Wifi calling with all included wifi service?

[T^2]

Has anyone been successful in using wifi calling with all included "browsing" wifi service?  Anyone able to use wifi calling using streaming wifi service on board?

On Dec cruise, we had three different model cell phones and none worked with included wifi.

All our phones worked at home with wifi calling.

Trying to figure out "best" solution for contact as we cross the pond, if needed.

Tanks!

[blackshirt]

WiFi calling has worked for me using the free Elite minutes which is the basic service.

[Luvcrusn]

I used WIFI calling on board with the streaming WIFI with an android phone. I could also text. 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Luvcrusn

[jelayne]

15 minutes ago, blackshirt said:

WiFi calling has worked for me using the free Elite minutes which is the basic service.

I may be mistaken but I thought the Elite minutes were stream not surf.

[Luvcrusn]

The Elite minutes (and Elite+) are Stream. The Always Included are Surf.

BTW,  a friend on board with and iPhone could only text other iPhones and couldn't text to androids.  I could text to either from my android.

Edited March 28, 2022 by Luvcrusn

[PinkSandGirl]

The current basic internet was not able to support WiFi calling.  The upgraded internet supported WiFi calling.

 

This was October '21 on the Equinox with four different Samsung phones.  S21ultra, S20 Fe, S20 and an A42.

 

🍹

[Luvcrusn]

6 minutes ago, PinkSandGirl said:

The current basic internet was not able to support WiFi calling.  The upgraded internet supported WiFi calling.

 

This was October '21 on the Equinox with four different Samsung phones.  S21ultra, S20 Fe, S20 and an A42.

 

🍹

I am so glad you posted this. I have the Surf WIFI on an upcoming Equinox cruise. I sailed that ship in Nov/Dec with Stream and everything worked great, but was wondering if I needed to upgrade this for the upcoming cruise. I have one of the exact phones you listed. My only question is whether I'll need to upgrade or if my complimentary WIFI  minutes will suffice. Maybe I'll just upgrade for the balance of the cruise once they run out. I truly love these first world problems.

[PinkSandGirl]

24 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

My only question is whether I'll need to upgrade or if my complimentary WIFI  minutes will suffice. Maybe I'll just upgrade for the balance of the cruise once they run out. I truly love these first world problems.

Yes, I would say wait to see if the complimentary minutes work and if so then if you run out, upgrade then and use the Captain’s Club discount for the remaining days.

 

🍹

[Luvcrusn]

4 minutes ago, PinkSandGirl said:

Yes, I would say wait to see if the complimentary minutes work and if so then if you run out, upgrade then and use the Captain’s Club discount for the remaining days.

 

🍹

That would be great however you get either the complimentary minutes or the discount. 

[PinkSandGirl]

Didn't think about that.  😉

 

🍹

[5:00_Somewhere]

11 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

The Elite minutes (and Elite+) are Stream. The Always Included are Surf.

BTW,  a friend on board with and iPhone could only text other iPhones and couldn't text to androids.  I could text to either from my android.

 

Writing to confirm both points.

 

Just off the Reflection, and we had 90 minutes of "Streaming" wifi as part of our Elite package, but once we used those up it reverted to "Surf" ... which was extremely slow and limited. I purposely try not to be on the web much while I'm cruising, but even I found the "Surf" wifi extremely slow and frustrating, even for things as simple as email and checking social media.

 

Second, we had the same problem with the iPhone - Android thing (which we don't have on shore).  There were several text messages my husband sent from his iPhone to my Android phone while on board that I did not receive (until we docked in St. Thomas when I had regular phone service); but Texts sent from my Android to his iPhone went through to him fine. Very odd. 

 

[blackshirt]

11 hours ago, jelayne said:

I may be mistaken but I thought the Elite minutes were stream not surf.

I though the elite minutes were surf but apparently not. I do know the Diamond/Diamond + free minutes you get on Royal are surf and my WiFi calling (on an iPhone) has worked on Royal’s surf only internet, even from the South Pacific on a New Zealand cruise, so I would expect it to work on Celebrity’s surf also. I guess I’ll find out in June, will be sailing out of Southampton.

[DaKahuna]

11 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

 

BTW,  a friend on board with and iPhone could only text other iPhones and couldn't text to androids.  I could text to either from my android.

 

When we sailed in the past, our son and I could share text as we both had iPhones but to text with our daughter, his sister, we had to use the 'What's App" as she was an android user. 

 

[blackshirt]

26 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

When we sailed in the past, our son and I could share text as we both had iPhones but to text with our daughter, his sister, we had to use the 'What's App" as she was an android user. 

 

Which would indicate your iPhones were not connected to your carrier via WiFi calling. You were sending iMessages between iPhones but to send an SMS text to an android phone, that requires being connected to your mobile carrier either via WiFi calling or a cell tower, not just connected to WiFi. You can be on WiFi but not connected to WiFi calling which is basically the subject of this thread, will the basic surf internet support WiFi calling.

[Ilandguy]

Has anyone had success using the message service provided by Celebrity on their app on board?...I know this doesn't help with messages to off ship but just curious if its functionality useful?🤔

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

When we sailed in the past, our son and I could share text as we both had iPhones but to text with our daughter, his sister, we had to use the 'What's App" as she was an android user. 

 

Someone recently posted that the Celebrity App now has a tone notification when you receive a message.   Will be interesting to see if it really works. 

[Peteymil]

So if I have the complimentary elite minutes, those will be used first before the surf all included benefits begin?.

[T^2]

Used celebrity app in dec for on board communication.  It was functional but not of great use.  Latest update with notification might make it more useful.

Not sure what happened but I was showing as someone else in the group when I sent message.  By the time it was fixed, I ended up with new captain's club number and several emails to get my points assigned to the new number.

 

Back to my original post, 2 or 3 different models of iPhone and one android.  iPhone users only got sporadic email communications for onboard comms.  Android - nuttin!  All with surf package 

[blackshirt]

57 minutes ago, Peteymil said:

So if I have the complimentary elite minutes, those will be used first before the surf all included benefits begin?.

My guess is you will have separate accounts for the all included benefit and the elite minutes, so your choice when you use the elite minutes.

[BillHana]

We are currently on Equinox and find the Always Included internet works for anything we try. WiFi calling works flawlessly for both calling and receiving. Posting on CC works fine. Text with picture attachments works fine. Not using any streaming video but the annoying video advertisements all come through. Streaming audio works fine. No complaints. 

[T^2]

Interesting.  Five of us on Equinox in Dec and we were "oh fer" with wifi calling.  All phones wifi worked not using all surf wifi (off ship).  We didn't have streaming, so don't know about it.

[NutsAboutGolf]

iPhone user here, since the restart have been on the Edge, 'Nox, Millie and the Reflection.  I always start with Surf/Basic and upgrade mid sailing to Stream/Premium, always the same:

 

Surf/Basic:  CAN send/receive iMessages

Surf/Basic:  CANNOT send/receive texts that are NOT iMessages, make outgoing or receive incoming phone calls, use cruisecritic

 

Stream/Premium:  CAN send/receive all messages, can make and receive calls, use cruisecritic

[PTC DAWG]

WiFi on ships, great idea they said…nothing like the loudmouth on Apex 2 weeks ago during lunch at Le Bistro FaceTiming as loud as it would go with all his friends back home…even the staff asked him to take it outside the venue, his words exactly, “ I won’t be much longer “.  Jack*&#

Edited April 13, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[wrk2cruise]

3 hours ago, BillHana said:

We are currently on Equinox and find the Always Included internet works for anything we try. WiFi calling works flawlessly for both calling and receiving. Posting on CC works fine. Text with picture attachments works fine. Not using any streaming video but the annoying video advertisements all come through. Streaming audio works fine. No complaints. 

 

Any chance you are in a suite or have the Elevate or Indulge package?   These all upgrade the WiFi to stream.

[2Long2NxtCrz]

This is a great topic. We generally don't want internet when we cruise. The point of a vacation is so that work cannot access either of us. But, with the passing of one of our two dogs so that our pup (at nearly 9) is an only pup for the first time, I wanted to make sure we were accessible to our dog sitter and family. My oldest will be helping my youngest move out of the dorm while we're gone and, again, unusual circumstances so I wanted to be available. I had just assumed I would attach my phone to the wi-fi and use WhatsApp, but that doesn't sound like it's as foolproof as it should be. And we're on the Eclipse which hasn't been Edgified.

 

We have five nights at sea so one of us might have to upgrade.