How to communicate on a cruise ship

Here is a look at the best ways to stay connected while on a cruise.

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[daraghmacgabhann]

Internet access should be complimentary in this day and age, even if its only the slower package that allows you to text, this might actually reduce all those annoying walkie talkie and still let folks communicate.

[Jenesaisquoi]

The chat feature should TOTALLY be free. With all the money that is spent, that should be included.

[DocPicklez]

FYI to travelers watching this. The wifi method @7:41 is now FREE and no longer cost $1.99 as of Jan 2023

[mr-vet]

The closer I get to my cruise date in June, the more anxiety I’m getting and less thrilled about the cruise due to all of the extra costs for things that should be included in the price of the cruise.

[nytrauma]

Walkie-talkies worked very well for my family on every cruise and we will continue using them.

[chriscampbell]

Yep, , , , Stressing the Airplane Mode when on a cruise... that is the key to NOT get roaming charges and avoid those crazy unknown charges

[rklanman]

Excited to hear that iMessage could work in case my mom needs to get ahold of me and my wife while watching our kids for our sailing in September!

[organizedchaos]

Wi-Fi should be free at this point at least for messaging, searching up royal Caribbean site and stuff like that.

[tammier]

I always use walkie talkies (they do have earpieces). It's not just a great option for onboard, but on shore as well. Some people in your party may want to venture in a different direction when ashore. These walkie talkies have a five mile range so it's easy to keep in touch.

[jeremywhite]

Thank you for this! Plan A will be free iMessage, because all three of us have iPhones. Plan B will be in-app texting, but that costs $42 total, plus it doesn't notify you when you have a message, which means that messages are often missed. Still, better than nothing.

[deborahpoland]

My sister was on Wonder of the Seas recently with the basic Voom package and her IPhone. We were able to video chat very clearly. She gave me a tour of her cabin and we spoke several times. I felt I was with her. Always enjoy your help.

[karenjensen]

If the booking doesn’t come with a free WiFi package, the “leave a note on the door” or white board works great. Esp for those of us who didn’t grow up with internet or texts and hand held phones, we actually know how to set up meeting times and places. Also, almost all ports have free WiFi, so you can catch up on everything while in port. We just have a rule where we meet for breakfast and discuss meeting times for dinner and shows and let everyone do their own thing.

[charleneiannaci]

Matt, I travel with a group and we use walkie talkies BUT using ear buds with them. No one but you and your group can hear. Works great.
They work great in ports too.

[markwhite]

I strictly use walkie-talkies and I’ve learned from past cruises that ones with longer antennas work better. If crewmembers use walkie-talkies to communicate it’s good enough for passengers

[AngelaLopez-psiy]

Last time we were on Harmony. All of us with iPhones were able to text each other through iMessage. I was even able to text back home. 😀

[sehrish]

You are reading my mind with these videos! Thank you for all the great content!

[bpowxo]

I remember the days my mom would go on a cruise, and when she wanted to contact or update us at home, she'd use the Internet Lounge's computer's notepad or word doc type program to type out her e-mails, then she would log on to her e-mail for just a few minutes and copy/past all her e-mails and send. Genius!

Honestly, these days I figure we can get Wi-Fi at ports for checking in occasionally. We also are considering getting small whiteboards or post-its for the rooms. We set standard meeting points and luckily we aren't travelling in large groups, so for the most part we just stick together. But I never knew about the chat option! That's a great idea and I think we will definitely take advantage of that.

[DonLekei]

An alternative to putting your phone into airplane mode is: Before boarding the ship, go into cellular settings and disable automatic network selection and lock it to your home carrier. Then you phone will work any time you are close enough to shore to get signal but will never connect to "Cellular At Sea".

[mjfreespirit]

. GMRS radios work really well on ships. My friend and i used it extensively

[wemmieogun]

Thank you for all you do Matt!!
Cruisers complained that the chat option on the RC App does not usually work well, and there is no notification if messages are received.