Staying connected to home on Edge

[blueskadoo]

Hi all. Supposed to go on edge in a few weeks and my husband needs to stay connected via phone to work because things beyond his control have reared their ugly heads but we are still hopeful to go. We were on Equinox a few months ago and it was pretty terrible internet, but we didn’t go for the better quality internet. He needs WiFi calling (both dialing out and receiving calls) to work at a minimum, and would be even better if he could get SMS (text) to communicate with the office. We couldn’t hardly place calls and never received any, and iMessages were unreliable (constantly disconnecting from the internet.) If he’s not able to count on the internet being fairly reliable(85-90%), we may have to sadly cancel so I’m anxious to hear recent experiences. Thank you! 

[LGW59]

25 minutes ago, blueskadoo said:

Hi all. Supposed to go on edge in a few weeks and my husband needs to stay connected via phone to work because things beyond his control have reared their ugly heads but we are still hopeful to go. We were on Equinox a few months ago and it was pretty terrible internet, but we didn’t go for the better quality internet. He needs WiFi calling (both dialing out and receiving calls) to work at a minimum, and would be even better if he could get SMS (text) to communicate with the office. We couldn’t hardly place calls and never received any, and iMessages were unreliable (constantly disconnecting from the internet.) If he’s not able to count on the internet being fairly reliable(85-90%), we may have to sadly cancel so I’m anxious to hear recent experiences. Thank you! 

pay the piper and upgrade

[blueskadoo]

2 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

pay the piper and upgrade

Absolutely glad to just as long as we can get some reliable connectivity. 

[paulh84]

You can always use your cell carriers package and not rely on ship WiFi. I used to expense mine to my former employer in that situation. If figured if I was that extremely important they could cover the bill to contact me on my vacation. For just calls and text, AT&T is way more reasonable than it used to be. It's now $100/mo flat rate for unlimited calls, text and 2mb of data or $50 for unlimited text and 50 voice mins. That also includes coverage on land at most Caribbean islands and Mexico. I'm sure other carriers are similar. 

[DaKahuna]

The only issue I have experienced with WiFi on the ships has been when moving from one area to another such as out stateroom to the casino.   Otherwise the Streaming service has been reliable for me, to include WiFi calling.  

 

Others have mentioned not having good reception in their stateroom and letting their attendant or guess  services know and they put an access point or range extender in to boost the signal.  If your husband is going to be taking his calls primarily while in the stateroom I would recommend that he check that out as soon as he gets onboard and let someone know if it's not working. 

 

[Jim_Iain]

I have always had the Premium Internet and never had any problems making calls from my iPhone using wifi calling and receiving calls.    I stay in contact via both sms and iMessage with no problems.  Facetime also works wells as well as WhatAPP.   

 

I've also done Zoom meetings etc with only an occasional short time dead zone.   Once re-connected the messages came through.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

The only issue I have experienced with WiFi on the ships has been when moving from one area to another such as out stateroom to the casino.   Otherwise the Streaming service has been reliable for me, to include WiFi calling.  

 

Others have mentioned not having good reception in their stateroom and letting their attendant or guess  services know and they put an access point or range extender in to boost the signal.  If your husband is going to be taking his calls primarily while in the stateroom I would recommend that he check that out as soon as he gets onboard and let someone know if it's not working. 

 

Someone I know aboard now was having the same problem and the I-Cafe tech told her to turn on auto connect to the Wifi.   He said it was being dropped by one router and not connecting to the next.   Worth a try.

[DaKahuna]

Just now, Jim_Iain said:

Someone I know aboard now was having the same problem and the I-Cafe tech told her to turn on auto connect to the Wifi.   He said it was being dropped by one router and not connecting to the next.   Worth a try.

Jim, 

 

If I recall correctly it was primarily when I was in the elevators when transition between upper and lower decks going to/from the casino area.  I do not recall how reception was in the elevators.  Please also consider that I was on Edge, the sip in the question, in February 2020. 

[stormy_weatherman]

I was just on the Edge last week and the Wi-Fi (Streaming package) was amazing! I used Wi-Fi Calling on my phone to make calls each day of the cruise. I also used FaceTime, watched YouTube videos, and even uploaded my own videos to YouTube. No complaints!

[PTC DAWG]

On 2/9/2022 at 4:36 PM, blueskadoo said:

Hi all. Supposed to go on edge in a few weeks and my husband needs to stay connected via phone to work because things beyond his control have reared their ugly heads but we are still hopeful to go. We were on Equinox a few months ago and it was pretty terrible internet, but we didn’t go for the better quality internet. He needs WiFi calling (both dialing out and receiving calls) to work at a minimum, and would be even better if he could get SMS (text) to communicate with the office. We couldn’t hardly place calls and never received any, and iMessages were unreliable (constantly disconnecting from the internet.) If he’s not able to count on the internet being fairly reliable(85-90%), we may have to sadly cancel so I’m anxious to hear recent experiences. Thank you! 

A no show at the port may be an option...I'd cruise...  just kidding..

 

Actually, I think you will be fine with the upgraded internet.  

Edited February 11, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[PTC DAWG]

On 2/9/2022 at 5:44 PM, paulh84 said:

You can always use your cell carriers package and not rely on ship WiFi. I used to expense mine to my former employer in that situation. If figured if I was that extremely important they could cover the bill to contact me on my vacation. For just calls and text, AT&T is way more reasonable than it used to be. It's now $100/mo flat rate for unlimited calls, text and 2mb of data or $50 for unlimited text and 50 voice mins. That also includes coverage on land at most Caribbean islands and Mexico. I'm sure other carriers are similar. 

This also works very well.  

[Jim_Iain]

On 2/9/2022 at 3:37 PM, DaKahuna said:

The only issue I have experienced with WiFi on the ships has been when moving from one area to another such as out stateroom to the casino.   Otherwise the Streaming service has been reliable for me, to include WiFi calling.  

 

Others have mentioned not having good reception in their stateroom and letting their attendant or guess  services know and they put an access point or range extender in to boost the signal.  If your husband is going to be taking his calls primarily while in the stateroom I would recommend that he check that out as soon as he gets onboard and let someone know if it's not working. 

 

 

The only time I had trouble with Internet was on our Coastal Cruise while at Catalina Island.   No ship wifi while anchored off the island nor could I even get a signal with T-Mobile anywhere on the ship or in Catalina.    Strange as you could see LA in the distance.     On our B2B it was the same on both cruises.

[njsonja]

On 2/9/2022 at 7:58 PM, Jim_Iain said:

I have always had the Premium Internet and never had any problems making calls from my iPhone using wifi calling and receiving calls.    I stay in contact via both sms and iMessage with no problems.  Facetime also works wells as well as WhatAPP.   

 

I've also done Zoom meetings etc with only an occasional short time dead zone.   Once re-connected the messages came through.

So do you just purchase a package and turn off cellular date on the phone?  Many thanks.

[blueskadoo]

Hi again all. Things are looking positive for our holiday. I just realized that they recently "upgraded" their phone system at his job, and now everyone is using a VoIP phone number and he downloaded the app for it (its Ring Central I think? He says its like skype on steroids). Anyone use something like this to get around potential weak signal? I know one particular cruiseline that's known for "fun" has been blocking WiFi calling that goes straight through the phone, but this app thing might be a game changer. Anyone used something similar?

[fsdorado]

4 hours ago, blueskadoo said:

Hi again all. Things are looking positive for our holiday. I just realized that they recently "upgraded" their phone system at his job, and now everyone is using a VoIP phone number and he downloaded the app for it (its Ring Central I think? He says its like skype on steroids). Anyone use something like this to get around potential weak signal? I know one particular cruiseline that's known for "fun" has been blocking WiFi calling that goes straight through the phone, but this app thing might be a game changer. Anyone used something similar?

 

We just got off Edge on Sunday and had the streaming package.  We were in a Sky Suite, so we had a WiFi access point in our cabin.  We got reliable Internet access when in our cabin until the whole system went down on Saturday for several hours.