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New mobile app for checking in

Richst48

By Richst48,
in Royal Caribbean International

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awestover89

awestover89

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Interesting, although I'm a bit concerned about the connection to the ship's Wi-Fi. There are several ports where the Wi-Fi signal is poor or completely blocked; when we were in Skagway for example the mountains wreaked havoc with the Wi-Fi. It would suck to not be able to get into your cabin.

 

I'd also be worried about the timeout. What if I'm just walking down the hallway and pass my room? Will it be unlocked for anybody walking behind me if I don't open and close the door? I'd imagine it will be a similar timeout to when you use the room key, but unlocking the door with your key requires an actual action, not just walking past with your phone in your pocket.

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Steelers0854 "Live from...." Rare

Steelers0854

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Interesting, although I'm a bit concerned about the connection to the ship's Wi-Fi. There are several ports where the Wi-Fi signal is poor or completely blocked; when we were in Skagway for example the mountains wreaked havoc with the Wi-Fi. It would suck to not be able to get into your cabin.

 

I'd also be worried about the timeout. What if I'm just walking down the hallway and pass my room? Will it be unlocked for anybody walking behind me if I don't open and close the door? I'd imagine it will be a similar timeout to when you use the room key, but unlocking the door with your key requires an actual action, not just walking past with your phone in your pocket.

 

 

 

The port that you are in would have no impact on Wi-Fi performance on the ship. It could be the case an access point was down and it coincided with being in a port, but mountains etc would have no impact.

 

There would have to be some intentional interaction on your part for the door to open. Whether that’s a tap on the phone, the door lock, or a screen next to the door, every type of system like this I have seen or used has some user action for the door to open.

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rukkian

rukkian

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Posted
Interesting, although I'm a bit concerned about the connection to the ship's Wi-Fi. There are several ports where the Wi-Fi signal is poor or completely blocked; when we were in Skagway for example the mountains wreaked havoc with the Wi-Fi. It would suck to not be able to get into your cabin.

 

I'd also be worried about the timeout. What if I'm just walking down the hallway and pass my room? Will it be unlocked for anybody walking behind me if I don't open and close the door? I'd imagine it will be a similar timeout to when you use the room key, but unlocking the door with your key requires an actual action, not just walking past with your phone in your pocket.

The only way the port would matter was for internet connectivity, which would not be required for onboard activities.

 

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Forums mobile app

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Steelers0854 "Live from...." Rare

Steelers0854

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I did spot this article that says this new app is basically the one that is used on Allure and Oasis currently. I would take it with a grain of salt, but it kind of makes sense as they said part of the fleet would use it by the end of the year. So my guess is Allure and Oasis will roll it out by the end of the year.

 

http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Royal-Caribbean-previews-forthcoming-cruise-app

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kwazi07

kwazi07

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The port that you are in would have no impact on Wi-Fi performance on the ship. It could be the case an access point was down and it coincided with being in a port, but mountains etc would have no impact.

 

There would have to be some intentional interaction on your part for the door to open. Whether that’s a tap on the phone, the door lock, or a screen next to the door, every type of system like this I have seen or used has some user action for the door to open.

 

 

 

This! The Hilton app has a feature called digital key where you can use your phone as a room key—one in range, you tap the button in your screen and the door unlocks. Would think the RC app would be similar

 

 

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awestover89

awestover89

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The port that you are in would have no impact on Wi-Fi performance on the ship. It could be the case an access point was down and it coincided with being in a port, but mountains etc would have no impact.

 

There would have to be some intentional interaction on your part for the door to open. Whether that’s a tap on the phone, the door lock, or a screen next to the door, every type of system like this I have seen or used has some user action for the door to open.

We lived in Alaska for a number of years and mountains definitely do impact satellite connectivity. We have gone on two Alaska cruises, and both cruises the ship had no or extremely poor wifi while in Skagway, and both times we were given an on board credit and told the mountains blocked the satellite signal they used for WiFi. The mountains and Alaska's location also prevent Sirius and satellite TV from working throughout the state.

 

In short geography and location definitely impacts satellite performance, and since Royal wifi is satellite based, it will be impacted at certain ports

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

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chrisby

chrisby

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We lived in Alaska for a number of years and mountains definitely do impact satellite connectivity. We have gone on two Alaska cruises, and both cruises the ship had no or extremely poor wifi while in Skagway, and both times we were given an on board credit and told the mountains blocked the satellite signal they used for WiFi. The mountains and Alaska's location also prevent Sirius and satellite TV from working throughout the state.

 

In short geography and location definitely impacts satellite performance, and since Royal wifi is satellite based, it will be impacted at certain ports

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

Not correct. The WiFi is not the satellite connection, it is the system throughout the ship that devices can connect to. The ship then connects via the satellite s to get to the internet. You will have WiFi on the ship even if there is no satellite connection. I am a computer and network tech so am quite familiar with this.

 

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Clarea

Clarea

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So is this a way to force everyone to purchase wifi? Or will it somehow work without purchasing a package? I actually like being off the grid for a little while and try to not buy an internet package at all.

In the past, Royal's apps had a good amount of functionality without the need to purchase WiFi.

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Biker19

Biker19

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To put things into context - the new RCI app came out in August and worked on Allure only. In September they added it to Oasis. This week Serenade was added. It is still limited to Compass like functionality. It will be a long time before any feature like outlined in the OP article will be reality.

 

Not sure if the new CIO will have any affect on any of this: http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/rcl-appoints-new-chief-information-officer.html

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