Wi-fi - basic

[Lolou127]

The WiFi that comes included along with the drinks package (basic) is it good enough to FaceTime? and are you able to use it on 2 devices but not at the same time? 

[DaKahuna]

39 minutes ago, Lolou127 said:

The WiFi that comes included along with the drinks package (basic) is it good enough to FaceTime?

 

 We have always used the Premium WiFi for streaming.  I have never tried FaceTime on Basic but I have done WiFi calling on it. 

 

39 minutes ago, Lolou127 said:

 

and are you able to use it on 2 devices but not at the same time? 

 

You can use it on as many devices as you like but only one device at a time.  

 

[Lolou127]

Thank you, we’ve currently opted to pay for the premium package, but I’m not sure if both or either of us really need it, although I’m guessing they won’t allow just one of us to upgrade?

[jelayne]

10 minutes ago, Lolou127 said:

Thank you, we’ve currently opted to pay for the premium package, but I’m not sure if both or either of us really need it, although I’m guessing they won’t allow just one of us to upgrade?

Yes you can upgrade just 1 of the wi-fi packages.

[Iamcruzin]

I just want to send a text message to check on things at home or post to Social Media. Am I good with the basic package? We have iPhones. Will iMessage work?

Edited August 11 by Iamcruzin

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I just want to send a text message to check on things at home or post to Social Media. Am I good with the basic package? We have iPhones. Will iMessage work?

 

 Depends on the Social Media. Many have reported issues with the Basic plan and Cruise Critic. 

 iMessage works well as does the What's App (for non-iPhone contacts). 

 

[Iamcruzin]

2 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Depends on the Social Media. Many have reported issues with the Basic plan and Cruise Critic. 

 iMessage works well as does the What's App (for non-iPhone contacts). 

 

Thank you. I don't bother with Cruise Critic outside of my desk top  or lap top ever since they did away with the APP. We are only taking our phones on this trip.

[singleflyer]

Basic wifi on Edge last week was pretty horrible.  Definitely impossible to use FaceTime or any other streaming type app (in fact, those websites are blocked).  Even trying to update my New York Times app was hit or miss.  Think of it as 1997 dial up.

[Lena11033]

Agreed, my sailing a couple of weeks ago on Apex I had basic and wouldn't do it again. I basically had to message my husband the whole time I couldn't call, I was able to use facebook and instagram but sometimes it was really slow or failed.

 

I wouldn't do basic again.

[Lolou127]

Thanks everyone, I think we’ll stick with what we’ve currently got x

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, Lena11033 said:

Agreed, my sailing a couple of weeks ago on Apex I had basic and wouldn't do it again. I basically had to message my husband the whole time I couldn't call, I was able to use facebook and instagram but sometimes it was really slow or failed.

 

I wouldn't do basic again.

Any IT department can make a service so unusable that you decide to pay more for the “improved” package.  I worked in IT until last Friday.

[hcat]

We have had basic wifi on  E class ships.. Never had any issues with  basic yahoo e mail or posting multiple  photos and paragraphs  to  Cruise Critic  for  a live from review. ( Android phones & tab)

 

 We checked e mails from home and sent e mails as well..and we had minutes left over from our E + allotment.

 

Guess it depends on the ship and location,  and other stuff we don't do. 

[DaKahuna]

14 minutes ago, hcat said:

We checked e mails from home and sent e mails as well..and we had minutes left over from our E + allotment.

 

You Elite+ minutes are not Basic they are Premium WiFi. 

 

But you do get better service when you are in close proximity to one of the many WiFi access points on the ship.  

 

[canderson]

2 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

But you do get better service when you are in close proximity to one of the many WiFi access points on the ship.  

 

On 2021 we found one in a high storage area in our cabin (M class)!  5X5 on that cruise!

[Lena11033]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

Any IT department can make a service so unusable that you decide to pay more for the “improved” package.  I worked in IT until last Friday.

 

I get it, my husband words in IT ad pretty much most of our house is connected to the internet. I don't expect same speeds at sea. I figured as it was a week I'd try basic to see if I could work with it and save $ but it wasn't good for me. I couldn't even get this site working, all my live posts were done from an esim when we docked.

 

If someone wants very simple things things it may work for them but things with video it for sure is not going to be good.

[zitsky]

Just now, Lena11033 said:

 

I get it, my husband words in IT ad pretty much most of our house is connected to the internet. I don't expect same speeds at sea. I figured as it was a week I'd try basic to see if I could work with it and save $ but it wasn't good for me. I couldn't even get this site working, all my live posts were done from an esim when we docked.

 

If someone wants very simple things things it may work for them but things with video it for sure is not going to be good.

I’m saying that both packages are served by the same satellite.  We already know Celebrity blocks things on basic.  It’s not because they can’t make them work with basic.  It’s because they won’t make them work.  They probably adjust the quality of service to block or allow services based on the package.  No streaming on basic?  I understand that.  No posting on Cruise Critic or Facebook?  That’s interesting.

[Lena11033]

9 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’m saying that both packages are served by the same satellite.  We already know Celebrity blocks things on basic.  It’s not because they can’t make them work with basic.  It’s because they won’t make them work.  They probably adjust the quality of service to block or allow services based on the package.  No streaming on basic?  I understand that.  No posting on Cruise Critic or Facebook?  That’s interesting.

 

Facebook worked 85% of the time - just occasionally was slow to load. But these days every time I go on there it has a lot of videos which would be why it struggled.

 

This site had the biggest issue. Maybe they just didn't want me on here lol

[hcat]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

You Elite+ minutes are not Basic they are Premium WiFi. 

 

But you do get better service when you are in close proximity to one of the many WiFi access points on the ship.  

 

Thanks, I had no idea.. we always signed up for "all included"  which  required internet,  but  we do the E+ minutes first. 

Our needs and tech knowledge are minimal! Old school..

[cruisetonowhere10]

14 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I just want to send a text message to check on things at home or post to Social Media. Am I good with the basic package? We have iPhones. Will iMessage work?

iMessage worked for me on edge without issue. I could get some websites to load but others (cruise critic) would not.

[cruisetonowhere10]

9 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

 

Facebook worked 85% of the time - just occasionally was slow to load. But these days every time I go on there it has a lot of videos which would be why it struggled.

 

This site had the biggest issue. Maybe they just didn't want me on here lol

Ha ha…that’s what I said.  🙂

[PTC DAWG]

You can survive a week without Facebook.. 😉

[Lena11033]

4 minutes ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

Ha ha…that’s what I said.  🙂

 

Thankfully I had my esim with 10GB of data - doesn't work well when lots of sea days but out of 7 days there were 2.

 

2 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

You can survive a week without Facebook.. 😉

 

I don't care about facebook, I care about calling my husband when travelling 

[hcat]

3 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

You can survive a week without Facebook.. 😉

we are not on FB  and surviving..

due to rising Cable costs in Fl.. thinking of just doing internet  & skip tv for a few months.  

[PTC DAWG]

14 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

 

Thankfully I had my esim with 10GB of data - doesn't work well when lots of sea days but out of 7 days there were 2.

 

 

I don't care about facebook, I care about calling my husband when travelling 

WiFi calling works on my iPhone on board…I’ve never upgraded

Edited August 12 by PTC DAWG

[cruisetonowhere10]

3 minutes ago, hcat said:

we are not on FB  and surviving..

due to rising Cable costs in Fl.. thinking of just doing internet  & skip tv for a few months.  

We have had no cable for several years. We use Roku (no subscription of any kind) which gets us some news if we want plus some other options. We do splurge for $5/mo for Discovery Plus for hgtv and food network shows which we only watch from time to time.  Amazon Prime Video has some good free options when you’re just looking for something and if you choose no rush shipping you can often earn $ toward the movies you need to pay for. So, our “tv” expenses are $5/mo but could very easily be $0.