Has anyone cruised without a phone since the new app?

[Top_of_the_Cube]

Off the Vista last week.  In the MDR for dinner, the wait staff automatically passed out menus to those who did not have phones out.  And a few of our tablemates had trouble using the QR code.  There was no issue for them to ask for a menu.  Much the same experience for breakfast/brunch in the MDR.  The wait staff was just as friendly and helpful to the paper people as they were to the technology users.

 

These are things that I noticed:

 

All coffee bars and regular bars, as well as for-fee eating venues that I visited had physical menus displayed.  I did not do the specialty restaurants (other than the sushi place) so I don't know how they worked.

 

Reserving time for MDR breakfast/brunch, without the HUB, seemed to work pretty much the same as it always has.  There was really not a long wait on our sailing for either method, never more than five minutes.

 

There was a general assumption that you WOULD be using your HUB app, but maybe that was because well over 80% of the passengers did carry their phone around.  I did not always keep my phone with me, but when I did, the HUB app made things much more convenient.  When I didn't, I was still able to do all the things I normally did prior to the enhanced HUB roll-out.

 

I really do miss the full paper Fun Times, not much of a fan of using the HUB version or the simplified paper schedules they have now.

 

All in all, though, cruising is back, baby!

[ray98]

8 hours ago, sprint180 said:

What I do hate is dragging a phone with me.  

 

LOL....mine just sits in my pocket until needed.  It requires zero effort.  They aren't making you drag around a laptop computer.

Edited November 4, 2021 by ray98

[sprint180]

37 minutes ago, ray98 said:

 

LOL....mine just sits in my pocket until needed.  It requires zero effort.  They aren't making you drag around a laptop computer.

Well I don't carry a phone on a regular day.  I also don't have pockets in most of my cruise clothes.  So I imagine if you are used to carrying a phone it isn't a big deal to you.   It just comes as second nature.  I don't so it is a pain to me.

 

[urbanhawk]

5 minutes ago, sprint180 said:

Well I don't carry a phone on a regular day.  I also don't have pockets in most of my cruise clothes.  So I imagine if you are used to carrying a phone it isn't a big deal to you.   It just comes as second nature.  I don't so it is a pain to me.

 

I'm so glad I don't have to carry my landline around! I can't even text on it!😬!!! If anyone even remembers/ knows who Captain Kangaroo is, I don't think he'd even have big enough pockets!😯😉!!!!

[Denise72]

On 11/3/2021 at 9:40 AM, Elaine5715 said:

We cruised in August with family who did use the Hub.  We all had Any Time Dining but still needed to go to the podium after they checked in on the Hub since we were in a different cabin.   

I'm curious were your bookings linked prior to your cruise? I'm cruising with family in Jan and our bookings are linked. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

On 11/3/2021 at 7:58 PM, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

I refuse to cruise with a cell phone, period!  And I'm not above using underhanded tactics to achieve it.  So if I lie to the crew that my phone crapped out, or better yet that it was taken from me in a robbery the night before, will they do ANYTHING to help me, like give me paper menus and Fun Times?  (Or let me see the Fun Times on TV, I don't care.)  Or will they just say "sorry, Charlie!" and snicker at me, while refusing to let me order off a paper menu?  If the latter is true, I will do something I swore I wouldn't do in a million years: remove gratuities.  That, or migrate to another cruise line.

 

Some posters on here said "paper menus and Fun Times" and others said "sorry, Charlie".  So I want to know Carnival's M.O., before I decide to tell them to kiss my butt.  I had great experiences with them 3 times, despite their Cutback 2.0 "upgrades".  But forcing me to carry my cell phone is beyond my patience!

You sound really worked up!  Reminds me of the old Horse-drawn buggy association lobbying congress  when automobiles were new.  Paperless is the future.  Get used to it.  (btw, I don't like it either)

[Elaine5715]

38 minutes ago, Denise72 said:

I'm curious were your bookings linked prior to your cruise? I'm cruising with family in Jan and our bookings are linked. 

 It was that we were in different cabins that they could not ask for a table for 6 when their folio showed they were a party of 4.  

[SeaScout]

I found the Hub App useful when I had my phone with me. Not so useful when the phone was in the cabin. One small issue I found was - Before Covid, on cruises we would always bring a paper copy of the Fun Times with us when we went ashore. The reason for this was because it always listed contact info in the event of an emergency while you were away from the ship. -  I could not find that info on the Hub App. I did find an 8 x 10 laminated piece of paper in the desk drawer that listed the contact info for every port that Carnival calls on. I'm not sure that document was meant to be brought ashore. I suppose I could have taken a picture of it but the writing was awfully small.  The new paper copy of the Fun Times was a very slimmed down version and was basically just a daily schedule of events. The contact info was not listed and paper copies were not always available daily in any case.   

 

I found the Hub App useful but like a lot of people, I didn't want to always be attached to my phone while on vacation. 

Edited November 5, 2021 by SeaScout
speliing

[jimbo5544]

On 11/4/2021 at 1:09 AM, cruisingguy007 said:

 

That's not a accurate portrayal IMO. It's nothing to do with "cell phones" per sey, more like a technology change that reduces materials costs, waste, redundancies, manpower etc and improves efficiencies in manpower, information outlay and scheduling. Most people simply use the computer built into their phone, computer and camera combo because it's efficient and compact. You can rock a smart watch even, though a phone improves those as well.

 

There are also very small/cheap/light devices one could acquire to take advantage of Hub app information (speed/convenience) that also make great emergency devices for excursions or general emergency communication devices. You can even buy cheap/loadable prepaid sim cards online or in countries you visit at the first port and use them as cheap general communication devices if don't have international cell coverage. Wifi calling works in many locations as well and is a great way to keep up with land lubber loved ones stuck back on shore. 

 

The point is that they aren't forcing anyone to use "smart phones" as people like to say. It's more akin to people not wanting to take cabs or get rides anymore because companies switched to cars and won't pick them up in a horse and buggy. It makes smart business sense. Nostalgia is one thing, being completely apoplectic about times changing and taking your ball and going home is another. I can understand not wanting to carry anything and all that but it strikes me as a odd line in the sand situation. 

Bingo

 

[eclue]

WE just cruised Alaska in August where I used my cell phone in port . We then cruised on the Dream last month. We put our cell phones in the safe and never took them out while onboard....It is so nice to be free of that device. I do not carry a purse or backpack around the ship so it is a pain to have to carry a phone. We had no problem at all ordering off a paper menu and getting the paper daily news.....

We had no need to use the Carnival app......yes, one can certainly cruise without a phone and enjoy doing so.