What cruiselines are NOT requiring us to carry smartphones???

[LuckiePuris]

50 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Yes, I would write down my choices. 

That’s a great idea as an alternative

[NSWP]

48 minutes ago, LuckiePuris said:

 

Like with everything though, not all guests will use technology for those reasons mentioned.

 

We enjoy using our phones other times for social media, news, catching up with family, and will take the phones to dinner so we can check the menus/take some photos, but meal times are important times for us together so phones wouldn’t be used in the MDR for those reasons.

 

The people you describe above may use their phones at the table regardless if it was needed for the menus or not. 

Mobile phone Police required at the MDR doors to confiscate the said item, lol. Bad manners to use a phone when sharing the table with other diners, in my opinion anyway.

 

And no, I do not possess a 'smart phone' lol. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

57 minutes ago, LuckiePuris said:

I’m not too sure sorry but i imagine it could be hard to remember them by the time you’re ordering (it would be for me!)

The menus are also posted outside the MDRs during the day. The MDR that does lunch on sea days shows the lunch menu in the morning then the dinner menu once lunch is finished. The other MDR has the dinner menu up all day.

[LuckiePuris]

6 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Mobile phone Police required at the MDR doors to confiscate the said item, lol. Bad manners to use a phone when sharing the table with other diners, in my opinion anyway.

 

And no, I do not possess a 'smart phone' lol. 

I also agree bad manners but also see the pros - ease of reading menu plus camera - and can also make anytime dining bookings with notification to app when your table is ready.

It’s a bit of a balance 🙂

[OzKiwiJJ]

4 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Mobile phone Police required at the MDR doors to confiscate the said item, lol. Bad manners to use a phone when sharing the table with other diners, in my opinion anyway.

 

And no, I do not possess a 'smart phone' lol. 

Unless you're actually looking up something that has come up during a discussion at that table.

[LuckiePuris]

Just now, OzKiwiJJ said:

The menus are also posted outside the MDRs during the day. The MDR that does lunch on sea days shows the lunch menu in the morning then the dinner menu once lunch is finished. The other MDR has the dinner menu up all day.

That is handy but I’m often deciding up to last minute what to order and like to also have the menu at the table to decide and order 

🙂

It’s good that there are alternative options if one doesn’t want to use the smart phone for menus though!

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just now, LuckiePuris said:

That is handy but I’m often deciding up to last minute what to order and like to also have the menu at the table to decide and order 

🙂

It’s good that there are alternative options if one doesn’t want to use the smart phone for menus though!

We've used those displayed menus in the past to decide whether we actually want to eat in the MDR or try to get a last minute reservation at one of the speciality restaurants. There used to be one menu, pre-Covid, that I really disliked. 

[NSWP]

7 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Unless you're actually looking up something that has come up during a discussion at that table.

Or checking this forum, lol.  I always check the MDR dinner menu at the doors during the arvo, to see if anything appeals, if not I go to Horizon Court, as I did on Coral in Sept. Suited me.

Edited November 14, 2022 by NSWP

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just now, NSWP said:

Or checking this forum, lol.

Not over dinner. 

[LuckiePuris]

32 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We've used those displayed menus in the past to decide whether we actually want to eat in the MDR or try to get a last minute reservation at one of the speciality restaurants. There used to be one menu, pre-Covid, that I really disliked. 

Highlight of my day was checking after lunch once they placed the dinner menu up, what was on that night!

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, LuckiePuris said:

Highlight of my day was checking after lunch once they placed the dinner menu up, what was on that night!

Yes, that is always an enjoyable past time, esp if it is something I like.  

[MicCanberra]

You can certainly  still cruise on any of the lines without a smart phone, it just means things may be slower.

[Tripmode33]

One positive on Luminosa was that on their App you could see the MDR menus for the whole cruise from the beginning, not just the current day. This made it easier to plan ahead.

[aussielozzie18]

@Tripmode33 looking forward to your review of the Luminosa - good & bad.  
 

I think apps will be good once all the glitches are gone and regular cruises who aren’t tech savvy (me) get the hang of them.

[arxcards]

The joy of technology. Via pre-booking, I know what I am having for dinner on 4th November next year, but not a clue as what I will be having tonight.

 

The convenience or having so many options to tailor your cruise is great, but I liked the old ways too. For dinner, I would definitely prefer to have a nice, printed menu in my hand vs a phone or a disposable piece of paper. Mobile phones of any type don't have a place at a dinner table, but people call them cameras these days too

 

I don't like it that those with technology get in for first choice vs those without, or those choosing to do it the traditional way. Even before the apps though, each cruise line had their own ways to shortcut booking once aboard, and it was a pain when anytime dining was only truly anytime if you got in very early after boarding.

 

In the end, if an app will make something easier on the cruise, I will use it. Medallion was much better than the old way for room service, contacting the service desk for removing incorrect charges, alerting the steward we had a bag of laundry to collect, finding where my missus had gone. 

[lyndarra]

17 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Yes, I would write down my choices. 

That's fine but waiters often have inside information on the content or standard of dishes being served that night. Without the menu it would be less easy to get the full picture of what's on offer.

I'll be leaving my phone in my cabin unless it becomes absolutely necessary.

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, lyndarra said:

That's fine but waiters often have inside information on the content or standard of dishes being served that night. Without the menu it would be less easy to get the full picture of what's on offer.

I'll be leaving my phone in my cabin unless it becomes absolutely necessary.

I listen politely, but usually go with my favourite.

[lissie]

You need a smart phone and the ability to use it  (or willing to learn ) if your cruise is going to Indonesia or Singapore - both countries require you to fill in an online form - in Singapore's case the app  makes it much easier than using the online form. 

 

Frankly the days of travelling without a decent phone that you know how to use for these simple functions are long gone. 

[Aus Traveller]

50 minutes ago, lissie said:

You need a smart phone and the ability to use it  (or willing to learn ) if your cruise is going to Indonesia or Singapore - both countries require you to fill in an online form - in Singapore's case the app  makes it much easier than using the online form. 

 

Frankly the days of travelling without a decent phone that you know how to use for these simple functions are long gone. 

Did you fly into Indonesia and Singapore or did you go by cruiseship?

[lissie]

5 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

Did you fly into Indonesia and Singapore or did you go by cruiseship?

The Singapore requirements are regardless of how you arrive, bus (from Malaysia), boat or plane. The indonesian requirements are for cruise and I'm not sure about flying in 

[Amaroo Andrew]

On 11/15/2022 at 9:14 AM, arxcards said:

The joy of technology. Via pre-booking, I know what I am having for dinner on 4th November next year, but not a clue as what I will be having tonight.

 

The convenience or having so many options to tailor your cruise is great, but I liked the old ways too. For dinner, I would definitely prefer to have a nice, printed menu in my hand vs a phone or a disposable piece of paper. Mobile phones of any type don't have a place at a dinner table, but people call them cameras these days too

 

I don't like it that those with technology get in for first choice vs those without, or those choosing to do it the traditional way. Even before the apps though, each cruise line had their own ways to shortcut booking once aboard, and it was a pain when anytime dining was only truly anytime if you got in very early after boarding.

 

In the end, if an app will make something easier on the cruise, I will use it. Medallion was much better than the old way for room service, contacting the service desk for removing incorrect charges, alerting the steward we had a bag of laundry to collect, finding where my missus had gone. 

Technology waits for nobody and it will always bore on regardless of one's preferences. As it develops one has to keep pace with up to date equipment as some older phones can't download the latest Aps as they're all supported by newer IOSs.

Gone are the days when there were dedicated Drinks Waiters in the MDRs. On Fairstar the waiters would walk around at lunchtime with the Evening Menu taking wine orders and that order would be sitting on the table or in an ice bucket beside the table that evening.

All the bars had copies of that evening's menu so one could have a look at the choices over a pre dinner drink.

On our last Majestic cruise we were always handed a hard copy menu and the choices made were written down by the waiter on his pad. No difference from years gone by.

Whether Princess upgrades the MDR systems to waiters having tablets to take orders like some restaurants currently do at the moment remains to be seen. Would it be an improvement?

We had no troubles once seated in the MDR and utilizing the KISS ordering system. It was the organizing a table, getting into the MDR and then being allocated a table and waiter/s that was a shambles.

[grozzy1]

I'll be sailing Norwegian Spirit in January, and I believe they're not reliant on phones. In fact I don't think there's much to pre-book, just turn up. The newer NCL ships may be different.

[mum and son]

20 hours ago, lissie said:

The Singapore requirements are regardless of how you arrive, bus (from Malaysia), boat or plane. The indonesian requirements are for cruise and I'm not sure about flying in 

I flew into Indonesia 4 weeks ago and you need to have an app downloaded (prior to boarding the plane in Aus) but you don't have to enter anything into it. As with everything else in Bali, they are pretty relaxed when you arrive and you can go app or app-less!

[MicCanberra]

On 11/15/2022 at 6:48 AM, lissie said:

You need a smart phone and the ability to use it  (or willing to learn ) if your cruise is going to Indonesia or Singapore - both countries require you to fill in an online form - in Singapore's case the app  makes it much easier than using the online form. 

 

Frankly the days of travelling without a decent phone that you know how to use for these simple functions are long gone. 

Disagree, but it certainly makes life easier.

[arxcards]

6 hours ago, Amaroo Andrew said:

Technology waits for nobody and it will always bore on regardless of one's preferences. As it develops one has to keep pace with up to date equipment as some older phones can't download the latest Aps as they're all supported by newer IOSs.

Gone are the days when there were dedicated Drinks Waiters in the MDRs. On Fairstar the waiters would walk around at lunchtime with the Evening Menu taking wine orders and that order would be sitting on the table or in an ice bucket beside the table that evening.

All the bars had copies of that evening's menu so one could have a look at the choices over a pre dinner drink.

On our last Majestic cruise we were always handed a hard copy menu and the choices made were written down by the waiter on his pad. No difference from years gone by.

Whether Princess upgrades the MDR systems to waiters having tablets to take orders like some restaurants currently do at the moment remains to be seen. Would it be an improvement?

We had no troubles once seated in the MDR and utilizing the KISS ordering system. It was the organizing a table, getting into the MDR and then being allocated a table and waiter/s that was a shambles.

We didn't have the same issues with the MDR when it came to being allocated a table upon arrival. With the reserved times in 20 minute intervals, we just showed up 5 minutes early each night, which works a treat except for opening time. A couple of times we had to stand to the side for a minute or two while awaiting an available waiter to escort us to our table, but otherwise an improvement over the fixed 5:30 MDR scrum.

 

The whole technology has a few bells and whistles, but most of it isn't much more than good marketing. I see it from another angle. Whenever a company spends money on new technology, it is usually for an efficiency that saves them money. The systems will likely continue to evolve, and hopefully maintain a service quality along the way, but it is surely driven by bean counters. eg, 

If a chunk of drink orders go directly to the bar via an app, you need less waiters walking around looking for drink orders as they become more of a drink deliverer.

If they can jigsaw their dining room to leave no empty seats at tables as there would be every night with fixed dining, they can leave sections empty and need less waiters for service.

If people do their own reservations electronically, they need less crew to do reservations in person or over the phone.

If they can save 10% of the time it takes to check people in at the terminal, they can complete check-in 10% faster - or more likely save money via the terminal employing 10% less check-in staff.

 

We have had MDR orders taken on a tablet already on P&O, so that isn't a stretch to see that becoming more common. We have dined in casual restaurants where they prefer you to order and pay via a QR code at your table, but I hope that never becomes an option on a ship.

 

As to the original question, I think Holland America and Cunard are likely to remain the most traditional, and will pick-up cruisers from the other lines who prefer a personal touch.