Voom- Surf and Stream Question

Pardon my ignorance but I have a question. If I purchase the Voom package and text and watch tv and go on FB, will I get charged from my cell phone provider if I don't have the international coverage on my phone? Thanks for your help....I'm not the most tech savy ;p

The VOOM uses Wifi only. So when you are on the ship, you need to turn ON Airplane Mode (which will disable your cellular service) and turn ON WiFi (which will connect you to VOOM).

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Thanks for your answer pharaoh!!

Excuse my ignorance. What does VOOM allow you to do?

Excuse my ignorance. What does VOOM allow you to do?

VOOM is Royal's name for Internet.

Whatever you do on the Internet at home you can do on VOOM.

Whatever you do on the Internet at home you can do on VOOM.

most of the time.

most of the time.

True enough.

Is VOOM connection strong enough to do some work? I do have to work while on the cruise and I am curious as to strength of VOOM connection. Working 90 minutes a day while on vacation in a beautiful area is still far better than working 10 hours a day at home!

Is VOOM connection strong enough to do some work? I do have to work while on the cruise and I am curious as to strength of VOOM connection. Working 90 minutes a day while on vacation in a beautiful area is still far better than working 10 hours a day at home!

The WiFi is available all around the ship. However, the speed of the internet varies with load. It can be very slow at times. The total bandwidth is also better on ships with the O3b connection, such as Quantum and Oasis classes, Freedom, Liberty, and Majesty.

Pardon my ignorance but I have a question. If I purchase the Voom package and text and watch tv and go on FB, will I get charged from my cell phone provider if I don't have the international coverage on my phone? Thanks for your help....I'm not the most tech savy ;p

FYI if you don't already have this function enabled. If on your smartphone, you "enable WiFi calling," and you go on "airplane" mode, your phone will switch to "WiFi calling" and you can text, make phone calls, etc. over the VOOM for free (for U.S. phones). When enabled, your phone will automatically switch to "wifi calling" if it's connected to the internet and the cell signal is weak (that's how it works for us in our house due to weak cell signal). But on the ship the cell signal is strong so go to airplane mode to force the switch.

The number you call doesn't need to be in the U.S., it just needs to be a domestic number. I have AT& T and I know Verizon also offers the service. It's free and works very well. I have used it in Europe also. As long as your phone says it's in wifi calling, on AT&T it will show the carrier as "ATTwifi." for Verizon it will show the carrier as "VZWwifi". If it says that, you are good to go. We used it on Oasis to call and text each other on the ship.

FYI if you don't already have this function enabled. If on your smartphone, you "enable WiFi calling," and you go on "airplane" mode, your phone will switch to "WiFi calling" and you can text, make phone calls, etc. over the VOOM for free (for U.S. phones). When enabled, your phone will automatically switch to "wifi calling" if it's connected to the internet and the cell signal is weak (that's how it works for us in our house due to weak cell signal). But on the ship the cell signal is strong so go to airplane mode to force the switch.

The number you call doesn't need to be in the U.S., it just needs to be a domestic number. I have AT& T and I know Verizon also offers the service. It's free and works very well. I have used it in Europe also. As long as your phone says it's in wifi calling, on AT&T it will show the carrier as "ATTwifi." for Verizon it will show the carrier as "VZWwifi". If it says that, you are good to go. We used it on Oasis to call and text each other on the ship.

I’m researching options to save money for some first time cruisers on the Majesty next month.

So, going by your suggestion, on an iPhone 6 and above, we enable WiFi calling, put the phone in airplane mode, then we can text each other throughout the cruise, in Nassau and CocoCay, for $0 cost and no need to contact our carrier(Verizon)?

Seems like a great idea if all we want to use our phones for is to text each other and take pictures.

Am I understanding this correctly?

Thanks,

Cathy

I’m researching options to save money for some first time cruisers on the Majesty next month.

 

So, going by your suggestion, on an iPhone 6 and above, we enable WiFi calling, put the phone in airplane mode, then we can text each other throughout the cruise, in Nassau and CocoCay, for $0 cost and no need to contact our carrier(Verizon)?

 

Seems like a great idea if all we want to use our phones for is to text each other and take pictures.

 

Am I understanding this correctly?

 

Thanks,

Cathy

In order to use WiFi calling, you need to be connected to a WiFi internet service. So while you don't need to pay anything to Verizon, you do need to purchase VOOM internet service on the ship. You might be able to find some free WiFi in Nassau. I don't believe there are any connection options in Coco Cay.

Is VOOM connection strong enough to do some work? I do have to work while on the cruise and I am curious as to strength of VOOM connection. Working 90 minutes a day while on vacation in a beautiful area is still far better than working 10 hours a day at home!

It actually depends on which ship you're on. The signal strength from the router is good. I've always had a connection to the router all over the ship. The internet speed, is a whole other issue. The newer ships (Oasis Class and some Freedom Class) has updated their wifi to be faster. I don't actually have the speeds of those ships (I didn't do a speedtest while onboard the Anthem which i know has the faster internet).

Last July, I was on the Granduer and my speed was abysmmal. I had a ping of 584 ms with a download speed of 3.85 Mbps and upload of 1.78. This was GOOD day. Bad .31 download and .41 upload.

Last July, I was on the Granduer and my speed was abysmmal. I had a ping of 584 ms with a download speed of 3.85 Mbps and upload of 1.78. This was GOOD day. Bad .31 download and .41 upload.

The ships with the "faster" internet (O3B service) aren't really that much faster (still limited to 5 Mbps download) but the ping is much better, about 200 ms, which would translate into a much better real world experience.

The ships with the "faster" internet (O3B service) aren't really that much faster (still limited to 5 Mbps download) but the ping is much better, about 200 ms, which would translate into a much better real world experience.

I had a better experience on the Anthem when it was working, but I also had other issues with it other than speed. I will be back on the Granduer again soon, and maybe they might have updated the voom on that ship. The sale price is higher than what they were offering last year (I paid 8.99/day in February, and 12.99/day in July). Now, its sitting at 15.99/day which is just slightly below the 18.99 they offer onboard.

Now, its sitting at 15.99/day which is just slightly below the 18.99 they offer onboard.

On board the prices should be $16 for Surf (which you can't get pre cruise) and $20 for Stream.

Biker, who seriously doubts Grandeur will get O3B any time soon, if ever.

On board the prices should be $16 for Surf (which you can't get pre cruise) and $20 for Stream.

 

Biker, who seriously doubts Grandeur will get O3B any time soon, if ever.

Well... they put it on Majesty so, maybe. I hope it's part of the Adventure refurb happening now.

Well... they put it on Majesty so, maybe. I hope it's part of the Adventure refurb happening now.

That was an odd ball addition which has not been repeated. All of the additions of O3B in the past year have been on much bigger ships and done outside of a dry dock.