iPads in every room

[stompy]

I just read that on Splendour of the Seas RC is planning on giving guests iPads in every room.

 

From the website:

 

iPads in every stateroom that will allow guests to access the daily Cruise Compass of events and activities; personal daily itineraries, including shore excursions; monitor their onboard account; order room service; view restaurant menus; access the Internet; and watch movies

 

It'll save RC a bunch of money not to have to print out Compasses. I just hope they can get the technology to work out.

[jchiefs13]

Love this! Thank you for posting or I would have missed it.

 

I JUST used RC as an example to my boss a couple of months ago as a company that could really smack a home run w/ mobile devices and development. I guess great minds think alike ;)

 

-J

[Iamthesea]

What is going to happen to the TV's in the room? I like doing all these things on an interactive TV. I have no desire to watch a movie in my room on a small iPad screen, either.:rolleyes:

 

Also, will we be allowed to carry the iPad around. The paper Compass is much more convenient. We can take it to the pool, dining, etc. Mark through it, fold it up... Can't do that with an iPad.

[FLACRUISER99]

How about if you bring your own Ipad?

[Dremac373]

What is going to happen to the TV's in the room? I like doing all these things on an interactive TV. I have no desire to watch a movie in my room on a small iPad screen, either.:rolleyes:

 

Also, will we be allowed to carry the iPad around. The paper Compass is much more convenient. We can take it to the pool, dining, etc. Mark through it, fold it up... Can't do that with an iPad.

 

As funny as this is valid points have been touched on....can be a burdon taking an extra item along with amongst the items we tend to tote...also I'm sure there as to be some addtional cost involved! Usage, insurance, security deposit or something...right???? Lol

[RoyalPain27]

I LOVE this idea. The thing that I would be worried about is the older generation of cruisers who are not as "tech savvy" as some. Might become problematic for them.

[jchiefs13]

I highly doubt it will be a replacement by any stretch... but I am sure it will cut back on the production costs. I mean, c'mon, how nice would it be to check off things you want to hit and get reminders 10-15 minutes before they start?

 

Maybe this means they won't have 20 bingo announcements from 1-3 leading up to the 3pm event!

[emelvee]

What would it cost to download Angry Birds via the ship's wifi? :eek:

[keagle]

I LOVE this idea. The thing that I would be worried about is the older generation of cruisers who are not as "tech savvy" as some. Might become problematic for them.

 

Steve Jobs would be turning in his grave. I am sure what he wanted was for the iP products to be intuitive so that any one can use them. From what I have seen with them, this is true. I saw quite a few older people using them on our cruise, and even my wife did not need much guidance to use one. :)

[Langley Cruisers]

From what I've heard (and it makes good sense), they will only be able to be used in-room. Too easy to be stolen or simply go missing otherwise.

[endymion6942]

I just read that on Splendour of the Seas RC is planning on giving guests iPads in every room.

 

From the website:

 

iPads in every stateroom that will allow guests to access the daily Cruise Compass of events and activities; personal daily itineraries, including shore excursions; monitor their onboard account; order room service; view restaurant menus; access the Internet; and watch movies

 

It'll save RC a bunch of money not to have to print out Compasses. I just hope they can get the technology to work out.

 

I wouldn't hold my breath. The ships can't get the WIFII working properly.

[Tim,n,Sue]

I wouldn't hold my breath. The ships can't get the WIFII working properly.

 

Can't or won't. I think they could easily get it working faster but at $0.65 per minute it would take away revenue.

[mking8288]

I wouldn't hold my breath. The ships can't get the WIFII working properly.

 

+1 here, seeing is believeing (that is, until someone sailing can confirmed that it has been deployed & working onboard)

 

They "could" deploy an intranet just within the ship with enough nodes & extenders to give nearly full coverage - the network servers would need to be solid with enough bandwidth and still be kept very busy at all times ... without getting into all the technical mumbo jumbo talks here.

 

Some of us would have fun extending our jailbreaking skills with these ipads for the duration of the cruise, LOL

 

Just think about it, never mind the possibility of Angry Birds Space while doing #2, Facebooking and doing FaceTime on the balcony ... (getting it wet, dropped or otherwise "damaged" - what then, a huge charge on the SeaPass account, or buy optional insurance waiver)

 

All your "official" $$ onboard photos previewed via the iPad, etc. - it does have marketing potential as well - sooner or later, there will be an Apps for it ...

[Iamthesea]

I LOVE this idea. The thing that I would be worried about is the older generation of cruisers who are not as "tech savvy" as some. Might become problematic for them.

 

Like me! lol

 

I highly doubt it will be a replacement by any stretch... but I am sure it will cut back on the production costs. I mean, c'mon, how nice would it be to check off things you want to hit and get reminders 10-15 minutes before they start?

 

Maybe this means they won't have 20 bingo announcements from 1-3 leading up to the 3pm event!

 

Production cost maybe, but what about the initial cost of the iPads, the upkeep, replacement cost?

 

Reminders are not going to help if the thing cannot be taken out of the stateroom. We are rarely in the stateroom during the day.;) That's why I enjoy carrying my Daily, Compass, etc. with me, along with a highlighter.

 

Celebrity has something in the drawers of their Solstice class ships. It is either a gaming device, or something to use with the TV for interactive info. DH and I cannot figure it out, so it didn't even leave the drawer on our last Celebrity cruise. :D

[Bermudagirl1981]

I attended the "Captain's Corner" chat while on board the Enchantment this week. It was noted that I-Pads are going to be put in every room with the renovation of that ship, as well as flat screen TVs.

[eric1e]

It's a nice idea but its pretty limited because of the facts stated above, specifically you cannot carry the ipad around and a good portion of your Cruise you are not in the room.

 

What they should do is invest heavily in improving Wi-Fi to at least the standards/pricing you get on commercial air flights. From there they could develop a iOS and an Android App that can be used on board.

 

This seems more logical and useful as most people these days have an iPhone or Droid and it is something they are used to carrying in.

 

i know they want to make money of wi-fi but I really don't see many people using at the current prices. The los of this revenue would be significantly outweighed by the cost reduction on the paper compasses or ipads in my opinion.

[peteukmcr]

I wouldn't hold my breath. The ships can't get the WIFII working properly.

Having just got home from Liberty, I agree, the WiFi service was appalling, much worse than last time we were onboard.

 

Can't or won't. I think they could easily get it working faster but at $0.65 per minute it would take away revenue.

But then again, I'd buy a package if the service was up to a good standard. As it was RCI lost revenue from me this time because I wouldn't purchase a package, even with my Diamond discount, because the service was so bad. I only used my free minutes and wasn't prepared to pay any more.

 

For iPads they need to do some serious investment of their IT infrastructure because there are so many glitches when logging on and off with iOS devices they have to publish a special guide and print a disclaimer that if you don't follow their guidelines they will not be responsible if you keep racking up Internet charges if you can't get your device to log off properly.

 

Using iPads, iPods or android devices is very stressful and is not currently supported by RCI.

 

Their guide states the following:

 

Handheld devices such as iPhones, ITouch, iPad and Blackberry devices are not currently supported on our system. Therefore you may experience difficulties or inconsistencies should you choose to use it. You will be responsible for Internet charges if you do not log off properly

[erin_cruisers]

In our case it would get put in a drawer or returned.

I don't need it, and don't want it.

I don't even turn on the TV. :rolleyes:

My phone gets put in the safe the minute we board until we disembark.

 

I cruise to get away from work, and the rat race (and all the relatedcr@p that goes with it.)

 

To each their own I guess. If some people like that, good for them. :)

(Just don't raise my cruise price for some expensive piece of technology I didn't ask for).

[orville99]

I LOVE this idea. The thing that I would be worried about is the older generation of cruisers who are not as "tech savvy" as some. Might become problematic for them.

 

 

Uhhh...the older generation INVENTED virtually all of the technology you young 'uns take for granted. We're just smart enough to fake it so you believe we are actually impressed with how tech savvy the younger generation thinks it is.;)

[endymion6942]

I just read that on Splendour of the Seas RC is planning on giving guests iPads in every room.

 

From the website:

 

iPads in every stateroom that will allow guests to access the daily Cruise Compass of events and activities; personal daily itineraries, including shore excursions; monitor their onboard account; order room service; view restaurant menus; access the Internet; and watch movies

 

It'll save RC a bunch of money not to have to print out Compasses. I just hope they can get the technology to work out.

 

I don't know about you, but I carry the Cruise Compass everywhere with me. If there iPads in cabins, it won't do you a lot good while walking around the ship.

[sunnysavannah]

Hmm... It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

[Broch]

I LOVE this idea. The thing that I would be worried about is the older generation of cruisers who are not as "tech savvy" as some. Might become problematic for them.

 

You have made my night. I have not stopped laughing since I read this post. You must be a young person and very naive. How do you think we communicate on line at cruise Critic. A lot of us are retired businessmen who have been using modern techy for Years. How do we manage to book our flights and cruises. I have not read through the rest of the thread but I am going to, to see what a stir you could cause here. Still it really is funny. Btw I got a new IPad mini from my daughters for Xmas.

[jailer19]

I wouldn't hold your breath, they told us we IPad on Rhapsody after the refurb but all we got was flat screen T.V.s

[Broch]

Uhhh...the older generation INVENTED virtually all of the technology you young 'uns take for granted. We're just smart enough to fake it so you believe we are actually impressed with how tech savvy the younger generation thinks it is.;)

 

Exactly, RoyalPain27 how old do think Bill Gates is? so what age is the older generation

[RCLcruiser2012]

Not a fan. I enjoy carrying my compass around to reference and watching the tv for info...It is part of the whole cruise feel... Not Ipads... Yuck! :(