Cell phone use on the anthem

[Ocean Dancer]

Definitely not.

 

Why do you say that? I guess they want to promote VOOM instead?

[nelblu]

My phone allows me to call over wifi, and I use it all the time for that purpose while on a ship. It works perfectly. The person you are talking with would have no idea that you weren't at home unless you told him/her. :) You can text, too.

 

 

I was told that I need a special app in order to use the I phone to make Wi-Fi calls. Based on what you indicated, no special app is required.

[reallyitsmema]

I was told that I need a special app in order to use the I phone to make Wi-Fi calls. Based on what you indicated, no special app is required.

 

Try it at home. Setup wifi calling, put the phone in airplane mode, enable wifi and see if you can make a call over your home network.

[nelblu]

Try it at home. Setup wifi calling, put the phone in airplane mode, enable wifi and see if you can make a call over your home network.

 

 

Good idea. Thanks.

[NurseDave]

Guys I've never done this, but based on what I've been reading over the years I have a clarifying question. Internet packages are x number of minutes you pay for. To do wifi calling you need to be connected to the wifi and from what I understand with most cruise lines, you're using minutes any time you're connected. So to make a call no biggie, connect, call disconnect when done. But receiving calls has been brought up a few times. You would also have to be connected to the wifi at all times to receive a call that was placed from home correct? And you would quickly use up your minutes being connected no?

[blackshirt]

I was told that I need a special app in order to use the I phone to make Wi-Fi calls. Based on what you indicated, no special app is required.

True if you have an older iPhone or your carrier does not support wifi calling. With AT&T only iPhone 6 or newer have wifi calling.

[reallyitsmema]

Guys I've never done this, but based on what I've been reading over the years I have a clarifying question. Internet packages are x number of minutes you pay for. To do wifi calling you need to be connected to the wifi and from what I understand with most cruise lines, you're using minutes any time you're connected. So to make a call no biggie, connect, call disconnect when done. But receiving calls has been brought up a few times. You would also have to be connected to the wifi at all times to receive a call that was placed from home correct? And you would quickly use up your minutes being connected no?

 

Royal Caribbean no longer sells internet by the minute, it is now a daily charge. Voom goes on sale a lot, so keep an eye on your cruise planner for sales. It goes on sale for as little as $7.99 per day. You have to buy for the week through your planner. You can buy individual days on the ship, but it is $17.99 per day for surf and stream.

[WestfieldTraveler]

I tested wifi calling both on my AT&T Iphone 6 and my Verizon Android Samsung edge 7; on the iphone I enabled the wifi calling, put the phone into airplane mode, and was able to call to and from the phone no problem. On the Verizon phone, apparently due to an Andriod update (so my quick research says) you need to be off-network to use wifi calling, either with no reception, or roaming. If you want to use it on a cruise ship, I think you want to make sure you are set to use wifi if roaming with instructions like the below:

 

1. Go to Settings on your device.
   
2. Tap Advanced Calling.
   
3. Tap Wi-Fi Calling.
   

Tap When Roaming and select the network you want to use while roaming:

 

1. Prefer Other Cellular Network (default)
   

• Prefer Wi-Fi <-- chose this one
  

[voyager70]

I tested wifi calling both on my AT&T Iphone 6 and my Verizon Android Samsung edge 7; on the iphone I enabled the wifi calling, put the phone into airplane mode, and was able to call to and from the phone no problem. On the Verizon phone, apparently due to an Andriod update (so my quick research says) you need to be off-network to use wifi calling, either with no reception, or roaming. If you want to use it on a cruise ship, I think you want to make sure you are set to use wifi if roaming with instructions like the below:

 

1. Go to Settings on your device.
   
2. Tap Advanced Calling.
   
3. Tap Wi-Fi Calling.
   

Tap When Roaming and select the network you want to use while roaming:

1. Prefer Other Cellular Network (default)
   

• Prefer Wi-Fi <-- chose this one
  

 

I have a Verizon Android and this was my exact experience as well.

[Biker19]

What's the Excalibur project??

 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblo.com/2017/01/26/royal-caribbean-sheds-more-light-its-new-smart-phone-app-plans

 

^ add a g in front of .com.

 

Fain mentioned its new smart phone app, which is being called internally, "Excalibur".

Mr. Fain provided more detail on when guests can start using the new app, "We would expect to be coming out this summer with a new and upgraded, new app, that does reflect the technologies that are available today. Over this next year we would expect to roll this out to 6 to 11 new vessels. And then the next year we would expect to be rolling it out at a rate of 1 to 2 a month over the period."

"Technology can be used to help attack what is really our biggest single problem, which is not enough people understand about cruising. Anything we can do to make the experience better and particularly easier for our guests and for the people who haven't yet been our guests, is very helpful."

News of a new smart phone app was first announced earlier this year, when Royal Caribbean CIO Michael Giresi mentioned the development. It was unclear at the time whether this would be a new app or a continuation of the Royal iQ app, but Mr. Fain's comments suggest this will be a brand new endeavor.

The comments on Excalibur came as a result of financial analysts inquiring about Royal Caribbean's response to Carnival Corporation's Ocean Medallion program, which garnered a lot of media attention earlier this month.

"We started a project with what we call our WOWbands a couple of years ago that's been extremely effective in simplifying the process for our guests," said Fain. He continued, "But it's also obvious that the technologies improved a lot in the last two years, and what we can all do today is much better than we could do two years ago. So I think you will continue to see us, and I hope the rest of the industry, continue to move forward with that."

"I remember at the time that we rolled out WOWbands, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo's comment was we wanted to give people their first day back. And I think that's a really very good way to look at it. The more that we can do to ease that process, not only makes it more comfortable for them, but gives them the time to do the other stuff. One of the benefits is not only more in ticket revenue, but also on the onboard revenue because we facilitate those kinds of processes. "

"So I think this is a trend that is happening in our industry, but is happening throughout industry and I think it will enhance the cruise experience and therefore, be good for all of us."

[Biker19]

^ that was 3 months ago and we have yet to see any sign of it. Royal iQ has not had any updates in 10+ months where before that updates were almost monthly.

[Merion_Mom]

Oh Biker, Biker, Biker....brilliant idea. Is the royal IQ app for texting reliable? I have heard of it, but don't know how well it works.

 

Does it send notifications or do you have to actually open the app on your phone to see a message is waiting for you?

 

Last question...how would we purchase this?

 

P.S. Edited to add: my wife is deaf so this is a great way for us to keep up with each other. We have left little notes in the room or agreed to meet at a certain time and it isn't always effective. Being able to text each other would make a world of difference (without spending a bunch of money!)

 

In your position, I would just get the two device package, or two one device packages at $8 each, which ever is less. :)

[Merion_Mom]

I was told that I need a special app in order to use the I phone to make Wi-Fi calls. Based on what you indicated, no special app is required.

 

It's not the "iphone thing". It's the "Verizon thing". My Verizon plan has WIFI calling. :)

[Merion_Mom]

Guys I've never done this, but based on what I've been reading over the years I have a clarifying question. Internet packages are x number of minutes you pay for. To do wifi calling you need to be connected to the wifi and from what I understand with most cruise lines, you're using minutes any time you're connected. So to make a call no biggie, connect, call disconnect when done. But receiving calls has been brought up a few times. You would also have to be connected to the wifi at all times to receive a call that was placed from home correct? And you would quickly use up your minutes being connected no?

 

Royal Caribbean no longer sells internet by the minute, it is now a daily charge. Voom goes on sale a lot, so keep an eye on your cruise planner for sales. It goes on sale for as little as $7.99 per day. You have to buy for the week through your planner. You can buy individual days on the ship, but it is $17.99 per day for surf and stream.

 

NurseDave, do you understand reallyitsmema's explanation? In order to use Royal Caribbean's wifi (which they like to call VOOM, but has nothing to do with speed; it's just a name), you pay either by the day (a 24 hour period, not a calendar day), a specified number of days (like the last 3 days of your cruise), by the week (self-explanatory) or for the full cruise (when your cruise is longer than a week). You cannot purchase "minutes" any more. (small exception: on some ships you can buy one hour of continuous use on the last full day of your cruise, an option that is provided for people who mainly just want to check in to their flight home)

[toras]

My experience with the paid IQ app:

 

It worked perfectly when we tested it, but sometimes it failed when we actually used it.

Texting:

If it says "Sent", it means it has gone into the system but has not made it to the recipient's phone. (I got one message 2.5 hours after it was sent)

If it says "Delivered", it means it has made it to the recipient's phone, but there may or may not have been a sound and alert banner so the recipient might not have noticed it.

 

Phone:

You can call another person using their app id.

I have dialed the number, it says "cannot locate the person at this time".

I have dialed the number, heard the ringing tone but call was not answered, as it never rang on the recipient's phone.

I have dialed the number, it rang and the other party picked up, but could not hear anything I said.

 

Note it doesn't connect to anyone outside the ship.

[ljmandelbaum]

I have seen people claim they were able to iMessage each other on Anthem without purchasing or logging into voom but by being connected to the wifi to use one of the free sites.

IN February on anthem, I had my iPhone in airplane mode. I received iMessages as well as all my aol mail. im trying to remember if I saw the subject or I could actually open the messages. I know I could not reply.

I also got Facebook notifications.

 

I'm hoping this still works when I'm on anthem again.

[Crazylegs1976]

How do you know when VOOM goes on sale? I was told when I asked about prices that it would be 129.51 for 1 device and 230.22 for 2 devices. It seems some of you have found rates of 8 per day which would work out to be a bit less.

[Merion_Mom]

How do you know when VOOM goes on sale? I was told when I asked about prices that it would be 129.51 for 1 device and 230.22 for 2 devices. It seems some of you have found rates of 8 per day which would work out to be a bit less.

You check your Cruise Planner frequently. Prices appear there.

[Crazylegs1976]

Thank you.

And I just tried the wifi calling and it works. So happy I found this site to get answers on questions I have.

[bodyshoplady]

I was told that I need a special app in order to use the I phone to make Wi-Fi calls. Based on what you indicated, no special app is required.

 

I have been researching the best way to keep in touch with our business while we are on the Anthem the first week in July. The WiFi calls is a Godsend not only for accessibility but also for the cost! My carrier is Verizon, but unfortunately both my husband and I have the I-phone 5s which means our phone does not have WiFi call ability (through Verizon) built in.

Someone told me about the free apps: "WhatsApp" and "Viber" which are supposed to allow you to do WiFi calling from your phone through these apps.

 

Has anyone had any experience using either or both of these apps?

[Geldhart]

I've used Skype many times to call phone numbers (i get free Skype minutes with my office 365 subscription). Facebook messenger also works quite well as a "call" to someone else who uses it.

 

Best thing to do Its test at home prior to relying on it on a cruise. Put your phone into airplane mode then turn wifi back on.

 

Sent from my LG-H831 using Forums mobile app

[bodyshoplady]

I've used Skype many times to call phone numbers (i get free Skype minutes with my office 365 subscription). Facebook messenger also works quite well as a "call" to someone else who uses it.

 

Thank you Geldhart for replying. So if I understand you correctly, you have used Skype while cruising to call landlines back in the US? That is what I need to do, using the ships wifi.

I've been looking at the Skype rates and they are not that bad (compared to using cell towers roaming fees, etc). How do you find the quality of the voice calls from aboard ship to a landline? Can the person back in the States (NY) call from their landline to my mobile phone?

 

I greatly appreciate your feedback as I have 13 days until we embark and I have to get this phone stuff figured out and set up so we can talk to our business while we are away.

 

Any information / wisdom you can share is appreciated :D

[Biker19]

^ before going into any of that, see if your phone and carrier support WiFi calling, much simpler and is free.

[Merion_Mom]

^ before going into any of that, see if your phone and carrier support WiFi calling, much simpler and is free.

 

("free" once you pay for wifi on the ship)

[reallyitsmema]

("free" once you pay for wifi on the ship)

 

Plus, she has already posted that her phones don't support wifi calling, they both have a 5s.