Question about the VOOM internet packages... (Facetime)

Hello everyone,

This will be my first ever cruise, departing on August 20th, super excited!

I simply had a question regarding the VOOM internet service. Currently they offer two tiers, the browsing/email and the streaming. Does anyone know if apple facetime will work on the lower tier version, or do I need to upgrade to the higher tier?

Hello everyone,

 

This will be my first ever cruise, departing on August 20th, super excited!

 

I simply had a question regarding the VOOM internet service. Currently they offer two tiers, the browsing/email and the streaming. Does anyone know if apple facetime will work on the lower tier version, or do I need to upgrade to the higher tier?

You need the higher tier to do video streaming.

You need the higher tier to do video streaming.

That's where I wasn't sure if facetime was categorized as "video streaming", because it technically is a modified version of VoiP technology. Different bandwidth consumption, ping rates, etc. from video streaming.

Are you basing your answer off of experience or assumption?

That's where I wasn't sure if facetime was categorized as "video streaming", because it technically is a modified version of VoiP technology. Different bandwidth consumption, ping rates, etc. from video streaming.

 

Are you basing your answer off of experience or assumption?

We tried Facetime on Vision earlier this year which was the same speed as the lower tier is now, and it was unusable for us. We are now using it on Majesty and the video is not bad at all, only paused once so far in a 5-minute call.

Also, it would help to know what ship you are on, because on some ships there is no real difference between the tiers.

Anyone have experience using facetime with the lower tier on Allure?

Gotta ask this for the wife.

We are now using it on Majesty and the video is not bad at all, only paused once so far in a 5-minute call.

Speedtest?

Anyone have experience using facetime with the lower tier on Allure?

Gotta ask this for the wife.

I think I read one report of SURF being enough on O3B Internet equipped ships (which Allure has).

We tried Facetime on Vision earlier this year which was the same speed as the lower tier is now, and it was unusable for us. We are now using it on Majesty and the video is not bad at all, only paused once so far in a 5-minute call.

 

Also, it would help to know what ship you are on, because on some ships there is no real difference between the tiers.

Thanks for the reply.

I will be on Oasis, I would assume that it sporting the latest in WiFi tech, or at least I would hope.

Also, could someone explain the pricing breakdown a little bit?

On the cruise planner page it say I can get the lower tier internet package on 1 device for $10 a day per person. Does that mean even if I only use one device, I would still pay $20 a day for me and my wife? This seems kind of silly to me...

Thanks for the reply.

 

I will be on Oasis, I would assume that it sporting the latest in WiFi tech, or at least I would hope.

 

Also, could someone explain the pricing breakdown a little bit?

 

On the cruise planner page it say I can get the lower tier internet package on 1 device for $10 a day per person. Does that mean even if I only use one device, I would still pay $20 a day for me and my wife? This seems kind of silly to me...

It had better be priced "per device" because the two of us only plan on putting it on her phone. If it's per person, it's not only silly, it's a racket to make more cash.

So, are you saying that facetime would work on the lower tier on Anthem?

We tried Facetime on Vision earlier this year which was the same speed as the lower tier is now, and it was unusable for us. We are now using it on Majesty and the video is not bad at all, only paused once so far in a 5-minute call.

 

Also, it would help to know what ship you are on, because on some ships there is no real difference between the tiers.

Also, could someone explain the pricing breakdown a little bit?

 

On the cruise planner page it say I can get the lower tier internet package on 1 device for $10 a day per person. Does that mean even if I only use one device, I would still pay $20 a day for me and my wife? This seems kind of silly to me...

The package is for one device to be used across as many devices as you want, but only one at a time. It's per device, not person.

So, are you saying that facetime would work on the lower tier on Anthem?

There was a report of facetime working on the SURF only package on an O3B internet equipped ship (such as Anthem) - this makes sense as the SURF has been reported to be about 5 MBs and good ping times - plenty for facetime. Now, if you are in a spotty coverage area or are trying it at a really busy time, it might not work great - but unlikely upgrading to STREAM would fix that.

The package is for one device to be used across as many devices as you want, but only one at a time. It's per device, not person.

Thanks for the clarification, this is better news than I anticipated.

Good thread! Will be trying WhatsApp phone call or Facebook calling on our Harmony cruise to talk to the grandkids.