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texting while in Airplane mode???


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By “texting”, do you mean actual SMS messaging? That will only work over a true cellular signal and not a WiFi network.

If you mean use a messaging app like Messages on iOS, or WhatsApp / Facebook Messenger / etc on either platform, that will require a data plan so you have access to the WiFi network on the ship. There was a discussion here recently that on at least some ships, you can use Messages without the data plan due to some “holes” in how the network has to be set up, but this is not guaranteed. And it will only be useful if everyone in your group is using iOS devices. 

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39 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

By “texting”, do you mean actual SMS messaging? That will only work over a true cellular signal and not a WiFi network.

That may not necessarily be the case. If one's cellular provider supports it, one may be able to text (both SMS and MMS) as well as place and receive calls while using the ship's WiFi (with an active internet package). I have Verizon Wireless and they support WiFi Calling which extends their service over WiFi networks. There is no extra charge for this service and all use over WiFi Calling is considered domestic use.

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1 hour ago, Marc said:

That may not necessarily be the case. If one's cellular provider supports it, one may be able to text (both SMS and MMS) as well as place and receive calls while using the ship's WiFi (with an active internet package). I have Verizon Wireless and they support WiFi Calling which extends their service over WiFi networks. There is no extra charge for this service and all use over WiFi Calling is considered domestic use.

But does wifi calling also enable sending SMS messages over the wifi network? I thought I had read here or somewhere else (maybe cruisehabit.com) that SMS required a cell signal for transmission regardless, because of the actual SMS protocol.

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I can't answer for every carrier, but I can absolutely text through wifi without a cellular connection (Verizon).  But it does require a wireless internet connection, which means purchasing the package.  While there may be some caveats the answer is almost always no.

As far as RCCL perhaps introducing an app that can text without purchasing the package, like the DCL app can, that is TBD.

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As @NS8VN eluded to, Royal has stated that texting to people within the same reservation will be a feature added to their newest app but to date that feature isn't available.  

That app "Royal Caribbean International" in the app stores only works on 5 ships today but new ships are being added every few months.  Oasis is one of those ships.  There is hope the chat feature will be available by August.

Absent of that, to date on Oasis you would need to purchase Voom internet plans to have any wifi based texting using an app such as iMessahe or WhatsApp, or if your carrier supports wifi calling, SMS texting over Voom.

8 hours ago, JLMoran said:

But does wifi calling also enable sending SMS messages over the wifi network? I thought I had read here or somewhere else (maybe cruisehabit.com) that SMS required a cell signal for transmission regardless, because of the actual SMS protocol.

If you carrier supports wifi calling then true SMS texting is typically available over wifi.  At least with the North American carriers that offer wifi calling, you can think of their servers on the internet that allow wifi calling as an internet cell tower.  You phone connects to the carrier over the internet and at that point it is very much like your phone connected to a tower over a radio frequency.   SMS texting works, phone calls work.  The transport is internet instead of a radio connection to a cell tower.

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13 hours ago, Jim.oconnor said:

Can we text each other on the ship while in airplane mode, without buying the internet package

No.  If you're in airplane mode (no cell connection) and don't have a WiFi package, your phone has no ability to communicate with any network while aboard the ship.

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On 3/27/2018 at 10:28 PM, JLMoran said:

But does wifi calling also enable sending SMS messages over the wifi network? I thought I had read here or somewhere else (maybe cruisehabit.com) that SMS required a cell signal for transmission regardless, because of the actual SMS protocol.

Like @NS8VN, I've used Verizon Wireless successfully in this way.

When I had Sprint several years ago, they were just starting to roll out WiFi Calling. At that time, they did say that SMS messages wouldn't be sent over their WiFi Calling. That certainly may have changed since then (and I would hope so).

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On 3/28/2018 at 2:23 PM, Matt said:

No.  If you're in airplane mode (no cell connection) and don't have a WiFi package, your phone has no ability to communicate with any network while aboard the ship.

This is why i am not purchasing wifi package for myself, peace and quiet for 12 days :6_smile:,  however my wife has demanded wifi pack so she can keep in contact with kids back home as our youngest is making us grandparents for the 1st time before we head away on cruise. 

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On 3/27/2018 at 10:28 PM, JLMoran said:

But does wifi calling also enable sending SMS messages over the wifi network? I thought I had read here or somewhere else (maybe cruisehabit.com) that SMS required a cell signal for transmission regardless, because of the actual SMS protocol.

WiFi calling, on all carriers I'm aware of, also allows for SMS over WiFi.  I have mentioned before though that while pricey, for very occasional use, texting over Cellular-at-Sea isn't terrible if you're not going to be purchasing a data package - perhaps that was the confusion?  

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