the fish

Last day on the Allure and can confirm that no messaging apps we tried (imessage, google chat, hangouts) without Voom. We decided to hold off on the $2 Royal app texting until we felt like we needed it and made out fine without it. We did get a one day pass on Voom to make a couple wifi calls, but that stream service was so slow - couldn't stream any videos or music in a reliable manner.

Voom is great for those who need it - we like to unplug from the outside world on a cruise but want to keep in touch with family members on the ship. We were on Harmony 3 years ago without Voom and could text/chat over the Royal app for free, but the lack of notifications of new messages on the Royal app was disappointing (at least it was free). While connected to the ship's wifi for the Royal app, we were able to text/chat using Hangouts which does give notifications of new messages. I think we could also message family back home using hangouts without Voom but not exactly sure - our main goal is to communication with those family members on the ship. Can anyone share if the Royal app now gives notifications of new messages? Is it still free to chat using the Royal app with family on the cruise? We are going on Allure if the ship matters. Also, does Hangouts still work for getting messages out as an alternative to the Royal app without Voom? Thanks in advance.