Texting on board

[vacation44]

1 hour ago, marktwothousand said:

If you’re an NCL passenger on their app trying to call another NCL passenger on their app, a notification should pop up on their phone saying “incoming call from…”. Then they can answer it and talk to you. 
 

the NCL app isn’t just messenging, it’s calls too 

Thank you.   I do not remember the actual call aspect as we last used it around 5 years ago.   I just remember having to constantly check out phones for messages as they did not ring or buzz.

[Redsky5292]

21 hours ago, vacation44 said:

We have used the $10 service when traveling with extended family and felt it really was not great as you have to consistently check to see if you got any messages.     Now, a few years later, we are again traveling with extended family in March and I hope the service is better.   

When we were on the Breakaway in July with 16 people traveling together the NCL messaging app was crap.  We found that using iMessage was more effective and most of us didn't have the wifi package.

[vacation44]

18 minutes ago, Redsky5292 said:

When we were on the Breakaway in July with 16 people traveling together the NCL messaging app was crap.  We found that using iMessage was more effective and most of us didn't have the wifi package.

In our group, half of us do not have iPhones, but google phones (or whatever they are called).  I am under the impression that every phone would have to be an iphone.  Am I wrong?

[Fischmom]

We have never not had iMessage work for us but YMMV. 
 

I am in a group text that includes 2 androids. I did not receive any of those texts, even from iphone users in that group text. If the iPhones texted me individually I could see it. 
 

On our Getaway cruise last month we also got notifications when our garage door opened or closed.  The app we use for that is myQ. We were logged into the ship wifi to use the NCL app but not logged into our minutes. 

[cruiseny4life]

4 minutes ago, Fischmom said:

We have never not had iMessage work for us but YMMV. 
 

I am in a group text that includes 2 androids. I did not receive any of those texts, even from iphone users in that group text. If the iPhones texted me individually I could see it. 
 

On our Getaway cruise last month we also got notifications when our garage door opened or closed.  The app we use for that is myQ. We were logged into the ship wifi to use the NCL app but not logged into our minutes. 

 

Even when we had signed out of the internet we were able to see notifications (and video) from our security cameras at our house. It was fun to watch our dogs wander around the house and yard...we didn't spy on my mom who was watching the pups. Just the dogs. 

[hallux]

25 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

Am I wrong?

No.  iMessage requires an iPhone.

 

On my cruise last year I did experience the notification pass-through on my Android phone, even without being logged in to get full internet.

[Redsky5292]

26 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

In our group, half of us do not have iPhones, but google phones (or whatever they are called).  I am under the impression that every phone would have to be an iphone.  Am I wrong?

Correct, in order for the SMS messages to go through it has to be iPhone to iPhone.  All of us are Apple users so we didn't have an issue.

[hallux]

Just now, Redsky5292 said:

in order for the SMS messages to go through it has to be iPhone to iPhone. 

those aren't SMS then, they're using the Messages protocol...

[Redsky5292]

50 minutes ago, hallux said:

those aren't SMS then, they're using the Messages protocol...

You are correct, oops!

[zzdoug]

On 2/9/2023 at 10:53 AM, farmecologist said:

Second, we have a mini "wifi hotspot".  Does anyone use these while in the room to connect to a single "unlimited" plan with multiple devices?  In theory this should work...but I seem to remember having issues with the login process on the hotspot in the past ( i.e. - it didn't go to the "login" page after connecting the hotspot to the ship's wifi ).  That was quite a while ago though...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

If your hotspot is from T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T etc, it's probably relying on the cellular network for service and may work when sailing near land or while in ports but will probably not be able to find a connection in the middle of the ocean. If you are sailing near another country, you may need roaming service which may cost more depending on your hotspot service plan, so you may want to check with your provider before using it. 

[zzdoug]

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Edited February 14, 2023 by zzdoug
Deleted duplicate post

[hallux]

@zzdoug I believe they were speaking of a 'travel router'. It connects to a WiFi network then broadcasts it's own WiFi network to allow you to share a single login across multiple devices connected at once even if the system you're using doesn't permit multiple simultaneous logins.

[zzdoug]

5 minutes ago, hallux said:

@zzdoug I believe they were speaking of a 'travel router'. It connects to a WiFi network then broadcasts it's own WiFi network to allow you to share a single login across multiple devices connected at once even if the system you're using doesn't permit multiple simultaneous logins.

Yeah I probably shouldn't write comments at 4 am.

[Bluewake]

So....please tolerate another texting question from a non-technical person.  We will be sailing on NCL Dawn but would like to be able to text a family member back home when we are onboard.  We do have an internet package but it's not unlimited and we don't want to have to burn minutes for texts.  We all have iphones and iMessage is enabled. From reading some of the posts on this thread, it seems that we will able to connect to the ship's free wifi to use the NCL app for various services and "may" also be able to use the iMessage feature ion our iPhones to communicate with our family back home...but that seems to depend on whether the NCL "GAP" is open at that moment.  Does this seem correct?  Or will we be able to use IMessage without any difficulty when we are onboard?  Thanks for any advice.

[CaptainBazz]

3 hours ago, Bluewake said:

So....please tolerate another texting question from a non-technical person.  We will be sailing on NCL Dawn but would like to be able to text a family member back home when we are onboard.  We do have an internet package but it's not unlimited and we don't want to have to burn minutes for texts.  We all have iphones and iMessage is enabled. From reading some of the posts on this thread, it seems that we will able to connect to the ship's free wifi to use the NCL app for various services and "may" also be able to use the iMessage feature ion our iPhones to communicate with our family back home...but that seems to depend on whether the NCL "GAP" is open at that moment.  Does this seem correct?  Or will we be able to use IMessage without any difficulty when we are onboard?  Thanks for any advice.

Can't speak to the Dawn but on all NCL ships I have cruised on (around 10) I have always been able to iMessage my sons at home while we are on the ship. Not super instant...sometimes a couple of hours before a reply is received...these were simple iMessages without any attachments...and always has to be Apple to Apple phones. Just put the phone in airplane mode and connect to the ships wifi (without logging onto your internet minutes/package) and message away. Hope it works ok for you.

[Bluewake]

4 hours ago, CaptainBazz said:

Can't speak to the Dawn but on all NCL ships I have cruised on (around 10) I have always been able to iMessage my sons at home while we are on the ship. Not super instant...sometimes a couple of hours before a reply is received...these were simple iMessages without any attachments...and always has to be Apple to Apple phones. Just put the phone in airplane mode and connect to the ships wifi (without logging onto your internet minutes/package) and message away. Hope it works ok for you.

That's very encouraging and informative.   Much appreciated!