprises me about @islandgirlejfan saying she gets a t-mobile symbol while in port on the islands is that the only islands I am aware of that actually have t-mobile as a carrier are Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. My phone shows the actual carrier I connect with, with the pop up message alerting me to free text and data with .25 cent calls. I've never owned a phone that would connect to a cell network with airplane mode on, it should not be possible.

If you are willing to risk not having that nice little airplane symbol  to let you know you are in a safe mode, you can skip airplane mode and just manually turn data roaming off and switch network connection to manual. I'm too paranoid to not have that reassuring symbol:)

I’m hoping the happy plane signal shows on this picture because we both are indeed in airplane mode.  It just jumped off when I read this thread and I reengaged the Rotterdam Starlink.

 

If you go to T-Mobile’s page, depending on your plan, you will get 5 gigs of data for travel and free text for a lot of locations, at least if you have Magenta plus.  It happened in 2022 when we went to Europe.  We bought a plan while we were there because of how long we were going to be there (23 days) and we knew we would be using navigation and Spotify.  I will say that leaving Verizon for T-Mobile is one of the best things we ever did.  Our bill is half what we paid with Verizon.  I just went and checked all my usages and there is no rogue data.

[islandgirlejfan]

Btw, the Starlink speeds are impressive.  My oldest son works for Cisco and he posted this to the group he belongs to.  I FaceTimed family and friends and did a number of uploads.  It’s pretty amazing!

[RedIguana]

1 hour ago, islandgirlejfan said:

Btw, the Starlink speeds are impressive.  My oldest son works for Cisco and he posted this to the group he belongs to.  I FaceTimed family and friends and did a number of uploads.  It’s pretty amazing!

Nice!

 

I'm actually on an ancient T-mobile plan with unlimited international data, although with throttling past a certain point. That is assuming they would even know to throttle my plan at this point.

[POA1]

Assuming you are on a regular T-Mobile plan, you have calling and data in ~216 countries. This is via partnership agreements. You're not going to be connected to T-Mobile, but rather to the partner's network.

[WVU_Neal]

6 hours ago, POA1 said:

Then, turn Wi-Fi on. At this point, the T-Mobile calls and text over Wi-Fi should work like a charm. You won't pick up the land based cellular services because that radio is off and not listening.

Just to be certain here. You are saying that if I have WiFi on the Rotterdam (in less than 2 weeks) and have Airplane Mode On and WiFi Calling On, I will be able to make calls and texts while at sea and not in port. That makes sense, I just wanted to verify.

[richwmn]

6 minutes ago, WVU_Neal said:

Just to be certain here. You are saying that if I have WiFi on the Rotterdam (in less than 2 weeks) and have Airplane Mode On and WiFi Calling On, I will be able to make calls and texts while at sea and not in port. That makes sense, I just wanted to verify.

That is the way it is currently working on Volendam, and should be throughout the fleet.

 

[POA1]

38 minutes ago, WVU_Neal said:

Just to be certain here. You are saying that if I have WiFi on the Rotterdam (in less than 2 weeks) and have Airplane Mode On and WiFi Calling On, I will be able to make calls and texts while at sea and not in port. That makes sense, I just wanted to verify.

Yes.

 

Airplane mode ON turns OFF both radios.

 

Then, turn Wi-Fi ON. This turns only the Wi-Fi radio on. (Your airplane mode indicator will likely go off. The Wi-Fi indicator will go on, but you won't see the cellular signal strength indicator though.)

 

You'll have to connect to your Wi-Fi plan on the ship now.

 

As long as you have Wi-Fi calling turned on and your carrier and phone support it, you should now be able to call & text.

 

I just did this, as did my wife, on the Nieuw Statendam in December. We've both got Pixels running the latest stock Android.

 

BTW - You can try this out on your home internet if you want to get comfortable with the process.

Edited January 14 by POA1

[fusion927]

15 hours ago, POA1 said:

Yes.

 

Airplane mode ON turns OFF both radios.

 

Then, turn Wi-Fi ON. This turns only the Wi-Fi radio on. (Your airplane mode indicator will likely go off. The Wi-Fi indicator will go on, but you won't see the cellular signal strength indicator though.)

 

You'll have to connect to your Wi-Fi plan on the ship now.

 

As long as you have Wi-Fi calling turned on and your carrier and phone support it, you should now be able to call & text.

 

I just did this, as did my wife, on the Nieuw Statendam in December. We've both got Pixels running the latest stock Android.

 

BTW - You can try this out on your home internet if you want to get comfortable with the process.

 

On Android 14 (at least on my S22Ultra), it now tells you that if you turn on and leave on Wi-Fi (and Bluetooth) in airplane mode, it will leave them on each time you go into airplane mode!  Love it, since my BT headphones no longer disconnect when switching to airplane mode!

 

On my last cruise, I was surprised when I started receiving texts in airplane mode.  A little concerning since I don't get the internet package and was afraid I left something enabled (with the big bill to prove it!).  But, it was all good.  I didn't try calling or sending texts (I'll try that on our next cruise).

 

Mark

 

[POA1]

9 minutes ago, fusion927 said:

 

On Android 14 (at least on my S22Ultra), it now tells you that if you turn on and leave on Wi-Fi (and Bluetooth) in airplane mode, it will leave them on each time you go into airplane mode!  Love it, since my BT headphones no longer disconnect when switching to airplane mode!

 

On my last cruise, I was surprised when I started receiving texts in airplane mode.  A little concerning since I don't get the internet package and was afraid I left something enabled (with the big bill to prove it!).  But, it was all good.  I didn't try calling or sending texts (I'll try that on our next cruise).

 

Mark

 

Same thing here. I did not want that to happen though. And boy, is ever a pain to get to the settings to turn it off.

 

I prefer all the fiddly bits. I'm in the minority, though.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, fusion927 said:

 

On Android 14 (at least on my S22Ultra), it now tells you that if you turn on and leave on Wi-Fi (and Bluetooth) in airplane mode, it will leave them on each time you go into airplane mode!  Love it, since my BT headphones no longer disconnect when switching to airplane mode!

 

On my last cruise, I was surprised when I started receiving texts in airplane mode.  A little concerning since I don't get the internet package and was afraid I left something enabled (with the big bill to prove it!).  But, it was all good.  I didn't try calling or sending texts (I'll try that on our next cruise).

 

Mark

 

Same - after shaking my head and looking befuddled didn't change it, I showed my phone to cabinmate asking them to confirm they saw the little airplane - rec'd texts while they were looking. 👀Big bill did not show up, so all good and I'm a Believer 🎶

[fusion927]

On 1/14/2024 at 9:22 AM, POA1 said:

Same thing here. I did not want that to happen though. And boy, is ever a pain to get to the settings to turn it off.

 

I prefer all the fiddly bits. I'm in the minority, though.

Fiddly bits are fun (software developer here!), but don't come between my headphones and my music when boarding a plane.  One way to keep my sanity among all the turmoil and confusion (especially on Southwest).

 

Plus, if Bluetooth gets turned off, my Glucose sensor app starts beeping real loud!