monorailmedic

If everyone has Voom, than there are a few options for keeping touch - any messaging app really, or WiFi calling if your phone and carrier support it.  What you don't want to do is use the ship's cellular network (CeelularAtSea) as the cost is insane.  

The below articles should help explain how to set up your phone and what your options are.  Reach out with questions!

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise

http://www.cruisehabit.com/wifi

5 minutes ago, Traveler said:

Well , to RCL defense I must say that some of the best sushi I had was in Sao Paulo ...   In Brazil (mainly Sao Paulo) you have the second largest Japanese population outside of Japan 

In Sao Paulo you can have as much as you can eat Sushi lunch  for 15 $  you just order from the menu whatever you want (including very good  sashimi ).

 

Just saw this after my initial note.  Yuppers.  Still seems a stretch (in the same way it'd be funny to see Mexican mole under a US flag on a P & O ship, but I see their logic :-)

14 hours ago, CGTLH said:

Some how this is Brazilian as well...

January is a popular time for Brazilians to travel to the US (many are on Summer Break), so I'd bet there are many Brazilians on your sailing.  The sushi is a bit of a stretch being labeled as Brazilian, though there is a tad of logic to it.  The most populous city in Brazil is São Paulo (in fact, it's one of the most populous cities in the world).  It is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan, so while sushi has become popular in many Western nations, they certainly haven't a shortage of it there.  

Thanks for all the updates!

On 1/7/2018 at 10:48 AM, CGTLH said:

Going off topic... Any suggestions on a quick photo resize utility for Android.

In the most meta of moves, below I've quoted myself from a message board topic here.

I usually do my photo work on a computer, but I've used the below app a few times and it seems to do the job without much fuss.  Straightforward to use, too.  To give you an idea, on my site, most images within an article are 400px wide (though sometimes larger depending on what they are), and in my galleries (where you can see larger versions), they're usually 650px to 1000px wide.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplemobilephotoresizer&hl=en&rdid=com.simplemobilephotoresizer

Everyone has their opinions, and they're all correct opinions for the bearer of them.  You think Royal is the best?  Awesome!  Carnival?  Great.  Think they both stink?  No problem.  

The issue with awards things in many industries (including travel) is that not only are these things very subjective, but there is almost always a business component to them.  Yes guys, that means when Royal gets those awards they're largely as rigged as every other award (as mentioned, MSC got "best new ship" for a ship not yet ready).  

The good news?  None of the awards matter, and as rigged as they are I'm confident they wouldn't promote or prop up a line which wasn't already beloved by many.  Just like individual reviews, pay attention to the things people like and dislike and why they like or dislike them, and then determine how much those things matter to you.

5 minutes ago, toodle68 said:

I agree with both of you.. but well, we have all seen many items increase in fees and RC is the same as any corporation. They will look at and prod/test many things to find the most profit. That sweet spot between pissing off some customers vs. increase in revenue. Communication costs generally come down over time, not up.

Absolutely - it is a business like any other.  That in mind I'd be surprised if they went this way as I suspect in the next year or two we'll see most major lines offering lower prices and faster connections as lack of connectivity becomes a disqualifier for some and connectivity becomes a more valuable marketing tool for the cruise lines.  Table stakes essentially.  Now granted, room for price increases in the short to medium term seem possible, only because RCI is the cheapest in terms of internet access, with the exception of social-only plans from Carnival brands and NCL.  I could see this happening where RCI created social plans which could even be a loss-leader for the sake of publicity, with the added benefit of people holding onto their device, increasingly their likelihood of an "upgrade" to a higher-cost plan. 

Ultimately however they could try anything, so we shall see.

6 minutes ago, toodle68 said:

Something to consider..  but this does not feel much different than buying a drinks package and sharing it.. which resulted in each person in the room needing to purchase the drinks package.  Maybe it might not be too long before each person in a room will need to purchase an internet plan.

You bring up and interesting point.  I'm not sure I see it that way but am receptive to hearing different opinions.  To me, with internet packages you're distributing a commodity which is, for the purposes of this conversation, practically limitless (no single Voom user is doing so much with their phone/laptop that there is a notable difference in overhead to RCI).  With a drink package, two people consuming alcohol on one package actually does represent an increase in overhead.  Further, with the alcohol package, that's someone who would otherwise be paying for drinks (a la carte or w/ another package), whereas with Voom, if you didn't need to be connected all the time, and your friend didn't need to be connected all the time, but you both wanted some access, you'd simply pass a phone/tablet/computer back and forth using the same package, something I don't think most would argue is problematic.

Another factor is that many (if not most) guests wanting to be connected want that connection constantly (I know I do), and the percentage of guests with this desire will only increase.  Wanting to maintain that connection means you won't be able to share, and I suspect the percentage of guests who want that constant connection will only increase over time (essentially, this is why we see everyone moving away from metered connections, where you buy X minutes or X megabytes).

Looking at it yet a third way, sharing a drink package would be like paying for one person to eat at a buffet but actually having two people eat there.  You're doubling consumption.  If however there was a conveyor belt of food which never stopped, and uneaten food went into the abyss, then you'd be paying for the access to the food, and not the food itself.  Being as how time you didn't use the internet connection is gone (it's a perishable commodity in this way), I see Voom like that conveyor belt, and the movement as time.

It's a genuinely interesting thing to think about - so I really am receptive to hearing differing opinions on this one.

This is a great question and honestly not one I've run across.  

Thinking back, there have been times that I've seen tip jars out but many times that I've not (I tend to snoop around the wheelhouse as I still have the curiosity of an 8 year old "ohhh, boat!").

21 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

Countries like China and parts of the Middle East ban the use of VPNs. It's unpopular with everyone except the local governments, but those same governments have put the squeeze on companies that sell products that violate the rule (see the recent kerfuffle over Apple removing all VPN apps from its China app store). If all of Royal's VOOM service goes through the same infrastructure, then it may be that they need to block VPN access everywhere in order have their ships that sail in those regions be compliant with the local laws.

I doubt his for a few reasons, including that I'm not sure China would want to/be able to pressure RCI to make these changes.  In the case of Apple it's about devices in that country rather than, "a Chinese citizen may travel with you outside of our control."  To point out one that is reasonably comparable, if you roam with T-Mobile in China you're actually not subject to the "Great Firewall of China."  Interestingly, whatever methods of blocking traffic China uses, at least as of a couple years ago, seems to be dependent on the IP as I had friends there connecting to my PPTP VPN at home but unable reach other PPTP VPN servers.

Their website is nothing to look at but Dolphin Limo has been around in South Florida for as long as I can remember.  We have a ton of limo services here, so plenty of options :-)

http://www.dolphin-limo.com/

On 11/28/2017 at 9:13 AM, Matt said:

I was able to use my company's VPN while on Harmony in July, which was not a major VPN provider.

While I was on Independence last week, I could not connect to Windscribe VPN on multiple occasions.  It would time out, which seems to indicate it was blocked.

I'm curious which protocols and/or ports they're blocking as I could set my home VPN up to allow said protocols/ports then tunnel out from there.

1 minute ago, bigaznn said:

Let me see if I understand what you're saying.  So If I were to order 3 different lines then I'll have 3 different credentials?  So I'd be able to keep credential A for myself, give credential B to another room completely and credential C to another room completely to use and all 3 credentials can be used at the same time. 

You got it.

Anyone can use the log-ins, yes.  That in mind, each set of credentials can only be used on one device at a time.  So if the first set of credentials is used on Person A's iPhone, and then Person B logs it with the same credentials, it will let them log in and it will work, but Person A will now be logged out.  Make sense?

1 minute ago, Matt said:

Glad to hear you are enjoying the podcasts...even the episodes with @monorailmedic

@RestingBirds is only up to episode 25 - I've not chimed in yet.  Swoop in, @Matt, save your listeners.  

Glad you enjoyed.  I use the episodes I'm on to help me fall asleep. 

I've not, but I know @Big Dawg Ron has.  Pretty sure there was a note in the Cruise Compass, and the rates were incredible.  I think @mpoole3 has seen offers as well.

2 hours ago, twangster said:

UK - £4,018. Price includes gratuity and beverage package.  Deposit required today £300.

Total price with gratuity and beverage package £4,018.10

US - $3,628.00 with $100 on board credit.  Effective price $3,528.00.  Gratuity @ $14.50 pppd = $348.  Drink package for two $1,189.  Deposit required today $900.

Total price with gratuity and drink package $5,065.00

Exchange rates are a little tricky to calculate fairly or realistically based on buy versus sell, wholesale versus consumer rates, however according to Google at this moment:

4018 British Pound equals 5430.33 US Dollar

while 

5605 US Dollar equals 4147.25 British Pound

Was the sailing you quoted $5605USD or $5065USD?  I did a quick search (didn't see any 6Ds remaining) and I got roughly $5200 (didn't calculate exactly) but just wanted clarity since you have two different prices listed.

I don't doubt that you'll find some examples of UK pricing being more favorable - few things in life are absolute.  This is however more likely an exception than a rule unless something has drastically changed.  

One interesting thing to note is that NCL includes drink packages in ALL bookings made from the UK (not just sailing from the UK, but any UK bookings for any sailing).

4 hours ago, Sabrinaklai said:

That's a pretty good deal.  How come we can't get a deal like that in North America?!  All we get is the usual instant savings...blah blah blah...?

 

Pretty sure you don't want to pay UK's prices.  They often pay much higher rates than those of us in North America.

I heard a call.  Did someone set off the "bash Sorrentos" siren? 

Yeah, I'm not a fan - at all.  Many lines do pizza poorly and Sorrentos is definitely one of them.  We had pretty great pizza (from a similar style venue) on HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam recently, so floating and good pizza are not incompatible.   

29 minutes ago, Ray said:

you don't need to put on airplane mode, just switch off "data roaming" this means that all email, text messages etc are blocked but phone will still ring in case of emergency back home

Texts will still come through - but in most cases they're not terrifically expensive to receive (depends on the carrier obviously).  Random fact - texts/SMS messages actually ride on the packets of info that your phone and the tower use to check in on each other.  That is to say, the idea that carriers ever got away charging for texts is nuts, as it requires no overhead on their part.  The text info is smaller than the packets going back and forth - much like sticking a coin in an envelope - the stamp doesn't get more expensive as whatever you can fit in travels.  Nerd-rambling complete. :-)

@JLMoran Summed things up nicely.  It's, generally speaking, a regular internet connection.  If your phone supports WiFi calling that should work - but it's just one of the many ways of keeping in touch.  The below articles should provide some additional guidance.  Reach out with any questions!

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise
http://cruisehabit.com/wifi

3 hours ago, Matt said:

Great wrap up of your first day.  Thanks for sharing it!

I am pinging @monorailmedic for Android app recommendations for resizing photos easily. You're on the right track, resizing offline is much faster.

I usually do my photo work on a computer, but I've used the below app a few times and it seems to do the job without much fuss.  Straightforward to use, too.  To give you an idea, on my site, most images within an article are 400px wide (though sometimes larger depending on what they are), and in my galleries (where you can see larger versions), they're usually 650px to 1000px wide.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplemobilephotoresizer&hl=en&rdid=com.simplemobilephotoresizer

Alright, this thread inspired me to write this out a bit more.  Shameless plug incoming...

http://www.cruisehabit.com/“smart-bags”-have-become-popular-–-we-find-some-impracticalities-and-now-airlines-are-banning-them

20 minutes ago, Stephanie said:

I, too, am in desperate need of new luggage.  I had been looking at the Away bags.  Their bags fit inside each other for ease of storage, and they have chargers built into them.  They also seem reasonably priced.

I'm appreciative of the other information here.  Definitely need to do more research before making a decision...

I personally am averse to bags with built in chargers for a few reasons.  For one, I'd rather have a charger that can go in any bag, my pocket, etc.  I own several different Anker chargers - great quality.  Another great reason - airlines aren't keen on large lithium batteries that can't be easily removed.  I always figured this would come up - and recently I saw this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2017/12/06/thinking-about-getting-one-of-those-smart-bags-for-your-holiday-travel-read-this-first/

Almost all of our bags are from Timbuk2 and we've been using their stuff for years of flying, cruising, and more.  You can buy them direct, on Amazon, and from others.  

We have 2 of their carry-on-sized Co-Pilots and one extra large (must be checked).  We also have several of their messengers: small "daily carry" bags and  larger Command laptop messengers.  They also make travel wallets, pouches, and other things you'll find on me at any given point.

They think of all the little things.  Inside zippered sections are fastened to neoprene, so when you've packed too much in and are zipping up the compartment it doesn't feel like the fabric is going to tear or the zipper fail.  There are handled on all 4 edges of the Co-Pilots so that when you go to get a heavy bag from a trunk, the baggage carousel, etc you can easily grab it.  Most of their bags are made with waterproof materials, wheeled bags use ABEC bearings and skateboard wheels so they roll smooth, and the workmanship is fantastic while remaining light.  

Their products have a lifetime warranty, and thoughtfully, some parts are user replaceable (like the wheels and bearings, pads for straps, etc).  Find almost any pic of me on a trip and I've got Timbuk2 bags with me, and in most cases, one on me.