Why Does Carnival Still Print" Fun Times"

[LambKnuckles]

Does not the technology exists today that a "chip" can be implanted onto your S&S card that will contain an "app" that holds a "cube" that you can customize your daily schedule instead of printing a paper daily "Fun Times"...Carnival could place scanners all around the ship where you could swipe your S&S card to receive updates and changes or link it to a kiosh

 

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has such an "app" today that you can download on your tablet or cell phone...would not work on a cruiseship because of high charges for wifi and roaming cost which means most folks turn off their devices for the entire length of their cruise

 

Is JH and "the suits" working on this to be beta testedon the next generationvessel

 

PLEASE KEEP THE PRINTED VERSIONS!!!

 

It is handy and helpful and great!!!

[misguidedangel]

Perhaps in a decade, but in reality, a cruise is the time to turn OFF the electronics and to leave the phone in the safe until the ship gets back to port!

 

I have a tablet and did break down and get a smart phone (not that I needed it, but taking public transit each day it is nice to be able to call home and say I'll be late cuz of issues with transit). I will be bringing both tablet, ok so I have two tablets now, and smart phone so when I am on my pre and post cruise stay in New Orleans I can kick back for a little each day at the hotel at night and surf the net/FB and call home to see how my four-legged furballs are doing. I am Canadian, so bringing the phone means added costs to my phone plan and would NEVER think about using the phone on the cruise.

 

Also, some of us, a lot of us really, like to keep copies of the Fun Times as mementos of the cruise. I scan them and save them as a PDF on my computer.

 

One day we'll have interactive Fun Times, but not for at least 10-20 years...

[TEXASMUNK]

amazing

outstanding

overwhelming

stupendous

tremendous

 

only one problem...you gotta be on NCL to use it.

No thank you.

[Honolulu Blue]

There are several things I wanted to comment on. First, the OP's idea isn't the worst I've heard, but I like having a printed copy. This is one cruise tradition that I hope sticks around for a while longer.

 

Also, several people mentioned not using their cell phones for the cruise. I couldn't do that, for two reasons - (a) my cell doubles as my camera, and I never know when a photo op might pop up, and (b) it's fun to surf and check basic e-mail while docked in U.S. waters.

 

And...

 

Sometimes, I wonder if Carnival thinks their passengers can't read so are constantly announcing everything. :rolleyes:

LuLu

 

Yeah, they do do a lot of announcements, don't they? :o

 

Also, Carnival has a dedicated channel where they read the current Fun Times all day every day. They're not as hyper as the CDs.

[vamartha]

Never knew this existed!! Going on conquest in August....how do I find out about this? Is there an ap I can download on my phone now?

 

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No app required. Just open up your Wifi on your device and there is a small amount of info available without your having to create an account or sign in. New headlines (about 5 stories IIRC) and most of the Carnival website along with all of the Fun Times and all the deck plans and I don't remember the rest. Pretty sure you can use the Forums part of the CCL website (Funville) too but I've never tried it. I do remember once a Fun Times comes out each day it is available for the duration of the cruise too.

[dominichunter]

Just change the name back to Carnival Capers

[bar1068]

Never knew this existed!! Going on conquest in August....how do I find out about this? Is there an ap I can download on my phone now?

 

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I've done this on our last few cruises on Breeze and Sunshine...at least then no app was needed...just uses the ships LOCAL onboard FREE wifi sites....link looks something like this

 

http://funhub.cclfunhub.com:9090/carnival/siteselection.aspx

 

gives you access to the ships free sites and the FunTimes....I THINK you can DL the FunTimes to your device each day as a .pdf so you of course can read it with using local wifi...

 

if Conquest has a FunHub or Internet cafe...they'd have info...but it's pretty easy to access.

 

Pretty high tech stuff....hope it does not impact your cruise.

 

 

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[hattack]

A friend of mine has a Son that works for Disney in Imaginnering....if any cruiseline is thinking about it, Disney would be the one...he is part of the Disney team that dreams "what if" and not "why not" for their parks & cruise ships and probably what a Disney theme park on another planet would look like :)....heck if you are a fan of the 60's Star Trek series then you would not be surprise to learn that a virtual 3D Oculus Rift Cruise or the Clint Eastwood movie "Firefox" (with the fighter pilot helmet that is programmed for the pilot to think a command and the flight deck responds as long as Clint remembers to think Russian not English) is closer then we know

 

I am preparing to purchase a new 2014 VW Beetle with a high tech navigation and Fender sound system (that cost more as an option then what I paid for brand new for my 74 Beetle)...I am learning about how my favorite music is stored and retrieved from a "Cloud"....CD's will be extinct in much the same manner as were cassettes and 8 track tapes...my "coach" is my 12 year old Grandson, who by the way loves to cruise...

 

My point being the next generation of cruise ships to be built are now on the planning boards that will embrace technology in ways we would never have thought about and our grandchildren will wonder why you have a yellow hi-liter in your cruise bag

[losijon]

I LOVE getting the fun times. I like going through it with the wife and hilighting what we want to do and see

 

 

.....................................................

Carnival Pride 7 day Mexican Riviera: September 2008

 

Carnival Inspiration 4 day Mexican Riviera: September 2013

 

Carnival Miracle 15 day Hawaii: coming October 2015

[fla_momuv3]

I like the rip out schedule we can carry around & consult periodically.

 

 

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[dulcimergirl]

Oh PULEEEEZE! Part of the fun of being on a ship is going to your cabin each night after turn down and finding, along with the towel animal, the FUNTIMES for the following day and reading through it and planning. I would be most disappointed if the cruiselines did away with this. The FUNTIMES also make a good souvenir.

This exactly.

I do have an I pad I use aboard for reading. I don't do internet while at sea, and all other electronics are off and in the safe. I love the funtimes. The last thing I read at night.

I don't take them home, I wouldn't have room for them all. . lol

[AtSeaWithChris]

A big perk of cruising is leaving the electronics behind and putting my cell phone in the safe for a week.

 

 

+10

 

 

Fist-pumping gleeful rum runner!!!

[MickCruiser]

Whoa....I like that reading material. In IT as well and sometimes it's good to stick with the basics.

[sjcruiser]

I like the rip out schedule we can carry around & consult periodically.

 

 

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I do the same thing. I usually read the full FunTimes at night before going to bed, or read it over breakfast, then take off the tab section with schedule and carry it in one of my pockets the next day, so I won't miss the activities that I want to participant in.

[KansasK]

I think its a great idea, but at the same time, paper is simple. Its easy.

 

I was on Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas last year, and they had interactive sign kiosks where the daily schedule could be accessed and gave you map directions on how to get there. There was never a line for this, but paper was nice being in the room, sitting back and just reading it. There's no reason you can't do both.

 

The Oasis class has the interactive signs and the Freedom class seems to have been updated with them. They are easy to find and are a nice convenience if you don't have the paper schedule with you. They are easy to use, too. They still print their equivalent to the Fun Times and I think a lot of people still read it. There is a lot more information given than just the schedule of events for the day. I also take some home and smile when I see them.

Edited June 27, 2014 by KansasK

[Jana60]

I don't carry my phone around the ship but I love that nifty little tear part of the fun times to carry around.

 

+2 :D

 

I don't want to customize my fun times and be required to view it at a kiosk. One of the nice things about a vacation is not have set plans. I may go to trivia get bored and decide to go do something else that I didn't originally plan to do. With my little perforated fun times I can quickly change plans, no kiosk required!

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Edited June 27, 2014 by Jana60

[nomadron]

Believe it or not, there are people out here who don't do "apps". Don't have a smart phone. Or have a tablet. And some don't even own a computer.

 

There will still be a necessity for printed materiel.

I agree because I am one that does not do "apps" because I don't use a smart phone or tablet.

[irishnyc]

One thing I do wish was digital is all the pictures we take. It would be nice to be able to view all pictures from the TV in the cabin.

 

I would LOVE that. Printing all those photos is a huge waste, and I hate looking through so many of them to find mine, just so I can throw them away.

 

Someone was recently telling me about a trip to Great Wolf Lodge and she said they have these bracelet type devices that allow you to enter your room and charge to your on board account.

 

How would people feel about that?

 

Here's an image I found on the internet.

 

 

http://www.onpdx.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/IMG_0002.jpg

 

The first thing I said when we went to Great Wolf the first time a few years ago, was that those bracelets would be brilliant for cruises. It's so nice to not even have to worry about a pocket for an S&S type card.

[samzgirl84]

I like getting out my highlighter and marking what I want to attend.

 

I never bring my cellphone on a cruise as I live in Canada and don't want to pay roaming charges. I can only imagine how expensive it would be to have my phone on all week. Yikes!

[cruizinisthebest]

Well I see this idea went over like a lead balloon!:p

 

I have all kinds of gadgets, but I don't want to be tethered to them in order to get all the info in the printed version.

 

Obviously there's technology to do it. Just not interested. I need something to look over and highlight while I'm eating my midnight room service order!

[BananaAnna]

Love, love, love my smartphone and use camera, etc while on the ship.

 

Each night we look thru the Fun Times and mark things that I or DH or both want to do. Then I take photos of the marked list and he keeps the original. I can keep up with my phone and refer to it all day long but can't seem to keep up with that little slip of paper.

[Ehpride]

I like the paper fun times. If I'm laying on serenity deck, I just pull it out of my beach bag and I'm good to go. A high tech system involving S&S cards seems like a lot more work.

 

Plus, I like knowing everything that's going on. Maybe I planned to go to comedy, but the comedian was terrible. I can easily change plans by looking at the sheet to find out what else is going on.

 

I just keep thinking of those price checkers in stores. Most of the time that I need one, there's nothing remotely nearby. Or it's broken. I think it would take a lot of maintenance to keep them all working properly and not properly replace the paper version in terms of convenience.

 

 

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Edited June 27, 2014 by Ehpride

[dolphin2012]

I love going to the room each nite and getting the highlighter to mark what we want to do for the next day! We don't have smartphones and even if I did I'm sick of seeing people on their phones 24/7. We just got back from disney world and their apps for fast pass would time out. The lines to the kiosks were long and time consuming. The old paper fast pass worked better. I love the fun times and it's always in my photo book too

[vegadog2]

Oh PULEEEEZE! Part of the fun of being on a ship is going to your cabin each night after turn down and finding, along with the towel animal, the FUNTIMES for the following day and reading through it and planning. I would be most disappointed if the cruiselines did away with this. The FUNTIMES also make a good souvenir.

 

I love the excitement of walking into the room to the sight of the FUN times.

[kybluecruiser]

I don't carry my phone around the ship but I love that nifty little tear part of the fun times to carry around.

 

Ditto!!!! My phone stays locked in the safe 99% of the time.