Can we use the ship's WIFI to communicate with our party on the Royal App?

[Momto3girlsintheCarolinas]

I have seen different answers to this question.  I guess it depends on the ship?  We will be on Symphony.  Will we be able to use the app and the ship's WIFI to communicate with our party?

 

Thanks in advance!

[rockmom]

20 minutes ago, Momto3girlsintheCarolinas said:

I have seen different answers to this question.  I guess it depends on the ship?  We will be on Symphony.  Will we be able to use the app and the ship's WIFI to communicate with our party?

 

Thanks in advance!

If you all have the wifi package (surf or surf & stream), then yes. Or, if each of you buy the messaging package at $1.99 per day, per person (must buy for the full voyage) then yes, sort of.  If you are all in the same stateroom, then yes.  If you are in various rooms, it becomes more complicated due to permissions needing to be granted. I've seen mixed reviews on that scenario, not always successful.  

 

Note:  if you all have the full wifi package, you can use texting (in airplane mode), messenger apps, etc. 

 

Edited April 17, 2022 by rockmom

[not-enough-cruising]

You will, there is a fee. The reliability and user experience are “suspect” however. 

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, Momto3girlsintheCarolinas said:

I have seen different answers to this question.  I guess it depends on the ship?  We will be on Symphony.  Will we be able to use the app and the ship's WIFI to communicate with our party?

It doesn’t depend on the ship- all of them have the paid chat/text add on feature inside the app. 

[Subman738]

I was recently on the Oasis as part of a party of 10. Everyone you wanted to text with needed to sign up for the text feature at 1.99/day per person. For the most part it worked pretty good and helped in making arrangements for meeting at different times. 

 

[MaddyandMax]

8 minutes ago, Subman738 said:

I was recently on the Oasis as part of a party of 10. Everyone you wanted to text with needed to sign up for the text feature at 1.99/day per person. For the most part it worked pretty good and helped in making arrangements for meeting at different times. 

 

Did you need to get some kind of permission to text other people in other rooms on the app? We are a group of 16-18 traveling in 5 rooms.  All family.  As you can imagine keep track of a larger group on the app would be helpful! LOL  We are already linked together so we can dine together.

[ericosmith]

13 hours ago, MaddyandMax said:

Did you need to get some kind of permission to text other people in other rooms on the app? We are a group of 16-18 traveling in 5 rooms.  All family.  As you can imagine keep track of a larger group on the app would be helpful! LOL  We are already linked together so we can dine together.

We were in 3 linked cabins and didn't have any problem.  As I recall you just had to send an invite and they had to accept.  Worked decent but you had to have the app running at all times and check for messages because any notifications were silent.

[cruisegirl1]

I have the voom package, my other family does not. They decided to purchase the texting package at 1.99 pp.  

 

Not a big deal,  but even with voom,  I still had  to purchase the texting package  to communicate with them.  So far it has worked great and we have enjoyed having the ability to communicate all around the ship. 
m

[OCSC Mike]

On 4/17/2022 at 11:10 AM, rockmom said:

Note:  if you all have the full wifi package, you can use texting (in airplane mode), messenger apps, etc.

 

This.

[AF-1]

how much does wifi cost?  It is based on amount of days of the cruise or a daily rate?  Thank for your answers

[cruiseguy1016]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

how much does wifi cost?  It is based on amount of days of the cruise or a daily rate?  Thank for your answers

 

It is a per day fee. However, I don't think you can buy it for just one day, I think you need to buy it for the entire cruise. The price varies a lot depending on the service you want. They have a basic package (Voom Surf) and a package that allows for better streaming capabilities (Voom Surf & Stream). They also combine it with the drink package to (supposedly) discount it a little. As with most of RCI's costs, the price varies drastically from ship to ship and sailing to sailing. My guesstimate is that prices run from $10-$20/day.

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

It is a per day fee. However, I don't think you can buy it for just one day, I think you need to buy it for the entire cruise. The price varies a lot depending on the service you want. They have a basic package (Voom Surf) and a package that allows for better streaming capabilities (Voom Surf & Stream). They also combine it with the drink package to (supposedly) discount it a little. As with most of RCI's costs, the price varies drastically from ship to ship and sailing to sailing. My guesstimate is that prices run from $10-$20/day.

You can buy internet access in 24 hour chunks as you need, if you do not want the whole week.

[Biker19]

5 hours ago, AF-1 said:

how much does wifi cost?  It is based on amount of days of the cruise or a daily rate?  

 

There may have been some inflation from the numbers above.

[AF-1]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

 

There may have been some inflation from the numbers above.

Great this will give me something to work with for when I sail next January.  Appreciate the feedback

[AF-1]

5 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

It is a per day fee. However, I don't think you can buy it for just one day, I think you need to buy it for the entire cruise. The price varies a lot depending on the service you want. They have a basic package (Voom Surf) and a package that allows for better streaming capabilities (Voom Surf & Stream). They also combine it with the drink package to (supposedly) discount it a little. As with most of RCI's costs, the price varies drastically from ship to ship and sailing to sailing. My guesstimate is that prices run from $10-$20/day.

Thank you for your feedback.  Appreciate it

[Subman738]

On 4/17/2022 at 9:49 AM, Momto3girlsintheCarolinas said:

I have seen different answers to this question.  I guess it depends on the ship?  We will be on Symphony.  Will we be able to use the app and the ship's WIFI to communicate with our party?

 

Thanks in advance!

I just got off the Oasis and everyone you want to text with will have to either get the internet package or at the minimum of the texting package which is 1.99 p/p per day. For a large party it is quite useful but I disliked having to always have my phone with me. If I want go play on the waterslides or other water activity I don't like leaving my phone somewhere if one of my party is not around to keep an eye on it.