New to RCCL - some questions

[blackshirt]

Just now, Host Clarea said:

 

Do you have AT&T?

 

Yes.

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, blackshirt said:

 

Yes.

 

The problem you described of missing some (not all) text mesages when the ohone is only connected via WiFi calling happened to me all the time when we had AT&T.   We recently switched to Verizon and knock on wood (or touch wood for the British) this has not yet happened even once.

[blackshirt]

14 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

The problem you described of missing some (not all) text mesages when the ohone is only connected via WiFi calling happened to me all the time when we had AT&T.   We recently switched to Verizon and knock on wood (or touch wood for the British) this has not yet happened even once.

Hence why I said it could be a carrier issue but my phone stays on WiFi calling constantly when at home and I don’t have that issue. It seems to only happen when I travel.

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, blackshirt said:

Hence why I said it could be a carrier issue but my phone stays on WiFi calling constantly when at home and I don’t have that issue. It seems to only happen when I travel.

 

I had a theory that when an incoming message was sent when the phone was off or otherwise disconnected from cellular and WiFi, the message went into the "cellular" message queue, and then would not be delivered until the phone came back up on cellular.

[GatorMomInNC]

On 6/1/2019 at 8:30 AM, papaflamingo said:

In my opinion the Key is not worth the money. Boarding is very quick so priority boarding isn't much of an issue.  In fact we get priority boarding for being Diamond Plus, and often the regular boarding line is SHORTER!   As for dropping your carryon luggage, only you can decide if it's worth it or not.  As for the shows, I highly recommend making reservations.  Keep in mind that the reservations are free and if you choose not to show up, no problem at all.  And you can always simply standby for a show.  But if you have a reservation you get in 30 minutes prior and can get a good seat.  If it's worth $10 per day for the key items, then by all means the priority show seating is a nice plus.   But for me, I wouldn't do it.  I guess you need to put a value on each perk and decide if it's worth the daily charge.

As for Internet on high decks....We've stayed on 17 in Crown Lofts with no problem with Internet. I've also used the internet at the flow riders on the stern on deck 14 with no problems that I recall.  

 Not sure what cabin you're in, but deck 14 is right below the pool and sports deck.  If possible, you might want to move down one deck so you have less of a chance of hearing any noise from above.  If you can't, likely no issue, but I always try to have at least one passenger deck above and below me to insulate any noises from public spaces.  

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

I think I am going to cancel the Key, and go for the internet for 3 devices.  Then we can both use it on our phones and I can also use it on my laptop.  It is less per day, and just for me (don't have to pay for my son).

 

As for deck 14 I thought about that, but I figure my son would want to be close to the pool deck...in hindsight I probably should have gone down one more deck.  I'll check to see if any rooms are left on that floor of the type I want (Central Park view)

[GatorMomInNC]

On 5/31/2019 at 6:59 AM, suesnake2002 said:

If you have internet for the ship. Make sure you both have facebook messenger. That is a way of "texting" thru the internet package. 

Don't have Facebook....

[GatorMomInNC]

On 6/1/2019 at 10:51 AM, gerif said:

As far as dining, as suggested, aside from getting a heads up when show reservations open, you might also meet families in your roll call with children near your son’s age that you could arrange to have dinner with. 

 

Yes, thanks for this!! I found my roll call, and while so far no one has a boy my son's age, I did find there are a LOT of solo cruisers on this cruise (I guess there was some sort of sale on solo cabins?).  I am hoping to make friends for trivia and late night adult shows, etc.

[suesnake2002]

33 minutes ago, GatorMomInNC said:

Don't have Facebook....

Thete is also an app that you can text thru. I think it's  called whats app. That will work too

[GatorMomInNC]

As for the cost versus DCL, this is a pretty hot topic on the other Disney-centric cruise board that I frequent.  My original plans for December was to do a 4 day on the Disney Wonder out of Galveston (I still have it booked - it is an on-board booking with a 10% discount so I want to transfer it when the new dates come out).  That 4 day cruise, inside room, is the same price as this 7 night cruise on RCCL.  So I am getting 3 extra days, and a balcony.  Although, I would have booked an inside room on RCCL to save even more money, but the only inside rooms I could find were at the front of the ship and on such a huge ship, I didn't want to be way forward.

 

DCL does not have free wi-fi - they have free texting if both people on the ship have their app.  They also give you a certain amount of free internet on the first day, and that is sufficient for me to check my email every day and send my husband emails to keep in touch. I can't recall the last time that I bought internet on DCL, but I feel I have to get it on RCCl for the texting and to send emails.  So that is going to cost me about $50 extra.

 

Neither my son nor I drink soda, but it is free on DCL.  We do drink a lot of water and milk and sugar free lemonade, however, which are all free 24/7 at a drink station on DCL.   More importantly, we order room service at least once per day (usually 2x), and I have them bring us glasses of ice water, which I keep in the fridge in the room if I don't drink them right away.   On RCCL, it is $8 for room service, so that is going to add at least $56 to my cruise.

 

I drink about 2 alcoholic drinks per day (at the most) on DCL, so I am not sure if I will get the drink package. I am leaning towards doing it mainly because I am not sure how accessible the water will be for us on such a large ship, and I drink a LOT of water.  If I do get the drink package, that will add $350 to my cruise cost.  Just for me - I wouldn't get it for my son as he doesn't drink sodas.

 

I am platinum on DCL so I get a free dinner at the only upcharge restaurant they have on the Wonder.  I also get to board the ship first and get a free gift in my room.   I also get 10% off at the ships, which is a big thing for me because I spend a LOT of money buying DCL merchandise 😀

[GatorMomInNC]

The things I won't get on DCL that I will get on RCCL - the slide, the laser tags, the aqua shows, ice skating shows.

 

Things I won't get on RCCL that I get on DCL - the premier of the new Star Wars movie at sea on Dec.20th, the day it arrives in theaters (our cruise is booked for that week).  This is BIG for us, and we will miss it.  We have seen all of the last 3 Star Wars movies when the premiered on the ship.  They make a big deal about it.  Also, 24 hour on demand of pretty much every Disney and Marvel movie, which my kids love to watch late at night in the room (and order FREE room service). 

 

Overall RCCl is going to cost me more, but I will get 3 days longer and new experiences...

[brillohead]

2 hours ago, GatorMomInNC said:

I drink about 2 alcoholic drinks per day (at the most) on DCL, so I am not sure if I will get the drink package. I am leaning towards doing it mainly because I am not sure how accessible the water will be for us on such a large ship, and I drink a LOT of water.  If I do get the drink package, that will add $350 to my cruise cost.  Just for me - I wouldn't get it for my son as he doesn't drink sodas.😀

If you want to get the Refreshment Package instead of the Deluxe Package, that would include bottled waters and mocktails / virgin cocktails and fancy coffees (latte, espressos, iced coffees, etc.), and fresh-squeezed OJ at breakfast.  On sale, it's only $20/day plus gratuity.... much cheaper than the booze package.

BTW, you can get a glass of ice water at any eatery and any bar for no charge.

[Chadr135]

On 5/31/2019 at 9:23 AM, papaflamingo said:

One comment about keeping in touch.  If you both have the Internet package, then before you leave for the cruise, activate "WiFi Calling" on your cell phones.  This is a free service offered by most, if not all, cell carriers in the U.S.  Anyway, when you activate this service, your phone will decide whether the cell signal or the wifi (when you are logged on) is stronger, and will bias your phone into WiFi Calling.  We use it all the time since we have a weak signal in our house, so we are always in "WiFi Calling" at home.  Anyway, when you are on the ship, and you are hooked up to the WiFi, put your phones in "Airplane" mode and make sure WiFi is turned on.  Once the phone is hooked up to the internet, it will automatically go into "WiFi calling" and you will have full functions of your cell phone for FREE.  You can phone, text, etc. just like at home. Oh yeah, you can also phone, text, etc. to anyone in the U.S. with NO CHARGE.   

I have an Iphone.  To check to make sure it's in "WiFi calling," I simply check the upper left corner where it shows what carrier it is on.  We have Verizon, so when I look, it says "VZW Wi-Fi"   This shows that the phone is in WiFi calling.  If it shows anything else, it's not.  Again, you can do this in port at any internet cafe, etc.  Also since the Ship and ports all offer strong cell coverage, you need to go to Airplane Mode to bias it.  At your house, the phone will automatically decide based on signal strength.

Great tip!!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

47 minutes ago, brillohead said:

If you want to get the Refreshment Package instead of the Deluxe Package, that would include bottled waters and mocktails / virgin cocktails and fancy coffees (latte, espressos, iced coffees, etc.), and fresh-squeezed OJ at breakfast.  On sale, it's only $20/day plus gratuity.... much cheaper than the booze package.

BTW, you can get a glass of ice water at any eatery and any bar for no charge.

 

I thought about doing this, but I thought they would make me get it for my son too, and I don't need it for him....I do like the idea of ordering any drink I like.  I had a drink package on Celebrity before and Norwegian and it was fun to try things I normally wouldn't even if I didn't finish it...

[brillohead]

11 minutes ago, GatorMomInNC said:

 

I thought about doing this, but I thought they would make me get it for my son too, and I don't need it for him....I do like the idea of ordering any drink I like.  I had a drink package on Celebrity before and Norwegian and it was fun to try things I normally wouldn't even if I didn't finish it...

No, only the alcohol package requires all aged 21+ to purchase it. 

No requirement for all in cabin to purchase Refreshment or Classic Soda packages.

[SRF]

7 hours ago, blackshirt said:

Just one note about WiFi calling, even if the phone shows WiFi calling is active, we have found it might not always work, especially with text messages. That may be due to the phone, the carrier or the quality of the internet connection but not all texts get through. We just came off two cruises, a transatlantic followed by a Med cruise and relied on WiFi calling to keep in touch with family. Both of us failed to receive texts on WiFi calling that did come through when we connected to cellular. There were other cases where sent texts failed or the phone would prompt you to turn airplane mode off even though the phone did actively show a WiFi calling carrier connection.

 

Talk to your carrier.

 

I have had no issues.  I am on T-mobile with an iPhone SE

[papaflamingo]

21 hours ago, blackshirt said:

Just one note about WiFi calling, even if the phone shows WiFi calling is active, we have found it might not always work, especially with text messages. That may be due to the phone, the carrier or the quality of the internet connection but not all texts get through. We just came off two cruises, a transatlantic followed by a Med cruise and relied on WiFi calling to keep in touch with family. Both of us failed to receive texts on WiFi calling that did come through when we connected to cellular. There were other cases where sent texts failed or the phone would prompt you to turn airplane mode off even though the phone did actively show a WiFi calling carrier connection.

We are also on WiFi calling at home as the cell strength is too weak.  Clarea's comments about "cell queue" seem very logical.  But on other issue could be the strength of the wifi on the ship. If the signal gets too weak  or there are too many people on the wifi (a common problem on the ships), that could explain why it's trying to go back to a cell tower or texts sometimes don't get through.  My phone hooks up to the router and shows a strong signal.  I've had the internet go down, but I still show a strong signal.  That's because it's actually hooked up to the router and the router is working fine.  Just the internet has gone down.  Same could easily happen on a ship. 

Edited June 3, 2019 by papaflamingo

[blackshirt]

2 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

We are also on WiFi calling at home as the cell strength is too weak.  Clarea's comments about "cell queue" seem very logical.  But on other issue could be the strength of the wifi on the ship. If the signal gets too weak  or there are too many people on the wifi (a common problem on the ships), that could explain why it's trying to go back to a cell tower or texts sometimes don't get through.  

That would be my theory too though I suspect it has more to do with slow data speed than the strength of the WiFi signal. I would equate a low bandwidth connection with a one antenna connection to a cell tower and I’ve had issues with texts on those too.

[jean-lynd]

On 6/2/2019 at 9:49 AM, GatorMomInNC said:

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

I think I am going to cancel the Key, and go for the internet for 3 devices.  Then we can both use it on our phones and I can also use it on my laptop.  It is less per day, and just for me (don't have to pay for my son).

 

As for deck 14 I thought about that, but I figure my son would want to be close to the pool deck...in hindsight I probably should have gone down one more deck.  I'll check to see if any rooms are left on that floor of the type I want (Central Park view)

For two people you only need a 2 device package unless you plan to use all 3 devices at the same time. You can log off of your phone when you want to use your laptop. I hope this helps!