Carnival Hub App Necessary?

[MMfan14]

Haven't cruised on Carnival in 6 years and was wondering do I need the app to function once on board the ship. Do they still have the Fun Times pamphlet they leave in your stateroom? Just hate having to lug phones around being just the 2 of us.  

[shof515]

fun times is no longer delivered to your room. you now need to pick it up at guest services or the coffee shop . the new fun times is a shorter double sided paper that is just a list of the activity. gone are the days of the colorful fun times with the show/activity description

[logan25]

You will use the app to check in for dining room.  May not be needed for set dining (early, late).  Not just for dinner, but also breakfast and sea day brunch in MDR.

[Schoifmom]

Is it absolutely necessary?  No.  Is it incredibly helpful?  Yes.

 

You can access the Fun Times on it rather than walking down to GS or the coffee shop every day for the printed version.  

 

You can check in for MDR meals (YTD, Seaday Brunch, Breakfast).

 

You can check your S&S account without going to GS or using the Kiosk.

 

You can access all menus for the entire cruise (not just that day's).

 

You can access the room service menu, instructions for VIFP items, spa menus, etc without asking your Room Steward to bring printed versions.

 

Yes, you can do all of these things the "old" way, but IMHO it is much more convenient using the app.

[CruisingWalter]

2 hours ago, MMfan14 said:

Haven't cruised on Carnival in 6 years and was wondering do I need the app to function once on board the ship. Do they still have the Fun Times pamphlet they leave in your stateroom? Just hate having to lug phones around being just the 2 of us.  

 

Yes you will want to have it with you. No Fun Times in your room, but that's not why you need it. You check in for your dining using the phone, no more lining up at the MDR or restaurants. When your table is ready, you'll be notified on the phone and proceed to the MDR or other restaurant. That part is AWESOME. No more standing around waiting for your table to be ready, no more lining up like cattle to get into the MDR. We would check in, go to a bar or relax outside until we were notified. 

 

Another great part of the app is you can 'favorite' events each day and get notified when they are about to happen. With so much trivia going on, that was a great feature for us because we didn't have to remember when the specific trivia we wanted to attend was about to happen. Carnival Hub is actually one of the better apps we've used of the 8 cruise lines we've sailed. 

[mondello]

They pretty much expect you to use the Hub app to see the menu when dining. Yes, the have printed menus but, they prefer you use the Hub app like everyone else.

 

Great to have daily activities at hand and being able to keep an eye on your folio account.

[Woody14]

3 hours ago, logan25 said:

You will use the app to check in for dining room.  May not be needed for set dining (early, late).  Not just for dinner, but also breakfast and sea day brunch in MDR.

you don't need it to check in for set dining but to view the menu you need it as getting a paper copy is difficult.

[Elaine5715]

I have had no issues not using the HUB on last 5 cruises.  I still get seated with ATD, they bring me menus and I have the paper Fun Times to mark the activities.

[KarmaCruisers]

5 hours ago, MMfan14 said:

Haven't cruised on Carnival in 6 years and was wondering do I need the app to function once on board the ship. Do they still have the Fun Times pamphlet they leave in your stateroom? Just hate having to lug phones around being just the 2 of us.  

Unfortunately you’ll be forced to LUG AROUND your phone..which looks like this:

[havanadaydreaming]

we use the hub app.  we also sign up for the text feature that we barely use but it's nice if i wander away on a sea day and can easily tell the mrs when i'm headed or where to meet up. 

 

she's a late riser (i am not) and a sunbather (i am only on land at a pool) so we often do our own thing for parts of sea days. its nice to be able to keep in touch  

[nybumpkin]

I am a Luddite. I hate QR codes and I don't like lugging my phone around. Having said that, I did like being able to reserve a table for brunch or order lunch from Seafood Shack. I managed by checking the app in the cabin in the morning and later in the day when we were back in the cabin - but I didn't carry my phone around. The staff in the dining room was happy to provide a printed menu.

[Dixe Lee]

Can the hub app be used without having an internet package? We weren’t planning on purchasing an internet package. I guess the days of checking our S&S accounts on the in-room TV’s are gone as well as purchasing shore excursions using the TV? Showing our age I guess 😳

[shof515]

8 minutes ago, Dixe Lee said:

Can the hub app be used without having an internet package?

yes, you dont need the internet package at all

[Dixe Lee]

2 minutes ago, shof515 said:

yes, you dont need the internet package at all

Thanks for your quick reply shof515! Appreciate you!

[cruisinqt]

Depending on which ship you’re sailing a number of the restaurants require reservations through the HUB app. On the Mardi Gras we tried to make in person reservations at Chibang and were told we had to use the app for that even though it was a free restaurant. Same thing happened at La Cucina for dinner.

 

I bought a lanyard on Amazon that I love for cruising. It’s a simple lanyard that has a phone holder attached that you can easily slide your phone into and it has a little credit card pocket on the other side for your sign and sail card. It’s very lightweight and only cost $7.99. You should check it out. It makes lugging a phone around so much easier. My husband loves his. 

[iria64]

On 9/22/2022 at 9:36 AM, mondello said:

They pretty much expect you to use the Hub app to see the menu when dining. Yes, the have printed menus but, they prefer you use the Hub app like everyone else.

 

Great to have daily activities at hand and being able to keep an eye on your folio account.

If only the menu layout was consistent across all venues.

Try finding the drink specials... some were on the 1st page (top or bottom) or you need to swipe left to get to page 2.  There were times I could not get the menu to scroll or lost my place and could not find the main menu choice.  These were mainly annoyances and in no way detracted from the experience.

[Guest BasicSailor]

Strange how things we were trying to get away from on vacation has become part of our everyday living. You need to have some type of electronic device with you at all times these days. Even the toilet demands it.

🤔

Edited September 23, 2022 by BasicSailor

[bguppies]

No, but its a huge Pain in the A$$ if you don't carry your phone 24/7.

 

Just got off the Sunshine this morning and forgot my phone twice in the dining room and they acted like asking for a menu was insanity.

Also the Hub app was extremely glitchy all weekend.

 

The text feature that everyone in our group of 6 paid for, was never working for all 6 of us at any one time.

At least at all times, one or two of our apps wouldn't be working. (we'd sit next to each other at trivia or something and all try to message each other and not once in 4 days did we have 100% functionalty.)

 

A couple of times, nothing in the app was functioning, so you had no idea what was going on unless you went down to pick up an extremely truncated version of the old fun times at Guest Services.

 

I'll admit checking in for anytime dining was nice, but that was about all I liked about the experience.

 

Weirdest part was watching the usually hardworking crew, walking around like zombified American workers, staring at their phones when they were supposed to be working. (watched the guy at ther asian noodle place at lunch, check his phone 3-4 times in 5 minutes while he was making peoples noodles.)

Edited September 26, 2022 by bguppies

[Seashell337]

I noticed a lot of changes that couldn’t have been put into the old version of the Fun Times did end up on the Hub. Example - on Horizon last week there were changes to the music line up in the atrium and the Pig and Anchor made with an hour of the time they were supposed to go on stage. DH really liked the string trio. So he was interested in showing up to hear them.

[Seashell337]

On 9/22/2022 at 6:48 PM, Dixe Lee said:

Can the hub app be used without having an internet package? We weren’t planning on purchasing an internet package. I guess the days of checking our S&S accounts on the in-room TV’s are gone as well as purchasing shore excursions using the TV? Showing our age I guess 😳

You can check your S&S on the Hub app, same with the shore excursions.  
 

Honestly, you don’t have to spend a lot of time on your hub app. We made reservations for restaurants and a massage before we boarded the ship. I looked at it a few times a day to confirm particular events we wanted to do, while DH napped or when I was in line to get a coffee.   I would check my favorited activities when I was looking at a menu or something.

[Dixe Lee]

Thanks Seashell337 for the advice!

 

[bguppies]

6 hours ago, Seashell337 said:

You can check your S&S on the Hub app, same with the shore excursions.  
 

Honestly, you don’t have to spend a lot of time on your hub app. We made reservations for restaurants and a massage before we boarded the ship. I looked at it a few times a day to confirm particular events we wanted to do, while DH napped or when I was in line to get a coffee.   I would check my favorited activities when I was looking at a menu or something.

Buf remember, if you want to make anytime dining reservations, you need your app to make the resrvation, then to get the notification to come down and then respond back you are on your way, then be able to read the menu once you arrive. (because the staff will act stunned if you forgot your cell phone and stupidly ask for as paper menu)

Same with any other restaurant with menus(and in lesser cases some of the bars)

[Seashell337]

22 hours ago, Seashell337 said:We made reservations for restaurants and a massage before we boarded the ship.

fair warning about reservations to the restaurants - some are booked by the time you board the ship. The Bonsai Teppanyaki is difficult to get for supper. 
 

 

 

We don’t like the anytime dining - so I didn’t really think about that one. Oops!  But the restaurant and bars all have printed menus. The server might look at you strangely for asking for one, because a lot of the people seemed to have their phones out constantly. DH and some newly made friends all got menus. 

[Elaine5715]

On 9/23/2022 at 1:43 PM, cruisinqt said:

Depending on which ship you’re sailing a number of the restaurants require reservations through the HUB app. On the Mardi Gras we tried to make in person reservations at Chibang and were told we had to use the app for that even though it was a free restaurant. Same thing happened at La Cucina for dinner.

 

I bought a lanyard on Amazon that I love for cruising. It’s a simple lanyard that has a phone holder attached that you can easily slide your phone into and it has a little credit card pocket on the other side for your sign and sail card. It’s very lightweight and only cost $7.99. You should check it out. It makes lugging a phone around so much easier. My husband loves his. 

I had no issues not using the Hub on Mardi Gras for any of the restaurants.  

[sgttami]

I survive.  Don't have a phone.  Don't want one.  Ever.

 

  I've cruised enough to know where to go and what to do.  I won't starve and I won't miss what's going on. 

 

No use for a phone in everyday life so I'm not getting one for a cruise.