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Using the NCL App to Text Message and Call Others on Ship

chas

By chas,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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chas

chas

Posted
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Well, after searching here and at NCL's website for the answer I figured that it was time to just ask:

 

I see that NCL says you can use their app to send text messages and make phone calls to others on the ship, as well as call staterooms.

 

What I have failed to find is how much does this cost and how do you activate it? I'm guessing that each participant must pay the fee as well?

 

Have you used it and if so is it better than me bringing walkie talkies that will often not work well over large distances on big ships? 

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vacation44

vacation44

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We have always used it in the past as a way to be in contact with our children  and others when traveling with extended family.   I do not remember what it cost last time, but I do remember it was more than the year before which I think was $10 per person.

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mking8288 "Live from...." Rare

mking8288

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1 hour ago, ElizaSTN said:

Is that fee in addition to the unlimited internet package?  You have to pay extra for this?

If I recall correctly from ... 2+ years ago, the text & calling app or functions was enabled within the official Cruise Norwegian (NCL) App - once onboard & connected to ship's WiFi inTRAnet, and offered to passengers on the sailing - you pay a one-time fee per device, of about $10 - without requiring or needing to buy or upgrade to the unlimited WiFi packages or bundles offered at that time.  You can only text (SMS) or call other passengers that registered their devices & paid/enrolled in this option - used to be able to call the dining and/or show reservations line, or guest services on the ship, etc. as some of their extensions were pre-loaded as speed dial ... that was no longer available unless you enrolled & paid the $10 fee.  

 

For two persons, your cost would only be $10 x 2 devices or $20 for the duration of that cruise, B2B would not be covered since it's a different sailing.  I stand corrected, if someone sailed within the past month, two or three that things have changed (and, it's possible) but ...  And, if you have the unlimited package & WiFi inTERnet access already for the week/duration of the cruise, you should not and do not need to pay extra for basic texting or calling (whether that's VoLTE or WiFi or VoIP calling onboard) - the streaming premium option is a different story.  

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marktwothousand

marktwothousand

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It’s an excellent service. You can do group chats and also phone from stateroom to mobile, and from mobile to any stateroom or other shipboard extension on the ship. Eg. room service, guest service, medical. It was always a nice perk to be able to pre-order room service from my cell before I got back to my room. 

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Lionkingrichard

Lionkingrichard

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5 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

It’s an excellent service. You can do group chats and also phone from stateroom to mobile, and from mobile to any stateroom or other shipboard extension on the ship. Eg. room service, guest service, medical. It was always a nice perk to be able to pre-order room service from my cell before I got back to my room. 

They wouldn't keep putting you in a CELL if you just behaved yourself!😉

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CruisinMaterial

CruisinMaterial

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Our group used it on the Getaway for New Years Cruise. It was $10 and you didn't need to have a separate wifi package to use it. You just needed to pay the $10 and you could use it whenever. However, it kept bumping us offline throughout the voyage and you'd have to log back into it. When I first tried to connect to it, the app was stuck thinking I was still shore-side. I couldn't get it to work so had to delete the app and redownload it and then it finally worked on the first sea day. Thereafter, connectivity to the ship's service was interesting at best. I would expect better from a service I'm being charged extra for...

 

Is it the cheapest way to communicate among your party? Yes. If you wanted to use WhatsApp instead, it would cost you the WiFi package price although that would be more reliable IMHO. We would switch to WhatsApp in port to communicate because the NCL app was disconnecting often enough to warrant the switch.

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hallux

hallux

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21 minutes ago, CruisinMaterial said:

it would cost you the WiFi package price although that would be more reliable IMHO.

It would cost you the WiFi package for every device you wanted to be able to communicate...

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chas

chas

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Thank you to everyone for your helpful information!

 

That pretty much settles it. The 2-way radios stay home and we'll give the messaging via the app a try.

Hopefully it is reliable enough. Do you recall whether it tells you that the recipient received the message, like "Delivered" in i-messaging?

 

I also now understand that I have to wait to be aboard the ship to order this service.

 

We're a couple weeks away from getting on the Escape. I've never been so stressed-out about taking a cruise: pre-boarding covid test, quarantine dungeons, monsters hiding under the bed!

 

Much like the OP in another thread, I will most likely be over-served, often.

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mjkacmom

mjkacmom

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26 minutes ago, chas said:

Thank you to everyone for your helpful information!

 

That pretty much settles it. The 2-way radios stay home and we'll give the messaging via the app a try.

Hopefully it is reliable enough. Do you recall whether it tells you that the recipient received the message, like "Delivered" in i-messaging?

 

I also now understand that I have to wait to be aboard the ship to order this service.

 

We're a couple weeks away from getting on the Escape. I've never been so stressed-out about taking a cruise: pre-boarding covid test, quarantine dungeons, monsters hiding under the bed!

 

Much like the OP in another thread, I will most likely be over-served, often.

You will want to download the app before boarding, and then pay for the service once on the ship.

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CruisingNCLHokie

CruisingNCLHokie

Posted
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We used, or tried to use it on our cruise in December on the Gem.  Half the time it wouldn't send the texts, kept saying that the service was disconnected or unavailable.  And when it did work we didn't get notified that we had a new message, we had to open the app and look.  Perhaps we didn't have it set up right for notifications, but couldn't figure it out.

 

We have another sailing this weekend, and unless we can figure out how to get a notification then we're probably going to skip the service this time and use the money for the duty free store 🙂

Edited by CruisingNCLHokie
typo
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DwayneG

DwayneG

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If we use the app so we can communicate with each other on board will we still be able to log onto the Internet one at a time to share our unlimited Internet?  Or will running the app on the Intranet prevent us fromoccasionally logging into the Internet?

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CruisingNCLHokie

CruisingNCLHokie

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9 minutes ago, hallux said:

@CruisingNCLHokie  Make sure you allow the app to run in the background, it 'pulls' notifications rather than having them 'pushed'.  It's a bit sloppy in that manner...

Thank you. I thought we did that, but it's possible we hit the wrong button. Does it usually notify you when you get a message with the phone locked or the app not being open? We're on Androids if it makes a difference. I generally know my way around androids but I couldn't figure it out. 

 

I wish there was a way of testing before purchasing... 

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jstewartgt

jstewartgt

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59 minutes ago, hallux said:

@CruisingNCLHokie  Make sure you allow the app to run in the background, it 'pulls' notifications rather than having them 'pushed'.  It's a bit sloppy in that manner...

Kind of makes sense though(talking Apple specifically here).  Though I agree it's not ideal

 

Push notifications are pushed from Apple which receives them from the app owners.  If NCL allows the push notifications, they would have to open up all of Apple which means users would also get iMessages and other push notifications.   Of course that would limit the reason for the app in the first place and NCL would lose revenue. 

 

This is also why you typically get push notifications from all apps on airlines when you only have access to messages.

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chas

chas

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1 hour ago, hallux said:

@CruisingNCLHokie  Make sure you allow the app to run in the background, it 'pulls' notifications rather than having them 'pushed'.  It's a bit sloppy in that manner...

So, if I understand you, on iPhone: Settings/General/Background App Refresh/Turn on background app refresh and make sure that below the "switch" for the NCL app is on?

 

I'm guessing the app does not prompt you for this otherwise?

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