Do you have to use your phone most everything onboard?

[Sunshine3601]

9 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

When I was on Allure in January they did check for reservations. This week the only place they checked was the comedy club and, I think, the Aqua Theater.

Comedy club is a definite for reservation due to small venue.    How was your show this week?

[Ocean Boy]

4 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Comedy club is a definite for reservation due to small venue.    How was your show this week?

I would say it was OK. One of the comedians pretty much through an F bomb every other word. They can be very effective when strategically places but when they are constantly going off they loose their effect.

[Sunshine3601]

8 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I would say it was OK. One of the comedians pretty much through an F bomb every other word. They can be very effective when strategically places but when they are constantly going off they loose their effect.

I hate when they do that!

[island lady]

10 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I hate when they do that!

 

Me too.  They lose a lot of respect in my eyes if they constantly do that.   Grow up comedians....not all of us exist in the potty mouth world any longer.  

[graphicguy]

No need for hand wringing.  If you want to use your phone for booking and activities planning on the ship, it makes things easier.

 

If not, no problem.  You can do what we used to do and go to each individual restaurant for reservations.  You can go to the excursion desk for bookings.  You can go to Customer Service for other, miscellaneous activities and issues.

 

It makes my life easier using my iPhone.  But, I certainly don't need to carry it to dinner, or the pool.  And, I always leave it in AIRPLANE mode.

 

In brief, you'll be fine without it.  You'll just need to do more legwork like we used to do on a cruise.

[happy cruzer]

Ok, ready to get flamed.  Some things are not presented as well on the phones. Lots of scrolling required to look at an item like a wine list or dinner menu.  Do they really provide a copy of the Cruise Compass i.e. 4 pages of information that you can read one page at a time??  It's the scrolling and lack of descriptive verbage and pictures that makes the phone format not so useful to me.  The phone does provide tons of information (still think some is omitted) if you know exactly what you are looking for, browsing to big picture type info not some much.  Willing to learn; thanks for helpful hints.  Plus the technology is getting better sometimes it's not the user at fault.

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

Do they really provide a copy of the Cruise Compass i.e. 4 pages of information that you can read one page at a time??

No, that's just RCI marketing.

[AlohaLivin]

3 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

Ok, ready to get flamed.  Some things are not presented as well on the phones. Lots of scrolling required to look at an item like a wine list or dinner menu.  Do they really provide a copy of the Cruise Compass i.e. 4 pages of information that you can read one page at a time??  It's the scrolling and lack of descriptive verbage and pictures that makes the phone format not so useful to me.  The phone does provide tons of information (still think some is omitted) if you know exactly what you are looking for, browsing to big picture type info not some much.  Willing to learn; thanks for helpful hints.  Plus the technology is getting better sometimes it's not the user at fault.

No flames. I agree, it is often a format issue (size or other). Like with Kindle - it was a good idea, and I can see why some people would love it, but I like a book that feels and looks like a book and dumped the Kindle pretty quickly. 

[RedIguana]

8 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

Ok, ready to get flamed.  Some things are not presented as well on the phones. Lots of scrolling required to look at an item like a wine list or dinner menu.

No flaming from me. For me, phone screens are just  too small for a lot of things. Especially for us over 40 types who use reading glasses. On my 27 inch curved computer screen? No problem. 6 inch phone...not so good. I have a play store enabled cheap o Fire 10 inch tablet that is a little more user friendly for onboard app stuff, but I have found that the apps are not always correct or useable all the time. The HAL app was pretty useless on my cruise last march, my last RCL cruise in January was hit or miss with the app.

[island lady]

And is the reason I take my small lap top along with me as well.   Just too many things I can't do on the phone.   Taking both...solves that.  

 

Especially for longer cruises...need to pay bills, etc.  

[Joseph2017China]

14 hours ago, scubaslayer said:

Disconnecting from work really depends on what you do. Not everyone has it so easy and some are completely tense over phone notifications. I am glad it is an option but also glad it isn't completely necessary.

I actually turn off, certain notifications on my phone during vacation, since I trust my back-up.  I don't use it because it is necessary, but I do use it because it is convenient, and it simplifies my vacation. 

[bigque]

I have my phone with me nowadays on the cruise mainly because I use it for taking pictures and videos. The digital technology for cameras on newer smart phones has advanced so much that I no longer bring my digital camera and video camera on cruises anymore. I do get the internet on board though so I can download my pictures and videos to my Amazon Prime Photo Account each day. 

[2chiefs]

18 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said:

That is great!   I guess we are into saving a few trees, we don’t need paper for anything.  

LOL!! I can think of one thing we will need paper for ... for some time to come.... 

[2chiefs]

3 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Ok, ready to get flamed.  Some things are not presented as well on the phones. Lots of scrolling required to look at an item like a wine list or dinner menu.  Do they really provide a copy of the Cruise Compass i.e. 4 pages of information that you can read one page at a time??  It's the scrolling and lack of descriptive verbage and pictures that makes the phone format not so useful to me.  The phone does provide tons of information (still think some is omitted) if you know exactly what you are looking for, browsing to big picture type info not some much.  Willing to learn; thanks for helpful hints.  Plus the technology is getting better sometimes it's not the user at fault.

Agreed. And less chance of dropping the phone in the toilet.

[island lady]

4 minutes ago, 2chiefs said:

LOL!! I can think of one thing we will need paper for ... for some time to come.... 

 

Owners Suites have a Bidet!  😄 

[jean87510]

3 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Ok, ready to get flamed.  Some things are not presented as well on the phones. Lots of scrolling required to look at an item like a wine list or dinner menu.  Do they really provide a copy of the Cruise Compass i.e. 4 pages of information that you can read one page at a time??  It's the scrolling and lack of descriptive verbage and pictures that makes the phone format not so useful to me.  The phone does provide tons of information (still think some is omitted) if you know exactly what you are looking for, browsing to big picture type info not some much.  Willing to learn; thanks for helpful hints.  Plus the technology is getting better sometimes it's not the user at fault.

The filter button is very helpful for the app.  It can be confusing at first as most things are but once you get the hang of it, it's great.  I do agree the menus are better as paper than the phones.  Other than that, it is really easy to schedule and book once you get the hang of it.  Also, GS can help if you are stuck with something like rescheduling a show...etc...  

[2chiefs]

I would just like to mention that everyone is correct on this thread because everyone has their own reason for and against using the phone on board. We are very fortunate that we can do either.

[nelblu]

23 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

That's funny.  I'm in my 50s and had paper copy delivered every day.  

But I ordered for our Son and his Fiance to receive and they never got one.

Again, we were told that only 65 and over would get the paper version as RCl thinks that those at this age are not able to use technology.😜

 

Conversely, they did not have a back-up plan for those not having smart phones when reserving for I fly and Northern Star.  But, I bet those sea days extended versions were quite available.

[nelblu]

23 hours ago, cementhands said:

Loved getting the next days cruise 🚢 compass 🧭 on our bed, then highlighter all next days activities!
Boomer here!

Gonna miss printed paper, but understand the savings In not having em! My old hands don’t move my old fingers too good for smart phones.
Now these skinny wrist youngsters have no problem flicking away!

 

One of the problems that propped up on Anthem's April 17 sail some venues were different as listed in the APP and the paper version.  One was a comedy of errors.  They had an Harry Potter trivia.  The paper had 2X70 while the APP had it listed in the Music Hall.  Before starting, they sent staff to 2X70 to check for any stragglers.😜  Also, they anticipated up to 150 participants, and mid-way they ran out of pens and the trivia documentation.  The idea was one pen and one document per family, but as it's in life some were simply greedy.  In addition, the 3rd and 4th deck of the Music Hall was almost wall to wall.

[nelblu]

19 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said:

That is great!   I guess we are into saving a few trees, we don’t need paper for anything.  

An oddity on Anthem.  After breakfast in the WJ, I asked for a paper cup and a plastic lid to take some coffee with me.  Was told no lids.  The strangest is that there's no consistency as plastic lids were available in the Cafe Promenade and the D Lounge.

 

They should have had lids especially in the WJ as there's more traffic there and the possibility of scalding someone.

[island lady]

43 minutes ago, nelblu said:

An oddity on Anthem.  After breakfast in the WJ, I asked for a paper cup and a plastic lid to take some coffee with me.  Was told no lids.  The strangest is that there's no consistency as plastic lids were available in the Cafe Promenade and the D Lounge.

 

They should have had lids especially in the WJ as there's more traffic there and the possibility of scalding someone.

 

I take our travel mugs on every cruise...keeps coffee warm, and has a lid....no spilling worries.  

 

I fill the paper cup with the coffee from the machine, then pour into the mug.  

[shipgeeks]

When we sailed on a large MSC ship, on which show reservations were required (or got priority), they were done via seapass card and kiosks in lobbies.  No phones were called for, and entry at the show was card.  Does RC not do that on the ships that make reservations? 

[karena1]

On 4/28/2022 at 11:43 AM, Sun Lover said:

From what I've been reading, it seems like you have to use the apps now for a lot of things, such as booking shows, the cruise compass, reservations, etc.  I usually don't have my phone with me most of the time on a cruise.  If I go to the pool, I love to be able to just bring a very small bag with some sunscreen and my seapass card. Would I really need to have my phone with me most of the time?

I ask our cabin person to put a paper copy of the Compass in our cabin each night and he does.  Most shows do not require reservations - unless on an Oasis Class or such.  I do have my phone with me all the time, but I do very little on the APP.  I call the number and book all our reservations at once that way on an Oasis Class, super easy and takes less than  minutes vs booking them on the app.

[happy cruzer]

11 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

When we sailed on a large MSC ship, on which show reservations were required (or got priority), they were done via seapass card and kiosks in lobbies.  No phones were called for, and entry at the show was card.  Does RC not do that on the ships that make reservations? 

NCL does something similar.  Loved it.

[OCSC Mike]

12 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

When we sailed on a large MSC ship, on which show reservations were required (or got priority), they were done via seapass card and kiosks in lobbies.  No phones were called for, and entry at the show was card.  Does RC not do that on the ships that make reservations? 

Same thing on RC. You can use the app to make reservations but they will be linked to your sea pass card.