Phone calls possible from Symphony of the Seas?

[Borroloola]

Hello everyone. This will be our first sailing with Royal Caribbean and any help would be much appreciated.

There will be several days at sea in a row on our cruise with the SotS and I need to make a short phone call to a landline number every day. Our mobile phone provider won’t allow for satellite calls (not even for a surcharge) so  my question is if is there any phone available on the ship.

Neither email nor any messenger services are an option to reach the recipient unfortunately. 
 

Thank you.

[AshleyDillo]

Best option is to purchase the VOOM internet package and use wifi calling on your cell phone.

[Gears]

Yes, you can call ship to shore. Beware, it's around $7+/-...per minute.

If you are going to get a a Surf + Stream/VOOM Internet package anyway...as mentioned, best to use some sort of VoIP app.

[smokeybandit]

Wifi calling via an app like whatsapp is an option too

[loki007]

As mentioned above you will be able to make wifi calls with the upgraded wifi package. Also when you are at port you could turn your phone on and roam. I have verizon and its a flat rate of $10/day when not in the US

[Borroloola]

Thank you very much for your replies. Much appreciated.

I would prefer to use VoIP or WhatsApp but am afraid such calls cannot go to a recipient on a landline, or can they? There will be 9 days at sea in a row so no ports for that period of time. 
 

So I suppose I will have to pay for the rather pricey ship to shore calling option. I will try to keep the duration of the daily calls down to 2-3 minutes then. It’s expensive but that this option is there is a great relief. 
 

Thanks again!

[teddy]

I’ve never used WhatsApp, but I know WiFi calling will call landlines because I’ve done it. 
 

I suspect WhatsApp will too, but I have no experience with it. 

[Xaa]

3 hours ago, Borroloola said:

Thank you very much for your replies. Much appreciated.

I would prefer to use VoIP or WhatsApp but am afraid such calls cannot go to a recipient on a landline, or can they? There will be 9 days at sea in a row so no ports for that period of time. 
 

So I suppose I will have to pay for the rather pricey ship to shore calling option. I will try to keep the duration of the daily calls down to 2-3 minutes then. It’s expensive but that this option is there is a great relief. 
 

Thanks again!

You should try wifi calling first and then only use the ship as a last resort if it doesn't work.

[smokeybandit]

Whatsapp can call landlines

[DoomSlayer]

Native WiFi via VOOM calling does work for most IPhone and Android phones if your carrier supports it.  I have used it several times on the ship bypassing the onboard cellular service and fees.  Without knowing your carrier and phone type, it would probably be best to contact them to see if it is supported and how to enable it on your phone.  I use T-Mobile and have no problem with WiFi calling and with my plan, I have no additional fees in Mexico and Canada, which accounts for 99% of my destination ports when off the ship.  

[whitsmom]

We use WiFi calling (make sure to set it up before you go--if your carrier allows it).  It worked good for us calling land lines or cell phones.  You can test it at home to make sure that it works.  We keep our phones WiFi calling always turned on as we don't have the best reception at our house.

[Borroloola]

You all are incredible. Just tried and it works. This is such a big help.  Thank you so much. 

[AshleyDillo]

7 hours ago, Borroloola said:

I would prefer to use VoIP or WhatsApp but am afraid such calls cannot go to a recipient on a landline, or can they? There will be 9 days at sea in a row so no ports for that period of time. 

It should. Enable wifi calling on your cell phone and get it set up at home. Then if you have wifi at home, put your phone on airplane mode and connect to your home wifi with the phone. Airplane mode turns off the cellular connection. Then try making a phone call with your cell phone to a landlines with wifi calling to test it.

[Mark_A]

Also , don't forget to place your phone in "Airplane mode" snd then enable wifi

[Linda R]

I have wifi calling set up on my phone and make calls all the time.  No fees.

[Borroloola]

I have tried WiFi to landline calling now and it works perfectly. 
Boom Surf and Stream is now booked for our sailing. 
Thanks for all your help. This forum is amazing.