to text or not to text? on ship

[River Coven]

So a group of friends are going to be on RC Osais of the seas in January of 2016. We are trying to figure out how to communicate back and forth about the important things; what time to meet at the black jack tables, which bar, and where to eat. Unless RC has a cell tower on board we haven't figured out how to do this. Any suggestions? Thank you

[Clarea]

So a group of friends are going to be on RC Osais of the seas in January of 2016. We are trying to figure out how to communicate back and forth about the important things; what time to meet at the black jack tables, which bar, and where to eat. Unless RC has a cell tower on board we haven't figured out how to do this. Any suggestions? Thank you

Royal does have a cell tower on board. AT&T and Verizon charge $0.50 per text.

[Karemark]

Yes, the ships have cell towers. As long as you don't mind paying for every incoming and outgoing text, texting should work well.

[HiCSailor]

Or go "old school" with voice messages on your stateroom phones and post it notes on the doors. Low tech can still be effective.

[River Coven]

we have sprint, I will call them to find out. dose anyone know? $1.00 a text wow .50 in and .50 out.

[footzz]

Check out WhatsApp. It's a free text app great for sending and receiving text when you’re cruising or traveling internationally.

 

Just be aware that all parties must have the app installed and that they need to be listed as a contact in each others phone.

[hardyz13]

Just got off the ship. Verizon charged me 50 cents outgoing .05 cents incoming.

Edited November 14, 2014 by hardyz13

[Trahlyta]

Just got off the ship. Verizon charged me 50 cents outgoing .05 cents incoming.

 

I also have Verizon and I'm so scared I will do something wrong and get charged a fortune when I only want to text people in our group. What did you do to the settings on your phone? Did you have voice roaming and data roaming both turned off during the cruise?

[Clarea]

I also have Verizon and I'm so scared I will do something wrong and get charged a fortune when I only want to text people in our group. What did you do to the settings on your phone? Did you have voice roaming and data roaming both turned off during the cruise?

Turn off cellular data and you should be fine.

[HiCSailor]

Unless I'm mistaken, WhatsApp will require all parties to have a wifi package or use cellular data, so it won't be cheap.

[matj2000]

Forget all the gizmo garbage.

Waste of time & $$$.

 

It really is not that difficult to keep in touch on a ship.

I have never used anything except cabin phones, post its, or just the plain old "make plans", or meet me here.

Never had any issues yet....

[RocketMan275]

I also have Verizon and I'm so scared I will do something wrong and get charged a fortune when I only want to text people in our group. What did you do to the settings on your phone? Did you have voice roaming and data roaming both turned off during the cruise?

 

I called Verizon and they told me exactly what to do to avoid being charged a fortune. They even sent me an email with all the instructions. I think my total charges were less than two dollars for some text messages. I think they get a lot of calls since they had a prepared fact sheet to send.

 

There is no reason for you to be so worried. Just call Verizon. They will explain everything and you'll have no reason to worry. The call is free and takes less than five minutes. You'll rest much easier after you call.

 

They do have some data packages but I seriously doubt you'll need them so don't let them talk you into something you won't need.

[SunshineCruiser24]

Those 0.50 cent texts add up QUICK...

[blackshirt]

Those 0.50 cent texts add up QUICK...

Yes and be advised that if you send a group text, you will get charged 50 cents for each recipient of that text.

[mickev99]

I can live with 50 cents per text. Don't plan on using it much, but on the last cruise with extended family, there were a few times where it would have been nice to have. I have verizon also.

 

 

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