Hub App newbie

[Bookworm1985]

I have never used the chat feature on the Hub app. It says online that it is $5 per device. This is just a one time charge, not per day correct?  I can see spending $10 for my husband and I, but the cruise is 14 days and spending another $140 just on talking to each other is a bit much. And is there a way to prepay or do we set it up onboard and have it come from our accounts? Any tips are appreciated ☺️

[cathyz]

Yes, $5 per device for the whole cruise, not per day.

[Organized Chaos]

Yes, the $5 per device fee is for the entire cruise. You can't pre-pay, you have to wait until you get onboard. Once you choose to purchase the chat feature within the app itself, it'll charge your S&S accounts.

[Bookworm1985]

Perfect thank you.

 

have you felt it was worth it? This is the first cruise we have taken by ourselves, we usually have a huge group with go with, so I figured it would be a better way of keeping in touch then just walking around hope we  bump into each other (we each have our own things we like doing)

[amyotravel]

Just now, Bookworm1985 said:

Perfect thank you.

 

have you felt it was worth it? This is the first cruise we have taken by ourselves, we usually have a huge group with go with, so I figured it would be a better way of keeping in touch then just walking around hope we  bump into each other (we each have our own things we like doing)

We have never done this. Coming up it will just be two of us and he locks his phone in the safe to be electronics free so that would not help me! What does help is that I know his usual "haunts" and can eventually find him. Now we are going on the largest ship so it may be more of a problem! I bought some magnetic clothespins to use double duty as shower curtain weights and to hang on the wall to clip notes to - i.e. "I'm going to this, or, I will be here." Etc.

[Organized Chaos]

25 minutes ago, Bookworm1985 said:

Perfect thank you.

 

have you felt it was worth it? This is the first cruise we have taken by ourselves, we usually have a huge group with go with, so I figured it would be a better way of keeping in touch then just walking around hope we  bump into each other (we each have our own things we like doing)

 

Full disclosure, I haven't used the Hub chat yet. I've wanted to try it, but we buy an internet plan anyway, so as iPhone users, we just use iMessage.

 

Going off of what's been said on this forum for a long time, how well Hub chat works is probably going to depend on the ship. Not all of them have very good wifi service and it sounds like it can have an impact on Hub chat. Reports range from it working great to messages arriving later (sometimes much later) to messages not arriving at all. One big consensus from those who have used it is that you need to keep the app open for the messages to come through. If you close the app, you won't get the messages until you open it again.

 

If all else fails and it doesn't work for you, just go to Guest Services and let them know. More than likely they'll refund the fee.

[keywest1]

We've found the Hub App chat feature to be very handy.  We cruise with anywhere from 3 to 11 family members, so it really helps us to communicate without being joined at the hip.  Sometimes there is a delay in receiving messages, but we haven't found it to be a huge issue.  Kind of like hitting a dead spot while traveling on land with your cell phone.

For anyone who is using Hub App for the first time, be sure to download the app BEFORE you get on the ship.  With the speed of the internet on the ship, it could take forever to download.  Also there are useful features before your cruise.

The charge is one time per device for the entire cruise.

[stellarose]

is it worth it? YES!! we went on the pride last summer and had 2 teens, 2 grandparents plus DH and I. it made life soooooo much easier to communicate on the ship. I will use it again!!!!!

[mom2oneXY]

We usually only get the chat feature when sailing with our kiddo.  When it's just us we know how and where to find each other.  I tend to just stay put in the pool area reading, so DH knows where to find me when he goes off doing other things.  When kiddo comes we tend to divide and conquer more often so it's helpful.  We also consider the ship - new ship -yes, familiar ship -no, larger ship-yes, smaller ship-no.

[dmet0225]

We tried the chat feature on our cruise 2 years ago.  It rarely worked, so we haven't bothered signing up for it on our 2 subsequent cruises, and I can't tell you if it improved or not. 

 

That said, we just got back from a cruise on the Freedom.  The menu feature for the MDR was rarely correct.  It listed other ports of call that we didn't visit and had different menus than what was actually presented in the MDR.

[teknoge3k]

We've used it a few years and love it. We use it for the chat to see where each other is at, check in with our teenager, find out if he's going to dinner with us, if he's okay when he's out late at night, etc. It's also good for checking into dinner with YTD to beat any lines. All of your pictures are also on there so you don't have to go use the computers at the Pixels gallery to look up your pictures. The Fun Times is also on there which we love because we each go through when we embark and check the things we're going to do for the week. That way everyone in the family can see what each other wants to do, or where they may be. You can also keep an eye on your folio to see your spending if you need to. Definitely love the Hub app. 

[BrezQ]

We used it when we brought the kids, you HAVE to check it constantly, it's not the same as texting, or messenger, but it's fine. Especially for $5 per person! When it's just the hubs and I, we don't usually get it! 

 

Enjoy!