Texting on board?

[Softservekid1]

Sorry, old guy, newbie sailor. Can you text other passengers while on board without purchasing any Wi-Fi package?

[1025cruise]

The Hub app has a texting feature for $5 (I think). If you don't put your phone in airplane mode, you'll end up with a huge bill.

[mz-s]

2 minutes ago, Softservekid1 said:

Sorry, old guy, newbie sailor. Can you text other passengers while on board without purchasing any Wi-Fi package?

 

Everyone who wants to text must purchase the texting plan, it is $5 per person per cruise.

 

It only works to text others onboard. You can't use it to text people onshore.

[weezal]

Onboard Chat Access: The opportunity to chat with family & friends on board all cruise long from the comfort of your deck chair (fees apply). This feature is limited to ages 13 years and older; for safety reasons, parents and guardians must give consent within the app for a guests 12 years and younger to activate onboard chat. 
https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7781/

[Purvis1231]

Some times I-phone to I-phone texting works but not always. 

[MississippiMom]

1 hour ago, Purvis1231 said:

Some times I-phone to I-phone texting works but not always. 

Also, very randomly.  

 

I was sitting out on the deck one morning looking at another ship sail by and got an iphone to iphone text suddenly from our house & dog sitter.  It was just an fyi to let us know that we had parts of a tree down from a storm, but no damage to anything.  She had sent it days before.

[Purvis1231]

1 hour ago, MississippiMom said:

Also, very randomly.  

 

I was sitting out on the deck one morning looking at another ship sail by and got an iphone to iphone text suddenly from our house & dog sitter.  It was just an fyi to let us know that we had parts of a tree down from a storm, but no damage to anything.  She had sent it days before.

back in June 22 on the Breeze I could send and receive texts to and from my brother and sister off the ship and my wife and child on the ship during the entire cruise but a few months after on the Valor-no luck. Then on the Gory in June 23 I got a few texts but could not send any. So it does work randomly. 

[staceyglow]

1 minute ago, Purvis1231 said:

 Then on the Gory in June 23 I got a few texts but could not send any. So it does work randomly. 

 

I bet that ship has some terrible reviews.

[Purvis1231]

2 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

 

I bet that ship has some terrible reviews.

Well we really enjoyed the Glory. It was one of the best cruises. I am referring to I-phone text without using the ships wifi. The Carnival hub app texting worked fine. 

[staceyglow]

Just now, Purvis1231 said:

Well we really enjoyed the Glory. It was one of the best cruises. I am referring to I-phone text without using the ships wifi. The Carnival hub app texting worked fine. 

I like the Glory as well. I was making a joke about the typo.  🙃

[Purvis1231]

3 minutes ago, Purvis1231 said:

Well we really enjoyed the Glory. It was one of the best cruises. I am referring to I-phone text without using the ships wifi. The Carnival hub app texting worked fine. 

Okay, I didn't notice. I guess it was my lexidysa coming through. 

[dmet0225]

Texting feature in the Hub app onboard varies widely from ship to ship.  On the Celebration last year, although my phone was on the ship’s Wi-Fi and in Airplane mode, I regularly received texts from other iPhones back on land.

 

On the Dream 2 weeks ago, not only could I not send/receive texts from back on land, the ship’s Wi-Fi constantly kicked me off the Hub app.  One day, I couldn’t even connect to the Wi-Fi.  What was even stranger is that I constantly received emails, even though my phone was in Airplane mode and had data services turned off on my phone.

[bg2310]

It is not actually "texting" that some people are referring to above. That is, it isn't your regular text app that you'll be using when pay the $5.

 

Rather, it is a chat feature in the Carnival Hub app which enables you to chat and message with anyone on the ship who also has purchased the feature.

 

Once you pay the $5 that feature will unlock for you in the app and you'll need to actually be connected to the ship's WiFi for it to work.

 

I usually put my phone in airplane mode as I don't pay for the WiFi package nor the Chat function. I haven't needed it so far anyway. I prefer to be offline when cruising.

 

That said, I do have international coverage (minus minutes which cost) and occasionally texts and even a couple emails will come through since I'm connected to the ship's WiFi still even while in airplane mode.

 

Nothing reliable as it's maybe a couple times a day, but evidently some things get through anyway.

[Softservekid1]

dont you cruise with a friend or spouse?

[tidecat]

Some phone carriers offer plans that allow you to use your phone while at Sea and/or onshore while outside the US.

 

If you do not purchase such a plan, not putting your phone in airplane mode can be very expensive.

[1025cruise]

When I first started cruising, the first thing I would do is switch my phone to airplane mode, then turn it off, and then place it in the safe. It stayed like that until debarkation day. Never had a need to pay for wifi. My wife and I would always just let each other know where we would be. Or just knew where to find each other. It wasn't until the cruise lines started including wifi in their packages that we really started needing to use our phones.

[ULCajunCruiser]

I've used the HUB app before and found it very cumbersome to use.   You constantly had to turn it off and then back on to see if you had any new incoming chats!!!   You wouldn't get any notification that someone was trying to chat with you.  Having said this, it has been a couple of years since I've tried the HUB app only to use to chat (no purchased wifi plan).   Hopefully it has gotten better???

[Earthworm Jim]

On 6/27/2024 at 5:06 AM, tidecat said:

Some phone carriers offer plans that allow you to use your phone while at Sea and/or onshore while outside the US.

 

If you do not purchase such a plan, not putting your phone in airplane mode can be very expensive.

 

I was going to ask whether those 5 cents to receive a text from shore, 50 cents to send one plans are still a thing. That wasn't very expensive. At least for me who doesn't text that much. I could see dedicated texters running up a big bill I guess. 

[tidecat]

24 minutes ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

I was going to ask whether those 5 cents to receive a text from shore, 50 cents to send one plans are still a thing. That wasn't very expensive. At least for me who doesn't text that much. I could see dedicated texters running up a big bill I guess. 

It's actually the data that is the killer, as that is typically priced per megabyte, and you can go through hundreds if not thousands of megabytes in a matter of days.

 

Many plans now are unlimited talk and/or text for a flat fee, but obviously check with your carrier as their international plans will differ.

[ALSPAUGHDOLL]

It is weird I have for the most part always been able to text iPhone to iPhone on my most recent cruises.  I hope it continues on my next cruise

[Hoosierpop]

It’s amazing how hit or miss the $5 chat is. Sometimes, texts go through quickly. Other times, not at all. Luckily, my wife and I pretty much know where each other will be but it’s a good thing it’s only $5 for the cruise.

[teknoge3k]

15 hours ago, ALSPAUGHDOLL said:

It is weird I have for the most part always been able to text iPhone to iPhone on my most recent cruises.  I hope it continues on my next cruise

This is/was a loophole with Apples APN that allowed people to do that. NCL just fixed this loophole earlier this month and it no longer works. I fully expect Carnival to fix it sooner than later as well.