Remind me messaging apps for back home?

[sethschroeder]

We will be on the Fantasy in September. Can someone remind me what apps work to communicate with the US while on the ship at sea for no cost?

iMessage correct? Anything else?

 

[TinkLoverSam]

iMessage for sure, I don’t know of any android apps but then my whole family are apple ppl

 

[cvjw]

IMessage worked in 2019 on the fantasy. Haven’t seen any current reports from the dream.

 

[orum]

Even without enabling the paid WiFi? I didn’t realize iMessage would work without flipping to paid.

 

[JWelch62]

Even without enabling the paid WiFi? I didn’t realize iMessage would work without flipping to paid.

This was a test on the Fantasy rolled out in 2019. No data package needed, but you could not send photos via iMessage. I'm not sure if it's still ongoing, or if it has been extended to the other ships.

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...apple-imessage-service-on-the-disney-fantasy/

 

[orum]

That is a big deal for us, and I was not aware of it. Would be great to hear from someone on the upcoming Fantasy sailing on 9/4.

 

[sethschroeder]

Ya we had imessage back on the Fantasy in 2019 so thanks confirming that is the only one still at the moment. We will take one of our ipads and make sure its setup for talking with the grand parents who will be watching the kids while gone.

 

[princessmommyx3]

Free imessage worked for us on the Magic in October 2019.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Free imessage worked for us on the Magic in October 2019.

Also worked on the Magic in January 2020, our last cruises (b2b) pre-Covid. Vancouver to Hawaii, 12-night Greek Islands from Rome to Barcelona, WBTA were all cancelled on us.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I thought iMessage was a free beta rollout only on the Fantasy at first, but it looks like they brought it to other ships as well. That would be awesome if they still offered it for free......unless, of course, you are an Android user.

 

[leannak]

Is free messaging on all ships now?

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

We didnt have any issues with iMessage on our 11/8 Cruise on the Magic or on the Fantasy in September. I think Whatsapp was included in the list of free messaging services if you are an android user.

 

[Kwami]

It'd be really nice if they just supported Google's native message app so that we didn't have to sign up for something else. Or, they could just make the WiFi affordable/free like every other major cruise line has done.

 

[Dug720]

iMessage works. But for text only. To send pictures you have to buy shippernet.

 

[Terezusha]

We didnt have any issues with iMessage on our 11/8 Cruise on the Magic or on the Fantasy in September. I think Whatsapp was included in the list of free messaging services if you are an android user.

My WhatsApp worked when I had the free 1 MB (until a person sent me a photo) and after that it stopped working.

 

[Dug720]

My WhatsApp worked when I had the free 1 MB (until a person sent me a photo) and after that it stopped working.

Yeah, I should have mentioned that. A lot of the crew uses WhatsApp to communicate with family back home without using too much shippernet.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

iMessage worked for me in early November on the Fantasy for 1 day, then stopped working. Guest Services told me it worked for some, but only because it was a glitch in the system and there was nothing that could be done to get me reconnected. I don’t know whether it was supposed to work or not .

 

[JWelch62]

My WhatsApp worked when I had the free 1 MB (until a person sent me a photo) and after that it stopped working.

You may already know this, but you can configure WhatsApp to not download images. Look under Settings -> Storage and Data. I have a little check list of things to turn off, beyond the general items DCL tells you about.

 

[Terezusha]

You may already know this, but you can configure WhatsApp to not download images. Look under Settings -> Storage and Data. I have a little check list of things to turn off, beyond the general items DCL tells you about.

Thank you! What other things do you turn off. I tried to turn off a lot of things and the 1 MB lasted a few days.

 

[JWelch62]

Thank you! What other things do you turn off. I tried to turn off a lot of things and the 1 MB lasted a few days.

Are you Android or iOS? Most of my list is geared towards turning off all the various android auto updates and backups. As well as some specific apps I use for photo cloud storages (DSPhoto).

I also set up the DCL wifi as "metered" under android and turn on the data saver. Once you do that you can restrict which apps are allowed to use data in the background.