Yet Another Wifi Question

[Sjb0704]

Hi.  I have scoured the messages and do not see my specific question answered.  

 

We typically turn our phones off while cruising, but this time we are traveling in a group of 10 and I can see we will have a need to get in touch with others in our group.  Most have iPhones but there are some with Android (if that matters).

 

If we upgrade to the unlimited wifi package, will everyone be able to send text messages or call over the wifi?

 

Or, what is the best way for us to stay in touch while on the ship?  

[hallux]

There may be ship-to-ship differences, but some have reported iMessage working without an internet plan.  With an internet plan WiFi texting and calling should work IF you've set it up prior to leaving home.

 

The least-expensive method is for one member of each couple to get the messaging feature in the NCL app.  That is $10 per person and does not require that you pay for an internet plan.  It may not be the easiest to use, though.

[ColeThornton]

Cruise Norwegian App:

 

https://www.ncl.com/apps

[Turtles06]

10 minutes ago, hallux said:

The least-expensive method is for one member of each couple to get the messaging feature in the NCL app.  That is $10 per person and does not require that you pay for an internet plan.  It may not be the easiest to use, though.

 

Does the app alert you to an incoming message?   Some cruise line apps do not, which makes the messaging feature pretty useless, as you'd need to be looking at your phone constantly or at least often.

Edited January 10, 2023 by Turtles06

[CaptainBazz]

34 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Does the app alert you to an incoming message?   Some cruise line apps do not, which makes the messaging feature pretty useless, as you'd need to be looking at your phone constantly or at least often.

No, it does not alert you...you have to keep checking the app...a bit of a pain really.

[hallux]

I know with the Android version you can allow the app to run in the background (I haven't been because I'm not on a cruise), I'm wondering if I allow that if it would give me a notification of a new message.

 

I'm sailing totally solo in March so I won't be using the feature to be able to test the theory.

[wally4ever]

I found the NCL app a little frustrating on my last cruise for messaging.  I'd get alerts that I got a message but they wouldn't actually appear in the app.  Somebody looking over my shoulder would have thought I was stalking my wife because none of her messages ever actually showed up in the app, I just saw the text in the alert and responded based on what the alert said.

 

So... we could use it, but it wasn't ideal.

[fredflint]

13 hours ago, Sjb0704 said:

Hi.  I have scoured the messages and do not see my specific question answered.  

 

We typically turn our phones off while cruising, but this time we are traveling in a group of 10 and I can see we will have a need to get in touch with others in our group.  Most have iPhones but there are some with Android (if that matters).

 

If we upgrade to the unlimited wifi package, will everyone be able to send text messages or call over the wifi?

 

Or, what is the best way for us to stay in touch while on the ship?  

yes you can do that but I have found that tethering yourself to a group of people can lead to less fun.  TXT away and you should be fine the same for calls.  But I would suggest arranging a few meeting points during the day and call that good.