Allure using iMessage on iPhones, iTouch or iPads

[mon1jan1]

Has anyone used the unlimited internet data package on Allure of the Seas and used iMessage? We have a family of three and would like to hear from anyone who has used this service to let me know how it works. We leave on March 16 on the Allure and this would be a great way to keep in touch with the other members while on the cruise ship.

I should add that with my iPhone I will have it on airplane mode.

Thanks for any and all help.

 

Janet

Edited January 11, 2014 by mon1jan1

[mpoole3]

I personally have not, but my brother was sailed on Allure a few months ago. We iMessage all week, FaceTime audio calls, and MMS (but slow sending for him)

[mon1jan1]

I personally have not, but my brother was sailed on Allure a few months ago. We iMessage all week, FaceTime audio calls, and MMS (but slow sending for him)

 

Thanks for that info, I didn't know with the unlimited wifi package if you had to reconnect each time you use it or if the iMessage would work. I didn't even think about the FaceTime calls, good idea.

[Clarea]

Has anyone used the unlimited internet data package on Allure of the Seas and used iMessage? We have a family of three and would like to hear from anyone who has used this service to let me know how it works. We leave on March 16 on the Allure and this would be a great way to keep in touch with the other members while on the cruise ship.

I should add that with my iPhone I will have it on airplane mode.

Thanks for any and all help.

 

Janet

At one time, there was a "family" unlimited plan that allowed 4 devices to be connected simultaneously. I think this was around $500 for the week, but I have not seen this mentioned recently. If they don't have this plan available, then you would be looking at $179 each for the week.

 

Normal SMS text messages would cost $0.50 for each text sent, without the need for internet access.

[createcolorfun]

hello!

we sailed on the allure this past nov and i purchased the $179 plan. it was great. most of the time i didn't have to log in, but sometimes i did. My son and daughter used there cell phones, so for those time we had to relog in. I had my ipad, and iphone. We could skype but only to call. the internet worked great, although if you had a huge file to download, it wouldn't. We also had a 10% discount with our coupon booklet - which is now on your seapass so we paid approx 160. We are going on the navigator in may, i will purchase this plan again. Have fun on the allure, It's a GREAT ship!

[ncsteeler]

Has anyone used the unlimited internet data package on Allure of the Seas and used iMessage? We have a family of three and would like to hear from anyone who has used this service to let me know how it works. We leave on March 16 on the Allure and this would be a great way to keep in touch with the other members while on the cruise ship.

I should add that with my iPhone I will have it on airplane mode.

Thanks for any and all help.

 

Janet

 

I have not used Royal Connect but instead of internet you may want to try it.

at $30 per phone it would be a cheaper option

 

http://www.royalcaribbeanincentives.com/docs/rccl-pdfs/connect-brochure.pdf

[Tennessee_Cruiser]

hello!

we sailed on the allure this past nov and i purchased the $179 plan. it was great. most of the time i didn't have to log in, but sometimes i did. My son and daughter used there cell phones, so for those time we had to relog in. I had my ipad, and iphone. We could skype but only to call. the internet worked great, although if you had a huge file to download, it wouldn't. We also had a 10% discount with our coupon booklet - which is now on your seapass so we paid approx 160. We are going on the navigator in may, i will purchase this plan again. Have fun on the allure, It's a GREAT ship!

 

I had the same experience when I was on the Allure. iMessages worked great from my iPad, and only had to reconnect a few times. The few times I tried to send a photo via iMessage it took a LONG time, so I stopped trying.

 

Yes it is expensive, but it is nice to stay connected at sea.

[reedl]

I was on the Allure in Oct 2013 with the unlimited internet package. iMessage, Skype voice, and anything else internet related worked perfectly (including listening to XM radio BTW).

 

We used Skype a lot since we had a sick family member at home we had to deal with. It saved us more than the amount we paid for the unlimited internet package even though we had AT&T's cruise ship package which gave us $1.00 a minute phone calls. Plus the fact that we did not have to worry about logging in and out all the time was worth the price (with the Platinum discount).

 

In fact we actually used Skype video a few times, and while it was around 5 fps at best, it still allowed us to show the beautiful views we were seeing.

[reedl]

...snip...The few times I tried to send a photo via iMessage it took a LONG time, so I stopped trying.

 

Yes it is expensive, but it is nice to stay connected at sea.

 

I had the same issue sending large files out as attachments. I think that RCCL has some sort of traffic shaper that slows down large amounts of data going out on a TCP connection. I actually had a computer with a development system (Yes I know I am a nerd!), and tested outgoing connections, and for small amounts of data, it worked as it should. But if you sent larger amounts of data, the speed would drop to a crawl.

 

But that makes sense as the outgoing bandwidth is probably even more limited than the incoming bandwidth.

[Hoppy2cruise]

hello!

we sailed on the allure this past nov and i purchased the $179 plan. it was great. most of the time i didn't have to log in, but sometimes i did. My son and daughter used there cell phones, so for those time we had to relog in. I had my ipad, and iphone. We could skype but only to call. the internet worked great, although if you had a huge file to download, it wouldn't. We also had a 10% discount with our coupon booklet - which is now on your seapass so we paid approx 160. We are going on the navigator in may, i will purchase this plan again. Have fun on the allure, It's a GREAT ship!

 

This will be great in our June Allure sailing. Am I reading your post correctly that it is also available on Navigator? That would be wonderful!

Hoppy

[Clarea]

This will be great in our June Allure sailing. Am I reading your post correctly that it is also available on Navigator? That would be wonderful!

Hoppy

We don't yet know for sure what the internet plan will be on Navigator. She is in dry dock now getting upgrades.

[mon1jan1]

Thanks to everyone for all the info. I can't wait to be on the cruise, 61 days and give or take a few hours and I'm there! Now if I can figure out if we need the WiFi service or not, we may go with one plan and meet up throughout the day to keep in contact.

 

Thanks again!!!