Voom Surf vs Voom Surf + Stream

[newcruiser215]

Hello. Taking my first RC cruise in a couple of weeks on Symphony. Has anyone had any experience with the Voom Surf package and using Facetime? Just wondering if it's absolutely necessary for me to pay extra for "Stream" just to use this function on my iPhone. Any feedback is much appreciated. 

[Richardg1978]

I was recently on the Allure of the Seas with my parents. I had the Streaming Voom while my father only had the basic. Both were hit or miss depending on the ships location and our location on the ship. I could almost always facetime, while my father could sometimes, depending on location. To answer your question, no it is not absolutely necessary, but will be much more reliable if you pay for Streaming Voom. 

[steverk]

We've used surf for FaceTime many times and rarely have an issue. In fact, we're using it this week. That said, general surfing can be very slow.

About a year ago we had the opportunity to compare surf with surf and stream side by side. There was no noticeable difference,  but ships have more people now and surf is slower than it was.

[newcruiser215]

24 minutes ago, steverk said:

We've used surf for FaceTime many times and rarely have an issue. In fact, we're using it this week. That said, general surfing can be very slow.

About a year ago we had the opportunity to compare surf with surf and stream side by side. There was no noticeable difference,  but ships have more people now and surf is slower than it was.

Thank you. I'm only getting the internet package so we can facetime the kids. I have no plans of streaming or doing much surfing. 

[Dad2Cue]

2 hours ago, steverk said:

About a year ago we had the opportunity to compare surf with surf and stream side by side. There was no noticeable difference,  but ships have more people now and surf is slower than it was.

I have always purchased the multi device stream internet package because the price differential wasn't that much compared to the surf only package.  We don't usually "stream" anything but internet speed while surfing can be frustrating at times.  The price of any internet package has doubled in recent years.  I'm tempted to try a 2 device surf only package but the cost is still about the same as what a 4 device stream package used to cost. 

Should we do a single device "stream package" and share it or a two device "surf package" and get used to the slower speed?  It won't matter on our next Alaskan cruise in August.  Am I correct in thinking our 1 BR Grand Suite is sky class and each of us will get a single device stream included???

[FireFishII]

I had tried to use surf and was disappointed by the slow speeds.  I did not try facetime.  For us, it is better to get 1 package of "stream" and share it between my husband and I. 

[Pattycruise]

There is a slight delay in the connection with Facetime when you first connect.  My daughter understands this and she patiently waits for the connect to "connect", my husband gets very frustrated when I Facetime him because he expects an instant connection (no matter how many times I warn him to have patience)-so I end up hanging up on him and just make the phone call.  I use surf after midnight typically and it is fine on Oasis, Anthem was more of a problem, one time to the point I went to the Voom desk to complain (even phone calls were bad) and he  mused "oh that is when the crew logs in for their free internet maybe I should stop them from doing that" My instant response was absolutely not, I can talk to my family any time of day.  I've also successfully used ZOOM during cruises with just a surf package.

[Swar]

Wait until you do an Alaska cruise on Radiance. Understandably, there are many connectivity issues. Try to do your COVID test for the return flight home and sweat out the 15 minute wait. In truth, most of the time the system worked ok. 

[newcruiser215]

1 hour ago, Pattycruise said:

There is a slight delay in the connection with Facetime when you first connect.  My daughter understands this and she patiently waits for the connect to "connect", my husband gets very frustrated when I Facetime him because he expects an instant connection (no matter how many times I warn him to have patience)-so I end up hanging up on him and just make the phone call.  I use surf after midnight typically and it is fine on Oasis, Anthem was more of a problem, one time to the point I went to the Voom desk to complain (even phone calls were bad) and he  mused "oh that is when the crew logs in for their free internet maybe I should stop them from doing that" My instant response was absolutely not, I can talk to my family any time of day.  I've also successfully used ZOOM during cruises with just a surf package.

Thanks for this. Realistically I don’t expect the speed to be great, especially when you consider how many other people are sharing the same Wi-Fi connection. I’ve read the Wi-Fi on symphony is pretty good so I guess we’ll see. I just wanted to see if using FaceTime was possible with just surf. Hopefully the kids won’t want to talk too long lol 

[AshleyDillo]

7 hours ago, Dad2Cue said:

Am I correct in thinking our 1 BR Grand Suite is sky class and each of us will get a single device stream included???

Only if you are sailing Ovation or Quantum from Alaska.  It's only Oasis class and Quantum class ships where you get the free Surf & Stream for Sky Class.