WiFi Calling and Cruising

[tllstaco]

Has anybody out there tried to use AT&T Wifi calling/texting while onboard this ship? Of course you will have to pay for internet access. My understanding is if you call/text domestic (US) numbers there is no additional charge but if you call/text an international number then you pay international rates.

 

Any experiences that ya'll could share?

[firemanbobswife]

Only when in St Thomas and San Juan is it free. If you connect at any other time on the ship, it will be roaming and you get charged from Cellular at Sea.

[SadieN]

Only when in St Thomas and San Juan is it free. If you connect at any other time on the ship, it will be roaming and you get charged from Cellular at Sea.

 

 

At that point it's same as or cheaper to call from your cabin at $0.99/minute.

[firemanbobswife]

At that point it's same as or cheaper to call from your cabin at $0.99/minute.

 

 

Is it $0.99 or $1.99/min? I can't remember. Either way I wouldn't risk it with my cell phone. You see horror stories of people complaining to JH all the time that they got home and their bills are in the hundreds of dollars. My cell stays either off or in airplane mode if not in a US port.

Edited September 5, 2016 by firemanbobswife

[klfrodo]

Can only share my experience.

Just returned from a med cruise on Royal. Had their Voom internet package.

 

Used WIFI calling to call the States on a daily basis.

I did not experience any additional charges from my carrier, no did I get hit with any cellular connectivity charges from the ship.

[klfrodo]

Only when in St Thomas and San Juan is it free. If you connect at any other time on the ship, it will be roaming and you get charged from Cellular at Sea.

 

WIFI calling has nothing to do with Cellular at Sea.

You bypass the cellular tower and go directly to VOIP (internet).

 

Yes, you have to be on the ships internet network which is paid. However, most of these packages are now unlimited. Most of us are going to have internet access anyway.

Only the old curmudgions still using flip phones won't have internet access. ;)

[firemanbobswife]

Can only share my experience.

 

Just returned from a med cruise on Royal. Had their Voom internet package.

 

 

 

Used WIFI calling to call the States on a daily basis.

 

I did not experience any additional charges from my carrier, no did I get hit with any cellular connectivity charges from the ship.

 

 

That would be true since you were using the wi-fi.

 

I see now that the OP was asking about wi-fi texting and calling. The internet plans on Carnival don't support texting through the cell phone provider, but iMessage did work all the way through the first half of the last day. You can also text through apps like FB Messenger, WhatsApp, etc. People have even reported being able to make voice calls through those same apps although I believe you will need a higher plan like the Premium.

[BNBR]

You just need to modernize a little bit. Use FB Messenger for texting and calling if you can. That's what we do, works great.

[Honolulu Blue]

At that point it's same as or cheaper to call from your cabin at $0.99/minute.

 

When I was last on a cruise in January, it was $1.99 a minute. Have they changed this since then?

[SadieN]

No. Not changed. Either old age or a small keyboard.

[Honolulu Blue]

No. Not changed. Either old age or a small keyboard.

 

OK. Thanks. I just want to be sure about such things.

[luisrp]

It depends on your carrier too. I recently cruised (not on Carnival) and was able to use my phone on Wi-fi for phone calls and texting. But my carrier (T-Mobile) supports texting over Wi-fi in addition to phone calls. Your mileage may vary with other carriers.

[Briitini]

I posted about this after my last cruise, but my texting worked through iMessage on the first day and then it was completely "cut off" and didn't work. I tried to connect to iMessage in ports on wifi and nothing. The moment we got back to Miami it started working. I swear something was blocked!

 

 

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[Briitini]

My boyfriends iMessage worked until the last 2 days. After that it wouldn't work until we got back to the USA

 

 

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[sbridgeman]

I have been researching this as well.

 

According to Carnival:

"All plans exclude video streaming (such as Netflix or Hulu) and Snapchat. Cellular-network-dependent WiFi Calling and Facetime services are also not supported at this time."

 

This is from https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1152/~/carnivals-wi-fi-service-and-hub-app

 

From another thread - these services are theoretically "blocked" however I have seen reports of them working intermittently. Which coincides with what Briitini is reporting.

 

According to Carnival the premium plan supports Skype, which is what we are going to set-up as a fall-back.

 

Best of luck to you.

[Cruise-Crazy]

I made a couple calls last November on Splendor. Wasn't great but it did work.

 

I was using AT&T's WiFi calling option.

Edited September 7, 2016 by Cruise-Crazy

[Briitini]

I have been researching this as well.

 

 

 

According to Carnival:

 

"All plans exclude video streaming (such as Netflix or Hulu) and Snapchat. Cellular-network-dependent WiFi Calling and Facetime services are also not supported at this time."

 

 

 

This is from https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1152/~/carnivals-wi-fi-service-and-hub-app

 

 

 

From another thread - these services are theoretically "blocked" however I have seen reports of them working intermittently. Which coincides with what Briitini is reporting.

 

 

 

According to Carnival the premium plan supports Skype, which is what we are going to set-up as a fall-back.

 

 

 

Best of luck to you.

 

 

 

So true. Yet we have read of others having no issues the entire time. Going to try it again on the 17th and see.

 

 

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