Royal app to charge $1.99/day to use messaging service?

[twangster]

Just now, Iamcruzin said:

When following this board you would think otherwise.  Honestly I never believed kids actually sail free but I'm not willing to argue that point.  

 

This board is anything but representative of most cruisers.  Most cruisers have never heard of CC.  

[Iamcruzin]

1 minute ago, twangster said:

 

That is quite a generalization and stereotype being used however I don't believe it's accurate.  Neither is the same generalization you labelled Celebrity guests with in post 17.  

Having sailed both lines and following both boards I would say it holds true for CC members. Celebrity seems to be changing faster than Princess in terms of technology acceptance and over all on board experience.  We book Princess for the itinerary and service. The on board experience in terms of entertainment is just not there for us.

[Iamcruzin]

6 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

This board is anything but representative of most cruisers.  Most cruisers have never heard of CC.  

Yes but Royal does a good job of advertising KSF. 

[mek]

My husband and I have no need for this.  He has mobility issues and can't go anywhere w/o my assistance.

I don't carry my phone around on a cruise and don't have any interest in using it for enhanced functions.

[twangster]

1 minute ago, Iamcruzin said:

Having sailed both lines and following both boards I would say it holds true for CC members. Celebrity seems to be changing faster than Princess in terms of technology acceptance and over all on board experience.  We book Princess for the itinerary and service. The on board experience in terms of entertainment is just not there for us.

 

Princess is upgrading every ship in the fleet to O3b satellite and implementing MedalionNet on every ship.  

 

Royal refuses to upgrade any more existing ships to O3b.  Celebrity isn't upgrading older ships to O3b.   

 

Princess internet is cheaper and faster than Royal internet.  Eight years ago Royal had the fastest internet at sea.  Now all Royal has is slower and more expensive internet at sea.  

 

Royal talks and talks about technology such as the 3 years it took them to implement chat beyond beta testing.

 

Princess not only talks about technology but they actually implement it.  

 

Making internet included on X is hardly an advancement in technology.  New X ships have some more tech but older ships are not being upgraded to offer that tech.  That's the RCG way - don't upgrade all older, only new ships get technology.  

 

How much tech did Millie get in her upgrade?  How much tech did Navigator get in her amplification?  The bridge received some new tech but guest areas only saw new cabin TVs and the ability to look at your folio in the app.  OMG what a massive jump in tech.  

 

Tech just isn't Royal's thing.  Don't get me wrong, Royal does great things on their ships.  Better entertainment, better loyalty program, better overall cruise experience for the money.  Better technology?  Nope. 

[Milwaukee Eight]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

Didn't the old app require suite guests pay the $8 per cruise charge for chat?

 

Sky class comes with free internet so they can use native chat apps amongst themselves but what if they have friends or family in a non-suite cabin?

Don’t know. Haven’t used it and haven’t cruised since 2018 President Cruise 

[Iamcruzin]

33 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Princess is upgrading every ship in the fleet to O3b satellite and implementing MedalionNet on every ship.  

 

Royal refuses to upgrade any more existing ships to O3b.  Celebrity isn't upgrading older ships to O3b.   

 

Princess internet is cheaper and faster than Royal internet.  Eight years ago Royal had the fastest internet at sea.  Now all Royal has is slower and more expensive internet at sea.  

 

Royal talks and talks about technology such as the 3 years it took them to implement chat beyond beta testing.

 

Princess not only talks about technology but they actually implement it.  

 

Making internet included on X is hardly an advancement in technology.  New X ships have some more tech but older ships are not being upgraded to offer that tech.  That's the RCG way - don't upgrade all older, only new ships get technology.  

 

How much tech did Millie get in her upgrade?  How much tech did Navigator get in her amplification?  The bridge received some new tech but guest areas only saw new cabin TVs and the ability to look at your folio in the app.  OMG what a massive jump in tech.  

 

Tech just isn't Royal's thing.  Don't get me wrong, Royal does great things on their ships.  Better entertainment, better loyalty program, better overall cruise experience for the money.  Better technology?  Nope. 

The older ships seem to be going by the waste side on both Royal and Celebrity so I understand not putting money into those.  I will say this what this pandemic has taught us is that a vast majority of the population can work remotely. I think this will continue to some degree after the pandemic. Companies are finding out that employees are more productive and they can save a ton of money on office space.  If many jobs continue to be remote than imagine being able to work from a cruise ship. Some were already doing it before the pandemic. If this pattern continues it would be in the best interest for all lines to upgrade the technology especially on the vessels that do the shorter itineraries. Personally I didn't have an issue with Royal Caribbean onboard Anthem but I guess that's because it's a newer ship. The website is another story. 

[twangster]

19 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

Some were already doing it before the pandemic.

 

That's exactly how I've been able to cruise as much as I have.  The problem with all satellite internet on any cruise line from a working perspective is the unpredictability.  All it takes is a well placed and timed dark rain cloud and there goes the internet.  Murphy's law causes it to occur right when your remote meeting is about to start.

[Iamcruzin]

Just now, twangster said:

 

That's exactly how I've been able to cruise as much as I have.  The problem with all satellite internet on any cruise line from a working perspective is the unpredictability.  All it takes is a well placed and timed dark rain cloud and there goes the internet.  Murphy's law causes it to occur right when your remote meeting is about to start.

LOL

[Mapleleafforever]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

This board is anything but representative of most cruisers.  Most cruisers have never heard of CC.  

Very true. 

[JupiterTwo]

Disney has two mobile phones per room that you can take and call the other phone from anywhere on the ship or their private island. This is useful when one person plans to meet up with another and they need to coordinate.

 

That's probably what the chat app is for, but lower tech that uses the passenger's own phone. However, charging for it may defeat the purpose of improving the customer experience on the ship.

[neverbeenhere]

I guess the old yell "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO THE SHOW" across the dining room will be back in vogue.

[jean87510]

4 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Why do you email each other and not send a text? Our phones are never in the safe either but that has more to do with them being a camera and the other functions.

because I have my phone in airplane mode and cant send texts.  I dont have an iPhone nor does husband.  

Edited December 18, 2020 by jean87510

[firefly333]

3 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

The older ships seem to be going by the waste side on both Royal and Celebrity so I understand not putting money into those.  I will say this what this pandemic has taught us is that a vast majority of the population can work remotely. I think this will continue to some degree after the pandemic. Companies are finding out that employees are more productive and they can save a ton of money on office space.  If many jobs continue to be remote than imagine being able to work from a cruise ship. Some were already doing it before the pandemic. If this pattern continues it would be in the best interest for all lines to upgrade the technology especially on the vessels that do the shorter itineraries. Personally I didn't have an issue with Royal Caribbean onboard Anthem but I guess that's because it's a newer ship. The website is another story. 

I've heard the opposite. Remote workers are less productive and being in the same location adds to creativity. So I'm not sure your premise is true, hence everything following idk. 

[PelicanBill]

Curious where you've heard remote work is less productive.

 

The majority of companies in my benchmark calls in my industry are indicating they are finding higher productivity for most.  Those that have appropriate work spaces and can avoid distractions.  That seems to be about 80% of those that shifted out of office.  Without commute time, we are more productive, and we have fewer distractions. The downside is burnout rates are increasing and video call fatigue.

 

The people who are less productive have homes where they cannot be away from noise, pets, and children, or for whom it just isn't a compatible work style.  Also, it is very challenging to integrate new hires into a company in this mode.

 

Many companies had been swinging back from remote work to requiring in-office - IBM for example. The Pandemic has swung most companies sharply back to being more accepting again, and many are now investigating reduction of office space and more allowance for permanent work at home situations.

[zdcatc12]

Just go back to using walkie-talkies like we used to do many years ago!!!

[Seville2Cabo]

44 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I've heard the opposite. Remote workers are less productive and being in the same location adds to creativity. So I'm not sure your premise is true, hence everything following idk. 

I do know that with everyone working from home, the golf courses are a lot more crowded

[firefly333]

7 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

I do know that with everyone working from home, the golf courses are a lot more crowded

My cousin just bought a condo in venice fl on a golf course. I'm sure the golf lake view and golfing is upping his remote work productivity. 

[crzndeb]

Just as a comparison, Carnival ships have the text feature on their app for $5 entire cruise. You do not need the Internet package to use it.

[Iamcruzin]

11 hours ago, jean87510 said:

because I have my phone in airplane mode and cant send texts.  I dont have an iPhone nor does husband.  

I didn't know that. I though all phones had the capability to send a text via WiFi. 

[soremekun]

Here's a screenshot I grabbed in 2018

 

[Charles4515]

9 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I didn't know that. I though all phones had the capability to send a text via WiFi. 

 

They may have a flip phone without WiFI. Or else they don't know that on a smartphone that WiFI can be turned on in Airplane mode. 

Edited December 19, 2020 by Charles4515

[Iamcruzin]

4 hours ago, soremekun said:

Here's a screenshot I grabbed in 2018

 

Pre covid it would have been free. Now they need to scrape up all of the nickels and dimes that they can get. If people can't understand this they will be in for the shock of their life when they see how the on board experience is going to cost them more. They need to pay those loans back.

[Tree_skier]

10 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I didn't know that. I though all phones had the capability to send a text via WiFi. 

Android phones can using an app called WhatsApp or other similar product.  The great thing about Apple is the iMessage feature.  It creates a seamless messaging experience across platforms.  

 

 

[Iamcruzin]

18 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Android phones can using an app called WhatsApp or other similar product.  The great thing about Apple is the iMessage feature.  It creates a seamless messaging experience across platforms.  

 

 

Oh that's right! My son has an Android and we had to download WhatsApp to be able to send him text messages when we were on Anthem.