Carleeb12 Posted March 30, 2017 #1 Share Posted March 30, 2017 The iTunes app store says it is often really sketchy. I just don't know if I should pay the $ if it isn't going to work very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarvelMania Posted March 30, 2017 #2 Share Posted March 30, 2017 The Carnival App is free. The chat feature is $5 for the whole cruise. But you can still use the app to look at the Funtimes and other stuff for free. Just when you get on the cruise,put your phone on airplane mode and connect to their wifi. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coevan Posted March 30, 2017 #3 Share Posted March 30, 2017 2 weeks on the Magic it worked perfectly. We loved the app and yes it is free. the app has ship maps, restaurant hours, deck layouts, and the fun times is also on the app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carleeb12 Posted March 31, 2017 Author #4 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Mostly just need to know if the chat feature works well. We were planning on using it to keep in contact with our party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk8rmomof3 Posted March 31, 2017 #5 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I have the app but from what I heard, the person has to basically be staring at their phone logged in waiting for the message. I thought it was more like a text where I could message my husband and say "Where are you" or "meet me in the buffet" and he would get a notification. From my understanding, this is not the case. He'd have to have it open and looking at it to receive the message. Now, I haven't tried it yet, this is just what I have heard, so I could totally be wrong! For me, it sounded like doing FB messenger would be easier and pay for the internet package for $5 a day. Then I could upload pictures as well. I guess we'll see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coevan Posted March 31, 2017 #6 Share Posted March 31, 2017 no, not true, the app does not have to be open and your phone bings just like IM. The HUB app was extremely useful. The one caveat is the person you want to message has to have the app and chat feature as well. Our roll call group stayed in touch about meeting, slot pulls, and pub crawls. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomCruise48 Posted March 31, 2017 #7 Share Posted March 31, 2017 We have used it six times on three different ships and it worked pretty well. A problem we had on one cruise was that my wife was getting my messages, but I wasn't getting hers. After a couple of days, we figured out the problem. For each cruise, you receive a unique 4-digit chat ID, and the ID changes from cruise to cruise. At the end of the cruise, the app is supposed to clear out your chat ID, but it did not do this on my wife's phone. She had my old chat ID from the previous cruise, which of course was different from the ID for the current cruise. She manually cleared the old chat ID and started using the new one, and all was well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidfam Posted March 31, 2017 #8 Share Posted March 31, 2017 no, not true, the app does not have to be open and your phone bings just like IM. The HUB app was extremely useful. The one caveat is the person you want to message has to have the app and chat feature as well. Our roll call group stayed in touch about meeting, slot pulls, and pub crawls. Sounds great. So, did everyone in your party need to have an access code to the group in order to chat? Or were your accounts all linked from a group booking? Also, were you able to chat individually with specific people, or only to the group? We leave on the Breeze this weekend and are hoping the HUB is a convenient way to keep tabs on our group. Does anyone know if the Camp Carnival is able to send a message via HUB to parents if needed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gtownmom Posted March 31, 2017 #9 Share Posted March 31, 2017 We used it on the Breeze in February. The chat feature worked sporadically. You can set your preference for sounds etc when you get a message. We had 4 couples with our bookings linked for dinner. When I went into chat, they were all listed to be activated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Organized Chaos Posted March 31, 2017 #10 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Also, were you able to chat individually with specific people, or only to the group? I was told by another forum user just the other day that it gives you the option to chat with a single person or multiple people at the same time. I'm hoping that's true because it would be perfect for our group of 8 on our next cruise, but it'd also be nice to message individuals too. That's the only time I've been told it does both so I'm hoping others can corroborate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coevan Posted March 31, 2017 #11 Share Posted March 31, 2017 they assign you a code, its on your phone, then get your friends and enter a phone list i,e; Tom 1234, Nancy 2468, its very easy, lots of fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pe4all Posted March 31, 2017 #12 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Best $5 x 2 I ever spent on a Carnival cruise! Worked great on Splendor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nchikk Posted March 31, 2017 #13 Share Posted March 31, 2017 We sailed on and used the chat feature on the Valor in September. It did not work well for us. We would receive the other's texts only about a third of the time. They refunded our $5 charges on the 3rd day of the 8-day cruise and told us to continue using the feature. When it did work, it was great, but it really never got any better than that. I say pay the $5 and use it. If it doesn't work, tell GS about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Organized Chaos Posted March 31, 2017 #14 Share Posted March 31, 2017 We sailed on and used the chat feature on the Valor in September. It did not work well for us. We would receive the other's texts only about a third of the time. They refunded our $5 charges on the 3rd day of the 8-day cruise and told us to continue using the feature. When it did work, it was great, but it really never got any better than that. I say pay the $5 and use it. If it doesn't work, tell GS about it. Experiences similar to this are what I've been hearing more than those who say it worked well. We each bought the Social plan last year just to be able to communicate via iMessage (Hub app wasn't available at the time). We really don't need an internet plan for anything else, so it'd be nice to save the money and just buy the Hub chat feature. We found that using iMessage on the Social plan was pretty reliable. Wonder why Hub chat is less so? :confused: Network congestion is typically the culprit, but the bandwidth needed for messaging is minimal. So it might boil down to the quality of a particular ship's networking equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absolutheada Posted March 31, 2017 #15 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I would love to know if this works for the kids club, if they can message me through the app. Trying to figure out for our next cruise (first carnival) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Organized Chaos Posted March 31, 2017 #16 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I would love to know if this works for the kids club, if they can message me through the app. Trying to figure out for our next cruise (first carnival) I've seen a few people ask this around the forum, but haven't seen anyone answer yet. I don't think they do. But it would actually be a nice feature and, by the sounds of it, probably wouldn't be that hard to do. Each person who uses the chat gets a code to enter, so they could have parents register that code with the club for the person in charge of activities. But if receiving messages is as hit & miss as some have experienced, that could present a problem. Still a good idea, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUU Posted March 31, 2017 #17 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Wonder why Hub chat is less so? :confused: Network congestion is typically the culprit, but the bandwidth needed for messaging is minimal. So it might boil down to the quality of a particular ship's networking equipment.Perhaps but Hub Chat has been described to me several different ways (including being unclear about something as basic as whether the other person needs to have the app open when you try to send your message to them), which makes me think that it probably does work more consistently than it seems, but rather the variability depends on how much those reporting the inconsistency understand the specifications and stated limitations of the service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMSD Posted April 1, 2017 #18 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Perhaps but Hub Chat has been described to me several different ways (including being unclear about something as basic as whether the other person needs to have the app open when you try to send your message to them), which makes me think that it probably does work more consistently than it seems, but rather the variability depends on how much those reporting the inconsistency understand the specifications and stated limitations of the service. I'm betting it has to do with not having an internet connection. Messages to iPhones and Androids rely on push notification services. For Apple I know those messages go through Apples servers. I believe it's the same for Android through Google. If there is no Internet access, then you can't receive the push notifications. If they allowed push notifications, then people would be seeing other alerts like Facebook and stuff that use the push service even if they didn't pay for Internet. I'm betting the app stays running in the background and checks every so often to the server for updates using background app refresh. I would think best case to make sure it works is to leave the app running in the background. If you're one of those people that has to swipe up and close every app after you use it, it'll probably break the background refresh and prevent you from getting messages. Sent from my iPhone using Forums 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan Joe Posted April 1, 2017 #19 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I have the app but from what I heard, the person has to basically be staring at their phone logged in waiting for the message. I thought it was more like a text where I could message my husband and say "Where are you" or "meet me in the buffet" and he would get a notification. From my understanding, this is not the case. He'd have to have it open and looking at it to receive the message. Now, I haven't tried it yet, this is just what I have heard, so I could totally be wrong! For me, it sounded like doing FB messenger would be easier and pay for the internet package for $5 a day. Then I could upload pictures as well. I guess we'll see! I have heard (never used) but on Carnival ships whatever your text ringer is that is what the HUB app will play when you get a message. Now I was just on a princess cruise over Christmas '16, and their app (same idea) did NOT notify you. You did not have to have the app open staring at it, but it did NOT notify you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUU Posted April 1, 2017 #20 Share Posted April 1, 2017 For Apple I know those messages go through Apples servers. I believe it's the same for Android through Google. I would be shocked to learn that Hub chat went through either Apple or Google. I believe the point of the $5 per device per cruise level of service is to provide access to resources that are served from aboard the ship itself. This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenal2 Posted April 1, 2017 #21 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Do you have to be on the ship to get the $5 messaging feature? Or can we set it up before our cruise? Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMSD Posted April 1, 2017 #22 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I would be shocked to learn that Hub chat went through either Apple or Google. I believe the point of the $5 per device per cruise level of service is to provide access to resources that are served from aboard the ship itself. This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos. Yeah, which is why I think some people have an unreliable experience, because it's having to use a background app refresh instead of push notifications which are more reliable. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUU Posted April 1, 2017 #23 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Yes, I agree. That's almost surely the case. This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Organized Chaos Posted April 1, 2017 #24 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I would be shocked to learn that Hub chat went through either Apple or Google. I believe the point of the $5 per device per cruise level of service is to provide access to resources that are served from aboard the ship itself.I don't think they meant Hub chat went through Apple/Google servers. I think they were referring to Apple's proprietary messaging (aka iMessages). Those do go through Apple's servers. I think they were implying that the unreliable nature of Hub chat may have something to do with its inability to use Push Notifications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magus Posted April 2, 2017 #25 Share Posted April 2, 2017 So is the chat feature $5 per person for the week, or is it $5 per person per day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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