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Free texting on iPhones & free audio & video calls on Snapchat

cruisinqt

By cruisinqt,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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cruisinqt

cruisinqt

Posted
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For many years we have used our normal texting feature on our iPhones while on board. All you need is WiFi and it’s free. And yes I'm certain it’s free because our phones are in airplane mode and we are never charged. I thought everyone else with iPhones did it too so I’ve never mentioned it. But I’ve had several cruisers on this last cruise tell me they had no idea about it and I should spread the word. Especially since the “chat” feature on the Hub app is so glitchy and unreliable. So here I am, spreading the word. It’s very reliable and I have never missed a text or had a text not sent. And  did you know you can also make video and audio calls for free with Snapchat? Last week while on the Panorama our cat became very ill and my daughter did a video call with us to have a look him at him and decide what to do. An emergency visit to the animal ER was decided to be the best choice. And I’m eternally grateful that we knew about this option because he had to be put down (he was 14). We were able to do another video call via Snapchat and see and talk to him before he passed. I try to stay off my phone and disconnect and unwind as much as possible while on vacation. But in situations like this I was so thankful to have the technology available to say one last goodbye to our fur baby of 14 years. Im hoping this little tidbit of info helps my fellow cruisers enjoy their cruises even more. Happy sailing my friends!

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mz-s

mz-s

Posted
Posted

Free iMessages worked for me on Sunshine in May, but not September. So I don't think it's as guaranteed or reliable as you are saying.

 

The reason it works is iMessage goes over the same traffic as push notifications. So if Carnival wants notifications to work on Hub App, they have to allow iMessage through too. But either they've figured out how to block iMessage specifically, or they've throttled the speed down enough to where iMessages will fail now. Your mileage may vary.

 

I've never used Snapchat so I'm not sure how it could be free as well. That's an odd one!

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luvcruzing

luvcruzing

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Didn’t work very well on Magic in November.  Half the time the messages didn’t go through, or went through hours later.  It was very frustrating.  Debating whether I should even bother paying for WiFi on my next cruise in April.

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CruiserLucas

CruiserLucas

Posted
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We’ve never been able to use iMessage without a wifi plan on Carnival, as well as our last cruise that was on Royal. Maybe you got lucky somehow and through their blocks, I don’t think it is reliable to expect it to work consistently without a wifi plan. Or maybe you had one and just forgot you did? Could have been included in your fare, or you purchased and forgot, etc.

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groundloop

groundloop

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31 minutes ago, CruiserLucas said:

Or maybe you had one and just forgot you did? Could have been included in your fare, or you purchased and forgot, etc.

 

You have to log into a wifi plan with your folio number and birthdate, pretty tough to forget doing that.

 

 

 

 

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NutsAboutGolf Holiday Sharing Rare

NutsAboutGolf

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The issue with Carnival's wifi is for those with iPhone who need to send/receive texts to non-iPhone users (aka SMS).  Obviously for many they don't care, but from those who do here are some scenarios:

1)  Any existing group text with at least one non-iPhone user

2)  Two factor authentication, "we'll text you a code to your phone"

3)  Nearly all medical appt confirmation tests are SMS 

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pinto18

pinto18

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1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

The issue with Carnival's wifi is for those with iPhone who need to send/receive texts to non-iPhone users (aka SMS).  Obviously for many they don't care, but from those who do here are some scenarios:

1)  Any existing group text with at least one non-iPhone user

2)  Two factor authentication, "we'll text you a code to your phone"

3)  Nearly all medical appt confirmation tests are SMS 

Yup true. But with my ATT plan outgoing sms texts are 50 cents and I believe incoming are free. I don't usually put my phone on airplane mode, I just turn off cellular data.

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resetjet

resetjet

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I think the op is saying that while logged into paid wifi you can send an imessage and not get charged for a text. I was charged on my last cruise on royal.  I think my provider somehow still knows i sent a text and charged me.  AT&T.

 

does anyone know if you can use i voip phone on the wifi or do they block it?

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mz-s

mz-s

Posted
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5 minutes ago, resetjet said:

I think the op is saying that while logged into paid wifi you can send an imessage and not get charged for a text. I was charged on my last cruise on royal.  I think my provider somehow still knows i sent a text and charged me.  AT&T.

 

does anyone know if you can use i voip phone on the wifi or do they block it?

 

Wifi calling is blocked. If you buy the social plan, you can use facebook messenger to call facebook users though.

 

Yes, text messaging will be charged and is not the same thing as iMessage.

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JT1962

JT1962

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I was able to use iMessages consistently on the Splendor in May with no paid WiFi plan, just connected to the ship WiFi to use the Hub App. It was hit or miss on Ecstasy in June.  It seemed that short messages worked, but longer messages or photos rarely worked.


I think there was enough extra bandwidth so that short iMessages worked. I also received messages from my local TV news app, F..B, and other push messages, but could not use those apps as normal. 

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Buck64

Buck64

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Works with Android/Google Messages.  Google Messages uses WiFi when available so if you have a WiFi plan then you are able to text with others that use Google Messages.  This has been available for a quite a while and has worked on our last 3 cruises.

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LaRue1975

LaRue1975

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iMessages while logged into premium WIFI worked well for us on the Vista in April and Panorama in October. On the Panorama we cruised with family and it was great, we all have iPhones. I am hoping it works with the value plan too, booked it for our next few cruises after the price hike.   

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cruisinqt

cruisinqt

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19 hours ago, CruiserLucas said:

We’ve never been able to use iMessage without a wifi plan on Carnival, as well as our last cruise that was on Royal. Maybe you got lucky somehow and through their blocks, I don’t think it is reliable to expect it to work consistently without a wifi plan. Or maybe you had one and just forgot you did? Could have been included in your fare, or you purchased and forgot, etc.

We had a WiFi plan. When I said it was free I meant we weren’t charged by the minute by our carrier for our phone calls or video chats we did through Snapchat. But you do need WiFi in order to be able to use Snapchat to do free phone calls and video chats. Sorry for the confusion. 

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cruisinqt

cruisinqt

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9 hours ago, resetjet said:

I think the op is saying that while logged into paid wifi you can send an imessage and not get charged for a text. I was charged on my last cruise on royal.  I think my provider somehow still knows i sent a text and charged me.  AT&T.

 

does anyone know if you can use i voip phone on the wifi or do they block it?

Yes that’s what I was trying to say. When I said “all you need is WiFi and it’s free” I was hoping that it was understood that WiFi was needed. I meant your carrier doesn’t charge you for the texts since your phone would be roaming. And you don’t get charged for the phone calls or video chats using Snapchat either. Sorry for the confusion. I’m not sure about the voip. 

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Ellaleah

Ellaleah

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41 minutes ago, cruisinqt said:
10 hours ago, resetjet said:

 

Yes that’s what I was trying to say. When I said “all you need is WiFi and it’s free” I was hoping that it was understood that WiFi was needed. I meant your carrier doesn’t charge you for the texts since your phone would be roaming. And you don’t get charged for the phone calls or video chats using Snapchat either. Sorry for the confusion. I’m not sure about the voip. 

Anyone have any experience with Carnival’s messaging that they charge $5.00 per person to text among yourselves?

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mz-s

mz-s

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7 hours ago, resetjet said:

Has anyone tried a wireless hub wifi router?  What does it allow you to get?  So in other words, the wifi router is the "device" you are paying for but it splits the wifi to anyone you give the credentials to.  

 

I can't imagine splitting Carnival's already inadequate wifi would be a good experience for the people "splitting" it.

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