iMessage - Guest Wifi

[ByThePond]

I tried doing a search but could find an answer. 
 

On another cruise line, I was able to use Apple iMessage on the free guest wifi (without using any internet package). Does this also work on Celebrity, and specifically on Equinox. 
 

I DO have “free minutes” with Elite but would rather not use them to iMessage family at home if not necessary. 

[Mrdell]

20 minutes ago, ByThePond said:

I tried doing a search but could find an answer. 
 

On another cruise line, I was able to use Apple iMessage on the free guest wifi (without using any internet package). Does this also work on Celebrity, and specifically on Equinox. 
 

I DO have “free minutes” with Elite but would rather not use them to iMessage family at home if not necessary. 

I don’t believe that this is possible on Celebrity…. I have had success myself doing this on NCL most of the time…. Sometimes messages would not go through but for the most part it was pretty dependable….. I must say that the new satellite internet on Celebrity ( I believe Starlink) is really dependable and quite fast… fast enough to stream YouTube and do FaceTime.

[cruisestitch]

Just now, ByThePond said:

I tried doing a search but could find an answer. 
 

On another cruise line, I was able to use Apple iMessage on the free guest wifi (without using any internet package). Does this also work on Celebrity, and specifically on Equinox. 

no it does not work on Celebrity

 

 

 

[keesar]

2 hours ago, Mrdell said:

I don’t believe that this is possible on Celebrity…. I have had success myself doing this on NCL most of the time…. Sometimes messages would not go through but for the most part it was pretty dependable….. I must say that the new satellite internet on Celebrity ( I believe Starlink) is really dependable and quite fast… fast enough to stream YouTube and do FaceTime.

I am happy you found Starlink as being dependable.  On our cruise in the Caribbean, FaceTime did not perform well even on the Premium Plan.  Even emails with photos were not consistent.  It may be due to the ship's location.

[Mrdell]

2 hours ago, keesar said:

I am happy you found Starlink as being dependable.  On our cruise in the Caribbean, FaceTime did not perform well even on the Premium Plan.  Even emails with photos were not consistent.  It may be due to the ship's location.

Could be…. The interesting thing is that on Beyond, every room has a Wi-Fi repeater in it…. No matter where you are on the ship the signal is full strength! Maybe that’s why the performance is a bit better… just a guess.

[Jim_Iain]

You will not be able to use iMessage unless you are attached to the Internet.   You can message others using the app (not very good)   using the FREE INTRANET (not connected to the outside world)  

[ByThePond]

11 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

You will not be able to use iMessage unless you are attached to the Internet.   You can message others using the app (not very good)   using the FREE INTRANET (not connected to the outside world)  

Is that your belief or have you actually tried it? At least on NCL, the “intranet” as you refer to it does connect to the outside world allowing access to a limited number of sites (NCL, CruiseCritic). The in-app messaging in NCL runs off servers in Miami not on ship. iMessage works on the NCL “intranet”. Facebook Messenger does not work. 

[cruisestitch]

1 hour ago, ByThePond said:

Is that your belief or have you actually tried it? At least on NCL, the “intranet” as you refer to it does connect to the outside world allowing access to a limited number of sites (NCL, CruiseCritic). The in-app messaging in NCL runs off servers in Miami not on ship. iMessage works on the NCL “intranet”. Facebook Messenger does not work. 

On Celebrity you cannot use iMessage with internet connection.  

[Charles4515]

3 hours ago, ByThePond said:

Is that your belief or have you actually tried it? At least on NCL, the “intranet” as you refer to it does connect to the outside world allowing access to a limited number of sites (NCL, CruiseCritic). The in-app messaging in NCL runs off servers in Miami not on ship. iMessage works on the NCL “intranet”. Facebook Messenger does not work.

What Jim stated is a fact on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. A few years ago it worked the way it does on NCL but they plugged that outside access soon after they released new apps. 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, ByThePond said:

Is that your belief or have you actually tried it? At least on NCL, the “intranet” as you refer to it does connect to the outside world allowing access to a limited number of sites (NCL, CruiseCritic). The in-app messaging in NCL runs off servers in Miami not on ship. iMessage works on the NCL “intranet”. Facebook Messenger does not work. 

 

I've actually tried it -  I also am a techie living in Silicon Valley and worked in tech and internet technology before Windows, Apple and Web Browsers.  To me it makes sense.  I use to test vulnerabilities  (hacking) to test security holes.   I still often like to play to see how far I can get in a system if I find a hole.

 

On Celebrity ships like many companies,  you have an Internet (connected to the outside world) and an Intranet - for internal server connections only.     That is how companies store data accessible only employees and not the outside world. 

 

Celebrity or any company can open specific ports on their intranet an allow connections to the outside world and create white lists to specific external sites.    I've been on cruises  that required documentation (during Covid) or arrival cards and created links on the Computers in the Internet Cafe to access the countries website without an internet account.    From the iCafe you can also log onto Celebrity Site and I believe RCL. 

Would love to hear otherwise and which ship -- would be fun to explore.  Just because I haven't been able to send an iMessage doesn't mean there is a means on another cruise line or a ship I've not tried it on.

 

[tschwa2]

My understanding is that the imessaging worked/works on Carnival when they open the system up for messaging from the crew to their families.  Sometimes it is left open for 1-2 days of the cruise and other times it is left open for the entire cruise.  It is never guaranteed or constant and can be closed at any time or never opened during the entire cruise.  As more ships are connected with Starlink, it has been even less consistently available.  

[prmssk]

iMessage did not work on the Eclipse or the Constellation for my cruises last year and in 2022 without being logged into a paid internet plan.  There were a number times I forgot to switch the internet back to my cellphone (from my laptop) and tried to send my husband a message.  It failed to go through each time (until I reconnected to my paid internet plan).