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Carnival no longer supports wifi calling or ANY calling app on a phone?

chanpion13

By chanpion13,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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chanpion13

chanpion13

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hi mates! i read in a few posts that people were able to use wifi calling through att on their smartphones suing a carnival wifi package.

 

now they have THREE packages, social, value, and premium. has anyone successfully been able to use wifi calling or ANY calling app? my grandmother needs to be checked on regularly and we would like to be able to have ease of mind knowing she can contact us.

 

the reason i'm scared this doesn't work is even though some old posts have said they have used it, i read this on this page:

 

Cellular-network-dependent Wi-Fi Calling and Facetime services are not supported.

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

basically that sucks a lot.

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Organized Chaos

Organized Chaos

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The key phrase in their wording is "cellular-network-dependent." In other words, you can't make in-app calls over your cellular network (i.e. using cellular data) because there is no cellular network out to sea. They also do not allow in-app calling with the Social plan. Others who are familiar with the Value & Premium plans will have to give you their input on making in-app calls with those.

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brooklynfc

brooklynfc

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My information is from my last sailing on the Sunshine last April. When found that we could "call" through messenger on Facebook. Now, it was spotty, but we did call and I think my friend used the video calling to talk to her friend. But they could have cut that off at this point. We could also get text through wifi, with imessages through iphones.

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winddawn

winddawn

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hi mates! i read in a few posts that people were able to use wifi calling through att on their smartphones suing a carnival wifi package.

 

now they have THREE packages, social, value, and premium. has anyone successfully been able to use wifi calling or ANY calling app? my grandmother needs to be checked on regularly and we would like to be able to have ease of mind knowing she can contact us.

 

the reason i'm scared this doesn't work is even though some old posts have said they have used it, i read this on this page:

 

Cellular-network-dependent Wi-Fi Calling and Facetime services are not supported.

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

basically that sucks a lot.

 

Grandma can call Carnival to get in touch with you if there is an emergency.

 

She can call 1-877-225-7447 and provide the ship name. The ship's operator needs the passenger's name and cabin number, if possible, to connect to the stateroom. In true emergencies, the ship may be able to make a ship-wide announcement for your loved one to take the call.

 

Your cellular carrier may offer the option to switch your calling plan temporarily to a plan that will cover areas you'll be cruising to. There are certain considerations with this though, so it's best to inquire to your specific carrier. If grandma texts, that is usually fairly reasonable when cruising. Carrier fees are assessed per text.

 

Other options include you calling her using the phone in your cabin at $1.99 a minute, or if grandma can use email, you can always use that at an Internet café in ports to stay in touch.

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1152/kw/internet%20plans

 

https://www.verizonwireless.com/solutions-and-services/international-travel/

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kollarism

kollarism

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Do you have AT&T by any chance? They have a $10/day (24hr) international package. As long as you are in a country/port that support it, it is only $10/day and uses your home plan for minutes, text, and data

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Titan_Cruiser

Titan_Cruiser

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We purchased the Social Media package on our cruise in February. It allowed us to iMessage with our sons and we also used WhatsApp to text friends and family with Android phones. I didn't realize WhatsApp had a wifi calling option but one night my phone rang and I answered through the app and it was my son. We talked for almost 30 minutes. It had a slight delay but not bad. We also tried FaceTime but it would not work.

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deborahjo

deborahjo

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We purchase Verizon International Roaming Plan. Is $30 for a month. We have used it since 2012 cruise.

 

We turn it on the day before we leave and turn it off a couple of days after we get back. Bill is pro rated to the number of days it was turned on.

 

Our highest bill was $27 in charges. I can handle this. We use for Facebook, message parents, family and friends.

 

Will be using in November again.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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amystarfish

amystarfish

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Do you have AT&T by any chance? They have a $10/day (24hr) international package. As long as you are in a country/port that support it, it is only $10/day and uses your home plan for minutes, text, and data

 

 

 

Do you have to set it up ahead of time? Does it work when you are out to sea?? If you've ever turned on your phone, it usually says something like "cellular at sea"

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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chanpion13

chanpion13

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Do you have to set it up ahead of time? Does it work when you are out to sea?? If you've ever turned on your phone, it usually says something like "cellular at sea"

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

hi. i'm the OP but i've actually used this feature in a few countries. the only downside is that it doesn't work on the actual cruise (like from jax to the bahamas) during the water portion.

 

it does work on a lot of ports though. there are a lot of countries that are part of this plan, NOT all, but most.

 

you can see it here. https://www.att.com/offers/international-plans/compare-options.html

 

also it is opt in. you have to have it on your plan than as soon as you use your data in a country that is on the list, it bills it $10 and gives you 24 hours for that. if you do it again, it's another 10 for the next 24 hours. it's actually very incredible. one of the best things ATT did internationally.

 

they have packages for cruises too. unfortunately carnival isn't on the list.

 

these are the cruises that have partnerships. it's like EVERY CRUISE LINE except carnival and norwegian.

 

https://www.att.com/offers/international-plans/cruise-packages.html

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Organized Chaos

Organized Chaos

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We could also get text through wifi, with imessages through iphones.
Which internet plan were you using?

 

We purchased the Social Media package on our cruise in February. It allowed us to iMessage with our sons
This is good to hear. We were able to use iMessage with the Social plan last year, but Carnival now specifically notes in their description that iMessage doesn't work with the Social plan. My hopes are that they were just being a bit overzealous with their wording. I have read mixed accounts from people on here. Some saying their iMessage did work, some did not. I don't see why it wouldn't because iMessage is a simple messaging app just like facebook messenger, which definitley does work with the Social.
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Pellaz

Pellaz

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I've used the "Value" plan (the middle one, above Social and below Premium) on my last two Carnival cruises and was easily able to voice-call home using FB Messenger, with just one dropped call. Messenger automatically retried the connection.

 

My friend John tried video calling home using Messenger but said it was unusable...not surprising considering we didn't pay for the highest bandwidth option.

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dvond

dvond

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I've used the "Value" plan (the middle one, above Social and below Premium) on my last two Carnival cruises and was easily able to voice-call home using FB Messenger, with just one dropped call. Messenger automatically retried the connection.

 

My friend John tried video calling home using Messenger but said it was unusable...not surprising considering we didn't pay for the highest bandwidth option.

 

We have used FB messaging for calling, its not great but worked, we mostly just tested through Imessage

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CheapieD

CheapieD

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It was last November but I was able to use my project fi cellphone with the middle internet plan to make and receive calls as well as plain text messages. Sometimes it worked great and than in the evenings it was less reliable but that was true even just using the regular internet due to the larger number of people on board using it in the evenings

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Llamabear

Llamabear

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I sailed the Sensation last April and was able to call using facebook messenger on the social plan. I actually didn't know it could do that, my Aunt (who was dogsitting for me) just called me out of the blue so I answered. There was a lot of feedback, but it totally worked. Otherwise just messaging on facebook messenger worked fine.

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brooklynfc

brooklynfc

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Which internet plan were you using?

 

This is good to hear. We were able to use iMessage with the Social plan last year, but Carnival now specifically notes in their description that iMessage doesn't work with the Social plan. My hopes are that they were just being a bit overzealous with their wording. I have read mixed accounts from people on here. Some saying their iMessage did work, some did not. I don't see why it wouldn't because iMessage is a simple messaging app just like facebook messenger, which definitley does work with the Social.

 

We had the social media package.

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