Wifi & Texting confusion

Just got my first smartphone. I normally just text. Do I need wifi for that on the ship? Or is that to check email, etc.

You will need wifi to check email. Not sure if wifi covers texting outside the ship. If you want to text someone on the ship then you need to download NCL's "Iconcierge" app. It will allow you to text within the ship.

For someone who is unsure of texting and email, it is best to leave your phone off while on your cruise.

 

Most phone companies (not the ship) will charge you $0.50 or more per text message. And thousands of dollars for emailing whilst international roaming (on land and at sea).

 

The ship charges you, by the minute, to use their wifi. You need to be very certain of how to login/logoff of the ship's wifi to avoid excess charges. The cheapest wifi plan is $75 for 100 minutes. If you log on, check and reply to a few email, it is easy to eat up that $75,,, then another $75 on the next day, etc. You need to understand when you need the wifi, when you don't, and how to use that 100 minutes the most efficient way.

i have metro pcs and they are technically prepaid,,so no changes can be inccured

i have metro pcs and they are technically prepaid,,so no changes can be incurred

Which means you will use up all your "prepaid" data in no time ( maybe minutes ) if you go that route....then what? However, you may not even be able to get any signal with it. Best to buy some "internet time" if you are serious about viewing your email.

Just got my first smartphone. I normally just text. Do I need wifi for that on the ship? Or is that to check email, etc.

You can text normally by SMS with no wifi. But with additional prices from your carrier. Check with your carrier.

Wifi packages you can use for surfing the net, check emails etc.

I learned the hard way years ago. I made two short phone calls home. They were over $60 each.

Now the second we start to sail off I freak out and put it in airplane mode. Before I lock it in the safe.

 

Make sure you do that because it can still roam in the safe. Or get texts.

 

Actually I'm not sure how roaming works.

 

I take a few pictures and relax and enjoy the week. Liberated from my phone.[emoji93]

Edited April 30, 2017 by leekel619

Do the Iconcierge app be used in airplane mode?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Do the Iconcierge app be used in airplane mode?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes.

 

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

Do the Iconcierge app be used in airplane mode?

Do you mean can it be used in airplane mode? Yes, but you have to turn wifi back on.

 

Do you have to use it in airplane mode? No, the app will work as long as wifi is on and connected to the ship's wifi network. It doesn't matter if your cellular functions are activated or not.

Contact your phone service carrier and see what options you have. Some offer packages for cruises. At the very least you can find out the charge per text at sea and your foreign ports.

i have metro pcs and they are technically prepaid,,so no changes can be inccured

 

If you have a plan that is >$50 per month, you can add a worldcalling add-on for $10 per month. It will work when you are on land and in limited number of countries (and not whist on the ship). It allows you to make calls and provides 200 MB of data (very small amount of data). You are limited to 200 outgoing text messages while roaming.

Just got my first smartphone. I normally just text. Do I need wifi for that on the ship? Or is that to check email, etc.

Hi

If your abroad or on a ship just go to your settings on your phone . Turn mobile data off and roaming data off .

U will still be able to receive text fir a few pence . If u send it wI'll incure charges.

If you want to email then u ought to buy a package off the ship which I think is over priced

We wait till we are on land and get some free WiFi or go to a cafe for a drink and use there's ..

Something that hasn't been asked yet is what kind of smartphone?

If you have an iPhone and use iMessage, then yes, you can use WiFi and send messages to other iPhone users. Be sure to keep your phone on airplane mode though. If you have another device, then unfortunately you probably won't be able to text people.

Texting uses the cellular towers, which at sea is the ships satellite. Using the ships cellular service will generally jack up your cell phone bill. I think ATT is one of a couple (maybe the only?) carriers that might have a package for using the ship's cellular network so check with your carrier before you leave. WiFi is good for apps like WhatsApp (works across any smartphone) or iMessage (iPhone users only), but won't cover normal texting.

No offense, but there are people who have had smart phones for years who are still confused how to use them on a ship. For someone who isn't even sure how to use the smart phone, it would be wise to keep it in airplane mode, or turned off.

We have a package that allows us to use our phones in multiple countries without roaming charges but doesn't include the ship. We turn off roaming and data, then put it in airplane and turn wifi back on. This way we can use I concierge app without any charges from our phone providers. Just remember to download the app before getting out of your normal coverage. We can the check the bill, book restaurants, check what's on for free. For a small one odd charge we can also pay ncl so that we can message each other for free. We then go to places on land with free wifi to pick up email and use messenger. Our co always sends us a text when back to tell us what we saved on roaming charges in the countries we used our phone package. Never assume that just because you've an inclusive package it includes other countries or the ship. We learnt the hard way one year. My son switches it off and puts it in the safe for the week

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Well, a few things. There's a mix of good and somewhat confusing info on this thread. 1. Are you talking about your POA cruise? If so, no worries, assuming you are US based; just double check that your carrier covers Hawaii; but you should be fine using your phone as normal. Just turn 'data roaming' off to be safe.

 

Second, if this is for an Caribbean cruise - your US carrier won't automatically cover international texting/calling which is why people use wifi instead. Also while at sea you connect through a satellite dish which is usually not covered under add on international plans. Again why people use wifi instead.

 

The single most important thing is to make sure your 'data roaming' is off... that can be off at home too. A gig that you provided will provide at home for $10-$20, can cost $2,000+ when doing pay as you go, roaming.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited May 1, 2017 by sanger727

even on the POA or alaska cruises, when at sea, there is still risk of roaming.

 

best bet is to turn off the data plan and wifi, and keep phone in the safe. on port days, turn on wifi and try to find a free wifi connection (crew always know where the best free wifi is in port). you can then email anyone at home that needs emailing. you will be charged for incoming and outgoing texts. ours (Verizon) i believe is .50 per text going out and .20 for text coming in or something like that.

 

checking out is relaxing for us. cruising is the only time we ever truly unplug from the world and work.

Something that hasn't been asked yet is what kind of smartphone?

If you have an iPhone and use iMessage, then yes, you can use WiFi and send messages to other iPhone users. Be sure to keep your phone on airplane mode though. If you have another device, then unfortunately you probably won't be able to text people.

Texting uses the cellular towers, which at sea is the ships satellite. Using the ships cellular service will generally jack up your cell phone bill. I think ATT is one of a couple (maybe the only?) carriers that might have a package for using the ship's cellular network so check with your carrier before you leave. WiFi is good for apps like WhatsApp (works across any smartphone) or iMessage (iPhone users only), but won't cover normal texting.

 

When I sailed on Carnival last November, I put my phone on airplane mode, downloaded their app to use ship's wifi (cost was $25 for the week for their "social media" package), and also downloaded WhatsApp. I had folks at home also download WhatsApp. We texted with each other fine through WhatsApp (although sometimes my text or their text was delayed). I have free wifi for my upcoming cruise on Escape this month, but only gives me 250 min. Can I use the wifi in conjunction with WhatsApp in the same capacity for texting?

best bet is to turn off the data plan and wifi, and keep phone in the safe.

The best bet is to learn how to use your phone… It's one thing if you choose to disconnect. It's another thing (and a real shame) if someone is actually interested in using the free functions of iConcierge, but they're afraid to touch their phone once the ship leaves the US.

 

There is no risk of roaming charges if you only have wifi turned on. You just have to learn how to do that.

We recently returned from 22 days on the Norwegian Epic. Also on the cruise were two other couples who we were friends with. We all had iPhones. At sea, I put my iPhone in Airplane mode and then turned WiFi and Bluetooth back on. I have Sprint Cellular Service. In the European Ports I would take my iPhone out of Airplane mode and get a notification from Sprint that free texting and reduced speed internet (about same speed as ship's internet) was available as well as voice calls for $.20/minute. TMobile also provides this service. Several of us paid an extra $10 to communicate with each other via the iConcierge App. The App didn't work well for us, because it didn't give an audible notification when a message was received. It didn't take long for us to find out that we could communicate with each other much better via iMessage as well as with other iPhone users back home even while in Airplane mode. This feature was a bit buggy and didn't work all the time. Sometimes, if my messages weren't being delivered, I would sign into ship's internet for a minute or so and then the iMessages would start working again.

 

Another iPhone feature we used a lot was Airdrop, which allowed us to share photos with each other.

iMessage with iPhone is the way to go. Just go into airplane mode and connect to the ship wifi and you can send an iMessage to any other Apple user not only on the ship, but anywhere for free. This can be done without the iconcierge app. The only things that wouldn't go through for me were images. Any other functions will require purchasing an overpriced wifi package.

 

On a side note, the iconcierge app needs some work. It would be a lot more useful if you could tag an activity you are interested in and then get push notifications when they are beginning soon. It has the potential to replace the dailies as a way to plan you day.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

No offense, but there are people who have had smart phones for years who are still confused how to use them on a ship. For someone who isn't even sure how to use the smart phone, it would be wise to keep it in airplane mode, or turned off.

This me. Someday it will be much simpler but that day isn't now. [emoji30]

Do you mean can it be used in airplane mode? Yes, but you have to turn wifi back on.

 

Do you have to use it in airplane mode? No, the app will work as long as wifi is on and connected to the ship's wifi network. It doesn't matter if your cellular functions are activated or not.

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Forums mobile app

even on the POA, when at sea, there is still risk of roaming

.

Last I knew, the POA did not have a cell tower.

Do the Iconcierge app be used in airplane mode?

No. But if you are not in airplane mode, you will be charged for any incoming text messages or phone calls. If if you do it pick up the call. Most carriers charge between $2-$3 per minute for calls.

 

And if you are not very careful whist out of airplane mode, you could use data which would cost hundreds of dollars.