Wifi aboard Equinox

[MyView]

Hi,

We are taking the July 11 Mediterranean Cruise (Athens to Istanbul) with our 14 year old grandson. One of the perks we have is 90 minutes free internet...

Does that mean we will have texting capability aboard the ship? I have gotten confused.:o Or does it just mean we can only go online and check email, surf the web, etc.

Catherine

[Tiggertastic]

Hi,

We are taking the July 11 Mediterranean Cruise (Athens to Istanbul) with our 14 year old grandson. One of the perks we have is 90 minutes free internet...

Does that mean we will have texting capability aboard the ship? I have gotten confused.:o Or does it just mean we can only go online and check email, surf the web, etc.

Catherine

 

Your texting goes through your phone provider not the Internet

 

If you have messenger capability you will be able to use messenger. It means logging Into the package, using it and logging off otherwise it will clock up your minutes in between.

 

You will be able to check email etc, web.

[MyView]

Thank you so much for your helpful reply.

[ME Guide]

If you are both Elite, you will both receive 90 minutes. We went to the computer lounge and had the attendant put 90 for me and 90 for hubby. We had different codes to register. Make sure you log OFF with correct code so you will not use your minutes when done. We had a aft cabin and had no problem checking email messages.

[MyView]

Thanks,Me Guide,

Yes we are both elite and our grandson as a third person will also receive minutes. I had just hoped we would have texting ability as an easy way to stay in contact with grandson.

Can't wait, hurry up July

[suekay]

We installed the WhatsApp app on our phones. It works just like texting but uses wifi

[ghstudio]

We installed the WhatsApp app on our phones. It works just like texting but uses wifi

 

Why not just use email which is almost instantaneous these days. What does What's app add?

[chemmo]

Just off the Equinox and had our fastest, substantially fastest, internet yet. You 90 mins each should go much further than it did a few years ago.

[ME Guide]

Be cautious about texting. If you are using your PHONE it will be very expensive. You do not want to be charged roaming charges for texting. That is different from using email. Turn OFF phone unless you have checked with your phone company about charges for TEXTING. WIFI is using internet. I am unfamiliar with ap that poster suggested but certainly sounds like something you should investigate further.

Happy sailing!

[suekay]

I find it quicker, and the appearance of the posts is more like texting

[suekay]

I find it quicker, and the appearance of the posts is more like texting

 

Meant to quote the question of what Whatsapp has over emailing

[MyView]

suekay

Did you use this app while on the ship at sea?

In the past I have always had my iPhone on off for the reasons MeGuide discussed.

[cruisead]

Thanks,Me Guide,

Yes we are both elite and our grandson as a third person will also receive minutes. I had just hoped we would have texting ability as an easy way to stay in contact with grandson.

Can't wait, hurry up July

 

Just a little tip, make sure grandson isn't texting back to friends at home, unless you don't mind a huge phone bill when you come home. Many teens can text hundreds of times a day, and at fifty cents a text, it will add up.

[upwarduk]

Just a little tip, make sure grandson isn't texting back to friends at home, unless you don't mind a huge phone bill when you come home. Many teens can text hundreds of times a day, and at fifty cents a text, it will add up.

 

When we go abroad, I always tell relatives and friends to email rather than text.

Both parties have to pay for a text when I am in a foreign country.

Has the Internet been upgraded on Equinox recently? Hopefully if upgrades have been fleet wide, we will get better service on Eclipse when we sail in July.

[cle-guy]

When we go abroad, I always tell relatives and friends to email rather than text.

Both parties have to pay for a text when I am in a foreign country.

Has the Internet been upgraded on Equinox recently? Hopefully if upgrades have been fleet wide, we will get better service on Eclipse when we sail in July.

 

My AT&T plan, incoming texts come to me at no charge when on the ship - or anywhere I am on "roaming" service (I have an unlimited texting plan I pay $10 per month for). However I do pay 50 cents if I reply.

 

This will vary based on ones provider and plan in place.

Edited April 30, 2015 by cle-guy

[Larainerenee]

We use Viber, an app that allows free texting AND phone calls from wifi. It works on Apple and Android devices and the clarity is amazing. Just make sure that the folks back home who you are going to want to communicate with also have the app on their device.

We've used it on the beach in the Caribbean, in Europe and on cruise ships with wifi.

[suekay]

suekay

Did you use this app while on the ship at sea?

In the past I have always had my iPhone on off for the reasons MeGuide discussed.

 

Just back from cruising Asia on Rhapsody. Yes, I used WhatsApp frequently while onboard

[Pushka]

Facebook is a killer for roaming/internet data charges. Make sure it is turned off.

[upwarduk]

Facebook is a killer for roaming/internet data charges. Make sure it is turned off.

 

Do you mean on iPad as well as phone?

Thanks for the advice.

[Pushka]

Facebook full stop. It pings constantly esp if you have a lot of friends.

[itsanita]

Just back from cruising Asia on Rhapsody. Yes, I used WhatsApp frequently while onboard

 

We have all installed whats app on our i phones,,,those of us on the cruise to Europe and our family back home. I thougt we would ony be able to use it in a 'free internet' area. Can we also use it on the ship? Will we have to buy 'internet hours' on the ship to use it?

 

Thanks for your help, still a little confused.

[suekay]

We have all installed whats app on our i phones,,,those of us on the cruise to Europe and our family back home. I thougt we would ony be able to use it in a 'free internet' area. Can we also use it on the ship? Will we have to buy 'internet hours' on the ship to use it?

 

Thanks for your help, still a little confused.

 

Yes, you can use it on the ship but will have to pay for internet hours. Other than that you'll need to find free internet access in the port building or local cafes

[gergles]

We have all installed whats app on our i phones,,,those of us on the cruise to Europe and our family back home. I thougt we would ony be able to use it in a 'free internet' area. Can we also use it on the ship? Will we have to buy 'internet hours' on the ship to use it?

 

Thanks for your help, still a little confused.

 

You can use it on the ship, but you will need to be logged in to the internet access, which costs on a per-minute basis (or you can buy an unlimited package on some cruises). Make sure you go to logout.com on your phone browser when done so as not to burn minutes!

 

You can also only be logged in on one device at a time per internet package, so if there are multiples of you, each person will need to have their own internet package or you'll need to coordinate sharing.