rtread Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 Going on 7 day Caribbean cruise later, at first I thought I'd leave laptop at home, take iPhone and use for emergencies only and for texting as I normally do. Then I thought I'd buy an iPad because I reasoned it would be more useful on the ship than my laptop or my cell phone. That's where I am now....pricing iPads. I have read about VOOM but don't understand it. I use Wi-Fi at home and barely understand it. I have read about contacting AT&T to get a international package of some kind. I use my Iphone for phone calls, texting and as a mini-computer for research. Capability I need while on ship: Stay in touch with family back home for emergency purposes. (Texting/phone calls) Be able to make normal bank transactions like I do now on laptop and cell phone app. Be able to text back and forth with wife while on ship. Advice appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoofbeats95 Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 Do you really need to make bank transactions? I don't know that I'd trust the wifi on the ship to be secure enough for that? Call AT&T and ask them about your options for the ports that you are going to. ATT using GSM network technology which is much more compatible with the rest of the world. You likely will be able to use your cell in ports. I just contacted Sprint about this and I can use it in all of my ports next week. You just need to find out if there is cost and get your phone set up so that it will roam internationally. They will help you with that. On ship though, you won't have ATT cell service. Some ships have cell service. It's the Maritime service. https://www.wmsatsea.com/faqs.html But it's stupid expensive. You probably do not want to connect to this. You will want to put your phone in airplane mode when the ship leaves ports. So when you are at sea, your best option would be the VOOM wifi service. Then your phone can get on the internet. If your phone is capable and ATT allow, you can set up wifi calling. Then you can make and receive calls over wifi and it acts just like normal calls. Texts however are not sent via wifi I don't believe. So you may want to consider a different messaging app and tell family to use that. Mine will be contacting me via FB messenger. I can't advise on an iPad. I have one, never use it and won't be bringing it on the cruise. My phone is sufficient for what I will be doing. I hope that helps and if I gave any misinformation I hope someone corrects me. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtread Posted March 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 2 minutes ago, hoofbeats95 said: My phone is sufficient for what I will be doing. I hope that helps and if I gave any misinformation I hope someone corrects me. :) Good advice and just what I need. I'll refer back to your post as the cruise date gets closer. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 When I go on vacation, I do not bring any computer at all. I bring my phone while on the road but when I get in my room the phone gets turned off and in the safe for the duration of the cruise. I am on Vacation!! Everything can wait. In case of emergencies, you already fill out the form prior to your cruise. Besides, what is it, that anyone that is not already there, can do for you in an emergency? Fuzzywuzzy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtread Posted March 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 20 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said: When I go on vacation, I do not bring any computer at all. I bring my phone while on the road but when I get in my room the phone gets turned off and in the safe for the duration of the cruise. I am on Vacation!! Everything can wait. In case of emergencies, you already fill out the form prior to your cruise. Besides, what is it, that anyone that is not already there, can do for you in an emergency? Good advice and I guess I'm guilty of trying to cover all bases. The form you referred to....is it something done at embarkation or before that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 4 minutes ago, rtread said: Good advice and I guess I'm guilty of trying to cover all bases. The form you referred to....is it something done at embarkation or before that? it is part of your check in docs...you can do it on line from the cruise planner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtread Posted March 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 3 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said: it is part of your check in docs...you can do it on line from the cruise planner. Thanks....I'm just now getting familiar with the cruise planner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 3 hours ago, rtread said: have read about contacting AT&T to get a international package of some kind. I would not recommend these packages. They are overpriced and Royal Caribbean's internet plans provide a superior experience. 3 hours ago, rtread said: Capability I need while on ship: Stay in touch with family back home for emergency purposes. (Texting/phone calls) Be able to make normal bank transactions like I do now on laptop and cell phone app. Be able to text back and forth with wife while on ship. You can do all of these with something called WiFi calling. It's free, easy to use, and you can test it out at home first: https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/features/wifi-calling.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoofbeats95 Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 Matt do you know att packages are overpriced? My sprint package has a international experience included. I can get calls and text in Mexico for no charge. Also in other countries as well. Their site just allows me to query by location and see the charges. Sprint typically has the least international options so I was surprised. Lots has changed in recent years. I would imagine ATT has some reasonable options. But connecting to the maritime service on ship is really stupid expensive. That you want to avoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 1 minute ago, hoofbeats95 said: Matt do you know att packages are overpriced? The calling packages are vastly overpriced, compared to utilizing WiFi calling with Royal Caribbean's internet package. 1 minute ago, hoofbeats95 said: My sprint package has a international experience included. I can get calls and text in Mexico for no charge. Also in other countries as well. Their site just allows me to query by location and see the charges. Keep in mind that international plan does not apply to cruise ships. It will be considered roaming and cost you vastly extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitsmom Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 I have AT&T and we get free calls from Mexico and Canada; everywhere else if we use our phone in port, then it is a $10/day charge. Just remember to put your phone back into airplane mode on the ship. We used WiFi calling with VOOM and texting worked also. To text someone on the ship they would have to have VOOM also unless you are on a ship with the Royal App (which I haven't had a chance to try yet). IRMO12HD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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