NCL's iConcierge App

[SeanJC]

Just booked our 2nd cruise w/NCL on the Jewel in Jan. 2014 after an incredible 1st cruise on the Epic this past January. Can't wait! Question though... We paid the $7.95 for access for the week to the iConcierge iPhone app. It proved to be incredibly useful using the ship wide phone & messaging features to stay connected. Is the Jewel equipped for iConcierge access? Speaking of which, why doesn't NCL have its own iOS or Android proprietary app with more features that can be used off the ship? I believe Royal Caribbean has their own where you can search cruises, look @ individual boat features, etc. Thx for the responses in advance.

 

Sean in Jersey City, NJ

[time2cruise1]

Sorry the app only works on the Epic so far. They are still working the bugs out before they even think about rolling it out to the rest of the fleet.

[johnql]

At the M&G on my Jewel sailing back in Nov 2012, I asked Hugo (the Hotel Director) specifically about the app and his response was a little guarded but the gist of it was that iConcierge would only be introduced on the new builds (i.e., Getaway and Breakaway). There are currently no plans to introduce it to their older ships. This, of course, is always subject to change.

[time2cruise1]

At the M&G on my Jewel sailing back in Nov 2012, I asked Hugo (the Hotel Director) specifically about the app and his response was a little guarded but the gist of it was that iConcierge would only be introduced on the new builds (i.e., Getaway and Breakaway). There are currently no plans to introduce it to their older ships. This, of course, is always subject to change.

 

I think the issue is they would need to upgrade the entire wifi and LAN infrastructure on the older ships to handle the app.

[johnql]

I think the issue is they would need to upgrade the entire wifi and LAN infrastructure on the older ships to handle the app.

Understood. That's why I believe they are hesitant to spend the money to retrofit the older ships. They will have to see some sort of return from the use of the app other than passengers liking it for its convenience. Perhaps if the app leads to an increase in specialty restaurant reservations, for instance, they might consider the retrofit.

[Kdiamond55]

Does anyone know, if you download the app do you need to purchase the ship's WiFi? We will be giving our 13 year old some freedom on this cruise and it would be helpful to be able to text her on the ship, do both of us have to download the app, and both of us purchase the WiFi in order to use this? Thanks!!

[garnet115]

Does anyone know, if you download the app do you need to purchase the ship's WiFi? We will be giving our 13 year old some freedom on this cruise and it would be helpful to be able to text her on the ship, do both of us have to download the app, and both of us purchase the WiFi in order to use this? Thanks!!

 

 

No, you don't need to pay for wifi. You need to pay a one time fee for texting on each device, but no additional wifi charges apply for the app. You will both need to download the app and pay the fee to text on board.

[Demonyte]

Also there are two separate WiFi networks onboard iConcierge-enabled ships - one for internet just as all NCL ships do and a separate one for the iConcierge that is free to use (the app updates dailies, manages reservations etc through that network). The voice/text function is just a separate option on top of that and as said, all parties using the app for texting needs to pay the $7.95 one time fee per device.

[jlajr]

I would like to add that, at least on the Spirit and I imagine other ships as well, I was able to access the cruise line's website using the onboard Wi-Fi network, for no added charge. There's a mobile-optimized site and the regular, desktop site. I have a tablet, and sometimes I was able to get more information from the regular site. It's not crucial, but can be helpful. For example, I don't like taking or walking around with printed information, so with the Wi-Fi access to the website, ship information was just a touch away.

 

Sent from my Asus Fonepad using the Cruise Critic Forums app.

[Demonyte]

I would like to add that, at least on the Spirit and I imagine other ships as well, I was able to access the cruise line's website using the onboard Wi-Fi network, for no added charge. There's a mobile-optimized site and the regular, desktop site. I have a tablet, and sometimes I was able to get more information from the regular site. It's not crucial, but can be helpful. For example, I don't like taking or walking around with printed information, so with the Wi-Fi access to the website, ship information was just a touch away.

 

This is true for all NCL ships, access to ncl.com is free and doesn't require a login.

[mking8288]

The GA (and, supposingly BA) has the newest K-band hybrid satellite broadband technology that's "faster" and by design, better coverage. Reviews in Play Store are mixed - we will be on the BA and prepared to give it a field trial, got the apps loaded on iPad2, iPad3 and iPhone5 (Airplane Mode & Mobile Data/Roaming off) to run it, to test basic functionalities - review our OBA, Reservations/Bookings & Daily's, etc. Users are reporting app crashes & being disconnected, etc. including delayed SMS's among themselves - although we have no plans to use it as we got both T-Mobile & AT&T roaming international/cruise ship coverage - the max billing amount for us had been under $10 USD on previous sailings.

 

Coverage & functionality could be fine for devices with USA bands or "radio" receivers but I can see issues among cruise pax with Euro & Asian Pacific gadgets that need configuration changes (i.e. APN) and many "users" will need help from ship's tech suport, that's usually the ship's internet manager with limited office hours - can be overwhelming tasks on these mega ships.

 

Carnival ships provide free access to its ship-only intranet, including weather updates & even daily blogs from the CD, ports info and even deck plans - it was reliable & tablet/smartphone -friendly.

[Demonyte]

Coverage & functionality could be fine for devices with USA bands or "radio" receivers but I can see issues among cruise pax with Euro & Asian Pacific gadgets that need configuration changes (i.e. APN) and many "users" will need help from ship's tech suport, that's usually the ship's internet manager with limited office hours - can be overwhelming tasks on these mega ships.

 

Mobile data network and ship's WiFi have nothing in common and do not share configuration so there are no configuration changes required for us non-US folks to use iConcierge so that point is invalid.

[mking8288]

Well, then this App is rated by many Android users as unreliable & not ready for prime time, having issues connecting on the newest Getaway & the Breakaway. If the devices are auto self-configured with no changes, that's great then I wondered why many Google users are posting very negative reviews in the Play Store. Regardless, I shall see it for myself - USA and non-USA WiFi do operate on different channels while sharing most, and older ones do not have 5 Mhz band ... whatever.

 

http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/wireless/wi-fi/80211-channels-number-frequencies-bandwidth.php

[trtllovr]

Just off the getaway and we did not have to pay a penny to use the app. It might have been a fluke but when it asked us to purchase it the price came up as $0.00. The messaging service worked great but didn't always alarm us every time someone messaged, but when it did it would "ding". I loved having the freestyle daily at my fingertips without having to carry around the paper. We did have a couple issues setting it up but the Internet cafe fixed the issue right away. Just my two cents!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums m

[jlajr]

Carnival ships provide free access to its ship-only intranet, including weather updates & even daily blogs from the CD, ports info and even deck plans - it was reliable & tablet/smartphone -friendly.

 

Yes, the Fun Hub. Also, on the Glory last summer, the Fun Times was available, on most days.

 

Sent from my Asus Fonepad using the Cruise Critic Forums app.

[Demonyte]

Well, then this App is rated by many Android users as unreliable & not ready for prime time, having issues connecting on the newest Getaway & the Breakaway. If the devices are auto self-configured with no changes, that's great then I wondered why many Google users are posting very negative reviews in the Play Store. Regardless, I shall see it for myself - USA and non-USA WiFi do operate on different channels while sharing most, and older ones do not have 5 Mhz band ... whatever.

 

http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/wireless/wi-fi/80211-channels-number-frequencies-bandwidth.php

 

None of those things require configuration changes on client, they matter on the access points when the channel to be used is configured. I agree with the reviewers that the app's connectivity to the network can be an issue - it was for us on Epic last February - but it's not something caused by the client configuration or different channel frequencies in different countires (more about that later).

 

It's about the app's ability to reconnect to the VoIP server if the device has been temporarily out of network because on a cruise ship enviroment it can and will happen (reception can't be stellar in every single part of the ship (especially in elevators that are basically faraday cages), interference, device deep inside a hand bag etc), in our case it didn't and we only realized that after we opened the app again unknowing if we had missed any calls.

 

Available WiFi channels vary around the world in different countries because of local regulations, clients can still connect and use them all - I've managed WiFi networks since the technology had yet no marketing name but was only called 802.11 and travelled well enough around the world with all kinds of WiFi appliances and never had to do client configuration changes because of my location. Only thing that might matter is indeed the support for newer 5 GHz networks, but even that is the same worldwide - either the client hardware supports 5 GHz or it doesn't.

[Kdiamond55]

I am going to try it out next week. Thanks for the info! Seems like a great idea.

[KeithJenner]

None of those things require configuration changes on client, they matter on the access points when the channel to be used is configured. I agree with the reviewers that the app's connectivity to the network can be an issue - it was for us on Epic last February - but it's not something caused by the client configuration or different channel frequencies in different countires (more about that later).

 

It's about the app's ability to reconnect to the VoIP server if the device has been temporarily out of network because on a cruise ship enviroment it can and will happen (reception can't be stellar in every single part of the ship (especially in elevators that are basically faraday cages), interference, device deep inside a hand bag etc), in our case it didn't and we only realized that after we opened the app again unknowing if we had missed any calls.

 

Available WiFi channels vary around the world in different countries because of local regulations, clients can still connect and use them all - I've managed WiFi networks since the technology had yet no marketing name but was only called 802.11 and travelled well enough around the world with all kinds of WiFi appliances and never had to do client configuration changes because of my location. Only thing that might matter is indeed the support for newer 5 GHz networks, but even that is the same worldwide - either the client hardware supports 5 GHz or it doesn't.

 

 

Yes.

 

I have both UK and US purchased devices and have never had any problem connecting to wifi networks worldwide (including on multiple NCL ships) with no user intervention.

 

How it works behind the scenes may be different for all I know, but any connectivity issues with iconcierge are not because of international wifi differences.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[SurferLou]

Just got back from a 7 day cruise aboard the Epic. We thought about buying walkie talkies to stay in touch but decided they probably wouldn't work well aboard a ship the size of the Epic. We went with the iConcierge app and are glad we did. First off, the $7.95 charge is a lot less than the cost of good quality walkie talkies. You don't have to purchase any kind of wifi package, it's included with the app. However, you ONLY have access to the app, not the internet. The app shows what's going on activity wise for the day, along with a listing of dinner options, and a ship directory of where everything is. You can make a call (VOIP) or text message others who have the iConcierge app installed on their phone. We tried it, and it worked great except for when you were in your stateroom. For whatever reason, the ship wifi signal would go weak and the app wouldn't work once in our stateroom..but hey...that's what the stateroom phone is for. Anywhere else on the ship, the app worked great, even inside an elevator.

 

About the ONLY suggestion that I think would make it better would be if it displayed our reservations for dinner/shows...etc. That would be a plus.

[Winchester Ranger]

How and when exactly do you pay the $7.95 fee?

 

I plan on using the app for voice and text while onboard and thought it was all completely free :confused:

Edited March 24, 2014 by Winchester Ranger

[ALadyNCal]

SurferLou -- Were you successful with both iPhones and Android phones? Thanks :)

[Demonyte]

How and when exactly do you pay the $7.95 fee?

 

It is automatically charged to user's onboard account when registering via the app, user details are given at that time. No need to go anywhere to start using those functionalities.

 

I plan on using the app for voice and text while onboard and thought it was all completely free :confused:

 

No, the general app usage is free (onboard account, freestyle daily, reservations, etc) but the VoIP/texting has pretty much always had a fee (except on Getaway for the first few cruises, not anymore).

Edited March 24, 2014 by Demonyte

[LrgPizza]

It's my understanding that restaurant reservations can be made with the app. Can pizza be ordered with the app, too? I'd love to be hanging on deck and simply use my phone to have a pie delivered to us. Ha!

[carribeansol]

I am just of the Epic. Let me say that the pay feature, texting and phone calls, suck. We hardly could get texts and calls through. Once in the cabin, forget using it. I even asked for a refund and was told they knew nothing about the app and that I could put it on a comment card.

 

Now the good, the free features worked well. They were really nice to pull up all the informations as needed. Yes, you can book entertainment on the app. Dinner, I could not book on the app.

[SurferLou]

When you get on board, you launch the app. The app will prompt you for your stateroom number, and last name, once you do that, your account is charged the $7.95 and the app is good to go. Voice and text work great. Two things though: whoever you want to text must also have the iConcierge app installed on their device and for them to receive your text or phone call, their device must be turned on and the app should be launched.