$5 Hub App Texting Question

[Sue Goodreds]

Does the texting work while you are in ports or just while on the ship?

[jc4me]

8 minutes ago, Sue Goodreds said:

Does the texting work while you are in ports or just while on the ship?

Just on the ship.  It uses the ship's WiFi and is done through the Hub app.

Edited January 7, 2020 by jc4me

[stellarose]

you have to be on the wifi to use chat. so when you are off the ship- no.  the chat featured worked much better this cruise than in 2018. 

 

worth it when you have two teens. 

[scuba_ninja]

If you make friends on the ship, you can also add them to your people list. It's a neat feature and I think well worth $5

[Shaded Lady]

We had our family (total of 5- DD, DSIL and grandson) on our last cruise. Plus we had a really active roll call, with lots of activities planned. We all got the chat feature and could reach out to each other whenever we wanted... definitely a plus. Next cruise is just going to be DH & me, and we're pretty much attached at the hip- I tend not to go very many places onboard without him along- so we probably won't get the chat function... but it worked really well for us on our last cruise!

[msufan288]

Just on the ship when connected to WiFi. It's totally worth the $5 especially if you have a large group. 

[stellarose]

its worth it.  you can chat with anyone who has the feature. 

[audraz910]

Where and when do you pay for the chat feature?

[rukkian]

3 minutes ago, audraz910 said:

Where and when do you pay for the chat feature?

Once you are onboard, and connected to the wifi, it will be available in the hub app.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

2 minutes ago, audraz910 said:

Where and when do you pay for the chat feature?

On the hub ap.  When you click on the chat feature for the first time it’ll ask to charge your account the $5

[heatherpl]

i don't want to pay additional for the wifi just the chat feature when I go in February how do I know carnival won't charge me for hooking up to the wifi instead?

[Joe817]

11 minutes ago, heatherpl said:

i don't want to pay additional for the wifi just the chat feature when I go in February how do I know carnival won't charge me for hooking up to the wifi instead?

The only way to purchase the wifi package is through the Fun Shops. The chat feature on the HubApp is handled through the HubApp only. 

[heatherpl]

ok thanks for the tip. Sorry one more. we have about 20 other people cruising but how do I locate them if they are signed up in the chat as well? do I type in the names in the app to chat?

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, heatherpl said:

ok thanks for the tip. Sorry one more. we have about 20 other people cruising but how do I locate them if they are signed up in the chat as well? do I type in the names in the app to chat?

 

For bookings that are linked together, those people will automatically show up in the "People" section of the Hub app. Then you can choose to chat with them from there. Since you have so many going, I'm guessing not all of them are linked, so you can search by name and add them to your list.

[teknoge3k]

12 hours ago, heatherpl said:

ok thanks for the tip. Sorry one more. we have about 20 other people cruising but how do I locate them if they are signed up in the chat as well? do I type in the names in the app to chat?

You don't need to be linked to chat. You can chat with literally any person on the ship that has the chat enabled. Just search for their name in the chat section of the app. 

[stellarose]

the chat feature was great. 

[dmdiver]

There is no charge to connect to the ship's wifi.  You have to in order to use the hub app.  Within the app, you find the various chat & internet options.  I found the app very useful for checking the fun times & marking my favorites.  It will remind you when the events are coming up.  You need to keep the app up & running, though - especially if you are using the chat feature.

[Organized Chaos]

2 hours ago, teknoge3k said:

You don't need to be linked to chat. You can chat with literally any person on the ship that has the chat enabled. Just search for their name in the chat section of the app. 

 

Just to clarify, I didn't mean they need to be linked to chat. Just that those who are linked don't have to be searched for. They'll show up automatically in the "People" tab.

[stellarose]

I agree with dmdiver.  

[glrounds]

I've read that you have to download the app on your phone before you get on the ship. Is that true ? Leaving in 11 days. Anybody recently back from the PANORAMA that knows how well this app works on the PANORAMA ?

[Hoops_Baller]

28 minutes ago, glrounds said:

I've read that you have to download the app on your phone before you get on the ship. Is that true ? Leaving in 11 days. Anybody recently back from the PANORAMA that knows how well this app works on the PANORAMA ?

Yes, you have to download the Carnival Hub app before boarding.

[Organized Chaos]

42 minutes ago, glrounds said:

I've read that you have to download the app on your phone before you get on the ship. Is that true ? Leaving in 11 days. Anybody recently back from the PANORAMA that knows how well this app works on the PANORAMA ?

 

I think that's suggested because the ship's internet plans (if you buy one) aren't always the greatest, so downloading apps might take forever, or won't download at all. There's also the chance that downloading apps is blocked onboard. Not sure, never tried it. If you have a good cellular data plan, you could always download it through that before you set sail. Or hotel/public wifi.

 

Considering the Vista class, as well as the Sunrise, have the best internet in the fleet, I imagine it works quite well on Panorama. One of the nice things about the upgraded systems on the newer ships, other than faster speeds, is that they have a lot more internet access points throughout the ship. That means better wifi coverage and less chance for any given access point to get bogged down by a lot of connections.

Edited January 9, 2020 by Organized Chaos

[glrounds]

Thank you, Chaos. Very helpful.

 

So I immediately put my phone on Airplane Mode when I get on the ship. How do I use the app or is it self-explaining? I have a Samsung Galaxy 10. I assume I can still take pics on Airplane Mode. Everything is changing so fast for me. I'm old (80). 😄

[coevan]

57 minutes ago, Hoops_Baller said:

Yes, you have to download the Carnival Hub app before boarding.

 

 

you can also download it in port through your phones LITE, pretty fast. Not as fast as wi-fi at home, but fast enough to download the App

[rukkian]

11 minutes ago, glrounds said:

Thank you, Chaos. Very helpful.

 

So I immediately put my phone on Airplane Mode when I get on the ship. How do I use the app or is it self-explaining? I have a Samsung Galaxy 10. I assume I can still take pics on Airplane Mode. Everything is changing so fast for me. I'm old (80). 😄

Airplane mode will turn all wireless radio's off, but you can still use your phone for things loaded on it, including pictures.  Once on airplane, you can then turn on things you want - bluetooth for things like headphones, and wifi for things like the hub app.