Using Royal App on board without internet?

[The Voice of Reason]

Boarding on Allure of the Seas on April 2nd.  Without Zoom, how do you use the Royal App on board?  Do you need to change any settings on iPad or IPhone or just use a guest wifi?

 

I do not want to get Zoom because I want to disconnect on the cruise from work and texts. 

 

TIA

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, The Voice of Reason said:

Without Voom, how do you use the Royal App on board? 

Welcome to CC.

 

The app works by simply connecting to the ship wifi - no internet package needed.

Edited March 28, 2022 by Biker19

[BND]

21 minutes ago, The Voice of Reason said:

Boarding on Allure of the Seas on April 2nd.  Without Zoom, how do you use the Royal App on board?  Do you need to change any settings on iPad or IPhone or just use a guest wifi?

 

I do not want to get Zoom because I want to disconnect on the cruise from work and texts. 

 

TIA

You have to be in airplane mode but it will connect to the app automatically.

[cpa09]

My family will be on Symphony in August.  I am reading conflicting posts about whether using iMessage to communicate with the members of my family (all have iPhones) will work without purchasing the Voom internet?  If we connect to the Royal wifi to use the app, will iMessage work?  I am aware of the chat feature in the app, however, do not like the fact it doesn't notify you when you have a new message.  

[Biker19]

21 minutes ago, cpa09 said:

I am reading conflicting posts about whether using iMessage to communicate with the members of my family (all have iPhones) will work without purchasing the Voom internet? 

It's conflicting because that functionality varies by ship, time and even person - it also seems that the loophole which allows its functionality is being plugged - it used to work on more ships, like Anthem, but it doesn't seem to work on her anymore.

Edited March 28, 2022 by Biker19

[theflowersmith]

Can I keep in touch with family members onboard using the Royal App? 

[Biker19]

26 minutes ago, theflowersmith said:

Can I keep in touch with family members onboard using the Royal App? 

Yes, the text/chat functionality (not good feedback from users) within the app is $1.99/day per person - have to purchase for entire voyage.

[SRF]

A major complaint about it is that it does not notify you of messages, so you have to keep looking at the app to see if there is a message.

[theflowersmith]

So I should keep the app open all the time while on board?

 

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, theflowersmith said:

So I should keep the app open all the time while on board?

 

If you want to see texts, yes.

[Nantes]

On 3/28/2022 at 12:28 PM, Biker19 said:

Welcome to CC.

 

The app works by simply connecting to the ship wifi - no internet package needed.

 I can confirm that this is how it worked in this week’s freedom of the seas ship. No internet required to have updates just to be connected to their WIFI (no cost)

[cruiseguy1016]

I was very disappointed with the texting feature last week on Liberty. The ad/paperwork for this said something to the effect of "keep in touch with your entire party using the messaging feature". Our entire party was two couples booked in two staterooms with linked reservations. Unfortunately, RCI doesn't consider two couples that booked together and have linked reservations, to be a "party". We were not allowed to text each other (for free) using the app.

[CruiseDancer]

4 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

I was very disappointed with the texting feature last week on Liberty. The ad/paperwork for this said something to the effect of "keep in touch with your entire party using the messaging feature". Our entire party was two couples booked in two staterooms with linked reservations. Unfortunately, RCI doesn't consider two couples that booked together and have linked reservations, to be a "party". We were not allowed to text each other (for free) using the app.

What about if my party consists of my sister and me in one cabin and the 3 sons in another cabin? It is two reservations that are linked. Thanks.

[cruiseguy1016]

5 minutes ago, CruiseDancer said:

What about if my party consists of my sister and me in one cabin and the 3 sons in another cabin? It is two reservations that are linked. Thanks.

 

Based on our experience, my guess is it won't work. We were two reservations that booked together at the same time with the same TA. Our reservations were linked from the very beginning. We booked as a "party".

[Biker19]

19 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

The ad/paperwork for this said something to the effect of "keep in touch with your entire party using the messaging feature".

As with every marketing scheme, there's some detail folks might miss, such as, everyone in the party must buy the feature for the whole sailing.

[beachluver9]

We were on Independence last week. My DH never got his app to work on the ship after he installed the new update to the app right before we boarded.  I didn't update mine because it seemed to be working ok.  When we hit the mdr that evening, I noticed that the menus were not correct for any nights (many items left off) and my calendar still showed an excursion that RCCL cancelled two weeks prior.  

 

Bottom line...don't count on the app for things that are important to you, just hope for the best and maybe you will be pleasantly surprised.