Wi-Fi calling on MSC

[Avatar345]

As of this afternoon, I'm on Seascape for the week, and I have to say I am completely confused by whether my phone is triggering Wi-Fi calling or not

 

I've got an iPhone, I've set my cellular data to "off," my roaming to "off," but I'm still getting service bars out at sea, and I got a text from T-Mobile asking me to dial a certain number to kill data and texts at sea

 

I guess vs asking about any of that, I'll just ask: have people succeeded at enabling Wi-Fi calling on their phones while on an MSC Internet plan, and/or what are people doing generally otherwise?

 

MANY thanks for any insights anyone might have here! :)

[Essiesmom]

Did you put your phone in airplane mode?  EM

[Avatar345]

2 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Did you put your phone in airplane mode?  EM

 

No, but should I?

 

I just figured it wouldn't allow me to make any calls period in that mode

[oceans.calling]

We do. 

[Essiesmom]

26 minutes ago, Avatar345 said:

 

No, but should I?

 

I just figured it wouldn't allow me to make any calls period in that mode

Yes, unless you are okay with a whopping bill when you get home.  EM

[blueslily]

Yes, definitely put your phone in Airplane mode to save yourself from an ugly bill from your cell provider.

 

Yes, I have used wifi calling on my phone. I've used WhatsApp. I've done video calls. But, all using wifi, not data which will still be in use if you don't put your phone in Airplane mode. 

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, Avatar345 said:

 

No, but should I?

 

I just figured it wouldn't allow me to make any calls period in that mode

Yes, and then go into Settings and make sure WiFi is on.

Then make sure WiFi callings is enabled. 
 

[shmabbies]

I used wifi calling daily to call my 91 year old mother in the US while we were on Seashore (YC so wifi was free) in the Med a few weeks ago and on another cruise line in the Med back in March.  I have Android.  I believe both the phone itself and your plan on the phone must be enabled for wifi calling.  For me to use wifi calling, "wifi" must be toggled on (to use the ship's wifi vs. data), "wifi calling" must be toggled on, and "airplane mode" must be toggled on.  I have to keep notes with my phone so I remember to be sure to do all these things.  I do not have a data plan on my phone (I can only use wifi at home or anywhere else) so there was never a danger of an unexpected bill.

 

When everything is toggled correctly, on my phone keypad, a wireless "icon" appears on the same "button" as the phone "icon."  This may be different on an iPhone.  Sorry for probably using incorrect words - I learned what I know about wireless calling from CC and was incredulous that I had this wonderful feature that doesn't cost a penny.  The service worked flawlessly on Seashore.  Did experience dropped calls on the other cruise line, but then I just called her back.  I know there are apps like WhatsApp but I believe both parties have to have WhatsApp and my mother cannot use her TV remote without problems and she doesn't own a cell phone.  

[jean87510]

4 hours ago, shmabbies said:

I used wifi calling daily to call my 91 year old mother in the US while we were on Seashore (YC so wifi was free) in the Med a few weeks ago and on another cruise line in the Med back in March.  I have Android.  I believe both the phone itself and your plan on the phone must be enabled for wifi calling.  For me to use wifi calling, "wifi" must be toggled on (to use the ship's wifi vs. data), "wifi calling" must be toggled on, and "airplane mode" must be toggled on.  I have to keep notes with my phone so I remember to be sure to do all these things.  I do not have a data plan on my phone (I can only use wifi at home or anywhere else) so there was never a danger of an unexpected bill.

 

When everything is toggled correctly, on my phone keypad, a wireless "icon" appears on the same "button" as the phone "icon."  This may be different on an iPhone.  Sorry for probably using incorrect words - I learned what I know about wireless calling from CC and was incredulous that I had this wonderful feature that doesn't cost a penny.  The service worked flawlessly on Seashore.  Did experience dropped calls on the other cruise line, but then I just called her back.  I know there are apps like WhatsApp but I believe both parties have to have WhatsApp and my mother cannot use her TV remote without problems and she doesn't own a cell phone.  

did you upgrade your wifi at all or just use what the YC gave you?  

[morpheusofthesea]

I paid $60 to upgrade to Streaming while in the Yacht Club and could not upload a single photo nor video. DW only used the complimentary browse on her iphone. We both put our iphones in airplane mode. She called her brother to wish him a Happy Thanksgiving by using Facetime and it worked.

[shmabbies]

4 hours ago, jean87510 said:

did you upgrade your wifi at all or just use what the YC gave you?  

 

I just used what YC gave me.   

 

I'm old enough to remember the days when to call home I had to find a foreign phone booth on shore (usually in a sweltering country), juggle coins and/or calling cards and outrageous rates, horrible connections, etc.).  This limited me to calling during certain hours which were not always convenient for her & cut into our sightseeing time.   It was HORRIBLE yet I was still grateful for it.  Now to be able to call her from my cabin whenever I feel like it at no charge - this was heaven on earth.  I know I have probably the only remaining mother who does not own or know how to use a computer or cell phone so all this seems weird to most of you.

 

And for those who still have questions about "how many devices" have access to the YC wifi (I could never discern a straight answer to that question before we left & I decided it was another of those MSC features that vary by ship, itinerary, country cruise was booked in, and who knows what else) there were two of us and we were able to enable two devices each, so four in total for the cabin.  We are Americans, booked in US, sailing in Med on Seashore.  As with anything MSC - YMMV.

 

 

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, shmabbies said:

 

I just used what YC gave me.   

 

I'm old enough to remember the days when to call home I had to find a foreign phone booth on shore (usually in a sweltering country), juggle coins and/or calling cards and outrageous rates, horrible connections, etc.).  This limited me to calling during certain hours which were not always convenient for her & cut into our sightseeing time.   It was HORRIBLE yet I was still grateful for it.  Now to be able to call her from my cabin whenever I feel like it at no charge - this was heaven on earth.  I know I have probably the only remaining mother who does not own or know how to use a computer or cell phone so all this seems weird to most of you.

 

And for those who still have questions about "how many devices" have access to the YC wifi (I could never discern a straight answer to that question before we left & I decided it was another of those MSC features that vary by ship, itinerary, country cruise was booked in, and who knows what else) there were two of us and we were able to enable two devices each, so four in total for the cabin.  We are Americans, booked in US, sailing in Med on Seashore.  As with anything MSC - YMMV.

 

 

ok.  So I guess asking streaming questions is out. And if you are posting on cruise critic, heads up.  You apparently do use some sort of electronic device...

[shmabbies]

31 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

And if you are posting on cruise critic, heads up.  You apparently do use some sort of electronic device...

Where did I say I don't use electronic devices?

[mikefromny]

3 hours ago, shmabbies said:

And for those who still have questions about "how many devices" have access to the YC wifi (I could never discern a straight answer to that question before we left & I decided it was another of those MSC features that vary by ship, itinerary, country cruise was booked in, and who knows what else) there were two of us and we were able to enable two devices each, so four in total for the cabin.  We are Americans, booked in US, sailing in Med on Seashore.  As with anything MSC - YMMV.

 

 

Thank you! You just answered my biggest question. We both plan on using our phones and I will have a travel wifi repeater and I was wondering if I need to purchase another wifi package. Now it appears I probably won't.

[shmabbies]

5 minutes ago, mikefromny said:

Thank you! You just answered my biggest question. We both plan on using our phones and I will have a travel wifi repeater and I was wondering if I need to purchase another wifi package. Now it appears I probably won't.

 

You're welcome and I hope my information holds true for you as well.  MSC is SO evasive with certain details.  It was the first question I asked the YC concierge when we boarded.  Not relevant to the wifi calling issue, but I found MSC annoying with what was "per cabin" and what was "per person."  An example - the electronics turned out to be "per person" (which was great) but the free daily newspaper turned out to be "per cabin" even though each of us separately received a pre-cruise e-mail asking for our preference (and my preference isn't DH's preference).  When we sailed Bellissima in 2019, we each got our own newspaper.  The pre-cruise e-mail also asked for our pillow choice and after finding out we had to agree on a newspaper as it was one per cabin, I thought we might have to share the pillow too.  How hard is it to include that type of information in the list of YC perks?  I'll answer my own question - probably because it varies from ship to ship and itinerary to itinerary and for sure someone is going to post that they each got their own newspaper.  BTW we begged and pleaded for two newspapers, to no avail.  Admittedly this is a first world problem...

[PTC DAWG]

8 hours ago, jean87510 said:

did you upgrade your wifi at all or just use what the YC gave you?  

On my most recent YC cruise, Seaside, the WiFi they provided was fine for WiFi calling…my DIL turned 30, I had to sing happy birthday to her. 🙂

[jmsnyc]

On 11/25/2023 at 8:53 PM, Avatar345 said:

 

No, but should I?

 

I just figured it wouldn't allow me to make any calls period in that mode

You first put your phone on airplane mode and then turn back on wifi and it only uses wifi, at least thats how it works with android

[Avatar345]

Reporting back: Wi-Fi calling worked fine/great! Sometimes coverage was a bit spotty/weak, but overall worked really well. Have an iPhone now vs the Android I used to have, and with the Android it would indicate Wi-Fi calling was active on the main screen of the phone - here it didn't do that so I was having some anxiety.

 

But in the end, yes totally serviceable

 

I upgraded to the Stream package as well and though things like streaming YouTube TV to my laptop worked perfectly, sending/opening photos/vids via text still really didn't work. Instagram worked, but slowly when uploading. I think that the data/bandwidth/capacity is there, but the way it's allocated and/or set to prioritize certain apps or services leads to these differences we see between functions