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Voom assistance for VOOM newbie


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My concern: My very first cruise, I made the mistake of briefly using my cell phone while out at sea. It cost me a couple of bucks more than I was comfortable with. Since then, when I cruise my phone is turned off till I am back in the cruise port. Next week's family cruise on the Allure, all 3 in our party have purchased the Deluxe Bev Package and VOOM.

I believe on board each of us connect to the Royal Wi-Fi wireless network and enter our code/pin number to access VOOM. Do we need to set up any special phone settings to avoid unexpected charges? Can anyone guide me on how to avoid those fees? Also, when off the Allure on shore in the Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Martin will VOOM work and if so are there any worries of incurring unintended fees?

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Put your phone in airplane mode.  Then go in and reactivate only your Wifi.  This will keep your cellular voice and data shut off but allow you to connect to VOOM.

VOOM only works on the ship (and maybe Coco Cay and Labadee, those with experience can confirm or counter that).  On shore you will have to look in to your cellular carrier to determine what international options they have.  If you don't want to use your phone on shore then you can just keep it in the same mode you are using on the ship and it will not connect to the local cellular network.

Enjoy your cruise!

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3 minutes ago, NS8VN said:

Put your phone in airplane mode.  Then go in and reactivate only your Wifi.  This will keep your cellular voice and data shut off but allow you to connect to VOOM.

VOOM only works on the ship (and maybe Coco Cay and Labadee, those with experience can confirm or counter that).  On shore you will have to look in to your cellular carrier to determine what international options they have.  If you don't want to use your phone on shore then you can just keep it in the same mode you are using on the ship and it will not connect to the local cellular network.

Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you!

 

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8 minutes ago, Matt said:

If you have an iPhone, it's quite simple:

First, I want to know who gets 92 texts?? LOL!   We depart in 12 days.  Hubby, "Suppose I win $10,000 in the casino and you're at the pool, how do I get in touch with you", Me, "I only purchased one Voom", hubby, "Can't we text?, Me," NO"..... So do I need to purchase a second voom and then will texts work? On Lady G, older ship so not sure anything will work and then odds of Hubby winning $10K in the casino are zero to none.:8_laughing: 

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Also, keep in mind that some US cellular networks work in Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.  Just remember to turn it back to Airplane Mode after you leave those islands.  

We had two Voom accounts on our last cruise and it didn't work out so well with two teenagers. I'm upgrading to 4 accounts on our next cruise (Symphony GC) so there isn't any cutting each other off and we'll also be able to text each other.

The Voom aboard the Symphony of the Seas was excellent during our Western Mediterranean cruise .  Never had any problems. 

 

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We used the VOOM 2-device package on the Oasis last summer and it worked great.  Hubby as business owner needed to be available at all times and I wanted to be able to check on family at home.  We booked the same on our upcoming Alaska cruise also.  I know Hubby will use his phone a lot; me probably not that much; however, I like having it if I need/want it.  It's worth the price for peace of mind for me and my OCD self!

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2 minutes ago, whitsmom said:

We used the VOOM 2-device package on the Oasis last summer and it worked great. 

Stupid question. With Voom can you text to people home or just email?? Debating on getting second Voom for hubby if we can text each other on the ship too. Thank you!!

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On 4/23/2018 at 9:33 AM, Boston Babe said:

First, I want to know who gets 92 texts?? LOL!   We depart in 12 days.  Hubby, "Suppose I win $10,000 in the casino and you're at the pool, how do I get in touch with you", Me, "I only purchased one Voom", hubby, "Can't we text?, Me," NO"..... So do I need to purchase a second voom and then will texts work? On Lady G, older ship so not sure anything will work and then odds of Hubby winning $10K in the casino are zero to none.:8_laughing: 

Texting won't work while in Airplane mode, however, messaging services, like Facebook Message will .....  what was really awesome last year while in Grandeur was the ability use Wi_Fi calling.  My wife was on the phone with her father as we pulled into Bermuda, directing him on where to find us through the web cam.  That was comical at best, next time, we'll just bring a Maryland flag with us .... You can't miss that when seeing us come in.

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3 minutes ago, coneyraven said:

Interesting, texting never worked for us ..... we just used Facebook message to get around that.

Mark, was it on Grandeur that it didn't work? It's an older ship, that's why I'm hesitant to buy another Voom for hubby. Now don't laugh, I want to keep in touch with my dog sitter and she's not on FB! (ok you can laugh a little! ) LOL?

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1 minute ago, Boston Babe said:

Mark, was it on Grandeur that it didn't work? It's an older ship, that's why I'm hesitant to buy another Voom for hubby. Now don't laugh, I want to keep in touch with my dog sitter and she's not on FB! (ok you can laugh a little! ) LOL?

Yes --- on Grandeur ..... everything worked great, including wi-fi calling so my wife could make phone calls back home ..... just no texting ....... And no, I'm not laughing, I know how we are with our 4-legged child...... we're so bad, when we board him, we say "Fritz is going to camp" so we don't feel so guilty...... And yes, the Mrs called the shelter a couple times to check up on him while we were gone ..... so no, no laughter here.  The picture is of Fritz giving some lovin to our grandson, Jackson.

fritz.jpg

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10 minutes ago, Boston Babe said:

Stupid question. With Voom can you text to people home or just email?? Debating on getting second Voom for hubby if we can text each other on the ship too. Thank you!!

It depends on your cell phone provider and your phone.  If you have one of the big 4 US carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-mobile or Sprint) *and* a recent iPhone or Android phone, then yes, you will be able to text over Wifi while in Airplane mode.

It varies a bit from phone to phone, and not all of them work.  iPhone 5S (not the plain 5) and newer will work.  Most Android phones also work, but the some of the oddball el-cheapo ones might not.

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Just now, Orange Crush said:

It depends on your cell phone provider and your phone.  If you have one of the big 4 US carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-mobile or Sprint) *and* a recent iPhone or Android phone, then yes, you will be able to text over Wifi while in Airplane mode

Verizon and 6S so it should be ok?  Now I have to appease hubby and get it! LOL, Thank you!!

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1 minute ago, Boston Babe said:

Verizon and 6S so it should be ok?  Now I have to appease hubby and get it! LOL, Thank you!!

Yes.  My MIL was texting with the same on our Christmas cruise.  Couple tricks to remember:

iPhones won't always pop up the "hey you need to log in" screen when you connect to Royal Wifi.  Just go to "logon.com" to get to where you enter your PIN.  If you buy in advance, you get a PIN.  Don't try to log in with your name and room number, it'll just bring you to the place to buy another package which you don't want. 

If you're sharing a code, go to "logoff.com" to switch it off.

It can take a few minutes after logging on to the wifi for the phone to make the connection to Verizon, texting and calling may not work right away.  Wait a bit and it should come up.

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11 minutes ago, Orange Crush said:

  If you buy in advance, you get a PIN.  Don't try to log in with your name and room number, it'll just bring you to the place to buy another package which you don't want. 

When do we get the PIN? does it come to us directly via email or the Travel Agent? We leave in 10 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!

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1 minute ago, Boston Babe said:

When do we get the PIN? does it come to us directly via email or the Travel Agent? We leave in 10 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!

It should show up in an envelope in your room, or the port agent will hand you one when you check in, it varies depending on the ship.  I've had both happen.

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On April 22, 2018 at 12:36 PM, sandandsurf said:

Thank you!

 

@sandandsurf  Don't go into airplane mode  as that deactivates wifi on iOS (Apple). Just keep wifi ON in settings and go down to Cellular and turn that off.  Just got off Independence with Voom and deactivated Cellular. Do not put in airplane mode as that turns off wifi and Voom won't work.

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13 minutes ago, GlennGlenn said:

Just keep wifi ON in settings and go down to Cellular and turn that off.  

Now I'm really confused. If they provide the PIN in Stateroom and check in, do they provide proper directions on how to work it or are you on your own?  I've always saw on this blog to put in airplane mode?

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28 minutes ago, GlennGlenn said:

@sandandsurf  Don't go into airplane mode  as that deactivates wifi on iOS (Apple). Just keep wifi ON in settings and go down to Cellular and turn that off.  Just got off Independence with Voom and deactivated Cellular. Do not put in airplane mode as that turns off wifi and Voom won't work.

That's interesting, I have an iphone 6 --- my wife is Android ..... I may have to give this a try.

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You put it in airplane mode, which turns all radios off.  This includes cellular, bluetooth, and wifi.  Then you go in and turn wifi back on by itself.  The rest will continue to stay off until you turn airplane mode back off.  And that is what you want.

This is the procedure for Android and iOS phones.  Matt even posted pictures of it on iOS above.

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24 minutes ago, Boston Babe said:

Now I'm really confused. If they provide the PIN in Stateroom and check in, do they provide proper directions on how to work it or are you on your own?  I've always saw on this blog to put in airplane mode?

@Boston Babe you will get a sheet that looks like this either at check in or left in your stateroom.  

IMG_6057.thumb.JPG.5e1885a7fc0498fee3d00ed71a11d292.JPG

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16 minutes ago, Boston Babe said:

@Lovetocruise2002, you are the BEST!!! I"m actually hoping to NOT be on phone etc but it's nice to have!!

I 100% agree.  We always get VOOM.  I know people say that they want to leave their phones off while on vacation but for us, it's either our kids that we've left behind or our family that we want to stay in contact with, or hubby's office has to contact him.  It's just easier.

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