Hub chat functionality

I've read reviews on the Hub not working optimally for chatting unless you have downloaded the latest version. Does anyone have any RECENT use of that feature? I'm wondering how well it will work for our party of 8 to communicate while on the ship - or if we have to go back to the old fashioned way of planning ahead (gasp).

 

Seriously - any input on recent usage and effectiveness will be appreciated.

 

I know you can also use it to see menus, daily activities, etc. But the main thing I think we would use it for is keeping track of everyone.

 

Thanks, TF

For us in February on the Conquest, the chat feature did not work good at all. Messages received hours later. However I have read positive comments on it for other ships.

14 days on the Magic, it worked flawlessly. Don't gasp it is very easy to download the newest version, delete old version, download new version

I've read reviews on the Hub not working optimally for chatting unless you have downloaded the latest version. Does anyone have any RECENT use of that feature? I'm wondering how well it will work for our party of 8 to communicate while on the ship - or if we have to go back to the old fashioned way of planning ahead (gasp).

 

Seriously - any input on recent usage and effectiveness will be appreciated.

 

I know you can also use it to see menus, daily activities, etc. But the main thing I think we would use it for is keeping track of everyone.

 

Thanks, TF

 

On the Vista it was spotty. It disconnects if you do not use it so you won't receive messages until you reconnect. Above the chat feature it will show a red stripe that says its not connected. You press on the stripe and it will reconnect and turn green. I would just reconnect from time to time. The good thing is it really didn't eat up battery much so I was only charging at night.

Valor, September 2016

The chat feature was a failure for us. It worked about 1/3 of the time. The other times we'd never get the message. Also, the Fun Times part of it, while listing the activities and times, didn't list the location of said activities.

We showed Guest Services that the chat function was dysfunctional, and they refunded the fee.

On the Sunshine in March 2017 the hub chat worked flawlessly for our group of 9. All messages received pretty much instantly no matter where we were on the ship.

I think the reason for such varying reviews is because some people close the app and others keep it running. In our experiences, if we kept the app open and running we had no problems at all and it ran flawlessly. But if we closed the app then we didn't receive any notifications or recent chats. It didn't really effect our battery at all so we kept ours open. But when my daughters battery was really low she found that you can close the app but check it pretty often and it will update any new chats when you open it, it just doesn't notify you of any new chats when it's closed. So if you don't check for several hours (with a closed app) and then you open the app, it updates and shows you all of the chats you missed because you weren't notified of them when they were sent. So it makes it look like it wasn't working. It works, it just needs to be open and running. Or at least that's what it looked like to us. I hope this makes sense lol. I tend to ramble. :)

I think the reason for such varying reviews is because some people close the app and others keep it running. In our experiences, if we kept the app open and running we had no problems at all and it ran flawlessly. But if we closed the app then we didn't receive any notifications or recent chats.

That makes a lot of sense. I suspect there may also be settings in some smartphones that will automatically close background apps after a while, which could further account for variations in different users' experiences.

Valor, September 2016

The chat feature was a failure for us. It worked about 1/3 of the time. The other times we'd never get the message. Also, the Fun Times part of it, while listing the activities and times, didn't list the location of said activities.

We showed Guest Services that the chat function was dysfunctional, and they refunded the fee.

 

I think the reason for such varying reviews is because some people close the app and others keep it running. In our experiences, if we kept the app open and running we had no problems at all and it ran flawlessly. But if we closed the app then we didn't receive any notifications or recent chats. It didn't really effect our battery at all so we kept ours open. But when my daughters battery was really low she found that you can close the app but check it pretty often and it will update any new chats when you open it, it just doesn't notify you of any new chats when it's closed. So if you don't check for several hours (with a closed app) and then you open the app, it updates and shows you all of the chats you missed because you weren't notified of them when they were sent. So it makes it look like it wasn't working. It works, it just needs to be open and running. Or at least that's what it looked like to us. I hope this makes sense lol. I tend to ramble. :)

 

 

This may be true, but it was not the case for us. We had our apps open and test-texted each other while standing at Guest Services. The texts did not go thru. The Guest Services rep asked for our phones to try. We gave her our phones. She tried from each phone. Nothing.

This may be true, but it was not the case for us. We had our apps open and test-texted each other while standing at Guest Services. The texts did not go thru. The Guest Services rep asked for our phones to try. We gave her our phones. She tried from each phone. Nothing.

Ouch. That's really a shame.

 

I think we're going to end up with the one level above that on both our phones. That'll let us send text messages through Facebook, I believe, which hopefully will be more reliable.

Sorry to hijack the thread- but quick question for those who have recently used the HUB app chat feature- I understand that each person will need to download Hub in order to use the capabilities, but can we only chat with those that are linked to my stateroom or linked reservation? Or, if my son meets friends in Circle C and wants to chat with them via Hub, is this possible?

TIA :)

Sorry to hijack the thread- but quick question for those who have recently used the HUB app chat feature- I understand that each person will need to download Hub in order to use the capabilities, but can we only chat with those that are linked to my stateroom or linked reservation? Or, if my son meets friends in Circle C and wants to chat with them via Hub, is this possible?

TIA :)

 

Yes you can add contacts in the Hub.

Vista December '16 and Sunshine April '17.

Used the app with large groups and it worked without any problems.

My most recent experience was a cruise that ended last week on the Freedom. The hub app rarely ever worked. Out of 7 days, I could only get the dining room menu to open once. Chat rarely ever worked. I quit trying after 2 days. Waste of $5.00 per person in our group.

 

 

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If the chat feature proves to be unreliable, go to guest services. The consensus seems to be that they'll refund the $5 fee. Doesn't hurt to try.

 

 

That makes a lot of sense. I suspect there may also be settings in some smartphones that will automatically close background apps after a while, which could further account for variations in different users' experiences.

iPhones do not close background apps automatically and there is no setting to turn such a feature on/off. The closest thing to it is called Background App Refresh. Turning it on (either for all apps or you can select individual apps) allows the app to update its content (refresh) in the background, then go back into a suspended state so it's not using system resources. I don't own an Android phone, but have worked with them a lot and, to my knowledge, they also do not have a feature that closes background apps automatically.

 

For those who might have issues with Hub chat on an iPhone, you can see if turning Background App Refresh ON for the Hub app helps at all.

 

Ouch. That's really a shame.

 

I think we're going to end up with the one level above that on both our phones. That'll let us send text messages through Facebook, I believe, which hopefully will be more reliable.

There is no level above the Hub app. It, and its chat feature, operate separately from the three on board wifi plans. You're referring to the Social plan. In our experience, texting via iMessage was very reliable, between us on the ship and to people back home. Carnival has since reworded their description of what the Social plan includes and they now specifically state that iMessage doesn't work. I've heard from others that it still does, while a few have said it does not. But if your plan is to use facebook messenger, there shouldn't be a problem. There are some weak and some dead spots on the ship in regards to wifi signal, but for the most part we found it to be reliable.

We used it for a group of 6 a few weeks ago. It worked great as long as everyone leaves the app open. If you close the app, for some reason you will no longer have access to the group and have to create another group. That was the only issue we had as one person that just wouldn't stop closing the app and we had to chat with her separate from the others.

I don't own an Android phone, but have worked with them a lot and, to my knowledge, they also do not have a feature that closes background apps automatically.

There are a number of utility apps that can be readily installed to do that. Generally they are billed as improving performance. I believe one of the most popular is Clean Master. "Clean Master will improve your device’s performance by cleaning junk files, optimizing device memory, providing complete protection against viruses and managing the apps you installed."

 

It would muck around with apps in the background so much that I had to uninstall it.

Thanks all. I'll make sure everyone downloads the app today (or onboard) and warn them about making sure the app is open. If not, we'll just wander aimlessly around the ship lol :)

We just got back from the Sunshine, The hub was great for the 12 of us. Most messages came right through, Also, you can select excursions right from the app - no need to go to the desk. We also used it to select our daily activities and see who else wanted to go. Reviewed our bill daily and it was a fabulous app. We were on iPhones and Androids. :cool:

Ouch. That's really a shame.

 

I think we're going to end up with the one level above that on both our phones. That'll let us send text messages through Facebook, I believe, which hopefully will be more reliable.

Exactly what we had to do on the Glory last month

There are a number of utility apps that can be readily installed to do that. Generally they are billed as improving performance. I believe one of the most popular is Clean Master. "Clean Master will improve your device’s performance by cleaning junk files, optimizing device memory, providing complete protection against viruses and managing the apps you installed."

 

It would muck around with apps in the background so much that I had to uninstall it.

Yeah, it says it "hibernates apps to save power." That's not closing them. It sounds more like what Background App Refresh does for iPhone. Puts the app in a suspended state to prevent it from hogging resources when you're not using it.

Thanks all. I'll make sure everyone downloads the app today (or onboard) and warn them about making sure the app is open. If not, we'll just wander aimlessly around the ship lol :)

I would suggest you have everyone download it before you go. Preferably when connected to wifi, like at home or in your hotel (if you're staying over the night before). Or they can download it using their cellular network, but that uses data and that's sometimes a concern for people. Once you set sail, you won't be able to connect to the ship's wifi to download the Hub app unless you pay for one of the plans. I don't even know if one of their internet plans even allows downloading apps. If so, it's probably the Premium (most expensive) plan. So the easiest thing to do is download Hub beforehand to avoid the hassle.

On the Fascination in May the Hub app worked great. As easy as texting at home. One person had forgotten to install it before going onboard and had no problem doing so using the shops wifi. The only hiccup was when one of the kids accidentally deleted the app and when she reinstalled it we had to create a new group. It was a worthwhile use of $25 for our family