Onboard Texting/App?

[Ariyel]

I am traveling with a group of about 20 people. Anyone have ideas for how to efficiently catch up with people in a group this size or get messages to them while aboard the ship?

 

Usually we rely on texting, but I'm not sure how practical of a solution that is on board. I don't want to have to purchase a huge internet package or end up with massive cell phone bills.

 

A friend who cruised on NCL mentioned they had an $8 app that solved this issue. Is there anything similar for HAL? Any thoughts/suggestions are welcome!

[Fouremco]

I'm not aware of anything on HAL similar to the NCL app. When we cruise with a group, we simply agree to meet at a place and time if we are going to split up.

[POA1]

On a fair number of HAL ships you can get a social media Internet plan for about $10/day. However, if I were in your shoes, I'd find a less expensive way to figure out who was where. $200 per day (20 people @ $10/ day) can be better spent elsewhere.

 

That's just my opinion. We've managed to muddle through with Post-it notes, "We'll be at the Ocean Bar around 7," and many other uses of ancient and mystic runes.

 

There's a social media plan if you need it, but you can probably do without. (Spend the $200 on Champagne. Some people might complain, but it's just nature's way of thinning the herd. )

[dakrewser]

You can also leave messages on cabin phones - we use this to supplement the "post-it" method.

[Alberta Quilter]

When I cruised with 9 other family members, one was mobility impaired and liked to sit in the sun at the aft pool. During the day, when we wanted to find each other, we went there to meet up. Other than that, we met at dinner nightly (we had fixed dining).

[TheEmerson]

To continue with this, yes you can use SMS/text messages. But.....it will not be free nor cheep. A nephew of mine, BIL, and SIL used SMS to communicate. My brother in law said, it was okay, as they had unlimited text messages. A month later the cell phone bill was $1,600 in text messages.

[Ariyel]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I think we'll muddle through with cabin phones, post its, dinner, and word of mouth. The ships are big, but not THAT big, after all!

 

I just wanted to see if there was a tool out there for this purpose that I wasn't aware of. Perhaps HAL will come out with an app similar to NCL's in the future!

 

And POA1, I like your spending priorities. Give me champagne over the electronic leash any day!