1st Cruise Questions

[summerskye]

This will be our 1st cruise and I have some more questions. Thanks in advance.

1) Cell phones - I am fearful of huge charges for roaming etc. I was planning on setting phone to airplane mode. I would like to use camera & video. I have read that you can use the Dis app to text between other phones with the app. Wouldn't I have to set the wi-fi to "on" for this to work? If so, how do I keep the phone from doing random updates, etc.?

2) Star viewing - Is the view from the verandah dark enough to enjoy? Is there a better location?

Again, thanks in advance.

 

[gismo1554]

With regards to the app - the disney app works on the Free-Guest wifi set up. This will just allow you to connect to this. You put phone into airplane mode then turn on Wi-fi connection (just make sure airplane mode is still on) and you should see one called Guest-free or something like that. It wont allow you to download updates etc without signing up to a Wifi data plan (and wont connect to the mobile network so no problems there).

Verandah is probably your best bet. There are lights on deck so it is hard to get it dark enough to see too much but you can see some.

 

[summerskye]

Gismo,

Thanks for the information. It would be nice to still be able to text back and forth with the wife and/or kids. There will be times when each of us may go a different direction. Keeping in touch via "our" phones (text) would be helpful.

As far as the stars, I was kinda hoping for some nice views. There is so much light pollution from the city to really see much where we live. I thought maybe out in the middle of the ocean, it would be better.

 

[Ant Richards]

The app is great but you also get 2 wave phones in each room and you can contact each other on these. You see lots of older kids carrying them around too.

 

[afyoung]

Really late in the evening you may be able to get some good star gazing in from one of the upper decks, but your verandah will probably be the best. Hopefully your neighbors will not have their porch light on though, or it will be more difficult. The app is very useful, and also has a countdown clock on it that my kids have been using for the past 310 days to track our vacation. I ddin't ever feel as if I was going to accidentally start trying to use my phone's data while I used the app in airplane mode.

 

[summerskye]

Really late in the evening you may be able to get some good star gazing in from one of the upper decks, but your verandah will probably be the best. Hopefully your neighbors will not have their porch light on though, or it will be more difficult. The app is very useful, and also has a countdown clock on it that my kids have been using for the past 310 days to track our vacation. I ddin't ever feel as if I was going to accidentally start trying to use my phone's data while I used the app in airplane mode.

That's awesome. My kids will love that. Thanks.

 

[xlxo]

1) Cell phones - I am fearful of huge charges for roaming etc. I was planning on setting phone to airplane mode. I would like to use camera & video. I have read that you can use the Dis app to text between other phones with the app. Wouldn't I have to set the wi-fi to "on" for this to work? If so, how do I keep the phone from doing random updates, etc.?

Some thoughts....

• removing the SIM card will guarantee no roaming charges
• airplane mode works, however some phones can override that setting
• Disable automatic carrier selection keeps it to the land service.
• Prepaid monthly SIM's are a good choice as they are unable to roam.
  http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/services/internet-phone-services/

 

[gismo1554]

Just to say I've been told the app only works as a "chat" system rather than a text system so unless the other person also has the app open when you send the message it can get lost in the ether.

 

[shelleyr25]

Jumping in here..... we have not cruised since they came out with the app... what about using a texting app like WhatsApp while on the free wifi, has anyone ever done that???

 

[wilma-bride]

Jumping in here..... we have not cruised since they came out with the app... what about using a texting app like WhatsApp while on the free wifi, has anyone ever done that???

The free wifi is only free for the purpose of using the app. Essentially you are connected to the ship's network, allowing you the connection to the app, you can't use any other internet services unless you pay for regular wifi access.

 

[Ronnierose81]

This will be our 1st cruise and I have some more questions. Thanks in advance.

1) Cell phones - I am fearful of huge charges for roaming etc. I was planning on setting phone to airplane mode. I would like to use camera & video. I have read that you can use the Dis app to text between other phones with the app. Wouldn't I have to set the wi-fi to "on" for this to work? If so, how do I keep the phone from doing random updates, etc.?

2) Star viewing - Is the view from the verandah dark enough to enjoy? Is there a better location?

Again, thanks in advance.

Great questions

 

[JimmyV]

One thing that you absolutely want to do is to set your Apps Settings so that they do not automatically update. Many apps seem to want to update twice a day it seems. You don't want your phone to accidently update 75 apps while you are on vacation. Even by accident, either on the ship or in a port.

 

[Smeece]

set your Apps Settings so that they do not automatically update

I thought when you are in airplane mode you didnt receive app updates?

 

[JimmyV]

I thought when you are in airplane mode you didnt receive app updates?

Yes, but you won't receive the ship's wifi either. Once you set yourself up to receive the ship's wifi, (or some "free" wifi in port), your phone can start to download app updates which eats data. And if you have an international data plan with less data than you have at home, it can get eaten up in a hurry, and then you start getting charged for the overage. It is true that if your phone remains in airplane mode all the time you won't have any issues. But presumably people will want to connect to wifi at some point, either on the ship or off it. And if they do, this is just one thing to be on the lookout for. We learned the hard way (sort of). My daughter went on a mission trip this summer and we got her an international data plan so that she could text us whenever she had a wifi signal. We told our provider that this is the only thing we wanted her to be able to do. So they set us up with a plan and when her phone connected to the wifi that was available at the church where she was staying, all of a sudden (and without her noticing), her phone started to update all her apps. I got a warning message on my phone alerting me to overages, and I went on line to see what was happening. I couldn't figure it out, and contacted the provider. The concluded that the phone was automatically updating her apps when it found a signal and that this had eaten up the limited data that she had on her plan. They were kind enough to reverse the charges, but it was several hundred dollars, all incurred in about an hour.

 

[Smeece]

Wow! Thanks JimmyV.

 

[summerskye]

Great questions

Thanks

Just new to all of this cruising stuff.
oops wrong kind of cruising...

 

[summerskye]

One thing that you absolutely want to do is to set your Apps Settings so that they do not automatically update. Many apps seem to want to update twice a day it seems. You don't want your phone to accidently update 75 apps while you are on vacation. Even by accident, either on the ship or in a port.

Good point.

I actually have my phone set to only update when on wi-fi

 

[2013Frozen]

I know you didn't ask about sun rise, but we had our first Carribean cruise ever on the Dream in June (too short with three nights Fri-Sun). On Saturday morning I got up super early (my normal ) and went on the deck with the pool. There were maybe three people including myself to watch the sun rise over the ocean. It was truly breathtaking, and I took some amazing pictures, and not with a not high end camera, just a decent Cannon camera. We were traveling with our friends, and didn't care for the wave phones, but the DCL app worked fine for texting on board between us using the app with no additional charges
.

 

[summerskye]

Thanks for the sunrise recommendation. I normally get up at 4:30 for work. So, I am hoping to sleep in on vacation. Maybe I can catch a sunset or two.