How to Communicate On the Anthem????

[teacherman]

We have a 3 generation family cruise coming up on Sunday on the Anthem.  Is there an "easy" way to check in with each other while we are in different parts of the ship.  We do have 4 staterooms next to each other, but I don't think the messages left on the doors are a very good idea.   We also don't want to buy 8 internet packages.  Any ideas of things you may have done on this ship are welcome.   Thank you.

[expectthebest]

We are just off anthem from 3/5 to 3/12 and we had the internet pkg for our stateroom but we also were sailing with my DW in-laws that were in a different room. Because we had 4 people in our room we were allowed 4 devices to connect to the internet which also includes text msgs through the app.

Our 5 year old in our room obviously didn’t need internet so my father in law connected his phone to our pkg as our “4th” allotted user… problem solved… enjoy your trip!!!

[crzndeb]

There is a free text feature on the app. While some have report not getting any alert, others have been able to turn on notifications for the app and see messages. Worst case scenario is you will just need to check it occasionally.

[njkruzer]

2 hours ago, crzndeb said:

There is a free text feature on the app. While some have report not getting any alert, others have been able to turn on notifications for the app and see messages. Worst case scenario is you will just need to check it occasionally.

My husband and I used the chat feature. No cost. Of course dh had to remember to turn his phone on and check it!  

[Sun Lover]

I looked on the app but didn't see anything about this.  Can you tell me how to access the free chat feature on the app?

[smokeybandit]

12 minutes ago, Sun Lover said:

I looked on the app but didn't see anything about this.  Can you tell me how to access the free chat feature on the app?

Open the app. Click on the little text message alert-type icon in the top right.

[Biker19]

7 hours ago, Sun Lover said:

Can you tell me how to access the free chat feature on the app?

The three dots in the upper right will open the feature but it will only work when connected to the ship Wi-Fi. 

[Sun Lover]

Thank you.

[Joseph2017China]

I use my mouth with verbal communication. Old school but works

[gluecksbaer]

49 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

I use my mouth with verbal communication. Old school but works

So you just stand there and yell?  Do other passengers rely your shouting to other parts of the ship?

[Joseph2017China]

35 minutes ago, gluecksbaer said:

So you just stand there and yell?  Do other passengers rely your shouting to other parts of the ship?

No?  Just normal communication like before phones.  

Edited April 3, 2023 by Joseph2017China

[gluecksbaer]

20 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

No?  Just normal communication like before phones.  

 

The question was: 

 

On 3/21/2023 at 9:15 AM, teacherman said:

 Is there an "easy" way to check in with each other while we are in different parts of the ship.  

 

How does your plan work in different parts of the ship?  If it doesn't, then why did you respond without something helpful to OP?  Your suggestion doesn't have to include phones, but it should answer the question.  

[PolicromaSol]

My husband and I tried the chat when we were on our last cruise. No notifications. Oh well.

 

Now, using iMessage or Telegram on the other hand...

[smokeybandit]

I got notifications about half the time.

[Tatka]

8 hours ago, PolicromaSol said:

My husband and I tried the chat when we were on our last cruise. No notifications. Oh well.

 

Now, using iMessage or Telegram on the other hand...

If you bought Wi-Fi then there are even ways to communicate. You can even call. Now… if you don’t have it mentioned above won’t work.

[Tatka]

8 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I got notifications about half the time.

Did you enable notifications in phone settings?

[Joseph2017China]

9 hours ago, gluecksbaer said:

 

The question was: 

 

 

How does your plan work in different parts of the ship?  If it doesn't, then why did you respond without something helpful to OP?  Your suggestion doesn't have to include phones, but it should answer the question.  

So, I have been on ships for over 30 years.  During that time, I had kids and other family members with us or by ourselves.  The poster wanted an "easy" way to communicate, while all their staterooms are together.  There is no easy or "cheap" way to do so on a ship, without paying for it.  The app, is unreliable, and to use it, each person would need their phone with them (something not very common) and it does not notify you (so you need to always check your phone).  So, the question is how do you communicate, and to expand on it, how do you communicate without phone access.  Now going back with kids, and family members, we used the old school way of discussing what we were doing, and meeting times etc for the day.  Yes, it seems odd, but many people on ships, manage to have fun, do things, and still manage to find each other without phones, or texting.  It is a option for people to simply talk to one another on a ship.  I also understand, just the idea of not being able to instantly communicate is scary, and many people have never experienced this in their lives to live without a constant connection.  But it is doable with communications by using your words.  I can assure the poster, that I have never lost my wife on the ship, or kids.  Plus we did it without texting

[Desert Cruizers]

Before my husband & I could text with our phones, we would  set up a meeting time & location to meet and note where the other was going to be at certain times. Now my daughter & I will text when we wish to communicate through our phones, not the app.