"You are required to download the mobile app prior to sailing"

[diesel1973]

Are the dinner menus available for viewing once on the ship ? If so,where might they be located. We are on the Equinox this weekend and they disappeared from our account.Will help determining if we should do a Speciality rest. instead.

[fshagan]

Thanks, everyone, for the replies. I was worried that certain things would require the app to do on board, and to be honest, being on a cruise for me is all about disconnecting from the digital world!

[PTC DAWG]

3 hours ago, mauimary said:

Fun  So does this mean you have to use your valuable internet time for those of us who have limited internet?  

No..app works regardless. Your internet package has nothing to do with it..

[hcat]

3 hours ago, diesel1973 said:

Are the dinner menus available for viewing once on the ship ? If so,where might they be located. We are on the Equinox this weekend and they disappeared from our account.Will help determining if we should do a Speciality rest. instead.

each dining rm usually has the dinner menu at the check in podium that you can see at breakfast..not sure where else  if not on the app???

Edited October 26, 2023 by hcat

[fshagan]

I sailed through the check in and got a noon boarding time. No app required, which is a relief.

[CruiseMrB]

fshagan,

 

I was an IT manager / sysadmin for 30 years, and I have seen the Princess app and its results. Wooboy. That's a mess. They over integrated it without proper testing. Nice idea that it would be so situational onboard, but they really missed the boat. Pun intended.

 

I'm not a huge fan of these apps from a security standpoint because they all "need" an all-access pass to your phone. Also, they stay logged in over reboots without confirmation under certain circumstances. Remember that these apps absolutely have access to your credit card and certainly your billable account.

 

I use the Celebrity app, but clear the data cache on a regular basis to stop access when I don't want it. I also set the phone to lock more often with required PIN or fingerprint. That's a pain, but limits damage.

 

I also delete the app as soon as possible after the cruise.

 

[fshagan]

7 hours ago, CruiseMrB said:

fshagan,

 

I was an IT manager / sysadmin for 30 years, and I have seen the Princess app and its results. Wooboy. That's a mess. They over integrated it without proper testing. Nice idea that it would be so situational onboard, but they really missed the boat. Pun intended.

 

I'm not a huge fan of these apps from a security standpoint because they all "need" an all-access pass to your phone. Also, they stay logged in over reboots without confirmation under certain circumstances. Remember that these apps absolutely have access to your credit card and certainly your billable account.

 

I use the Celebrity app, but clear the data cache on a regular basis to stop access when I don't want it. I also set the phone to lock more often with required PIN or fingerprint. That's a pain, but limits damage.

 

I also delete the app as soon as possible after the cruise.

 

 

It was mostly people with Android phones on Princess that had horrible problems with it. I finally would get it to run on my phone, do what we had to do, then clear all data and cache as you do with the Celebrity app. I suspect they developed it for iPhones and then attempted to port it over to Android without a lot of testing.

 

If I can, I'll avoid using the Celebrity app. We'll see how far we get!

[dazey]

After reading what CruiseMrB does to protect himself once he uses the Celebrity app onboard,  I am very happy we do not use our cell phone.  I know you would see a couple arguing over a cell phone and each trying to show the other how to do make it work.  

 

I am surprised to read how many people still are not using their cell phones that much. I thought we were the only ones left!

 

We always enjoy our Celebrity cruises and get along just fine the old fashioned way.  Do check in with airline and weather with Elite WI-FI minutes but that is about it.

 

 

[Charles4515]

3 hours ago, dazey said:

After reading what CruiseMrB does to protect himself once he uses the Celebrity app onboard,  I am very happy we do not use our cell phone.  I know you would see a couple arguing over a cell phone and each trying to show the other how to do make it work.  

 

All I can think of is that they might have an Android phone but most likely they are OCD. One tell is that on an iPhone by default it locks immeadiatly.  An no the Celebrity app does not get all access to my phone. The app never has access to my credit card and doubt it does on Android either. 

[peterde]

On 10/26/2023 at 12:35 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Who exactly has said this and in your experience, you've heard this on ALL your sailing?  Guessing the terminal check in person?  Checked with Ms. Nuts, and we can't recall ever hearing this and most of the time, they occasionally don't tell us anything about the keycard

They is from Celebrity themselves. It’s in the app. 

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, peterde said:

They is from Celebrity themselves. It’s in the app. 

That suggestion was never in the app when I used it.  I always did online check in on my computer and of course Celebrity gets your credit card number. I would not have to go to guest relations as they already have it. You don't have to add it to the app but I don't see any problem with adding it but I would not add it as they already have it.. The security risk is not the app, the security risk is Celebrity's IT which I don't trust much but if you book a cruise there is no choice but to give them your cc number. If you are really worried about that use a credit card that issues virtual numbers. I do that. Your phone certainly is more secure than Celebrity's IT. For sure if it is an iPhone which has encryption. Only state actors have ways to get in and they usually have to have the phone. Just use a good passcode and biometrics. Don't fall for scammers. 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Charles4515

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 10/26/2023 at 12:59 AM, fshagan said:

But on our last Princess cruise, the required Princess app was so bad that we will not sail them again.

It's not required (my parents don't use it), and it's not actually bad. It worked great for us on all our Medallion cruises.

We all have Android phones (namely, Samsung Galaxies of different ages).

14 hours ago, fshagan said:

It was mostly people with Android phones on Princess that had horrible problems with it.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 hours ago, peterde said:

They is from Celebrity themselves. It’s in the app. 

 

 

Thanks for sharing, I also can't recall seeing this suggestion but that doesn't mean it wasn't presented.  There are definitely elderly people on every sailing who don't have smartphones.  I have been on X 134 nights since the restart and other than one time where they said they just need to vacuum, the rooms have always been ready upon arrival.  Lately, we've been arriving before boarding starts and are usually on the ship by 11am and the rooms have always been ready that early

[dazey]

I guess we would be "elderly" but we do have a smartphone.  We do not use it enough to get familiar with it - mostly together thankfully and use our desktop at home.  Sometimes it does help when trying to remember who sang an old song or call up the name of someone we recognize in a film or check on a reservation.  Glad that we can still enjoy the cruise without worrying about using our cell phone.

 

 

 

 

 

[poffles]

On 10/26/2023 at 1:57 PM, CNSfromHI said:

.....  but it's made the check-in process a breeze on our last two cruises.

 

As some have noted, you're not required to upload your photo, watch the safety video, listen to the warning sound, etc., in advance, but if you can get that stuff out of the way beforehand, I recommend doing it. You'll just be that much closer to sliding into "cruise mode."

Ditto ... I'll add that I prefer the check-in process on the app as it can scan a passport and auto fill the detail and also presents the ability to take a selfie for the ship photo which I really like.

 

I have a (Samsung) Android and no issues with the app.  Ironically I find myself looking at the app more before the cruise than I do on the ship as I don't often carry my phone around onboard. I can more easily watch for sales for things such as excursions or packages since my phone is an extension of our arms now 🙂.

 

If you plan to carry your phone with you on the ship it would definitely be handy to look up what's happening, venue hours and what's open/closed, menus, etc when outside your stateroom.  I will even browse a current sailing for my ship as it will present more than it does for a future sailing.  As others have said, not required but definitely handy for information if nothing else.

 

Have a great cruise!  

[mahasamatman]

As long as you don't depend on the information (like the schedule and the menus), the app is OK, but I've been burned multiple times by trusting the information.

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, dazey said:

I guess we would be "elderly" but we do have a smartphone.  We do not use it enough to get familiar with it - mostly together thankfully and use our desktop at home.  Sometimes it does help when trying to remember who sang an old song or call up the name of someone we recognize in a film or check on a reservation.  Glad that we can still enjoy the cruise without worrying about using our cell phone.

 

 

 

 

 

You will be fine, enjoy the cruise…

[peterde]

8 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

That suggestion was never in the app when I used it.  I always did online check in on my computer and of course Celebrity gets your credit card number. I would not have to go to guest relations as they already have it. You don't have to add it to the app but I don't see any problem with adding it but I would not add it as they already have it.. The security risk is not the app, the security risk is Celebrity's IT which I don't trust much but if you book a cruise there is no choice but to give them your cc number. If you are really worried about that use a credit card that issues virtual numbers. I do that. Your phone certainly is more secure than Celebrity's IT. For sure if it is an iPhone which has encryption. Only state actors have ways to get in and they usually have to have the phone. Just use a good passcode and biometrics. Don't fall for scammers. 

I believe it’s on the website also. I wasn’t being snarky, and if I came across like that I do apologize, I was only posting the information, but upon reading it again it did sound kind of snarky. 

[fshagan]

12 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

All I can think of is that they might have an Android phone but most likely they are OCD. One tell is that on an iPhone by default it locks immeadiatly.  An no the Celebrity app does not get all access to my phone. The app never has access to my credit card and doubt it does on Android either. 

 

On Android, the apps ask for permission to use each feature, like Contacts, the camera, etc. Princess requires access to all features for their app. I haven't installed Celebrity's app so I don't know if it does or not. Encryption and phone locks have zero to do with security of installed apps that can access all of your phone's features. The app is already inside the security bubble. (You are right about credit cards; the app won't have access to the card directly, but probably communicates with the Celebrity servers set up for credit card number storage and transactions).

 

I'm not OCD, but I have a very low tolerance for crappy apps.

[Charles4515]

3 hours ago, fshagan said:

s access to all features for their app. I haven't installed Celebrity's app so I don't know if it does or not. Encryption and phone locks have zero to do with security of installed apps that can access all of your phone's features

Apps on iOS have to ask permission to use features too. I have never used the Princess app so I don’t know what it wants to access. Apps on iOS are sandboxed. An iPhone would have to be jailbroken to get around that. I don’t know much about Android but I believe you can sideload apps which opens possible security holes. You would have to be careful what apps you trust if you sideload. We can’t do that on iOS now although some governments want to mandate it. I think those governments want to be able to make mischief. Some don’t like the way Apple controls what can be installed but it does mean more security and safety. 

Below is a description of how iOS apps and iPadOS apps are sandboxed for security. 

“All third-party apps are “sandboxed,” so they are restricted from accessing files stored by other apps or from making changes to the device. Sandboxing is designed to prevent apps from gathering or modifying information stored by other apps.”

 

 

[Homosassa]

On 10/26/2023 at 12:57 PM, CNSfromHI said:

Some of the features, such as the room-key and stateroom controls, are putzy and I don't use them, but it's made the check-in process a breeze on our last two cruises.

 

 

Just curious if you know the meaning of the word "putz" - including the slang usage?

 

[Jim_Iain]

On 10/26/2023 at 10:20 AM, diesel1973 said:

Are the dinner menus available for viewing once on the ship ? If so,where might they be located. We are on the Equinox this weekend and they disappeared from our account.Will help determining if we should do a Speciality rest. instead.

My menus are already loaded for Edge November 25 cruise.  

 

They are located under Dining - at top choose your dining room -- either Main Dining or Loyalty - then choose your dining room -  Luminae or Blu under Loyalty    Main Dining rooms list all 4 dining rooms on E-Class and 2 on others.

Click Menu and then you can click each day individually.

 

They usually load 10 days to day of sailing for best accuracy.

 

You can also look at other sailings or ships but go to the bottom under your reservations and select Other Ships.

 

[Jim_Iain]

On 10/26/2023 at 1:03 PM, fshagan said:

Thanks, everyone, for the replies. I was worried that certain things would require the app to do on board, and to be honest, being on a cruise for me is all about disconnecting from the digital world!

That's the beauty of Celebrity and Vacation.   Choose what best works for you and enjoy.

[Jim_Iain]

22 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

That suggestion was never in the app when I used it.  I always did online check in on my computer and of course Celebrity gets your credit card number. I would not have to go to guest relations as they already have it. You don't have to add it to the app but I don't see any problem with adding it but I would not add it as they already have it.. The security risk is not the app, the security risk is Celebrity's IT which I don't trust much but if you book a cruise there is no choice but to give them your cc number. If you are really worried about that use a credit card that issues virtual numbers. I do that. Your phone certainly is more secure than Celebrity's IT. For sure if it is an iPhone which has encryption. Only state actors have ways to get in and they usually have to have the phone. Just use a good passcode and biometrics. Don't fall for scammers. 

 

Agree about the CC but one nice feature is that if you have the need - like having your CC hacked while on a cruise.   You can change your CC in the App and it updates the CC on file with the front desk. 

 

I know many are extremely cautious and choose not to use things like Apple Pay etc.    My own experience is the way we American's handle credit cards in Restaurants opens us to CC abouse.    You give your physical credit card to a waiter -  it ha your CC#, EXP Date and 3 digit code and he walks away often into a back room .... How hard is it to take a quick photo and no need to hack. 

 

In most of the world - your credit card never leaves your sight and they bring a cc reader to your table and transact your payment.

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Just curious if you know the meaning of the word "putz" - including the slang usage?

 

 

I would agree with OP but would use the word "Clutzy"  -   not well implemented and difficult to use.   I only use it when I lock myself out of the room instead of running to the front desk.