Iconcierge

[mayesq]

Anybody have any experience with the app? How well did it work? Was it worth the charge? Is the charge per room or per person?

 

How does this work with the wifi when you aren't paying for minutes?

 

Sorry for all of the questions but there isn't that much information out there on this.

[Susie51]

I've never heard of this. What is it?

[Practically_Perfect]

Anybody have any experience with the app? How well did it work? Was it worth the charge? Is the charge per room or per person?

 

How does this work with the wifi when you aren't paying for minutes?

 

Sorry for all of the questions but there isn't that much information out there on this.

 

I used it on the Epic in early April. I believe the charge ($7.95 on my sailing) is per person, but I was travelling solo, so not certain. I liked having it, especially for the ability to keep track of my on-board account, and to make dinner reservations since I had the UDP. There are pros and cons, and definitely opportunities for improvement on NCL's part.

 

Pros

- ability to communicate with others on the ship (so long as they have also paid the $7.95)

- ability to make dining/show/excursion reservations

- "What's Going On?" is essentially an "Daily" on your phone

 

Cons

- not sure if this is specific to Epic, but service could be spotty. For example, it would work great in the room, then somehow disconnect and have to reconnect once I got to where I was going (e.g. Spice H2O).

- texts would not always go through, which I think is related to my comment above

 

Opportunities for Improvement

- NCL should make it possible for you to submit a Hero Card from the App. So many times I saw great service from crew that I wanted to recognize, but then couldn't remember their name, etc. once I finally got a Hero Card in my hand.

- NCL should also create a "What I'm Up To" portion in the app. For example, as you see the Daily in the app, you can click a button to set a reminder for you of the Trivia/Game/Movie/Dinner reservation etc. you wanted to attend

 

I would get it again on my next cruise, even with some of the frustrations I experienced. They weren't bad enough to turn me off of the app.

 

Hope this helps some!

Edited May 16, 2014 by Practically_Perfect

[puddles99]

Here's the official information: http://www.ncl.com/downloads/iconcierge

And the "How To" guide: http://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/iCONCIERGE_05132014.pdf

 

It's available only on the newer ships at the moment. I don't have experience in using the "messaging" features but found it spotty at best when it came to view the dailies / activities and reservation availability on Breakaway. I'm considering giving it another go.

 

If you do a search here, you'll find several threads where folks share their (mixed) experiences. Cost is per device (not per cabin), unfortunately.

[Tiggertastic]

we used it when we had 2 families on board, not only could we book things but we could text each other from iphone to iphone on the ship, through the app to keep in touch and it also worked dockside

 

issue we found was that they didn't list all the available reservations on the app and we didn't realise until mid way through the cruise - e.g it showed 2 times free for le bistro but if you asked at the restaurant there was more availability

[mayesq]

Considering I will have my almost 13 year old son on the cruise and he will want some freedom, I'm leaning towards getting the app for myself, my son and husband. The 9 year old will just have to stick with us or in the kids club. Thanks for all of the info everybody.

[BSR]

Here's the official information: http://www.ncl.com/downloads/iconcierge

And the "How To" guide: http://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/iCONCIERGE_05132014.pdf

 

It's available only on the newer ships at the moment. I don't have experience in using the "messaging" features but found it spotty at best when it came to view the dailies / activities and reservation availability on Breakaway. I'm considering giving it another go.

 

If you do a search here, you'll find several threads where folks share their (mixed) experiences. Cost is per device (not per cabin), unfortunately.

 

It was available on the Pearl last week, but lacked all the features we had on the Breakaway. I think they are working on it so it can be like the newer ships.

[ksimpso3]

I was on the Getaway May 3-10. I liked the app, but I had forgot to tell my husband, sister, and brother to download it before boarding. I tried to download it on their phones onboard, but didn't have much luck. I think it would have been great if they had downloaded before cruise. I really liked having the "what's going on" feature that was basically the freestyle daily on your phone. I also booked a dinner reservation at Teppanyaki on the app and liked the ability to check my account. Every phone needs to pay the fee ($7.95), but I felt it was worth it. I did get my husband's working, and the text feature was nice. It is a big ship and having a way to keep in touch without using your own cellphone plan was nice. I will definitely get it again on any ship that offers it.

[KeithJenner]

I used it on the Epic in early April. I believe the charge ($7.95 on my sailing) is per person, but I was travelling solo, so not certain. I liked having it, especially for the ability to keep track of my on-board account, and to make dinner reservations since I had the UDP.

 

 

Just to clarify, unless things have changed recently , the $7.95 charge isn't required to do the things mentioned here. You only pay the charge for the messaging and calling functions. I have used the app for looking at my account, booking reservations and other things with no charge at all.

[saxgirl84]

My 2 sisters and I all used it on our recent sailing on the Getaway and it was great. I think there were a few things listed on the "what's happening" link that wasn't accurate, so we missed a few activities due to that, but the connection was always on, and we actually got some other Internet related notifications (Facebook and MLB app) throughout the week as well. It was nice to be able to text/call when one of us was off on our own.

 

They had papers showing how to set it up, but the app itself has to be downloaded prior to boarding ( it has a nice count down timer on it to let you know how much longer you have to go)

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[mking8288]

Both the iOS and Android versions are FREE to use for most of its feature, except for the WiFi calling the ship and text messaging onboard the ship, per device for the duration of the cruise @ $7.95 (Hint: use OBC for it) that you can use to call/contact & stay in touch with others on the ship (Hint: stateroom to stateroom calling are FREE & unanswered calls go to VoiceMail)

 

Download the free App from Play Store before sailaway, even if you are already at the pier - as long as you have a good mobile signal from land - mine is running on KitKat and v2.9 is about 15MB in size, very quick d/l at 4G LTE speed. Once you are connected onboard to the ship's WiFi, you can activate it - just follow the simple instructions provided (there's a printed brochure) and you can use the interactive in-room TV to help with the setup.

 

On the Breakaway, we have excellent signals even with inside cabins from overlapping channel coverage (Cisco hardware-powered)

 

Download & install it and get acquainted with its basic & mostly free features - just remember to recharge your smartphone nightly if you plan on using it the next day - especially on sea days.

 

NOTE - even with the modest fee, it is NOT for calling home/office or others while in the ports, as it is essentially an inTRAnet or closed loop network APP within the ship's WiFi system only.

[Erik101]

Just to clarify, unless things have changed recently , the $7.95 charge isn't required to do the things mentioned here. You only pay the charge for the messaging and calling functions. I have used the app for looking at my account, booking reservations and other things with no charge at all.

 

This is correct! We just got off the Getaway and we used the service for two reasons:

 

1. Looking at our account balances. The app helped me keep track of my balance throughout the entire cruise so I knew what I was spending my $$ on.

2. Instead of using the Freestyle Daily sheets they provide in the room, we used the "What's Going On" section of the app, which is Freestyle Daily online.

 

Now, the drawback of my experience: the dinner reservation system does NOT always work. On our first day, we booked the Chef's Table on the app and it said it was offered every night. We found out that it was only offered on certain nights. Luckily, I was still able to get a reservation. So, confirm any reservation you make online with Guest Services. You don't want to show up at a venue to find out your name is not on the list.