Communicating on Allure with cellphones

[Yakker1749]

Will be on Allure in a few weeks and was wondering if you had to have one of the internet packages to communicate with other people in your group via text messages.  I thought I had read somewhere you can connect to the ships wifi for communication purposes without being charged, or something like that.

 

Thanks

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, Yakker1749 said:

Will be on Allure in a few weeks and was wondering if you had to have one of the internet packages to communicate with other people in your group via text messages.  I thought I had read somewhere you can connect to the ships wifi for communication purposes without being charged, or something like that.

 

Thanks

Yes each person  will need an internet package to communicate through texting apps.  

[Sunshine3601]

I have never used it but I think the Royal App has a messenger feature that would cost $1.99 for each person (per day ?)

[poocher]

Cannot connect to WiFi for texting without a charge.  The only thing you can access for free is the Royal App and the chat feature there also carries a fee.

Edited June 22, 2022 by poocher

[miyanc]

you could leave your phones on and roaming to text, but face the rath of potential charges for all that comes with it.  yes if needed you can text just like at home, but without the associated free network ( not free but included in you phone plan) you would have in home area.  

[smokeybandit]

Get each person a wifi package on board and use WhatsApp.  Simplest way to do what you want to do.

Edited June 22, 2022 by smokeybandit

[Yakker1749]

Ok, thanks

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

(per day ?)

Yes, and they don't pro-rate.

[scubaslayer]

2 hours ago, miyanc said:

you could leave your phones on and roaming to text, but face the rath of potential charges for all that comes with it.  yes if needed you can text just like at home, but without the associated free network ( not free but included in you phone plan) you would have in home area.  

So would a ship be included if you have international roaming for your cellphone plan? We live on the border so we have this as sometimes we pickup towers from a different country while driving or at work. I am not sure my local cellphone store would know anything about cruise ships since there is no ship ports near here. I will check with the company of course but if anyone knows, plus looking to maybe change companies soon.

[Biker19]

14 minutes ago, scubaslayer said:

So would a ship be included if you have international roaming for your cellphone plan?

No.

[rudeney]

There are "peer to peer" or "mesh" texting (and calling) apps you can use, but most of them rely on Bluetooth, which has a short range (especially shorter inside a metal ship).  Of course if a bunch of people on the ship would use the same mesh app, then rang would not be an issue as it can "hop" through nearby phones. 

 

What would be interesting is an app that could use the limited free wifi on the ship.  Even without paying for wifi or messaging, you can still connect and use the RCI App onboard.  It wouldn't take much for someone to build a peer-to-peer messaging app that can take advantage of that connection without needing Internet access.

[iuki]

8 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Get each person a wifi package on board and use WhatsApp.  Simplest way to do what you want to do.

I have WhatsApp.  Why that particular app?

[iuki]

8 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I have never used it but I think the Royal App has a messenger feature that would cost $1.99 for each person (per day ?)

Is the $1.99 pp/pd feature available on ALL RCCL cruise ships?  I wanted to use that feature on the Ovation and had no idea how to do that.  Didn’t think it was available.

[smokeybandit]

17 minutes ago, iuki said:

I have WhatsApp.  Why that particular app?

Well not specifically that app. But it's a popular 3rd party chat app that isn't tied to your cell phone carrier (and thus may not work all the time or at all on board ship)

[neverbeenhere]

I’ve been using the loud voice across the room app for years. It seems to work well. 

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, iuki said:

Is the $1.99 pp/pd feature available on ALL RCCL cruise ships?  I wanted to use that feature on the Ovation and had no idea how to do that.  Didn’t think it was available.

It's available on all ships that are connected via the app.  Ovation is  connected.   Once onboard your ship the top right corner shows the messenger option.  Each passenger would sign up there.

This saves you from having each person buy an voom/internet pkg.

[ravenjls]

If some in your party bought wifi package do they still nedd to purchase the 1.99 to chat with those that only purchased that option?

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, ravenjls said:

If some in your party bought wifi package do they still need to purchase the 1.99 to chat with those that only purchased that option?

Yes, the chat function is separate from the Voom purchase.