How effective is 'My Voyage' on-board planner?

[WestonOne]

I recently used the P+O equivalent of the 'My Voyage' onboard cruise personalizer and did not find it very effective.  It did not allow you to see the Daily Programme. Bookings for things like the spa and hair appointments were not shown, so it was not a very complete diary, and while we were told to book breakfast via the app, anyone who just walked to the restaurant got priority. The first day we were sat next to the restaurant for about an hour waiting to be asked to come in, watching people just walk in, and gradually deciding they could not all have been in front of us in the 'virtual queue'. On another occasion we were seated and having breakfast while the app was telling us we were still fifth in the queue.

In short, I think the P+O app is near useless.

Is the Cunard one any better?

Edited May 2, 2022 by WestonOne

[Bell Boy]

Ditch the 'Cunard' My voyage app thingy'  ... No need for this sort of gadget at the moment on Vic/Liz/Mary , might be useful for the new ship QA with several restaurants . 

Continue with what we have been doing for years, interacting face to face with those lovely hard working crew members, and receive personal service ....Really no need to be scrolling through an i phone just to book a seat in the Veranda,    pop by the restaurant and interact face to face , you might even be allocated the best table.   

It's only useful to check out an onboard statement .

 

Your experience above 🤔 ..Well I'm afraid that's P&O for you. 

 

[safarigal]

I'm not sure it is much better, although we have not used it much. No you also can't see the daily programme. It is handy to book restaurants, but you can't do things like book appointments with the future cruise people, or medical appointments - both of which you now need to book in advance rather than walk in.

 

It does show you your account and remaining (or in our case already depleted) on board credit so that beats a trip to the pursers deck to get the update. So yes, it is useful, but could be better.

 

What I would like to see is an update on available washers and dryers, and which ones are out of order. Now that would be a helpful app.

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by safarigal

[newjoisey]

My wife had it the last time we cruised and she loved it 

[WestonOne]

14 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

Ditch the 'Cunard' My voyage app thingy'  ... No need for this sort of gadget at the moment on Vic/Liz/Mary ,....

 

Your experience above 🤔 ..Well I'm afraid that's P&O for you. 

 

I think the rationale for the 'virtual queue' , for both the P+O one and Cunard app,  is an attempt to deal with covid concerns.  If 'virtual queues' worked well  you do not have to stand near anyone  so your risk is lower.  However, our experience was that most people did as you suggested and just ignored the app and behaved as they always did.

I don't think it was really a case of "that's P+O for you".  It is that while a ship can operate without virtual queues, as they always did, or only using virtual queues as they could, any attempt to run both simultaneously is fraught with difficulties.  You will almost certainly give priority to one or the other.  So if you give priority to everyone who physically turns up, joining a virtual queue pretty much guarantees you will be amongst the last to be attended to.

I should perhaps elaborate on when I said we waited outside the restaurant watching people.  Next door to the restaurant was the library and we waited in there.  It was not as if we were in sight of the people managing those coming to the restaurant.

Overall, though, I think you are right:  ditch the app.

 

Edited May 3, 2022 by WestonOne

[2BACRUISER]

The only reason any cruise company goes down the App route is to attract a younger demographic of millennials who can't seem to manage life without them, whether its telling them how and when to wipe their backsides or how to boil an egg!! 

I'm not a technophobe but I've seen what apps have done to our high streets and our banking system and I fear for the traditional act of communicating in person with a human being lost for ever. 

[alc13]

21 hours ago, safarigal said:

What I would like to see is an update on available washers and dryers, and which ones are out of order. Now that would be a helpful app.

 

Brilliant!

[WestonOne]

On 5/2/2022 at 7:15 PM, safarigal said:

 

What I would like to see is an update on available washers and dryers, and which ones are out of order. Now that would be a helpful app.

 

Not so much directly because I can imagine a hundred people dashing to it once one becomes free.  But that would be an excellent use for a ''virtual queue'

 

Probably the single thing I would like to see added to the app is to make it a proper diary.  If I have arranged to meet a couple somewhere tomorrow, let me add a note saying that...

[BouncingWheel]

I have recently used both and found them both extremely useful in these "not normal cruising times".

Probably OK to live without on small P&O and the Cunard ships because of the ease of walk-up dining but still having things already mentioned like onboard account etc... is useful.

 

Having said all that they are rubbish (just better than the nothing they had before) and they need to get to the Princess medallion system which is excellent when working. I would still say that the medallion system would work on Cunard (and it is still optional and does not have to be used) but they would need to make the electric screens fit in elegantly on the ships.

[exlondoner]

What is an electric screen? Please tell me it's not as frightening as it sounds.

[Bell Boy]

The Princess Medallion system  🤔     There is no way you'd get me wearing a Lanyard on Cunard ,a High End luxury brand   ...and I'm afraid the alternative of wearing it as a Wrist Band,  would clash wiv me Rolex   

[BouncingWheel]

3 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

The Princess Medallion system  🤔     There is no way you'd get me wearing a Lanyard on Cunard ,a High End luxury brand   ...and I'm afraid the alternative of wearing it as a Wrist Band,  would clash wiv me Rolex   

why does it have to be a lanyard or wristband????

That item is basically the same functionality as the cruise card.

Cunard version could even be some kind of "gold card". Lots of scope for embedding the same functionality into any item.

[BouncingWheel]

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

What is an electric screen? Please tell me it's not as frightening as it sounds.

In the lift areas (and maybe a couple of other places) there are large interactive plasma screens that use the same functionality that people that don't want to use their phones can use instead.

Obviously, they can ignore these too and go full human interaction mode (well in non Covid times they can).

Cunard could easily make them look and feel like the information type screens outside venues showing next events & time and not make them look garish.

[WestonOne]

On 5/4/2022 at 4:51 PM, BouncingWheel said:

why does it have to be a lanyard or wristband????

That item is basically the same functionality as the cruise card.

Cunard version could even be some kind of "gold card". Lots of scope for embedding the same functionality into any item.

I haven't been on a "Medallion" ship so am only going from the promotional videos, but the biggest single difference seems to be that for many purposes the medallion appears to work at a range on several metres, whereas RFID systems in cards are designed for ranges of a few centimetres.  For purchases, yes, you want that 'contact' as verification, but for other things, like unlocking doors as you approach and tracking wayward children, a card would not have the functionality.

It is, of course, not a big deal to get a card out to unlock your cabin.