clarity on iMessage use while onboard and internet packages cost

[warrenz1963]

I've read in a number of threads that iMessage works without buying the wifi packages. To clarify: can I iMessage to folks back home without paying, or can I only iMessage with others on the ship with me?

Also, can I buy internet usage for a single day, or do I need to buy it for the entire voyage?

Thank you all so much!

 

[ArielRae]

You can message those back home through IMessage without paying.
Yes, you can purchase a single day of internet.

 

[Calantha]

I've read in a number of threads that iMessage works without buying the wifi packages. To clarify: can I iMessage to folks back home without paying, or can I only iMessage with others on the ship with me?

No pictures on iMessage though, just text. Also, be aware that sometimes it just 'conks out.' I've had it work all cruise no issues, but there have been others where it cut out for 2 or 3 days (but no one else in my party with an iPhone had an issue). DCL won't help if it isn't working since it is technically a 'bug' and not really a feature...

 

[warrenz1963]

No pictures on iMessage though, just text. Also, be aware that sometimes it just 'conks out.' I've had it work all cruise no issues, but there have been others where it cut out for 2 or 3 days (but no one else in my party with an iPhone had an issue). DCL won't help if it isn't working since it is technically a 'bug' and not really a feature...

Thank you!

 

[warrenz1963]

You can message those back home through IMessage without paying.
Yes, you can purchase a single day of internet.

Awesome!

 

[apathetic]

The iMessage is free, but glitchy. In our party, 2 people were kicked out and couldn't reconnect without getting onto the internet again. I heard guest services can give you free internet to fix it. Otherwise, it works well. You can connect with those on the ship and people on shore. Just text, no data/pics.

Internet can be purchased per day, though there is a slightly lower price if you buy for the whole cruise.

 

[cvjw]

And it doesn’t work on some iPhones. Last fall, iMessage worked flawlessly for my iPhone 12 the whole cruise and never worked for my husbands iPhone 14. Then the next 2 cruises, both iPhones worked. Very glitchy.

 

[gismo1554]

Whatsapp I found more reliable while onboard

 

[sjuncfan]

When we cruised last year iMessage was hit or miss. Guest Services made it sound like it wasn't supposed to work without an internet package, that it was a fluke that it worked at the beginning, and when they realized it was working they shut it down. I can't quite remember but I think it worked when I first got on board, but when we were in a port and I switched to tethering to my husband's phone (he had international roaming) it didn't work when I reconnected to the ship internet. I think this was on the Magic (we also were on the Wish last year and I can't remember which was which).

 

[kiford]

When we cruised last year iMessage was hit or miss. Guest Services made it sound like it wasn't supposed to work without an internet package, that it was a fluke that it worked at the beginning, and when they realized it was working they shut it down.

That's essentially the message we were given but I don't think it's true. It worked for us on the Fantasy in early 2020 and it worked for us (more reliably than messaging our friends who were sailing with us through the app) on the Wish in January of this year. Occasionally it was glitchy or there were delays but I will say that Whatsapp worked very well. I was able to follow some critical conversations at work with no issue at all. And both DH and I occasionally got e-mail or Twitter pushes without paying for internet. But very random and unreliable.

 

[gatechfan99]

On the iMessage, my daughters didn't have the internet package on their phones, but had no problems sending iMessage to us onboard or people back home. Interestingly, even without the internet package, they would get push notifications for Snapchat but then couldn't open them. Caused a lot of stress for sure!

I will also say the Internet package is so much better now. I just buy it for mine and my wife's phone for the length of the cruise and can leave it on the whole time. No more turning it on and off every time we want it to save MBs from data. And it's also easy to turn it off and let another family member connect with it which I did occasionally so my daughters could catch up on all those pending notifications.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

When we cruised last year iMessage was hit or miss. Guest Services made it sound like it wasn't supposed to work without an internet package, that it was a fluke that it worked at the beginning, and when they realized it was working they shut it down. I can't quite remember but I think it worked when I first got on board, but when we were in a port and I switched to tethering to my husband's phone (he had international roaming) it didn't work when I reconnected to the ship internet. I think this was on the Magic (we also were on the Wish last year and I can't remember which was which).

Our experience has been that iMessage will sometimes work, but if it drops you will not be able to get it back up without logging back into your Apple account by entering your password at a login prompt. In order to do that, you need an internet connection. A Catch-22 situation. To get an internet connection on board the ship, you need the paid wifi. In that case, you won’t need to login to your Apple account for iMessages to work since texting is available through the wifi package. If you don’t have the wifi, you cannot use iMessage without the Apple login being active. What I do after I use my international roaming plan is check that I’m still logged into my Apple account so I can send “blue” text messages to other iMessage accounts rather than “green” ones. Once outside of international roaming plan range of a port, it’s too late.

 

[jrez]

Guest services gave me 30 minutes of WiFi for free when that happens. They have that available for people who still need to download the DCL app.