Princess@sea messenger question

[Trish Traveler]

I am reading the info on the Princess website and this sounds great. Just to clarify: Does this mean to use this to text traveling companions on the ship, I do not have to buy a Princess internet package to connect to their wifi for this service?

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/onboard-experience/activities/princess-at-sea/index.html

[fishywood]

I am reading the info on the Princess website and this sounds great. Just to clarify: Does this mean to use this to text traveling companions on the ship, I do not have to buy a Princess internet package to connect to their wifi for this service?

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/onboard-experience/activities/princess-at-sea/index.html

 

Princess@Sea uses the ship's WiFi intranet. Both you and those who you are messaging need to keep their devices connected to it. But as it does not require connection to the World Wide Web you do not have to purchase an internet plan to do so.

[OzKiwiJJ]

That's right. Princess@Sea works on the ship's intranet at no cost. The instructions on how to use it will be in the embarkation day Patter. The only downside is that there are no notifications that a message is waiting - no beep or buzz - so you have to get into the habit of checking for messages regularly.

[Trish Traveler]

Oh that's great to hear(y) Will be really helpful. I can now pack less post-it notes! ;)

[Coffeeluvr05]

The use of the web interface for the Princess @Sea is free. You turn your phone in airplane mode and turn on Wi-Fi. The messaging portion is not like text messages where you have an indicator you’ve received a message. You have to go in and check for them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Trish Traveler]

Princess@Sea uses the ship's WiFi intranet. Both you and those who you are messaging need to keep their devices connected to it. But as it does not require connection to the World Wide Web you do not have to purchase an internet plan to do so.

 

And thank you, I learned something new today: intranet vs. internet

[pthjudy]

And thank you, I learned something new today: intranet vs. internet

We just got off Anthem of the Seas and for some unknown reason we were able to text iPhones on and off the ship at no cost. We were a group of 10 iPhone users and it was very helpful. I actually sent videos through my texts while at sea to friends off of the ship. Posters on Royal Caribbean said it was some type of glitch in the WiFi system. Has anyone had an experience similar to that on Princess? We have 21 days in January on Regal and even with our free WiFi, texting would be great!

[Luvsnorkeling]

Where do you get the app for Princess@Sea? Have looked in app store on my iphone and cannot find it.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Where do you get the app for Princess@Sea? Have looked in app store on my iphone and cannot find it.

You don't need an app. You just connect through a browser. The instructions will be in the embarkation day Patter. Since it's intranet, the service isn't available until you board the ship.

[Luvsnorkeling]

OK, thanks a lot!

[NoVAgeek]

We had a big, unexpected problem with the Princess@Sea messenger functionality during our recent cruise on Emerald Princess. Messages are shown as coming from the passenger's legal name, with no way to change it that either we or the manager of the internet cafe could find. If you have multiple generations of a family on board with two or more people with the same first and last name, it can make it impossible to tell which messages are from whom. We had to sign all our messages manually, and there was much confusion when one of us forgot. Because of that, the lack of push notifications, and frequent "System Temporarily Unavailable" server errors, we'd pretty much stopped using Princess@Sea by the third day of the cruise. If we cruise again, we'll probably just resort to a whiteboard on our stateroom door, which we saw lots of other passengers using.

[Haboob]

We just got off Anthem of the Seas and for some unknown reason we were able to text iPhones on and off the ship at no cost. We were a group of 10 iPhone users and it was very helpful. I actually sent videos through my texts while at sea to friends off of the ship. Posters on Royal Caribbean said it was some type of glitch in the WiFi system. Has anyone had an experience similar to that on Princess? We have 21 days in January on Regal and even with our free WiFi, texting would be great!

 

There are two types of satellites used for uplinks from ships. The ones we've learned to hate,

and a new set with steerable dishes that let them sell dirt-cheap ultra-broadband uplinks.

 

RCI was quicker to jump on the steerable-dish satellites than Princess, and since they are so

cheap RCI gives unlimited-minutes internet away in many circumstances. Princess started

using the O3b's last year and so is still learning hard lessons about where on Earth (literally)

they can do the same. The Baltic is one of the places they cannot, but Regal is honoring sales

and promises they had already made --at a loss-- but are not making new unlimited-minutes

commitments. Check directly with Princess (several times and average the answers :rolleyes:) to

see what kind of internet is available to you.

 

Since "WiFi Calling" worked on Anthem, your cellphone plan allows and your smartphone

supports it. Now, *if* you'll have an unlimited-minutes on the Regal, turn WiFi Calling on

again and you'll have what you had on the Anthem.

[Haboob]

We had a big, unexpected problem with the Princess@Sea messenger functionality during our recent cruise on Emerald Princess. Messages are shown as coming from the passenger's legal name, with no way to change it that either we or the manager of the internet cafe could find. If you have multiple generations of a family on board with two or more people with the same first and last name, it can make it impossible to tell which messages are from whom. We had to sign all our messages manually, and there was much confusion when one of us forgot. Because of that, the lack of push notifications, and frequent "System Temporarily Unavailable" server errors, we'd pretty much stopped using Princess@Sea by the third day of the cruise. If we cruise again, we'll probably just resort to a whiteboard on our stateroom door, which we saw lots of other passengers using.

 

Emerald got the equipment to use the steerable-dish satellites back in June, and is now offering

unlimited-minutes internet (at least on her Dec 4 Hawai'i cruise), which turns plain old cellular

SMS and MMS texts into freebies if you have a cellular plan that allows "WiFi Calling" and a

smartphone that supports it.

 

Caution though, if you are on an Alaska cruise, since that's an area where there are "issues".

[UpcountryTravelers]

Emerald got the equipment to use the steerable-dish satellites back in June, and is now offering

unlimited-minutes internet (at least on her Dec 4 Hawai'i cruise), which turns plain old cellular

SMS and MMS texts into freebies if you have a cellular plan that allows "WiFi Calling" and a

smartphone that supports it.

 

Caution though, if you are on an Alaska cruise, since that's an area where there are "issues".

 

Yep. No such on our Alaska cruise last week. The intranet worked quite well, though.

[Haboob]

Yep. No such on our Alaska cruise last week. The intranet worked quite well, though.

 

Pardon. If you would clarify? Did Emerald offer unlimited-minute internet in Alaska? If so, how were

the tiers described and were there any daily or other caps listed?

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes I agree.

[caribill]

Pardon. If you would clarify? Did Emerald offer unlimited-minute internet in Alaska? If so, how were the tiers described and were there any daily or other caps listed?

 

Options available on the Emerald later this year for a 15 day itinerary:

 

Internet Access - Purchase Pre-Cruise and Save!

 

PrincessCONNECT — Premium Package $199.99

 

 

 

From e-mail to streaming, enjoy truly premium, unlimited access!

Original price: $234.99 USD

All Internet usage subject to Princess Cruises' standard policies, which may limit browsing of sites due to network security and bandwidth usage. Applications that use high bandwidth may be blocked and offerings subject to change.

 

PrincessCONNECT — Surf Package $139.99

 

 

Surf your favorite sites from e-mail, news, sports and more.*

Original price: $169.99 USD

*May not allow for audio/video calling and streaming.

 

 

PrincessCONNECT — Social Package $99.99

Unlimited access to the most popular social websites and applications.*

Original price: $119.99 USD

*May not allow for audio/video calling and streaming.

 

 

Internet Access - Purchase Pre-Cruise and Save! 120 Minutes $69.00

This package includes 100 minutes for the purchased plan and an additional 20 bonus minutes.

 

 

Internet Access - Purchase Pre-Cruise and Save! 240 minutes $99.00

This package includes 200 minutes for the purchased plan and an additional 40 bonus minutes.

 

 

 

Internet Access - Purchase Pre-Cruise and Save! 460 minutes $159.00

 

 

This package includes 400 minutes for the purchased plan and an additional 60 bonus minutes.

 

 

Internet Access - Purchase Pre-Cruise and Save! 680 minutes $199.00

 

 

This package includes 600 minutes for the purchased plan and an additional 80 bonus minutes.

[Haboob]

Options available on the Emerald later this year for a 15 day itinerary:

 

Internet Access - Purchase Pre-Cruise and Save!

 

PrincessCONNECT — Premium Package $199.99

 

 

 

From e-mail to streaming, enjoy truly premium, unlimited access!

Original price: $234.99 USD

All Internet usage subject to Princess Cruises' standard policies, which may limit browsing of sites due to network security and bandwidth usage. Applications that use high bandwidth may be blocked and offerings subject to change.

 

PrincessCONNECT — Surf Package $139.99

 

 

Surf your favorite sites from e-mail, news, sports and more.*

Original price: $169.99 USD

*May not allow for audio/video calling and streaming.

 

 

PrincessCONNECT — Social Package $99.99

Unlimited access to the most popular social websites and applications.*

Original price: $119.99 USD

*May not allow for audio/video calling and streaming.

 

 

Internet Access - Purchase Pre-Cruise and Save! 120 Minutes $69.00

This package includes 100 minutes for the purchased plan and an additional 20 bonus minutes.

 

 

Internet Access - Purchase Pre-Cruise and Save! 240 minutes $99.00

This package includes 200 minutes for the purchased plan and an additional 40 bonus minutes.

 

 

 

Internet Access - Purchase Pre-Cruise and Save! 460 minutes $159.00

 

 

This package includes 400 minutes for the purchased plan and an additional 60 bonus minutes.

 

 

Internet Access - Purchase Pre-Cruise and Save! 680 minutes $199.00

 

 

This package includes 600 minutes for the purchased plan and an additional 80 bonus minutes.

 

Yep. But the question was whether such was on offer for Emerald's Alaska cruises.

[Elvis1001]

On Ruby the messenger did not work all the time. It seemed to vary based on where you were on the ship and what was going on at the time. It seemed to work well on sea days but not well when entering a port or before dinner and evening shows when more passengers are trying to use it. It seemed to work better away from the dining areas. And as others have posted it does not notify you of new messages so you need to know someone is trying to message you or check often.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[pthjudy]

There are two types of satellites used for uplinks from ships. The ones we've learned to hate,

and a new set with steerable dishes that let them sell dirt-cheap ultra-broadband uplinks.

 

RCI was quicker to jump on the steerable-dish satellites than Princess, and since they are so

cheap RCI gives unlimited-minutes internet away in many circumstances. Princess started

using the O3b's last year and so is still learning hard lessons about where on Earth (literally)

they can do the same. The Baltic is one of the places they cannot, but Regal is honoring sales

and promises they had already made --at a loss-- but are not making new unlimited-minutes

commitments. Check directly with Princess (several times and average the answers :rolleyes:) to

see what kind of internet is available to you.

 

Since "WiFi Calling" worked on Anthem, your cellphone plan allows and your smartphone

supports it. Now, *if* you'll have an unlimited-minutes on the Regal, turn WiFi Calling on

again and you'll have what you had on the Anthem.

So I can use my free internet to text people at home? I usually do email but I found WiFi texting even at sea to be faster. I was even able to send videos. Isn’t technology wonderful? (And that’s from a 75 year old grandma who is often the go to person for computer help!)

[Luvsnorkeling]

One more question...do all phones have to use an internet browser such as Safari or Internet Explorer to connect to Princess at Sea? Some of the younger kids along are not allowed to connect to internet on their phones but use them for calling only. Thanks.

[NoVAgeek]

Luvsnorkeling - Yes, you MUST use a web browser to connect to Princess@Sea. Any device with a web browser will work (like an iPad or even an iPod Touch, if those are still around) as long as it's connected to the ship's WiFi. But it won't be able to connect to the outside Internet unless you also buy an Internet access plan for that device. Otherwise the only site the device will be able to connect to is the one provided by the on-ship server (which on my recent voyage was http://emerald.princess.com).

[caribill]

Luvsnorkeling - Yes, you MUST use a web browser to connect to Princess@Sea. Any device with a web browser will work (like an iPad or even an iPod Touch, if those are still around) as long as it's connected to the ship's WiFi. But it won't be able to connect to the outside Internet unless you also buy an Internet access plan for that device. Otherwise the only site the device will be able to connect to is the one provided by the on-ship server (which on my recent voyage was http://emerald.princess.com).

 

a) You can connect to the outside http://www.princess.com without buying an Internet access plan.

 

b) When you do buy such a plan, it is not limited to one device. It is limited to one device at a time.

[dread_pirate]

So I can use my free internet to text people at home? I usually do email but I found WiFi texting even at sea to be faster. I was even able to send videos. Isn’t technology wonderful? (And that’s from a 75 year old grandma who is often the go to person for computer help!)

If you have the internet, AND you both have iPhones, you can use iMessage to text back and forth, whether you're both on the ship or not. That's because iMessage uses data, not cell service. As far as I know, that doesn't work for Android/Google phones.

[Haboob]

If you have the internet, AND you both have iPhones, you can use iMessage to text back and forth, whether you're both on the ship or not. That's because iMessage uses data, not cell service. As far as I know, that doesn't work for Android/Google phones.

 

One clarification. The ship's cellular service also includes cellular data. What makes iMessage

texts a freebie is that it uses the ship's internet to send its data instead of the ship's cell tower.

 

Most smartphones (including iWhatevers) designed in the last 5 years offer a thing called

"WiFi Calling" that will do the same trick, except it will do it both for texts (SMS and MMS)

and for voice calls, and even to your Android-using friends.

 

YMMV:

• Not all cellphone plans allow WiFi Calling, nor do old flip phones or a few smartphones.

• If your internet isn't always-on, incoming calls and texts won't get through when it's off.

• If the ship's internet is flakey, so will be your WiFi Calling. (Been there, got the T-shirt).

• Be absolutely sure Airplane Mode is on, lest your phone bill come as a shock.