twangster Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 A lot of people have discovered that Apple iMessage works for free on certain ships. This has some Android users questioning why RCI is allowing this for Apple devices but not allowing any texting app to work for free on Android. I have a theory. RoyalIQ offers a texting feature for $7.95 for the full voyage. On Apple devices the RoyalIQ app has to use the Apple notification platform to inform users a text has been received. This requires that TCP-5223 be open to the internet. As it turns out this is also one of the ports that iMessage uses. It appears that iMessage working is a side effect of making notifications work on the RoyalIQ app. My theory is that Royal is not trying to give Apple users an advantage, they have to allow it in order to make Royal IQ work on Apple devices. Eventually the new Royal app will replace RoyalIQ and that is expected this year for some ships in the fleet. Once RoyalIQ is replaced by the new app on the Quantum class I expect iMessage to stop working unless you purchase Voom. Enjoy it while you can. accio7 and Lovetocruise2002 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 Hmm sounds like an experiment for me to try in May on Harmony. Shame you can't define ports that services can use... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 Perfect. If it still works in 3 weeks, I can use it to message my daughter. We did not purchase VOOM for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 1 minute ago, CGTLH said: Hmm sounds like an experiment for me to try in May on Harmony. Shame you can't define ports that services can use... I'm wondering if one could piggy back other traffic onto TCP/5223 such as a proxy server running at home then proxy all traffic over it. Or configure a VPN to listen on TCP/5223 at home. Knowing Apple there is a long list of potential servers to whitelist so they might have had to make it open to all internet destinations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 1 minute ago, twangster said: I'm wondering if one could piggy back other traffic onto TCP/5223 such as a proxy server running at home then proxy all traffic over it. Or configure a VPN to listen on TCP/5223 at home. Knowing Apple there is a long list of potential servers to whitelist so they might have had to make it open to all internet destinations. Do I need to wrap my head in foil to keep you from reading my mind? henrysea13 and RestingBird 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 2 minutes ago, CGTLH said: Do I need to wrap my head in foil to keep you from reading my mind? Yes, but send a picture to prove you did. RestingBird 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 28 minutes ago, twangster said: Yes, but send a picture to prove you did. Careful what you ask for... RestingBird, Lovetocruise2002, JLMoran and 9 others 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 7 minutes ago, CGTLH said: Careful what you ask for... Can I use that for halloween on the Symphony TA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 18 minutes ago, twangster said: Can I us that for halloween on the Symphony TA? Go for it! That's the get up I did on Oasis. Very compact and easy to pack! Cheap also, already had the shirt. Gloves and sunglasses were ~$3 on ebay, not show was a knit cap ~$3. Wig and beard were $10 on Amazon, look for the caveman one. Dry erase board was I think $2 from Wal-Mart. Amazon had a 11x14 version for $6. The larger one is the one I used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 8 minutes ago, twangster said: Can I use that for halloween on the Symphony TA? Found a full profile picture. Lovetocruise2002, LetsTryThisPlace, twangster and 8 others 2 7 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestingBird Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 Good Lord @CGTLH, that. Is. Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 That is awesome!....love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 10 hours ago, CGTLH said: Careful what you ask for... Now THAT'S funny ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melski94 Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 Sorry I understood none of that except iMessage works on Harmony. I’ve read about this and various reports about in airplane mode or no airplane mode. Is there anything we need to do to out phones to get it to work? Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 7 minutes ago, melski94 said: Sorry I understood none of that except iMessage works on Harmony. I’ve read about this and various reports about in airplane mode or no airplane mode. Is there anything we need to do to out phones to get it to work? Turn on airplane mode, connect to ship wifi (royal-wifi). Use iMessage. The RoyalIQ app requires the same approach. Turn on airplane mode, connect to ship wifi (royal-wifi). Use RoyalIQ. melski94 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floski Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 12 minutes ago, melski94 said: Sorry I understood none of that except iMessage works on Harmony. I’ve read about this and various reports about in airplane mode or no airplane mode. Is there anything we need to do to out phones to get it to work? I know, right? It's like every time they start talking about this stuff, my eyes start going in different circles and I feel dizzy. ABM, Lovetocruise2002, LetsTryThisPlace and 2 others 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 Now getting reports WhatsApp works for some users as well. Worth giving it a shot. LetsTryThisPlace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monorailmedic Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 15 hours ago, twangster said: It appears that iMessage working is a side effect of making notifications work on the RoyalIQ app. My theory is that Royal is not trying to give Apple users an advantage, they have to allow it in order to make Royal IQ work on Apple devices. Ding ding ding. I remember years ago DCL wanted you to be able to download their Navigator app easily from the ship, so they whitelisted certain domains which were required for the app store and app market. As a consequence of their "less than clean" methodology, gmail and google talk worked. BTW, for those finding this thread later on and wondering about staying in touch at sea, check this out: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 57 minutes ago, monorailmedic said: Ding ding ding. I remember years ago DCL wanted you to be able to download their Navigator app easily from the ship, so they whitelisted certain domains which were required for the app store and app market. As a consequence of their "less than clean" methodology, gmail and google talk worked. BTW, for those finding this thread later on and wondering about staying in touch at sea, check this out: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise Even an extension to this exists on the ship that are using the new app (not Royal IQ). They have an option to enter your info so you can download the app. Well if you happen to exit the store without downloading it gives you full internet access. Not sure for how long. LetsTryThisPlace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 1 hour ago, monorailmedic said: Ding ding ding. I remember years ago DCL wanted you to be able to download their Navigator app easily from the ship, so they whitelisted certain domains which were required for the app store and app market. As a consequence of their "less than clean" methodology, gmail and google talk worked. BTW, for those finding this thread later on and wondering about staying in touch at sea, check this out: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise 2 minutes ago, CGTLH said: Even an extension to this exists on the ship that are using the new app (not Royal IQ). They have an option to enter your info so you can download the app. Well if you happen to exit the store without downloading it gives you full internet access. Not sure for how long. Gogo wifi on airplanes used to be this way. You got 10 minutes of free internet to download the app. Eventually they figured out people were abusing it and they limited you to 3 attempts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 4 hours ago, Floski said: I know, right? It's like every time they start talking about this stuff, my eyes start going in different circles and I feel dizzy. That makes 3 of us - @Floski, @melski94 and me! ??? Floski 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 Hey @CGTLH - they have no idea we are just making this stuff up. Next post, how to use a flux capacitor to increase internet speeds... Lauren, JLMoran and LetsTryThisPlace 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 6 minutes ago, twangster said: Hey @CGTLH - they have no idea we are just making this stuff up. Next post, how to use a flux capacitor to increase internet speeds... Only works if the capacitor is charged to 2.21 Gigawatts. rjac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 1 hour ago, JLMoran said: Only works if the capacitor is charged to 2.21 Gigawatts. Only if you use the 2.4 GHz band. For the 5 GHz band bump it up to 4.42 gigawatts. JLMoran 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 Ugh Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 28 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Ugh Now they're really either making it up or doing it on purpose to make fun of us. ? LetsTryThisPlace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floski Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 RestingBird, Lovetocruise2002 and melski94 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 "I need a nuclear reaction to generate the 1.21 jiggawatts of electricity I need" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 OK folks let's put the Delorean in park and ease up on the Back to the Future references. ABM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose City Cruiser Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 My brother confirmed his iMessage also worked while connected to NCL's app when he sailed to Alaska. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestingBird Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 On 2/14/2018 at 5:28 PM, JLMoran said: Only works if the capacitor is charged to 2.21 Gigawatts. Now you're all talking my language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patta_Conna Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 WOW @twangster that's certainly a high-leveled observation there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbescher Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 To put this all in terms that everyone can understand. Assume there is a highway connects 2 cities. In order for the RoyalIQ App to work, it needs to use that highway and opens it up for use. Well, that is the same highway that iMessage uses. Since Android phones/apps don't use that highway, the 2 cities can't talk to each other. Hopefully that clears some things up for people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydiinflorida Posted March 27, 2018 Report Share Posted March 27, 2018 On 2/14/2018 at 5:07 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said: That makes 3 of us - @Floski, @melski94 and me! ??? Me as well. I had VOOM and was fine going that route. But I have an Android phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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