Diamondntherough Posted July 17, 2019 Report Share Posted July 17, 2019 The different internet packages. Which one is the best value? And it states that you can surf and stream your favorite movies. I have several questions... 1: Am I able to stream my movies to the television in the state room or is movies available via the television? 2: Can I bring my fire stick to watch on the television? 3: Is the speed as fast as they state or a lot of buffering? 4: Will I still be using my cellular plan or its all wifi inclusive? Thanks in advance for all of your feed back.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wnuk Posted July 17, 2019 Report Share Posted July 17, 2019 I don’t know on questions 1 & 2. 3. The speed is very fast for satellite WiFi. We experienced no hiccups. 4.put you phone in airplane mode when leavin port. That way no unexpected roaming charges. We were able to still message and make phone calls as normal using just Voom Diamondntherough 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregD Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 I have always purchased the surf and stream package. The value gets a little better when you have multiple devices. As far as streaming to your stateroom TV, I believe you are not able to do that, but there are movies you can watch on their own service. I have not tried attaching a firestick so I can’t answer that for you. The speed is decent to where you can watch Netflix etc, but expect some buffering at times. I believe some ships have newer technology than others and may be faster, but I’m not 100% sure on the numbers. I believe @twangster has some speed test data on another post. as was stated, put your phone in airplane mode. Use WiFi. Diamondntherough 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 Personally I find Surf and Stream the best value. Typical speeds are ~4Mbps down and 2Mbps up per plan. If you have a Voom plan and your spouse has a Voom plan, you each get this speed. There are differences between ships. Royal's Freedom, Oasis and Quantum class use newer satellite technology. Princess is rolling out this same technology to some of it's ships, they call it MedallionNet instead of Voom. Older ships use older satellite technology. You can still stream but will likely see some more buffering at times on the older ships. Until you climb up the Crown and Loyalty program you are best buying Voom in advance in the cruise planner. Buy it whenever you want but keep checking for price drops. If the price drops, cancel your purchase and buy it again at the lower price. Cruise Planner sales freeze ~ 3 days before sailing so don't leave it to the last minute or you'll be forced to pay higher rates on board. I've watched live football games on my iPad in HD like quality. A couple times over the 3 hours it paused or glitched but for the most part it works pretty well, so much better than the internet I experienced on Carnival ships. The ability to use the HDMI input on the cabin TV varies by ship but generally speaking they don't make it easy. Internet is over satellite so it isn't perfect or exactly like at home but for ship internet it's usually pretty good and often better than hotel internet. WiFi calling works fine for me. Make sure wifi calling is working at home before boarding and use airplane mode once on board. What ship? Diamondntherough 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondntherough Posted July 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 @twangster I'm going to make you my Royal Caribbean go to ambassador I really appreciate you taking the time to school me on how royal operates. I'v been a loyal Carnival cruiser for over 20yrs and look to make a change. I'm very OCD about the flow of things, and I love order. Carnival has lost a lot of points with me over the last few sailings. So making the decision have a cruise love affair (if you will) with another line with out the added protection (pun intended ). Anyway I digress. So Voom surf & stream for 2 is the better option for me and the hubby I will pack the tablet just in case I can't use the fire stick. And expect some buffering or freezing . We are sailing on Harmony of the seas 9/8/19 mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 Harmony has great Voom but satellites are always impacted by bad weather and such. In some cabins on Harmony the HDTV displays are tight against the wall and you can't even reach the HDMI inputs, in some cabins you can. It's complicated. They are Samsung TVs so sometimes you can get a Samsung device to mirror to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondntherough Posted July 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 Well that's a bit of sunshine. I have a Samsung device so fingers crossed I can mirror. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly N Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 If I had bought a two device package for my husband and me, can I use my phone and then switch it out with my iPad at night? I wanted to do that with the last cruise but didn’t know how or if I could do it so we ended up carrying our iPads for nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 40 minutes ago, Kelly N said: If I had bought a two device package for my husband and me, can I use my phone and then switch it out with my iPad at night? I wanted to do that with the last cruise but didn’t know how or if I could do it so we ended up carrying our iPads for nothing. It's 2 devices at one time... If you log in a new one, it just boots the original so yes... You can totally switch up the devices!!! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly N Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 Weird I tried doing that but it kept saying I was maxed out on my devices and it didn’t boot me off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 Depends on your device. I always have to log out of one to log into the other. just use your browser to go to logoff.com and you'll be all set! Kelly N 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poleman88 Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 10 hours ago, twangster said: Personally I find Surf and Stream the best value. Typical speeds are ~4Mbps down and 2Mbps up per plan. If you have a Voom plan and your spouse has a Voom plan, you each get this speed. There are differences between ships. Royal's Freedom, Oasis and Quantum class use newer satellite technology. Princess is rolling out this same technology to some of it's ships, they call it MedallionNet instead of Voom. Older ships use older satellite technology. You can still stream but will likely see some more buffering at times on the older ships. Until you climb up the Crown and Loyalty program you are best buying Voom in advance in the cruise planner. Buy it whenever you want but keep checking for price drops. If the price drops, cancel your purchase and buy it again at the lower price. Cruise Planner sales freeze ~ 3 days before sailing so don't leave it to the last minute or you'll be forced to pay higher rates on board. I've watched live football games on my iPad in HD like quality. A couple times over the 3 hours it paused or glitched but for the most part it works pretty well, so much better than the internet I experienced on Carnival ships. The ability to use the HDMI input on the cabin TV varies by ship but generally speaking they don't make it easy. Internet is over satellite so it isn't perfect or exactly like at home but for ship internet it's usually pretty good and often better than hotel internet. WiFi calling works fine for me. Make sure wifi calling is working at home before boarding and use airplane mode once on board. What ship? You mentioned climbing the C & A ladder for discounts? I'm currently Emerald and will move to Diamond at the end of my Nov.2020 cruise. Is it a big discount compared to a 30% pre cruise sale. Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 2 hours ago, Poleman88 said: You mentioned climbing the C & A ladder for discounts? I'm currently Emerald and will move to Diamond at the end of my Nov.2020 cruise. Is it a big discount compared to a 30% pre cruise sale. Thank you in advance. Emerald nets you 15% off. Diamond gives you a free day of Surf or a $22.99 discount. On shorter cruises or if you just need to cover sea days this can start to make it cheaper to buy on board. If traveling with another Diamond member you both a free day. Many couples will share these two free days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 5 minutes ago, twangster said: If traveling with another Diamond member you both a free day. Many couples will share these two free days. Yes, this is our method now so we have the $$ for excursions or gifts. twangster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 The remotes that Royal provide won't let you change the inputs on the TV, so you may want to pack a universal remote if you're going to try the Firestick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poleman88 Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 1 hour ago, twangster said: Emerald nets you 15% off. Diamond gives you a free day of Surf or a $22.99 discount. On shorter cruises or if you just need to cover sea days this can start to make it cheaper to buy on board. If traveling with another Diamond member you both a free day. Many couples will share these two free days. Thank you very much twangster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 11 minutes ago, Poleman88 said: Thank you very much twangster! Being from Canada I'm not sure your cell phone will have coverage included at US ports but for me since my phone works right up until sail away on day one I often wait to buy Voom on board on the morning of day two. The full voyage plans on board go down in price as each day passes since there is one less day left in the voyage. Combine that with the $22.99 discount and it can cost less to buy Voom on board compared to in the cruise planner. As a D+ I get two free days or a $45.98 discount off the on-board full voyage plans so I often use this tactic to save some $$$. Assuming a cruise planner cost of $14.99 for Voom Surf and Stream for a Diamond member it looks like this: For seven night cruisers or shorter the green cells indicate it's cheaper to buy Voom on board on day two. On a four night cruise a Diamond member can save $20 USD by employing this tactic. For longer cruises the cruise planner is the way to go. PS - love The Rock, it's a great part of Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poleman88 Posted July 19, 2019 Report Share Posted July 19, 2019 On 7/18/2019 at 1:12 PM, twangster said: Being from Canada I'm not sure your cell phone will have coverage included at US ports but for me since my phone works right up until sail away on day one I often wait to buy Voom on board on the morning of day two. The full voyage plans on board go down in price as each day passes since there is one less day left in the voyage. Combine that with the $22.99 discount and it can cost less to buy Voom on board compared to in the cruise planner. As a D+ I get two free days or a $45.98 discount off the on-board full voyage plans so I often use this tactic to save some $$$. Assuming a cruise planner cost of $14.99 for Voom Surf and Stream for a Diamond member it looks like this: For seven night cruisers or shorter the green cells indicate it's cheaper to buy Voom on board on day two. On a four night cruise a Diamond member can save $20 USD by employing this tactic. For longer cruises the cruise planner is the way to go. PS - love The Rock, it's a great part of Canada. Thank you again Twangster! Definitely keep this in mind for future cruises. I paid $111.00 CAD for our 7 night coming up in October. It's definitely a great part of Canada,( I may be bias) but it's too cold sometimes!! Love the cruising and the heat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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