Texting Another Person On The Ship

[Petrel]

My wife will be in a room with her mother, and I’ll be in a separate room (4 decks apart) with the kids.  Wife and I will both have Zoom internet access.  What’s the best way to text/communicate with each other from our rooms?  Is the RC app good for that, or is there a good web-based app to do so?  Any advice appreciated!

[smokeybandit]

If you both have zoom, use iMessage/WhatsApp/Facebook Messenger

[Charles4515]

26 minutes ago, Petrel said:

My wife will be in a room with her mother, and I’ll be in a separate room (4 decks apart) with the kids.  Wife and I will both have Zoom internet access.  What’s the best way to text/communicate with each other from our rooms?  Is the RC app good for that, or is there a good web-based app to do so?  Any advice appreciated!

If you both have Voom (it is not Zoom) you can use iMessage to text if you both have iPhones or WhatsApp to text if you don’t both have iPhones. 

[Petrel]

Thanks, and yes, should have said Voom, not Zoom.  We’ll try WhatsApp- thanks for the recommendation!

[GJustice]

You can setup/use WiFi Calling if your cell provider supports that. Make sure you setup both phones while you're still on your home cell network before you board.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

2 minutes ago, GJustice said:

You can setup/use WiFi Calling if your cell provider supports that. Make sure you setup both phones while you're still on your home cell network before you board.

I think you meant "set up while you're still on your home WIFI network".  If you're on your cell network, how to do you know it will work on wifi only?

 

If someone doesn't know how to block cellular, turn on airplane mode, then turn on wifi.  

[GJustice]

AT&T requires you be on the cell network to activate WiFi calling. THEN you can test it by going into airplane mode to test it.

 

YMMV on other carriers. I just know I once tried to set it up after we left port and wasn't able to.

[smokeybandit]

42 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

I think you meant "set up while you're still on your home WIFI network".  If you're on your cell network, how to do you know it will work on wifi only

Wifi calling needs to be enabled while on a cellular network.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

3 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Wifi calling needs to be enabled while on a cellular network.

As @GJustice pointed out.  The post just above yours.  

 

Of course, I'm also assuming that if you test it on your home wifi without setting it up first, it won't work, and therefore you find out it needs to be enabled on cellular. 

 

But yes, that is a good note to have. 

Edited June 23 by S.A.M.J.R.

[smokeybandit]

Also wifi calling isn't guaranteed to actually work on ship either. Or some aspects won't work, like you can call but not text, or some texts never come through.

[TeeRick]

As others have said, if we have a WiFi package we use WiFi calling for calls and texts with airplane mode.  No charges from our carrier (T Mobile).  But be careful in port and on land.

[GJustice]

9 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Or some aspects won't work, like you can call but not text, or some texts never come through.

Agreed. I've had lost of issues with "group texts" that get converted from "plain SMS" to "multimedia" that some(many)times don't get through until I get back out of WiFi calling mode. I've not had problem with single texts to a single number.

[RobInMN]

Like @GJustice, I've had terrible luck with RCS when roaming internationally, including cruise ships. RCS being converted to SMS, things not going through or taking hours. I don't trust it at all.

As a few have mentioned before, WhatsApp is the way to go. It's what the crew uses, and if you are in a Star suite, it's how you communicate with your Genie. Zero issues.

 

[SoloAlaska]

We use WhatsApp anytime we travel anywhere. Everyone I know has it including my 84 year old grandmother. My ex and I always used WhatsApp instead of sms since often one of us was traveling.