A smart phone, is needed on your cruise

[melodyina]

Hello, we are currently sailing on the Caribbean Princess and this is my, and my husbands experience with smartphones.  They are needed to enjoy the full experience. You will find staffing lacking and bar areas without table service to order. You need the app to order food/drinks delivered to your room.  Note: The Princess App is very hit/miss and “glitch” “buggy”, and i will post more details after our cruise is completed.  A beverage package imho is very beneficial, and with your app on your smart phone you can watch the progression of your order.  The crew chat ive used more frequently than i wished i needed to questioning charges, status of orders (like your drinks are marked delivered and twenty minutes later you still dont have them and its been over an hour since your initial drink order…). You need your smart phone to show you these things..

[Thrak]

10 minutes ago, melodyina said:

You need the app to order food/drinks delivered to your room.

 

Actually we never use the app to order things for the cabin. Using the TV is vastly easier for us as it's much larger and we can both see it easily at the same time. It actually works quite well. We've only cruised twice since the restart and the main thing I've used the app for was finding others we were cruising with. I don't think I've ordered anything with the phone and my wife's phone was total poop so trying to use the app on it was a waste of time.

 

(I just bought her an unlocked Galaxy s10e - same as my phone - which is an older phone but it works very well with the app and anything else I might throw at it. Plenty of RAM, good storage, and a snappy processor with good graphics so the app now runs quite well for her as well as for me.)

[melodyina]

1 minute ago, Thrak said:

 

Actually we never use the app to order things for the cabin. Using the TV is vastly easier for us as it's much larger and we can both see it easily at the same time. It actually works quite well. We've only cruised twice since the restart and the main thing I've used the app for was finding others we were cruising with. I don't think I've ordered anything with the phone and my wife's phone was total poop so trying to use the app on it was a waste of time.

 

(I just bought her an unlocked Galaxy s10e - same as my phone - which is an older phone but it works very well with the app and anything else I might throw at it. Plenty of RAM, good storage, and a snappy processor with good graphics so the app now runs quite well for her as well as for me.)

Good to know, we havent ordered from our tv in the room, i will try this later! 

[sunviking90]

I would say as always a smart phone can be a convenience and make things easier in some cases, but the only time I have used it is to find my DH! He doesn’t even have the app. I guess I’m used to just ordering things in person. We don’t get drink packages, so we are probably ordering less than some. I think it depends on the cruiser whether you “need” one or not.

[JGmf]

Off the Emerald Princess two weeks ago - never used my smart phone.  It was a brick I left in the room for the entire trip.  Ordered drinks from servers or the bar with absolutely no problems.  Food or drinks to the room?  Use the TV.

[Thrak]

I use my phone for the Patter and I also have books on it. We never take our laptops when cruising (although we do take them on our long camping trips). We each take a phone and a tablet. On long flights I can watch movies I've loaded onto my phone and tablet and I also make sure both devices have a number of (the same) books loaded. When we head to the theater 20 or 30 minutes before a show so we can get a decent seat I take a drink and my phone so I can sit and read while waiting. It's much easier to carry around that the tablet which I generally leave in the cabin. (If I want to watch something "short" I do have all 156 episodes of the original Twilight Zone on both devices. 😉)

[memoak]

We hardly ever use our phones on cruises except to check news, sports, text each other and of course play wordle. We have always found bar stools and really don’t need to have food in our room. IC, MDR and outside food venues always have something g somewhere we can get things to eat

[SargassoPirate]

About the only thing I use my smartphone for on a cruise is to take photos.  It's a nice compact camera.  But for that, it would stay in the safe.

 

When I want a drink, I can always find a server willing to take my order, and check back later for a refill.

 

As with lots of things in life, old school beats whiz bang tech most of the time.

 

[ontheweb]

7 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

About the only thing I use my smartphone for on a cruise is to take photos.  It's a nice compact camera.  But for that, it would stay in the safe.

 

When I want a drink, I can always find a server willing to take my order, and check back later for a refill.

 

As with lots of things in life, old school beats whiz bang tech most of the time.

 

Give me that old time religion.

 

Give me that old time rock and roll.

 

And give me a cruise that does not need a smartphone!!!!!!!!

[Lady Arwen]

I’m not even taking my phone, just my iPad.  Hubby will take phone only for emergencies.  We’ll do exactly the same as we’ve always done.  Go to a bar and order a drink.  I don’t need food delivered to our cabin, we can pick up snacks at IC or the grill or the pizza place and take back with us.  I love old school ways…makes me nostalgic for our early cruising years.

[Hlitner]

We have suggested, for over a year, that Smartphones have become almost a necessity on many international trips.  Just as a simple example, on our recent visit to Japan (where we boarded a HAL cruise) there were multiple restaurants in Tokyo and Kyoto (where we traveled DIY pre-cruise) where the only way to see a menu was on a Smartphone (scanning a UPC code on the table).  In two restaurants, the only way to order food was via the phone (waiters did bring the food, but did not take orders).  And there are many examples of how difficult it can be to travel around Europe without a working smartphone.

 

On our Princess cruises, I will normally head to the IC before DW wakes up.  While enjoying my morning cappuccino,  I will pull up that day's schedule on my phone and decide when/where we want to dine that evening.  At that point, without leaving my seat, I can use my phone to make a dinner reservation (we generally indicate we want to share a large table) at the time that best fits that evening's schedule.  Without a phone, I would need to find a daily schedule, and either try to get through on the dine line, or get to one of the restaurant hosts...just to modify or make a reservation.

 

The phone also makes it easy for me to check our onboard account (mistakes are made so a daily review is always wise) without having to trek to Guest Relations (where you can print out a statement) or mess with the cabin TV to pull up our account.  The phone also allows us to order drinks/snacks from our deck chairs, without having to walk to the nearest bar, wait in line, get our drinks, and carry them back to our loungers.  There are times when you might be able to order from a deck waiter, but they are usually not around when you want something.

 

Although I am not a fan or carrying my phone on any cruise, on Princess and many other lines it has become adventageous.

 

Hank

[tserface]

We love the Medallion experience on Princess.  We can find each other, send text messages, order "stuff" to be delivered wherever we want, manage our calendars, etc.  We typically carry our phones around anyway since, these days, they are also our camera.  I suppose you could get along just fine without the technology, but we think it enhances the experience even if you are not connected to outside of the ship WiFi.

[Thrak]

2 minutes ago, tserface said:

We love the Medallion experience on Princess.  We can find each other, send text messages, order "stuff" to be delivered wherever we want, manage our calendars, etc.  We typically carry our phones around anyway since, these days, they are also our camera.  I suppose you could get along just fine without the technology, but we think it enhances the experience even if you are not connected to outside of the ship WiFi.

 

We've used the app to message each other but it's inefficient. Often I've only found out I had a message because my wife told me after I had already returned to the cabin. She has had the same experience. Before our next cruises I'm installing WhatsApp on both of our phones and tablets. We've never used the app but people say it works flawlessly on the ship for messaging and can also be used to message folks back home. (No FB messaging for me. I don't have a FB account and doubt I ever will. Social media is helping to destroy society through misuse and the fact that so many people seem to believe everything they read online no matter how ridiculous.)

[mtnesterz]

If it ever comes that we must use our phones on a ship, it will be our last cruise with that line.

I never want to have the problems the OP experienced. If I want a drink, I'll go to a bar, simple.

[tserface]

23 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

We've used the app to message each other but it's inefficient. Often I've only found out I had a message because my wife told me after I had already returned to the cabin. She has had the same experience. Before our next cruises I'm installing WhatsApp on both of our phones and tablets. We've never used the app but people say it works flawlessly on the ship for messaging and can also be used to message folks back home. (No FB messaging for me. I don't have a FB account and doubt I ever will. Social media is helping to destroy society through misuse and the fact that so many people seem to believe everything they read online no matter how ridiculous.)

If you have to have WiFi to run WhatsApp anyway, why not just user your phones normal messaging app (iMessage?).  Is it a locale thing?  You are correct, we have to make sure to check our phones.  For one, we don't want to be annoying having our phones make noise when we get messages.  Also, it doesn't really do push notifications unless the app is running at the time.  The app does kind of wear down the battery too.  But, I still like it 🙂

[tserface]

7 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

If it ever comes that we must use our phones on a ship, it will be our last cruise with that line.

I never want to have the problems the OP experienced. If I want a drink, I'll go to a bar, simple.

Yeah, to be fair, there is nothing compelling you to use your phone (at least at this time).  It's just an enhancement for many of us.  On our cruise last fall we were sitting in a bar and no one ever came to help us.  So, I went up to the bar to order and stood there for around 10 minutes.  So, I tried ordering on the phone and we had our drinks like 10 minutes later delivered right where we were sitting in the bar.

The great thing about diversity is we can all kind of do it the way we like.

[memoak]

I guess we are just bar flies who like hanging out and getting to know folks and bartenders 

[BamaVol]

19 minutes ago, memoak said:

I guess we are just bar flies who like hanging out and getting to know folks and bartenders 

Me too.  But I still don’t go anywhere without my phone.  

[Crown Vic]

3 hours ago, JGmf said:

Off the Emerald Princess two weeks ago - never used my smart phone.  It was a brick I left in the room for the entire trip.  Ordered drinks from servers or the bar with absolutely no problems.  Food or drinks to the room?  Use the TV.

👍 👍 Lock the ol’ smart phone in the safe and enjoy your holiday the ol’ fashioned way. Cheers…

[Torfamm]

I think one of the best features of the app is crew chat. Not having to stand in line at Guest Services is a real plus.
 

I use the Find Shipmates function frequently and like the ability to check my account.
 

For those who are getting photos - being able to view and download them is very convenient.

 

 

[leck57]

12 hours ago, JGmf said:

Off the Emerald Princess two weeks ago - never used my smart phone.  It was a brick I left in the room for the entire trip.  Ordered drinks from servers or the bar with absolutely no problems.  Food or drinks to the room?  Use the TV.

 

This exactly. It seems the OP is not aware of all the options. Been on many Medallion Cruises and never used the smart device to order.

[susancruzs]

Interesting thread, going on a cruise in Oct., first since 2019.  Covid, sold my house, moved to an apartment in Iowa.  I use a Samsung phone because my nephew insisted.

 

Perpetually single, bar fly, traveling alone, like interaction of meeting, talking with people.  I never hang out in my cabin, 30+ cruises, no room service.  

 

Pleased to know I can walk up to a bar and get a drink.  I don't plan on using my phone.  I will add the app, because I need to figure out the dining.  

[cruzsnooze]

17 hours ago, melodyina said:

Hello, we are currently sailing on the Caribbean Princess and this is my, and my husbands experience with smartphones.  They are needed to enjoy the full experience. You will find staffing lacking and bar areas without table service to order. You need the app to order food/drinks delivered to your room.  Note: The Princess App is very hit/miss and “glitch” “buggy”, and i will post more details after our cruise is completed.  A beverage package imho is very beneficial, and with your app on your smart phone you can watch the progression of your order.  The crew chat ive used more frequently than i wished i needed to questioning charges, status of orders (like your drinks are marked delivered and twenty minutes later you still dont have them and its been over an hour since your initial drink order…). You need your smart phone to show you these things..

     Disagree entirely. I will never carry a phone with me on a ship. I disengage from every day stress and relax on a cruise. I have sailed 4 times since the Pandemic ended with Princess and never needed a phone at all. You can order room service via the phone in your cabin or on the TV or place the breakfast card menu on your door the night before. 

[melodyina]

17 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

If it ever comes that we must use our phones on a ship, it will be our last cruise with that line.

I never want to have the problems the OP experienced. If I want a drink, I'll go to a bar, simple.

Hi i agree with you too and didnt plan on carrying my phone, but then  i realized the bars arent staffed during many times in the day (like vines) and id need to walk to another deck or  to explorers to get a drink as wait staff is not visible either.  Sure, self walkup works but you will wait their too.  All i can say is.. allow time whatever option you choose.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, melodyina said:

Hi i agree with you too and didnt plan on carrying my phone, but then  i realized the bars arent staffed during many times in the day (like vines) and id need to walk to another deck or  to explorers to get a drink as wait staff is not visible either.  Sure, self walkup works but you will wait their too.  All i can say is.. allow time whatever option you choose.

Just sit at any bar that is open and you will be served. Never had a problem or wait