TRS_Gear Posted June 7, 2016 #1 Share Posted June 7, 2016 (edited) Hello everyone, This will be my first ever cruise, departing on August 20th, super excited! I simply had a question regarding the VOOM internet service. Currently they offer two tiers, the browsing/email and the streaming. Does anyone know if apple facetime will work on the lower tier version, or do I need to upgrade to the higher tier? Edited June 7, 2016 by TRS_Gear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted June 7, 2016 #2 Share Posted June 7, 2016 Hello everyone, This will be my first ever cruise, departing on August 20th, super excited! I simply had a question regarding the VOOM internet service. Currently they offer two tiers, the browsing/email and the streaming. Does anyone know if apple facetime will work on the lower tier version, or do I need to upgrade to the higher tier? You need the higher tier to do video streaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRS_Gear Posted June 7, 2016 Author #3 Share Posted June 7, 2016 You need the higher tier to do video streaming. That's where I wasn't sure if facetime was categorized as "video streaming", because it technically is a modified version of VoiP technology. Different bandwidth consumption, ping rates, etc. from video streaming. Are you basing your answer off of experience or assumption? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted June 7, 2016 #4 Share Posted June 7, 2016 That's where I wasn't sure if facetime was categorized as "video streaming", because it technically is a modified version of VoiP technology. Different bandwidth consumption, ping rates, etc. from video streaming. Are you basing your answer off of experience or assumption? We tried Facetime on Vision earlier this year which was the same speed as the lower tier is now, and it was unusable for us. We are now using it on Majesty and the video is not bad at all, only paused once so far in a 5-minute call. Also, it would help to know what ship you are on, because on some ships there is no real difference between the tiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rad798 Posted June 7, 2016 #5 Share Posted June 7, 2016 Anyone have experience using facetime with the lower tier on Allure? Gotta ask this for the wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted June 8, 2016 #6 Share Posted June 8, 2016 We are now using it on Majesty and the video is not bad at all, only paused once so far in a 5-minute call. Speedtest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted June 8, 2016 #7 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Anyone have experience using facetime with the lower tier on Allure?Gotta ask this for the wife. I think I read one report of SURF being enough on O3B Internet equipped ships (which Allure has). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRS_Gear Posted June 8, 2016 Author #8 Share Posted June 8, 2016 We tried Facetime on Vision earlier this year which was the same speed as the lower tier is now, and it was unusable for us. We are now using it on Majesty and the video is not bad at all, only paused once so far in a 5-minute call. Also, it would help to know what ship you are on, because on some ships there is no real difference between the tiers. Thanks for the reply. I will be on Oasis, I would assume that it sporting the latest in WiFi tech, or at least I would hope. Also, could someone explain the pricing breakdown a little bit? On the cruise planner page it say I can get the lower tier internet package on 1 device for $10 a day per person. Does that mean even if I only use one device, I would still pay $20 a day for me and my wife? This seems kind of silly to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnjen Posted June 8, 2016 #9 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Thanks for the reply. I will be on Oasis, I would assume that it sporting the latest in WiFi tech, or at least I would hope. Also, could someone explain the pricing breakdown a little bit? On the cruise planner page it say I can get the lower tier internet package on 1 device for $10 a day per person. Does that mean even if I only use one device, I would still pay $20 a day for me and my wife? This seems kind of silly to me... It had better be priced "per device" because the two of us only plan on putting it on her phone. If it's per person, it's not only silly, it's a racket to make more cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkrickles1 Posted June 8, 2016 #10 Share Posted June 8, 2016 So, are you saying that facetime would work on the lower tier on Anthem? We tried Facetime on Vision earlier this year which was the same speed as the lower tier is now, and it was unusable for us. We are now using it on Majesty and the video is not bad at all, only paused once so far in a 5-minute call. Also, it would help to know what ship you are on, because on some ships there is no real difference between the tiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted June 8, 2016 #11 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Also, could someone explain the pricing breakdown a little bit? On the cruise planner page it say I can get the lower tier internet package on 1 device for $10 a day per person. Does that mean even if I only use one device, I would still pay $20 a day for me and my wife? This seems kind of silly to me... The package is for one device to be used across as many devices as you want, but only one at a time. It's per device, not person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted June 8, 2016 #12 Share Posted June 8, 2016 So, are you saying that facetime would work on the lower tier on Anthem? There was a report of facetime working on the SURF only package on an O3B internet equipped ship (such as Anthem) - this makes sense as the SURF has been reported to be about 5 MBs and good ping times - plenty for facetime. Now, if you are in a spotty coverage area or are trying it at a really busy time, it might not work great - but unlikely upgrading to STREAM would fix that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRS_Gear Posted June 8, 2016 Author #13 Share Posted June 8, 2016 The package is for one device to be used across as many devices as you want, but only one at a time. It's per device, not person. Thanks for the clarification, this is better news than I anticipated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_nyc Posted June 8, 2016 #14 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Good thread! Will be trying WhatsApp phone call or Facebook calling on our Harmony cruise to talk to the grandkids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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