Free iMessage vs. cruise package via your wireless carrier

[squirk]

My teen and young adult are bugging me about being able to stay in contact with friends while on the Fantasy.

I looked into a “cruise package” with AT&T, and they offer unlimited talk & text (SMS), and 200MB of data for $50.

Like most of Gen Z, my kids never actually use the Phone feature of their phone. They use social media, iMessage and FaceTime.

So….I’m thinking the cruise plan really doesn’t work for me, as a.) Unlimited Voice is worthless since the kids won’t use it; b.) they can get free iMessage on the ship; and c.) if they use Snapchat, Instagram, FaceTîme, etc., they will burn through 200MB of data in a heartbeat and then start racking up the overage fees.

And I am starting to think that, for at-sea days, the free iMessaging will be “good enough,” even if it doesn’t allow for images, videos, GIFs, etc.

I’m not cheap; I just don’t think the cruise package will give me much, if any, value for my $50 per line. And it opens the door to overage fees.

Am I overlooking anything? Plz and thx.

 

[JM_97]

Disney offers WiFi packages: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp...nect-at-Sea-Log-In-Instructions-FAQ-Sheet.pdf

Cruises are notorious for not having great WiFi coverage. Texting on iMessage is free and scrolling through socials should be fine. But FaceTime would eat it all up right away.

 

[squirk]

Disney offers WiFi packages: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp...nect-at-Sea-Log-In-Instructions-FAQ-Sheet.pdf

Cruises are notorious for not having great WiFi coverage. Texting on iMessage is free and scrolling through socials should be fine. But FaceTime would eat it all up right away.

Thx. I have heard Pete (and others) bash the quality and reliability of the DCL Wi-Fi service too often and for too long to roll the dice on that.

As recently as this past December: https://dclfan.com/onboard-activities/dear-dcl-please-fix-your-internet-already/amp/

 

[JM_97]

Thx. I have heard Pete (and others) bash the quality and reliability of the DCL Wi-Fi service too often and for too long to roll the dice on that.

As recently as this past December: https://dclfan.com/onboard-activities/dear-dcl-please-fix-your-internet-already/amp/

Yeah it's bad but thought I'd share anyway. It truly is amazing how behind Disney is with onboard WiFi.

 

[Kariyaffa]

iMessage working is kind of a fluke of the system. It’s not something that DCL guarantees. I’ve heard stories of people having it stop working in port and not start working again and this did happen to us on a different cruise line. So I think you need to ask yourself how upset your kids would be if it stopped working part way through the cruise and what you would do at that point.

 

[squirk]

iMessage working is kind of a fluke of the system. It’s not something that DCL guarantees. I’ve heard stories of people having it stop working in port and not start working again and this did happen to us on a different cruise line. So I think you need to ask yourself how upset your kids would be if it stopped working part way through the cruise and what you would do at that point.

I would probably tell them to deal.

Either wait until we reach a port and use our int’l day pass plan, or pony up the $89 for the top-tier DCL at-sea plan.

 

[squirk]

Yeah it's bad but thought I'd share anyway. It truly is amazing how behind Disney is with onboard WiFi.

I guess if your internet is crappy but your ships are still sailing full (as per the conventional wisdom), there’s no incentive to upgrade.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

iMessage working is kind of a fluke of the system. It’s not something that DCL guarantees. I’ve heard stories of people having it stop working in port and not start working again and this did happen to us on a different cruise line. So I think you need to ask yourself how upset your kids would be if it stopped working part way through the cruise and what you would do at that point.

Just off the Wonder on Friday. We both had iMessage working at start of trip leaving Vancouver. Mine continued to work throughout. DW’s quit after the second sea day. We were able to restore it when we reached Oahu for the first port stop. To do that, she had to restart her phone after re-entering her cell number in the Message app. Worked thereafter. YMMV.

 

[tj48103]

I think you'll get more bang for your buck using your international day plan on the port days and turning to airplane mode and hoping iMessage works on your sea days.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

I think you'll get more bang for your buck using your international day plan on the port days and turning to airplane mode and hoping iMessage works on your sea days.

That's what we do

 

[squirk]

I think you'll get more bang for your buck using your international day plan on the port days and turning to airplane mode and hoping iMessage works on your sea days.

That's what we do

I think that is where I am angling. The “cruise package” just doesn’t seem worth it.

 

[Disneygirlxo91]

iMessage did not work for myself or husband on the fantasy this past week. It worked for us on the magic in December and on the dream in March

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

I think that is where I am angling. The “cruise package” just doesn’t seem worth it.

To be fair, though, if we were on a cruise with a lot of sea days, DW would be losing her ever-loving-mind not being able to touch base with the kids. But, when we're touching land every day, it's not a big deal. We airplane mode and log-in and -out of the free 50 mb to check WhatsApp messages

 

[cwis]

Some say the internet on board is so bad you can actually buy a package, complain about the clumsy experience, and they will refund you. Obviously not recommending it doing it if you actually have no worries with it, just to let you know “maybe” your money will not be lost of not everything works well.

 

[JM_97]

Some say the internet on board is so bad you can actually buy a package, complain about the clumsy experience, and they will refund you. Obviously not recommending it doing it if you actually have no worries with it, just to let you know “maybe” your money will not be lost of not everything works well.

OR ... if you're paying God knows how much money on a Disney cruise in the year 2022, receive at least somewhat serviceable coverage. I don't consider myself a snob when it comes to cruise line loyalty but if Carnival and Royal Caribbean (who usually cost less) can figure it out surely Disney can too.

 

[princesscinderella]

We had iMessage work on our 4/16 fantasy eastern itinerary. I think the kids will be too busy to worry about staying in contact with their friends. I look at it as you get what you get and don’t get upset as I’m not paying for my kids to be connected when this is a getaway vacation.

 

[Disneygirlxo91]

We had iMessage work on our 4/16 fantasy eastern itinerary. I think the kids will be too busy to worry about staying in contact with their friends. I look at it as you get what you get and don’t get upset as I’m not paying for my kids to be connected when this is a getaway vacation.

Did you do anything special to your phones for it to work? We did just what we had the last times and when we got onboard I put the phone in airplane mode and and connected to their WiFi and iMessage worked just fine so figured it would like like it did the last 2 cruises but as soon as we left port it stopped and never worked the reminder of the trip. It did sign us out after like 3 days and we logged back in when we got to st Thomas but still no luck in the shop.

 

[princesscinderella]

Did you do anything special to your phones for it to work? We did just what we had the last times and when we got onboard I put the phone in airplane mode and and connected to their WiFi and iMessage worked just fine so figured it would like like it did the last 2 cruises but as soon as we left port it stopped and never worked the reminder of the trip. It did sign us out after like 3 days and we logged back in when we got to st Thomas but still no luck in the shop.

No we didn’t do anything special. My son was so happy because he kept in contact with his girlfriend the whole weekend.