how does the chat/text work in the Royal app?

[Kellie in Texas]

I think I understand that you have to be onboard first but how do you actually use the app to communicate with others in your group?

[Biker19]

21 minutes ago, Kellie in Texas said:

I think I understand that you have to be onboard first but how do you actually use the app to communicate with others in your group?

You can buy ($1.99pppd) the text/chat option within the app via the three dots in the upper right. You can then use it via the same three dots.

Edited December 8, 2022 by Biker19

[birdylady]

Just a word of warning.  Unless you are IN the app, you won’t be notified of a text like you do in the real world.  No banner, no chime, no nothing.  They really need to fix that.  If they can pop a banner that you have reservations or something coming up, why not a text?

 

Erika

[lcpagejr]

Everyone you want to chat with has to purchase the chat option. It works as Biker stated above. However....unless you have the internet package you wont get a notification someone chat messaged you...so constantly have to check the Royal aoo to see if your three dots are "red" which means a message is waiting for you. At times we had inconsistent service...some of my chats weren't received....but overall it definitely saved time.

[lcpagejr]

4 minutes ago, birdylady said:

Just a word of warning.  Unless you are IN the app, you won’t be notified of a text like you do in the real world.  No banner, no chime, no nothing.  They really need to fix that.  If they can pop a banner that you have reservations or something coming up, why not a text?

 

Erika

totally agree... it almost not worth purchasing especially if internet was a bit more reasonable for a family

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Every time I logged on/off from one device to another on the ship WiFi it asked if I wanted just the "Chat/Text" option for $13 per day.  Seems to me just getting the WiFi is a better option

[Biker19]

38 minutes ago, lcpagejr said:

unless you have the internet package you wont get a notification someone chat messaged you.

The way the app chat function works within the app should be no different whether you have a Voom package or not.

[lcpagejr]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

The way the app chat function works within the app should be no different whether you have a Voom package or not.

My grandson had a internet package and our messages came across as a notification alert on his phone.We all have Apple phones...wife and I did not have internet package

[lcpagejr]

1 hour ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

Every time I logged on/off from one device to another on the ship WiFi it asked if I wanted just the "Chat/Text" option for $13 per day.  Seems to me just getting the WiFi is a better option

No.... that would have been $13 for the week or remaining days on cruise (pro rated as week goes on) 

[Kellie in Texas]

Hmmm, well, given everyone's replies, I'm thinking we'll just make our plans while we are all together in person and forget the app. 

[Biker19]

12 hours ago, lcpagejr said:

My grandson had an internet package and our messages came across as a notification alert on his phone.We all have Apple phones...wife and I did not have internet package

That is a coincidence from the fact that some internet traffic gets by the ship/RCI filtering system even if you don't have Voom with iPhones. You probably also got notifications from off ship for other things - that is sorta normal, but not directly related to the chat/text function within the app.

[Biker19]

12 hours ago, lcpagejr said:

No.... that would have been $13 for the week or remaining days on cruise (pro rated as week goes on) 

Most reporting suggests that the text/chat purchase is NOT pro-rated - you pay the full charge regardless of what day you buy it. Voom purchases are pro-rated.

[RCCLNYMETS41]

On the Odyssey in November, my wife & I found the app very helpful. We did not have an internet package. We used the app to let each other know where we were around the ship, or where we were seated if we were meeting at the Windjammer or a show. If my wife went to work out before we were meeting somewhere, she let me know that she forgot something in the cabin. Yes, it does not prompt you that you have a message, but we would just look at the app to see if there was a message. We would usually check it before leaving the cabin or before meeting up somewhere. For $2/day/person ($24 total for our 6 night), we felt it was worth getting. We didn't get it until the 2nd day, so it was not pro-rated.

Edited December 9, 2022 by RCCLNYMETS41

[Kellie in Texas]

Well, just saw this on a certain blog:  In a Q&A session on Wonder of the Seas on Thursday, Michael Bayley told travel agents that the cost to use the chat feature will be removed starting January 1, 2023. My cruise is Dec. 31, so I guess we'll just wait until Day 2 to chat in the app.  🙂

[smokeybandit]

9 minutes ago, Kellie in Texas said:

cost to use the chat feature will be removed starting January 1, 2023.

People can finally pay what it's worth then.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

15 hours ago, lcpagejr said:

No.... that would have been $13 for the week or remaining days on cruise (pro rated as week goes on) 

thanks, I thought that seemed a little high looking back on it.  Since we had free WiFi I really just skipped over it.  

[lcpagejr]

3 hours ago, Biker19 said:

That is a coincidence from the fact that some internet traffic gets by the ship/RCI filtering system even if you don't have Voom with iPhones. You probably also got notifications from off ship for other things - that is sorta normal, but not directly related to the chat/text function within the app.

You could  or could not be right.., all 3 of us kept our phone on airplane mode for full cruise … only grandson had internet ( 1 user)  and only once did I borrow his access code and access on my phone . We received no notifications off ship as any local Wi-Fi spots required a password to connect. But he got notified of chat texts all week… wife and I never did and had to constantly check upper right corner (…) for a red message waiting indicator. 

Edited December 9, 2022 by lcpagejr

[Biker19]

30 minutes ago, lcpagejr said:

We received no notifications off ship as any local Wi-Fi spots required a password to connect.

What I meant is that when you turn on wifi on the ship (in airplane mode) and connect to the ship wifi but don't have a Voom login, some internet traffic may get through to your phone anyway - like iMessage texts from someone off the ship.