How to communicate on a cruise ship
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- Опубликовано: 16 июл 2024
- Here is a look at the best ways to stay connected while on a cruise.
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Internet access should be complimentary in this day and age, even if its only the slower package that allows you to text, this might actually reduce all those annoying walkie talkie and still let folks communicate.
Facts
no way. you don't even get fountain soda free on ships.
@@DA-bc8wg Soda is a replenished entity, Wi-Fi is fixed! Big difference!
All the reason why soda should be free.
@@daraghmacgabhann1005
I totally agree
The chat feature should TOTALLY be free. With all the money that is spent, that should be included.
FYI to travelers watching this. The wifi method @7:41 is now FREE and no longer cost $1.99 as of Jan 2023
The closer I get to my cruise date in June, the more anxiety I’m getting and less thrilled about the cruise due to all of the extra costs for things that should be included in the price of the cruise.
Join the Navy. They'll pay you to go on "cruises" problem solved
LMAO!!!!@@jimmyohdez
Me too! I’m terrified
Walkie-talkies worked very well for my family on every cruise and we will continue using them.
Wi-Fi should be free at this point at least for messaging, searching up royal Caribbean site and stuff like that.
Excited to hear that iMessage could work in case my mom needs to get ahold of me and my wife while watching our kids for our sailing in September!
You are reading my mind with these videos! Thank you for all the great content!
I always use walkie talkies (they do have earpieces). It's not just a great option for onboard, but on shore as well. Some people in your party may want to venture in a different direction when ashore. These walkie talkies have a five mile range so it's easy to keep in touch.
sounds like a good methods for off-board comm. Will keep that in mind.
Thanks for this content! This has been something I’ve been going back-and-forth on.
Wow I can't believe they actually charge extra for the in-app chat system
Yep,,,, Stressing the Airplane Mode when on a cruise... that is the key to NOT get roaming charges and avoid those crazy unknown charges
Thank you so much for letting us know!!
I remember the days my mom would go on a cruise, and when she wanted to contact or update us at home, she'd use the Internet Lounge's computer's notepad or word doc type program to type out her e-mails, then she would log on to her e-mail for just a few minutes and copy/past all her e-mails and send. Genius!
Honestly, these days I figure we can get Wi-Fi at ports for checking in occasionally. We also are considering getting small whiteboards or post-its for the rooms. We set standard meeting points and luckily we aren't travelling in large groups, so for the most part we just stick together. But I never knew about the chat option! That's a great idea and I think we will definitely take advantage of that.
Another GREAT video by Matt!!!!! I do have free wifi calling through my T-Mobile. I have pre-booked the Voom-Stream, so am ready to go for my free wifi calling and texting. The key for all is we must be in airplane mode at all times while on the ship and connected to wifi. Thanks again!
My sister was on Wonder of the Seas recently with the basic Voom package and her IPhone. We were able to video chat very clearly. She gave me a tour of her cabin and we spoke several times. I felt I was with her. Always enjoy your help.
Video calls work with voom? What about voice calls?
that happened with us to. on the Serenade OTC. The internet went down for a bit and we went to guest services to see about it. The guy there said because I just has 'Surf' it shouldnt have been able to send pic's for stream or anything. He wouldn't believe that I hadn't gone on Data. I even should him a youtube video, with the little airplane icon showing. (meaning i was NOT on data) i was able to make voice calls and video calls all on the surf only package. I don't understand it.....
@@The0Patt I def did the same thing. I was able to voice chat and send videos while on airplane mode
Thank you for this! Plan A will be free iMessage, because all three of us have iPhones. Plan B will be in-app texting, but that costs $42 total, plus it doesn't notify you when you have a message, which means that messages are often missed. Still, better than nothing.
Thank you so much, Matt! I'll be on Enchantment of the Seas in June in a party of 10, and we were all looking for a way to stay connected with each other while being able to disconnect a bit from the outside world.
Enchantment is a small ship. When we cruised last Christmas on Enchantment, I bumped into my two teenagers from time to time
Just got back from enchantment ! Loved it if they are still there Adrian and Ariel In the dining room are AMAZING hopefully you get them lol
. GMRS radios work really well on ships. My friend and i used it extensively
Great information
Very descriptive vid about the services and options available. This vid saved me almost $200 on my next cruise. Thanks
I'm surprised that RC has not adapted the wireless landline phones in the rooms like DCL has done since 1998. They work great! There are 2 wireless landline phones per stateroom and I think you can go to guest services and add more for a small fee. All crew also have these phones so if you can call anyone onboard with a ship phone. But if you lose of they are like $500 haha!
a note on walkies soooo they do work pretty well on a ship if you use the right stuff only issue is you can get in serious troubble due to the crew using radios and if you key up on a UHF or VHF the bridge can and will hear you granted i worked on the docks for many years and i ran a $50 baofeng with a nagoya 16in long antenna and depending on where i was a headset or a sholder mike i had a PTT button for the head set. also i was running 8w not the 1-2w your normal walmart brand walkies are pushing out.
Matt, I travel with a group and we use walkie talkies BUT using ear buds with them. No one but you and your group can hear. Works great.
They work great in ports too.
What kind of walkies do you use?
Yes, what walkies do u use
Great idea..
Love this. What kind?
Still interested...
Thank you thank you!
I can't believe this. Wifi should be free. Imagine staying at a hotel without internet
It is free if using the app as of jan 2023. This video is out of date.
Thanks so much! I was just wondering about this issue of communication when one party has medical problems and needs to keep in touch.
Last time we were on Harmony. All of us with iPhones were able to text each other through iMessage. I was even able to text back home. 😀
I will be on Harmony later on this year, so are you saying I DO NOT need to buy a wifi package if all i want to do is text my family and freinds back home with my iPhone to their iPhones?? or iMessenger.
Thank you for all you do Matt!!
Cruisers complained that the chat option on the RC App does not usually work well, and there is no notification if messages are received.
I agree,, not having the notification was a problem with our group. Some people just never remembered to open up their app to figure out that someone had texted them.
Yup, we gave up using the app after a couple of days. I also think RCL should stop nickel and Diming families for using the chat feature. 1.99 a day per person is not going to make or break RCL.
It’s probably deliberate to make people want to buy internet instead so they can use a better chat app
Royal Caribbean also combines VOOM with drink packages as well for a discount.
If the booking doesn’t come with a free WiFi package, the “leave a note on the door” or white board works great. Esp for those of us who didn’t grow up with internet or texts and hand held phones, we actually know how to set up meeting times and places. Also, almost all ports have free WiFi, so you can catch up on everything while in port. We just have a rule where we meet for breakfast and discuss meeting times for dinner and shows and let everyone do their own thing.
Simple!
We did the Chat feature and it was totally worth the price.
I use VHF hand held radios. Like a walkie talkie. This works well and is FREE.
Matt, thanks for the great vid! What's your experience on the speeds you get from VOOM on the Oasis Class ships? I've only ever cruised on "Fun Ships" before, and just wondering what I should expect for upload and download speeds on VOOM.
Thank you Matt love your videos it's always informative and helpful
Thanks!
An alternative to putting your phone into airplane mode is: Before boarding the ship, go into cellular settings and disable automatic network selection and lock it to your home carrier. Then you phone will work any time you are close enough to shore to get signal but will never connect to "Cellular At Sea".
The problem with this is it will drain your battery as your phone will constantly be searching for a signal. You’re better off turning airplane mode on.
@@avenged212 Perhaps, but it should be less power than leaving it on auto so when it has no signal switching to high power and yelling out to 2G towers to ask if they will talk to it. This way it won't enter transmit mode unless it sees a transponder with it's home network ID. But I have my phone on a charger every night anyway.
We used to do this, but when we were in port. When you are out on the ocean you can turn off individual phones for the night. Which stops it from constantly checking, thus saving the battery. If you need to use your phone just turn it back on.
or just call your provider and ask to deactivate roaming service
@@oceanborn21 If you want to avoid roaming, you can just use airplane mode. The point is to be able to use roaming when you are close to shore but avoid roaming on "cellular at sea" which will cost you $8/min plus hundreds of dollars if your phone checks email.
I strictly use walkie-talkies and I’ve learned from past cruises that ones with longer antennas work better. If crewmembers use walkie-talkies to communicate it’s good enough for passengers
Hi Mark, my family and I are leaving on a cruise next weekend. Which walkie talkies did you guys have success with? Any info would be appreciated
It is so annoying to have to listen to people walking squelched. Board bleeping and squelching.
the point wasnt the useablitiy its how annoying they are for others
It may not work well, but there's no prohibition on streaming with the Surf tier of Voom. RUclips works at a much lower resolution (and with some pauses), but it works.
That iMessage hack is being plugged on most ships.
Great explanation of why to buy the internet package, and not the roaming from the wireless company like ATT. Thank you!
You're welcome!
Post-it notes
Matter of taste but I go on RCI cruises to go off the grid and NOT communicate.
😅😅 the walky talky part was great.
Sure appreciate your vlogs. I never would have seriously considered RCI ships due to the abundance of kids not properly supervised. After watching your volgs though I very much want to try an Odyssey of the Seas cruise to the Caribbean. Thanks again for your hard work and dedication!
Voom and surf is the option because it works best for me when I connect through wifi calling
Last week week we went on our first cruise on Oasis. We bought a WiFi package on sale for one phone and the chat feature on three phones (one for one of the kids phones and each of the adults phones). I mentioned this in the Royal post cruise survey, but the chat app is not useful without app alerts. it’s very annoying to use because unless the person your trying to talk to thinks to open the app and check for messages they will never know someone is trying to contact them. For how frustrating it was and how many times we successfully contacted each other -I think it was a waste of money ($48)
Hey Matt, thanks for the info! What do you think about using a Garmin inReach device (satellite) and the Earthmate app. on the cell phone? My husband and I use this while backpacking where there is no service and it works great! Wonder if this would work on the ship and we could avoid the fees?
Matt, Whatever happened to RCL saying they were going to make the text feature in the app free and not the $2.99 fee?
What I’m bringing on board is a dry erase board since our rooms are made out of a certain metal and we can actually put magnetic hooks on our walls. I decided to purchase a dryer erase board to communicate so in case me and my friend decide wanting to do her own thing in our meeting place is the bedroom or our room we always can communicate on the dryer erase board so that we can communicate and tell each other where we are on the ship and we will stay in that spot. Just to communicate that way. And you can get one at the dollar store which cuts the cost of buying the Internet package and including paying for anything when it comes to words communication on board. I dry erase board and cause a dollar at the dollar store or whichever part of the country you’re from $1.50 where I live and it works just as well.
We just came back from our cruise trip with Royal Caribbean from Cape Libery, NY to Halifax, Canada. We thought chatting with the Royal Caribbean apps with other guests on the cruise is free but Royal Caribbean charges $1.50 per day per person. Walkie Talkie is not allowed. My sister's walkie talkie was confiscated at US custom and just got it back after the cruise.
Thank-you Matt. Most Android devices support text over wi-fi as well as wi-fi calling if your carrier supports it. You may need to enable it in settings (varies by device).
Really? Please tell me more!
So the broke phones finally caught up to iMessage how many years later?
@@Utubesuperstar actually, Apple did not allow texting over wifi (just iMessage to other apple devices) until this year. Android has supported texting over wifi for years. You need to have wifi calling enabled and YOU NEED TO HAVE A WIFI PACKAGE FOR YOUR PHONE. I found this out when a service decided to to 2FA SMS against my wishes and the message came through!
@@DonLekei I’ve been able to iMessage over wifi only for literally years
@@Utubesuperstar iMessage to other Apple devices, yes, but not text message to others or receive text messages from SMS services. Android devices have had it for years but Apple refused to add the protocol because it diluted their iMessage brand. You do need to have Wi-Fi calling enabled.
Wi-Fi calling works great.
On android, you can have 1 person get internet and you can use the "hotspot" feature and have friends connect to it and they will also have internet on their phone. It is slow if a lot of people hop on the hotspot so like only 2-3 people can use it at a time. I am not sure if that feature works with apple.
great ideas :) you had a snippit of a video that you put on that was showing the inside of the ship on multiple levels , it was maybe dusk or night and you could see the inside through tons of windows :) 11:13 what ship was that on please and what section? i was watching it and was totally wowed over it :) i thought wow thats just stunning, it was just jaw dropping beautiful :)
it had swimmimg pools either side and looked like it looked down maybe to a lower section :)
When you put your phone in airplane mode on the shipAnd connect to the ships Wi-Fi so you can use the app do you eliminate the possibility of having extra charges through your phone service
So the ship has a dozen Starlink antennae. What's the cost, $1200/mo.? That's a piddly amount for a cruise line. Since almost everyone will want to get online, it should be a standard feature of any cruise.
We’ve always used the I phone messages hack and been grateful that it works! I guess if it didn’t we’d try the in app messaging or good old white boards
Was on Oasis in March, had 1 device surf+stream on my Android Phone ( Galaxy Note 10 ). Using hotspot I was able to share the wifi with anyone that needed it. both my kids could watch youtube at night on their tablets and wife could browse facebook all with no issues at the same time. Definitely an easy solution to not have to pay for multiple devices.
Great video! Do you know is there any discount on the internet package if you’re in an owner suite?
If you're on an Oasis or Quantum Class ship, wifi is included with a Sky Class suite. Other ships, no discount
paying $400 for 3 devices internet service in a 7 days cruise is kinda ridiculous at this dates and age.
Does the chat service in the RC app send push notifications, or do you have to go in and look for messages?
I don’t want to look at my phone from the moment we board until debarkation day. I’m disappointed that all the cruise lines seem to be pushing their apps and want you to use them while on board
May I still log out of one device and then back into Surf and Stream, like I can the Surf only (so sharing Surf and Stream with my better half)?
Seems a bit stupid to me the chat feature is an extra cost because in my opinion it should be included. Like there is no need for it to be an add-on purchase. Like going with a family of 4 for a weak that’s £54 added on, it just seems like something like that should be included. I get the Wi-Fi being extra. With that in mind we’re probably gonna do the good old “meet at this place at this time”
Is July a good time to cruise to the Bahamas?
Going on Radiance of the Seas Seward to Vancouver. Should I purchase “The Key” for my family? Will it make it faster to embark, disembark? Does the wifi work?
Another fun idea is that if you all have internet packages and apple watches, they piggyback on your phones data plan and have a built in walkie-talkies function.
I know this video is a year old but I just checked with my provider, T-Mobile, and talk, text & data in the US, Canada and Mexico is all counted the same so if you have an unlimited plan at home, then you will have unlimited talk, text & data on board too,, even if you're roaming. Most roaming data plans now are 5G and have a 5gb cap then they throttle you down to 2G speeds. But 5 gigs is a ton of space, especially for just 1 week you're on a cruise!! That's like streaming a movie everyday while still answering email and surfing social media.
Royal caribbean has a messaging plan for cruisers for 1.99 per day, per person but, it's alot cheaper than paying for the stream/voom plans. Also check with your carrier and check to see if they offer a plan to make calls to the US. We paid 5.00 to our plan for only the month we went on the last 2 cruises. Going to the Bahamas and going to get the international calling plan added before we go. We were only able to call back home to check on everyone while we were at Port but, that seemed to be enough for us.
Please tell us more. What carrier? How did you find out about the messaging plan, I cannot locate anywhere.
You will need to check with your cellphone carrier. On Verizon they charge $10/day on the international calling plan.
The messaging with others that are cruising with you is through royal caribbean. You may have to get it when you board. I found it on the royal caribbean app but, can't remember exactly where. Had to just stumble across it. Royal Caribbean not going to advertise it because they make more if you get the packages. I have metro for the Mexico to us talk and text for 5.00 for one month. I'm sure other carriers have something.
@@veronicafox750 see info that I replied to for information.
The Royal app was a problem on Oasis in early March. It was half capacity so can’t understand why.
❓❓🧐
Hi there so what app is the less expensive to text on the ship because we are going on vacation in July
Question: Is it possible to go on a Royal Caribbean cruise WITHOUT the app?
I'm asking on behalf of those who can't or won't get the app (phone too full, still has a flip phone, etc.)
Personally I find the internet package to be critical. My groups use either Telegram or WhatsApp when we're on board ship. In either app, you can create group chat(s) or chat with just individual folks
I communicate using hyroglifs. For example, have you seen the upsidedown pineapple?
They are in process of converting the RC fleet to Starlink internet. No word yet on cost.
So if you have Voom Stream you communicate via wifi, not the Royal messaging app?
Hi Matt my husband and I usually unplug. But this is all really good information. Do you know which internet option cones with a grand suite? Would it be surf or surf and stream? Thanks!!!!
Surf and stream, but only a grand suite on an oasis or quantum class ship
Thank you. We will be on Ovation to Alaska this summer 🤞
iMessage did not work on Allure last week.
Thank you for the information. My wife purchased the "KEY" for us. If I am reading it right, the KEY comes with the internet package?
Yes
Just got off Liberty last week. We used the app chat feature and I hated it. No notifications (sound, alerts, badges all turned on) when a new message came through. After realizing I was missing a lot of messages from my travel group, I was constantly checking in on my phone throughout the day. I refuse to purchase any internet packages because I want to be unplugged from home. Meh
Do the kids need their own login to the app for the chat feature with their parent?
Sticky note on the wall or mirror if you are in the same room. I would not put any kind of note on the outside of my door. I don't do it at home. Just saying.
I just came off of the Mariner two weeks ago. Both of us had the Royal app. The chat function WILL NOT WORK unless both of us paid $2.99 per day!
Ok so if I use the iPhone trick for iMessage can I also go on socials using the wifi?
Matt:
Let's go back to your conversation with Michael Bayley regarding changes/updates with Royal Caribbean. One question: making text messages free. The conversation was over a year ago. Any update on this? One other idea is being able to retrieve messages on VM on your cabin line from phones around the ship. Is this option possible on Royal ships? To be able to retrieve messages outside the cabin from anywhere on the ship would be helpful.
I've heard nothing else about the text feature going to free. It's unfortunate, but I think he made an off the cuff comment that for whatever reason never got followed up on.
Just looked up texting walkie talkies and you can get a t800 that you can connect with a phone or two, you can then text upto 2000m and the message will go to the other persons phone, no noise ha
Has anyone ever used the walkie talkie ability on the apple watch ?
Definitely zoom pkg
Why aren't more people talking about pen and paper in the room? It's the most simple, cheap and affective form of communication. Just tell your partner where you are or worst case scenario an event you will be at to meet up later I.e Trivia at bar x at 1:30pm.
Matt Thank You for the information. There is something to be said for putting your phone in airplane mode as soon as the ship leaves the dock. Disconnecting from the world is a wonderful thing and having no distractions between you and your cruising partner makes for a more romantic cruise. What I just wrote is the reason I love cruising.
I always do this too. I’m disappointed that all the cruise lines seem to be pushing their apps and want you to use them while on board. I don’t want to look at my phone from the moment we board until debarkation day.
Great idea for couples on the go, but when there’s a large group of family or friends it’s nice to be able to stay in touch
I actually like that phones don’t really work on cruise ships. We are so plugged into our phones every day that it’s nice to just be together w/o a phone 24/7. With that said being able to have basic communication onboard is a must. If my bf wants to go to the gym and I want to go to the pool we need to be able to let each other know where we are so I think the chat option works great for this
I've got 1 really really good tip. Do NOT take your ipad, stick it in a safe and let it sit there and get your work emails via cel. Work will be Very angry with you when they get that bill. I think it was about 1500$. I never actually used it. It just sat there and did its thing till the battery died.
When I envision my theoretical cruise honeymoon, I only use my cell phone to capture photos and then carry on with what I was doing
We had no issues with our iPhones to text each other.
Robbery in the sea
Hi Matt, can you use a commercial VPN service (not corporate), such as Private Internet Access, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, etc., with Voom? Thx!
Depends on the vpn and the protocol they use. The answer is some do work
What is your 1800 to book?
can you use walkie talkie with a plugin earpiece with mic...
Knowing where you are, in case of emergencies.
Do you need to turn off roaming on your cell phone to prevent coming home to a massive cell bill??
If you buy a wifi package, do you also get access to the RC App's chat feature? You said you could buy the chat feature for kids, but would the adults need to pay for it as well as buying the internet package?
Buying the internet package does not get you the chat feature, that's an extra $2 per day per person. -- Highly irritating, frankly, paying another $8 (family of 4) per day just for a few text messages.
I just use sticky notes! Each member of the family has their own colour and they write their plans on it and stick it to the door or to the mirror in the cabin