HAK1906 Posted March 23, 2016 Report Share Posted March 23, 2016 I have an iPhone 6 and have AT&T as my cell phone carrier (I additionally work for AT&T :), i received the following text message yesterday evening: AT&T Free Msg: With the latest software update for your phone you can use Wi-Fi Calling when traveling outside the U.S. This means you can call back to the U.S. or receive incoming calls, with no airtime charges. When you call international numbers, your rates will be the same as those in your smartphone plan or your international package. For details visit att.com/wificalling Talking to some of my mobility peers they said if your phone is enabled for wi-fi calling and you are on wi-fi and it says wifi in the upper left corner, you can call and receive calls while international and it doesn't count again your roaming and no airtime charges. Since Royal has Voom on some ships I would think this is a good way to communicate with those on wifi or call back to the states via wifi. Not sure if others received this text but I see this as great news and not having to get an international plan while on my cruise in January. whitsmom and DocLC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhm0204 Posted March 23, 2016 Report Share Posted March 23, 2016 There are tons of apps that do the same thing as well. we always use them when travelling abroad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitsmom Posted March 23, 2016 Report Share Posted March 23, 2016 I have an iPhone 6 and have AT&T as my cell phone carrier (I additionally work for AT&T :), i received the following text message yesterday evening: AT&T Free Msg: With the latest software update for your phone you can use Wi-Fi Calling when traveling outside the U.S. This means you can call back to the U.S. or receive incoming calls, with no airtime charges. When you call international numbers, your rates will be the same as those in your smartphone plan or your international package. For details visit att.com/wificalling Talking to some of my mobility peers they said if your phone is enabled for wi-fi calling and you are on wi-fi and it says wifi in the upper left corner, you can call and receive calls while international and it doesn't count again your roaming and no airtime charges. Since Royal has Voom on some ships I would think this is a good way to communicate with those on wifi or call back to the states via wifi. Not sure if others received this text but I see this as great news and not having to get an international plan while on my cruise in January. That's awesone! Thanks for posting this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted March 23, 2016 Report Share Posted March 23, 2016 Related to this, the latest version of iOS (9.3) allows for Wi-Fi Calling on late model iPhones with Verizon Wireless. I used it last week on Freedom of the Seas and placed and received a few phone calls using the ship's less-than-stellar (non-Voom) Wi-Fi service. I was very pleased that it worked and I was able to call Royal Caribbean regarding an issue I was having onboard at no extra charge. :) DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted March 23, 2016 Report Share Posted March 23, 2016 The benefit of wifi calling over that of an app is that you are using your phone as you normally would. You don't have to rely on someone else having the app or not recognizing the number your calling from if you're dialing a landline from the app. HAK1906 and Matt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 The benefit of wifi calling over that of an app is that you are using your phone as you normally would. You don't have to rely on someone else having the app or not recognizing the number your calling from if you're dialing a landline from the app. Well said. This is the best benefit DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristen Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 I'm still a bit confused about the whole WiFi/Voom thing. I don't want internet so i'm not getting Voom. Can we still use our iPhones to communicate via iMessage or WiFi calling? If not, what app do you all use to communicate without getting Voom? I will have 2 teenagers on the ship and am fully expecting not seeing them much the whole week :) but i'd like to be able to check in once in a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 I'm still a bit confused about the whole WiFi/Voom thing. I don't want internet so i'm not getting Voom. Can we still use our iPhones to communicate via iMessage or WiFi calling? If not, what app do you all use to communicate without getting Voom? I will have 2 teenagers on the ship and am fully expecting not seeing them much the whole week :) but i'd like to be able to check in once in a while. Voom is the high speed version of WiFi offered on some Royal ships. If you do not get internet access your phone will have no way to communicate with anyone. Your cell phone needs a cell tower (none at sea), or WiFi to be able to work. Short answer if you want to use WiFi (Voom) the only real choice on the ship is Royal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatMe Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 I'm still a bit confused about the whole WiFi/Voom thing. I don't want internet so i'm not getting Voom. Can we still use our iPhones to communicate via iMessage or WiFi calling? If not, what app do you all use to communicate without getting Voom? I will have 2 teenagers on the ship and am fully expecting not seeing them much the whole week :) but i'd like to be able to check in once in a while. Voom is the high speed version of WiFi offered on some Royal ships. If you do not get internet access your phone will have no way to communicate with anyone. Your cell phone needs a cell tower (none at sea), or WiFi to be able to work. Short answer if you want to use WiFi (Voom) the only real choice on the ship is Royal. There is another option but I'm not sure it will save you much. Most cell phone providers do have an international plan that includes cruise ships (which do in fact have thier own cell tower). I paid $25 per phone for the ability to make and receive calls for $2.50/min and send text $.50/ea and receive texts $.10/text. This comes with some pretty big cautions! Cell service,is provided through satellite and can be sketchy. Also you really have to be careful about what island you will traveling to and they are covered by the International plan. As soon as the ship is moored at the pier the ship turns their service off and you phone will connect to local networks. If you haven't switched to airplane mode or turned your data off charges will pile up fast. Additionally the cell service at sea is only strong enough for voice and text, no data. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatMe Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 I'm still a bit confused about the whole WiFi/Voom thing. I don't want internet so i'm not getting Voom. Can we still use our iPhones to communicate via iMessage or WiFi calling? If not, what app do you all use to communicate without getting Voom? I will have 2 teenagers on the ship and am fully expecting not seeing them much the whole week :) but i'd like to be able to check in once in a while. My mom put a watch on me and said " be here at x o'clock if you want to enjoy the rest of your vacation" we learned pretty quickly to check in on time :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatMe Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 So this thread piqued my interest. So I looked through my Samsung S6 turned off mobile service and turned on WiFi calling and, BOOM, made a call. I had no idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 So this thread piqued my interest. So I looked through my Samsung S6 turned off mobile service and turned on WiFi calling and, BOOM, made a call. I had no idea. You are on a ship and made a call... but you do have a internet package through Royal right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 Your cell phone needs a cell tower (none at sea)What makes you say that (the "none at sea" part)? WMS offers Cellular At Sea, providing cellular services on cruise ships. Of course, using this does cost a pretty penny, especially for data! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 What makes you say that (the "none at sea" part)? WMS offers Cellular At Sea, providing cellular services on cruise ships. Of course, using this does cost a pretty penny, especially for data! Because in that case the "Cell Tower" is Royal, so why not just use Royal direct. "Royal Caribbean ship and the ship begins to sail, Royal Caribbean operates a WMS mobile network, known as Cellular at Sea, that will work with any phone that allows roaming." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatMe Posted March 28, 2016 Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 You are on a ship and made a call... but you do have a internet package through Royal right? No, I was in my living room. But yes, if I were on a ship I would have to have paid for internet. On a side note, prior to our last cruise I was one of those who decried the use of Internet and said things like I go on vacation to disconnect. But because we wee getting married on our last cruise, I wanted my wife-to-be to want for nothing and splurged on the Internet package and now we will always get it. Doing a little research on islands, pricing cruises before going to the next cruise desk, wifi texting, planning my running route, and yes posting to social media. It really made the vacation more enjoyable and worth the cost IMHO. lhm0204 and DocLC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAK1906 Posted March 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 So this thread piqued my interest. So I looked through my Samsung S6 turned off mobile service and turned on WiFi calling and, BOOM, made a call. I had no idea. I tested this out at home as well with my iPhone 6 with the ios9.3 update. Put in airplane mode turned on wifi calling. Wifi calling Showed up in the upper left corner and I made a call. As mentioned in my initial post, if you have the VOOM package, this should work while out at sea or in another country. Check with your carrier to be 100% positive. Those cruise packages that carriers have, including AT&T are very very costly. FloatMe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.