Cell phone use on the anthem

[Geldhart]

Call quality on Skype can be hit and miss, well depend on a number of factors. If you have poor connection, hang up and try again in a few minutes.

 

I don't think you can receive calls from a landline through Skype (haven't tested it myself).

 

If your staff need to be reaching you on the ship, install Skype either on a computer or a phone and connect Skype to Skype for free.

 

Key is to TEST calling both ways BEFORE you leave. Put your phone in airplane mode, turn on Wifi, and test from a public Wifi hotspot like a Starbucks or a McDonalds. That way you can test it from a slower speed connection than you get from home.

 

I've only done one Skype call from a ship and the quality was poor but good enough for what I needed. YMMV.

 

Sent from my LG-H831 using Forums mobile app

[bodyshoplady]

Alas, as mentioned my phone does not support wifi calling :(

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone and thanks Geldhart for your first hand information!

Viber also looks like a contender. Either way I'll be sure to try it out before we go onboard!

[WestfieldTraveler]

So, with WiFi calling (I'm hoping to use this on my work iPhone)

- go into airplane mode

- enable wifi

- login with a paid VOOM wifi account

- don't reboot/turn off phone, just leave it on

- wait for phone to ring, or make calls as needed (already successfully tested as above on land).

 

I'm just hoping that the on-ship internet does not require you to login every day (I try to remember a minimal number of items on vacation) or do some other authorization where it might not be obvious that the phone's wifi connection is not actually connecting to the internet. Also, if one goes off the ship with said phone, when you board will you have to do something to allow the internet to work on the phone again aside from allowing it to connect automatically?

[Clarea]

So, with WiFi calling (I'm hoping to use this on my work iPhone)

- go into airplane mode

- enable wifi

- login with a paid VOOM wifi account

- don't reboot/turn off phone, just leave it on

- wait for phone to ring, or make calls as needed (already successfully tested as above on land).

 

I'm just hoping that the on-ship internet does not require you to login every day (I try to remember a minimal number of items on vacation) or do some other authorization where it might not be obvious that the phone's wifi connection is not actually connecting to the internet. Also, if one goes off the ship with said phone, when you board will you have to do something to allow the internet to work on the phone again aside from allowing it to connect automatically?

You will get logged off after some specific timeout. You will have to enter your login credentials again.

[reallyitsmema]

So, with WiFi calling (I'm hoping to use this on my work iPhone)

- go into airplane mode

- enable wifi

- login with a paid VOOM wifi account

- don't reboot/turn off phone, just leave it on

- wait for phone to ring, or make calls as needed (already successfully tested as above on land).

 

I'm just hoping that the on-ship internet does not require you to login every day (I try to remember a minimal number of items on vacation) or do some other authorization where it might not be obvious that the phone's wifi connection is not actually connecting to the internet. Also, if one goes off the ship with said phone, when you board will you have to do something to allow the internet to work on the phone again aside from allowing it to connect automatically?

 

You are given a slip of paper with your login on it. You can carry that or memorize it. If that doesn't work for you, just use the note app on your phone and record the code there.

[WestfieldTraveler]

Thanks for the responses - as my phone will not remain "connected" to the internet on wifi all the time, and I will need to re-enter a code periodically, I'll probably spend the money ($30 for 50 minutes of talk) for the AT&T cruise plan, turning mobile data off but keeping my phone on to receive calls, and then using the wifi to check my email, and to do any long conversations (calling people back while on wifi only).

 

Anyone have experience with setting it up like the above?

[Clarea]

Thanks for the responses - as my phone will not remain "connected" to the internet on wifi all the time, and I will need to re-enter a code periodically, I'll probably spend the money ($30 for 50 minutes of talk) for the AT&T cruise plan, turning mobile data off but keeping my phone on to receive calls, and then using the wifi to check my email, and to do any long conversations (calling people back while on wifi only).

 

Anyone have experience with setting it up like the above?

I don't see a problem with that setup.

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks for the responses - as my phone will not remain "connected" to the internet on wifi all the time, and I will need to re-enter a code periodically, I'll probably spend the money ($30 for 50 minutes of talk) for the AT&T cruise plan, turning mobile data off but keeping my phone on to receive calls, and then using the wifi to check my email, and to do any long conversations (calling people back while on wifi only).

 

Anyone have experience with setting it up like the above?

 

That will work if you want to spend the extra money.

 

We have sailed Anthem twice and kept my iphone logged on to wifi all the time. It did not time out. We did share the code between 4 devices, so I would have to login on my iphone when we were done with the other devices but otherwise, my phone was connected. It would not time out overnight and we left if connected then too.

[gqboy1]

Going on the Anthem next year. Can someone confirm if we have to purchase WiFi in order to send each other texts on the ship? Both users have Android phones....

 

Thanks!

[Clarea]

Going on the Anthem next year. Can someone confirm if we have to purchase WiFi in order to send each other texts on the ship? Both users have Android phones....

 

Thanks!

You can use this app: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/royaliq

 

Pay $7.95 per phone per cruise for the texting option. No additional WiFi package needed for texting.

[gqboy1]

Thanks for the link! $7.95 per phone per trip is reasonable.

[bodyshoplady]

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

 

Well, I chickened out and did not download any of the message-apps that claim they can connect to a landline through wifi!

I was eligible for an upgrade, so I bit the bullet (cause there was nothing wrong with my iPhone 5s) and upgraded to the iPhone SE, so I too now have wifi calling! I did test it using a public wifi connection and called our shop's landline and it worked great! I sent an imessage to my son over the wifi as well with no problems!

 

All the cruise critic members that have sung the praises of wifi calling seem to be right! I am going to assume it will work as smoothly once onboard. And an added bonus, I am getting Voom complimentary with my grand suite :D

 

! week and 1 day to go!

 

Thanks again everyone for your advice, help, feedback!

 

PS: Does anyone know if I would be able to imessage aboard ship with my husband who has the 5s (therefore no wifi calling) but of course can pick up wifi?

[Clarea]

... PS: Does anyone know if I would be able to imessage aboard ship with my husband who has the 5s (therefore no wifi calling) but of course can pick up wifi?

Yes, if both phones have WiFi, iMessage texting should work fine.

[Desert Cruizers]

We have Sprint through our daughters business plan and I just got a new Samsung Android 6 and she had INTL plan added because we will be traveling to Copenhagen & Iceland during our cruise this August. I will only use it if needed.