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Texting on Carnival

Careyd6

By Careyd6,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Careyd6

Careyd6

Posted
Posted

I have never felt the need to buy the internet package or even have use of my phone while on a cruise. This time my husband and I are taking our two girls. We would love to be able to communicate when we separated. What have others done?

Thanks:)

 

 

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volmoma

volmoma

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Nice! We will download it!

 

 

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The hub is kinda slow, but it is a way to keep in touch. It is $5 for the entire cruise, but that’s $5 per device. So probably $20 for the entire time is pocket change! Enjoy

 

 

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volmoma

volmoma

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How do you make sure you're not roaming and getting big charges from your cell company? Sorry I'm a bit ignorant.

 

 

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Contact your provider, they can tell you. You can also purchase a package thru them that will allow you to text/call at a cheaper rate.

 

 

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Schoifmom

Schoifmom

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Contact your provider, they can tell you. You can also purchase a package thru them that will allow you to text/call at a cheaper rate.

 

 

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Those cheaper rates only work on land (you know, where are cell towers). At sea, you would have a huge bill from Cellular At Sea, who is Carnival's satellite provider for cell service.

 

 

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volmoma

volmoma

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Those cheaper rates only work on land (you know, where are cell towers). At sea, you would have a huge bill from Cellular At Sea, who is Carnival's satellite provider for cell service.

 

 

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You are totally correct, I was thinking in port. Brain fart!

 

 

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sanger727

sanger727

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How do you make sure you're not roaming and getting big charges from your cell company? Sorry I'm a bit ignorant.

 

 

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Airplane mode on, then WiFi on is the safest way. There is a way to manually turn roaming off without using airplane mode, but I usually do both to feel safer.

 

 

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Careyd6

Careyd6

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Haha! Hub app is the way to go on board, if you don't want to buy a wifi plan.

 

 

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If you buy the wifi plan does hub work better? Or do you use something else? We have iPhones if that helps.

 

 

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maryred

maryred

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If you buy the wifi plan does hub work better? Or do you use something else? We have iPhones if that helps.

 

 

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No, the HUB app works within the ship's on board intranet not the internet. Though the HUB does use a WiFi signal to access the the content and send messages it is not the same signal that the internet packages go through.

In essence the HUB is allowing your device access to the ship's "server" for lack of a better term. The more people on board using the app at any given point or the further you are from the signal repeater the harder it is to get that signal through the "gateway". The best option to get more immediate results while using the app, especially if planning on messaging, is to keep the app open or running in the background. This way as you travel through the ship it is constantly locating the repeaters and keeping your place in the "stream" of users. The drawback here is on many phones this means you will need to recharge it after 5-7 hours (less if actively using the app) or carry a back-up power stick. But for many the inconvenience of doing that makes sense when you compare prices if you only need the ability to contact others on the ship with you: the HUB app is $5 per device per cruise vs. social media package is $5 per day per user to contact others via book of face messenger, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, Whatsapp, or SnapChat; other internet plans just go up from there vs. what CellularAtSea charges. CellularAtSea texting is only $0.50 per message sent & $0.05 per message to receive but many kids are tempted to turn the data back on ($20 per any part of a GB per up/download session of data) or accept a call from friends ($2.99+ per minute for calls and with some carriers there is a separate roaming charge as well).

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S&S Cruisers 1983

S&S Cruisers 1983

Posted
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The Hub app never worked for all 4 of our phones, so we spent $20 for nothing. On our next cruise we found that it was cheaper to just text each other. The $0.50 per message sent and $0.05 per message received was a cheaper way to go for us. We just made sure data was turned off. But we didn't have kids with us, so less texting. I bought what was supposed to be the faster internet plan on this last cruise to try to keep in touch with my office, but it never worked.

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  • 5 months later...
3ringCIRCUS

3ringCIRCUS

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Posted (edited)

So IF I only need to check my texts or send texts, instead of buying wifi plans, just put my phone in airplane mode and turn data off??? Then if I send a text it's just 50 cents each text?

 

We are in the middle of building a new office and have a new office manager. Just need to be able to text/receive texts if situations arise.

 

We have iPhones if that matters.

Edited by 3ringCIRCUS
Used wrong word
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Saint Greg "Live from...." Rare

Saint Greg

Posted
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You won't receive texts in airplane mode. I wouldn't turn airplane mode on if that's what you want to do. I have to be able to receive regular text messages for work and I haven't had any problems leaving it out of airplane mode....other than the time changing.

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3ringCIRCUS

3ringCIRCUS

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Ok so only turn off data.

 

Yes, we just need to check daily to see if we've received texts from two people and then reply if needed. Don't need to email, internet, social media, etc. just text.

 

So I don't need to buy wifi plan either?

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