Phone and messenger package

[wpas1]

We have a group going on the Gem and wondered if anyone has had experience with the NCL app.  I see it is $9.95 per phone and am assuming it does not matter the length of cruise.  Are the texts sent on time, are there any hidden charges?   

[marktwothousand]

I use it every time but I haven’t used it on the GEM. I highly recommend it. It allows you to do your own thing when you’re not with the group and not be stressed about setting up meeting times and finding them, because of course, you can simply send messages to keep in touch. 

 

Reliability: messages always get sent and received, but depending on how old your phone is...sometimes the notifications of new message don’t always alert you right away. But that’s not a dealbreaker, because you can just Check your phone every now and then to see if anyone has sent you a message. Especially if you haven’t heard from someone in awhile and you’re expecting to... just open the app and BAM! If you have new messages, they’ll be there. 

 

the messenging app also enables intra-ship calling, which means you can call anyone’s room or any ship department from your phone. So if you want to reach someone who didn’t pay for the app, you can phone their room, and they can call from any ship phone or room phone to your mobile. You can also call room service and customer service from the app. You can also make app to app voice calls to other people who have the app. There may also be a voicemail function I believe. 

 

there are no extra charges for the above. $10 flat rate fee billed to your stateroom. Well worth it. 

Edited December 6, 2018 by marktwothousand

[cathi007]

8 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

I use it every time but I haven’t used it on the GEM. I highly recommend it. It allows you to do your own thing when you’re not with the group and not be stressed about setting up meeting times and finding them, because of course, you can simply send messages to keep in touch. 

 

Reliability: messages always get sent and received, but depending on how old your phone is...sometimes the notifications of new message don’t always alert you right away. But that’s not a dealbreaker, because you can just Check your phone every now and then to see if anyone has sent you a message. Especially if you haven’t heard from someone in awhile and you’re expecting to... just open the app and BAM! If you have new messages, they’ll be there. 

 

the messenging app also enables intra-ship calling, which means you can call anyone’s room or any ship department from your phone. So if you want to reach someone who didn’t pay for the app, you can phone their room, and they can call from any ship phone or room phone to your mobile. You can also call room service and customer service from the app. You can also make app to app voice calls to other people who have the app. There may also be a voicemail function I believe. 

 

there are no extra charges for the above. $10 flat rate fee billed to your stateroom. Well worth it. 

Maybe s stupid question, but do you keep your phone on airplane mode? I'm just worried about getting a large bill, lol

[Noworkforme23]

9 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

I use it every time but I haven’t used it on the GEM. I highly recommend it. It allows you to do your own thing when you’re not with the group and not be stressed about setting up meeting times and finding them, because of course, you can simply send messages to keep in touch. 

 

Reliability: messages always get sent and received, but depending on how old your phone is...sometimes the notifications of new message don’t always alert you right away. But that’s not a dealbreaker, because you can just Check your phone every now and then to see if anyone has sent you a message. Especially if you haven’t heard from someone in awhile and you’re expecting to... just open the app and BAM! If you have new messages, they’ll be there. 

 

the messenging app also enables intra-ship calling, which means you can call anyone’s room or any ship department from your phone. So if you want to reach someone who didn’t pay for the app, you can phone their room, and they can call from any ship phone or room phone to your mobile. You can also call room service and customer service from the app. You can also make app to app voice calls to other people who have the app. There may also be a voicemail function I believe. 

 

there are no extra charges for the above. $10 flat rate fee billed to your stateroom. Well worth it. 

 Do you get the app from the original NCL app that has your reservation summary on it?  I already have the NCL app that has my dinner reservations, pmt history, excursions, etc on it...   Is this a separate app that you download when you get on the ship or is it within the original NCL app? 

[marktwothousand]

Here are the answers:

- Turn Cellular Data off, Airplane mode on and THEN turn on Wifi. What this does, is keeps your cellular service ("roaming data charges") off but allows Wifi to penetrate your phone and enable the app.

- the app you use depends on the ship you are on. The older ships use the old NCL app, the new ones use the new one. If you're not sure, download both, or do google research on the internet and it will tell you which one to download.

 

Sometimes I've had problems enabling the system until I left port as the ship freezes out certain systems while they're turning over the rooms. You may encounter hiccups and error messages trying to enable until after about an hour after muster. I called customer service because I was getting error messages registering the app - and they said that is the reason why.

 

So if it doesn't register right away, don't panic, be patient, try it around 30-60 min after muster.

[Katrina23]

When and how do you pay for the messaging?  We will be loading this on our kids' phones too.  We are on the Breakaway.

[marktwothousand]

You can enable it while you're in your stateroom by changing to a certain TV channel which will display a code, then you enter the code in the app, and the messaging becomes enabled.

 

The other way is thru the app itself. I believe it asks you to ID yourself with a birthday or Latitudes customer number and then once you pass the verification, you get the charge on the room and it is enabled.

 

OBC can be applied to the charge.

[wpas1]

Thanks so much for the information.   I think this is exactly what we will need.

[Noworkforme23]

Cool.. We are sailing on the Bliss on Saturday, I already have the NCL app on my phone & have used it frequently for dinner reservations & viewing my vacation summary.l..... So it is the same app... I don't see a text feature on the app... I guess I will see the feature on the NCL app once aboard?

[marktwothousand]

The Bliss and a smattering of newer ships use the new app, which is a blue icon on the iphone.

 

Older ships use the older app which is a black icon.

 

I'm not sure what the difference is because I've only ever used ships with the older (black icon) app, but I will be sailing the Bliss on 12/22 and using the new (blue icon) app. I also don't see a messaging icon on the app, so it must be something that appears once you board and enable it.