How to connect an I-Phone to wi fi on the Grandeur

[Avidtravler]

We will be boarding the Grandeur in a few weeks. Hoping someone can spell out the steps involved in connecting our i-phone to the ships wi-fi so as to avoid high charges from Verizon. If I remember correctly in the past the first step was to turn on airplane mode. Would appreciate all following steps to be automatically connected when returning from excursions.

[GMIAC]

Settings - WiFi [make sure Wifi is ON] - click on Grandeur network and  follow the steps.

 

Or just open the app and click "I'm on the ship."

 

Easy as pie.

Edited January 21 by GMIAC

[CruisetheCs]

Here is guidance from Verizon's website https://www.verizon.com/support/wifi-calling-faqs/#cost 

 

I usually just opt to pay for Verizon's roaming charges (typically $10 a day in most countries per phone--you need to be sign up for the roaming plan).  That way the phone plan works in ports, on excursions or anytime spent off the ship.  Phone and internet service doesn't depend on Regent's sometimes unreliable wifi when near land or in ports (wifi may be better on Grandeur than other ships, I understand).  Given the cost of a Regent cruise the extra cell plan charge is a small portion of the total.

 

With cell plan coverage in countries, I found it very useful to use the maps app to track locations and to avoid getting lost when exploring places in ports or being able to make a call or retrieve email, etc., anytime I wished to do so. And for just using the internet, a cell connection (when available)  was more reliable and had faster speeds generally than Regent's wifi connection.  This was true on my last Splendor cruise in the Adriatic, Mediterranean area. This was a port-intensive cruise so land-based cell service was available almost all the time except on a sea day.

 

The potential downside of Verizon's roaming plan is that when the ship is away from land, it is possible to automatically connect to Regent's offered onboard cell service (Cellular at Sea, as I remember).  Using that service could run up charges not covered by the Verizon roaming plan.  So when sailing in the absence of a land-based cellular connection, cell service needs to be turned off on your phone so your phone will default to wifi roaming and not use cell data when out of range of land-based cellular signals.

 

[GMIAC]

12 minutes ago, CruisetheCs said:

Here is guidance from Verizon's website https://www.verizon.com/support/wifi-calling-faqs/#cost 

 

I usually just opt to pay for Verizon's roaming charges (typically $10 a day in most countries per phone--you need to be sign up for the roaming plan).  That way the phone plan works in ports, on excursions or anytime spent off the ship.  Phone and internet service doesn't depend on Regent's sometimes unreliable wifi when near land or in ports (wifi may be better on Grandeur than other ships, I understand).  Given the cost of a Regent cruise the extra cell plan charge is a small portion of the total.

 

With cell plan coverage in countries, I found it very useful to use the maps app to track locations and to avoid getting lost when exploring places in ports or being able to make a call or retrieve email, etc., anytime I wished to do so. And for just using the internet, a cell connection (when available)  was more reliable and had faster speeds generally than Regent's wifi connection.  This was true on my last Splendor cruise in the Adriatic, Mediterranean area. This was a port-intensive cruise so land-based cell service was available almost all the time except on a sea day.

 

The potential downside of Verizon's roaming plan is that when the ship is away from land, it is possible to automatically connect to Regent's offered onboard cell service (Cellular at Sea, as I remember).  Using that service could run up charges not covered by the Verizon roaming plan.  So when sailing in the absence of a land-based cellular connection, cell service needs to be turned off on your phone so your phone will default to wifi roaming and not use cell data when out of range of land-based cellular signals.

 

 

This is cellular info. OP was asking how to connect to the ship's WiFi service. 

[Avidtravler]

Hi GMIAC,

What app are you referring to in your reply?  Many thanks for your reply.

[GMIAC]

18 minutes ago, Avidtravler said:

Hi GMIAC,

What app are you referring to in your reply?  Many thanks for your reply.

 

Regent has an App. Here’s the iOS download from the App Store. If you have an Android, you can find it in the Google Play Store.

[Avidtravler]

Many thanks! looks like a great app once on board

[GMIAC]

39 minutes ago, Avidtravler said:

Many thanks! looks like a great app once on board

it’s kind of like an electronic Passages, and not too much else, at least yet.
 

There is a nice art tour button that will let you narrate a short walking tour of the ship’s art collection. 

 

back to the original question, it’s an easy way to connect to the ship’s WiFi. 

[Qld13]

On 1/22/2024 at 4:10 AM, Avidtravler said:

If I remember correctly in the past the first step was to turn on airplane mode

 

Hi

Unless anything has changed since our last Regent cruise, you don't need to turn on airplane mode.

 

If you take photos using your iPhone camera it won't be able to geo-tag the photos with a location so you won't know where they are taken. Airplane mode turns off the GPS chip.

 

Turn off Mobile (Settings - Mobile - Mobile Data) so you don't get charged roaming. Then make sure WiFi is on and connect to the ships network. This is how I have done it on our past Regent cruises.

[GMIAC]

I don't think it's a good idea to geo-tag photos, but others may feel otherwise. 

 

Airplane mode doesn't have to be turned off to connect to WiFi, but depending on your cellular plan, you might be looking at some hefty roaming charges. 

[papaflamingo]

On 1/21/2024 at 1:10 PM, Avidtravler said:

We will be boarding the Grandeur in a few weeks. Hoping someone can spell out the steps involved in connecting our i-phone to the ships wi-fi so as to avoid high charges from Verizon. If I remember correctly in the past the first step was to turn on airplane mode. Would appreciate all following steps to be automatically connected when returning from excursions.

First....make sure you have activated WiFi Calling in your phone settings.  If not, do that before leaving home.  It'll ask you to fill out emergency information, just use your home address.  It's simply to tell emergency services where you are since you'll be on wifi and not traceable. 

Second... when you board the ship, put your phone in "airplane mode."

Third.....  log onto the ships internet.  

Your phone should automatically go into WiFi Calling.  You can verify this by looking on the upper left corner of your phone where it shows the carrier.  We have ATT so ours shows "ATT wi-fi."  Yours will show something like "VZW Wi-Fi."  This means you are now in wifi calling and can use the phone as if you are in your home for no additional charges.  

Just be sure to keep it in "airplane" mode.  The phone will "decide" which to use, cell or wifi, due to signal strength. So to be sure the wifi is stronger, remove the cell from the equation by selecting "airplane" mode.  

Also in ports, you can do the same if you have wifi coverage like in a wifi cafe, etc.