Why doesn't Cunard have a proper mobile app?

[NE John]

@exlondoner I normally agree with you close to 100% on this board but these days, when you travel on a “common carrier”, whatever rights of privacy you may think you have has been thrown overboard. Also, adding a messenger app within MyCunard for those within one’s Booking Number makes sense to me. 
I do agree that time aboard Cunard ships should be a time to take a break from the digital screen as much a possible and “do” analog. The trend of only app based dining ordering and other app interfaces that forces me to stare at a screen too often turns me off too. 

[exlondoner]

9 minutes ago, NE John said:

@exlondoner I normally agree with you close to 100% on this board but these days, when you travel on a “common carrier”, whatever rights of privacy you may think you have has been thrown overboard. Also, adding a messenger app within MyCunard for those within one’s Booking Number makes sense to me. 
I do agree that time aboard Cunard ships should be a time to take a break from the digital screen as much a possible and “do” analog. The trend of only app based dining ordering and other app interfaces that forces me to stare at a screen too often turns me off too. 

Gosh, nobody agrees with me 100%, least of all those who know me well, so thank you for your kind thought. Incidentally, would you really want your travelling companions to find you on all occasions? Though I suppose if you didn’t, you would just turn the pestilential thing off.

[david63]

The only bit of technology that any cruise line forces anyone to use is the cruise card (and that is fairly low tech by today's standards). The apps etc. are all just natural evolution and today's youngsters will be having this same discussion in 20 years time with whatever technology is being used then.

 

I suspect that this argument was being had when cruise lines, in the same way as hotels, stopped using metal keys and moved to card entry systems.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, david63 said:

The only bit of technology that any cruise line forces anyone to use is the cruise card (and that is fairly low tech by today's standards). The apps etc. are all just natural evolution and today's youngsters will be having this same discussion in 20 years time with whatever technology is being used then.

 

I suspect that this argument was being had when cruise lines, in the same way as hotels, stopped using metal keys and moved to card entry systems.

Which in itself was a bit of a shame. The old keys were so much harder to lose, or degrade. But on the other hand you couldn’t take out library books with them.

[david63]

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

The old keys were so much harder to lose

But they used to make holes in your pocket😇

 

One major advantage of card entry systems is that you don't have to queue at reception to get your key back when you have been out for the day.

 

3 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

But on the other hand you couldn’t take out library books with them.

Not all bad news then👍

[exlondoner]

The only reason they made holes in your pocket was because you put them in your pocket. If you did that, they probably made you jingle as well.

[Victoria2]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

Plans change, so you leave a note, or trust their ability to find you.

 

Part of the reluctance is that it does impinge. Counterintuitively, it seems to hold stuff up. Anyone who embarked at Southampton, while Covid was still taken seriously, will remember how much longer the queue took when you were behind someone who had all their docs. on their phone, but could never quite find them, compared to being behind someone brandishing an easily accessible sheaf of paper docs.

 

Strange how this market research never lights on me, who has never done any of the things you mention, despite being youngish for Cunard. Why on earth do people want to look at family photos, when they’ll be back in a fortnight?

Or us.

 

Maybe if market research was targeted at those who actually cruise with Cunard rather than a Cunard key market, which covers a multitude of folk who whilst fitting a supposed profile are not Cunard passengers. the results might be more definitive.

Just saying, as one who has little interest in an app developed for use onboard a Cunard cruise.

[exlondoner]

55 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Or us.

 

Maybe if market research was targeted at those who actually cruise with Cunard rather than a Cunard key market, which covers a multitude of folk who whilst fitting a supposed profile are not Cunard passengers. the results might be more definitive.

Just saying, as one who has little interest in an app developed for use onboard a Cunard cruise.

Incidentally, I had a random survey from Cunard yesterday, or rather my spouse did, and I don’t think it asked a single question about IT, but that could be because I hadn’t listed it among things that were important to me in an early question.

[alc13]

17 hours ago, tjunmin said:

I find interesting observing people's priorities.

 

My main concern regarding wearing a tracking device - which the Princess medallion absolutely is - is the loss of personal privacy in regards to my physical location. The matter is not "I'm not doing anything wrong and therefore I have nothing to hide". What truly matters is that your movements are being tracked 24/7 on board, and you have no idea who is looking at that data, how it is being used, or how it will be used in the future. And marketing departments smartly package a tracking device as a convenience tool.

 

Hope no one takes this as a personal offense; it is intended as raising awareness of privacy concerns.

Like white mice in a maze.  Somewhere I picture lab coats and clipboards monitoring our tracking data.

[exlondoner]

7 minutes ago, alc13 said:

Like white mice in a maze.  Somewhere I picture lab coats and clipboards monitoring our tracking data.

Nothing as academic as that, but we’ve all seen accounts of people who have nothing better to do using cctv to watch stuff that is not in their remit.

[ace2542]

On 1/22/2024 at 4:27 AM, tjunmin said:

As an outsider, with no insight into their business practices and IT infrastructure, it is difficult to say.

All I will say is the internet at least the computers on QM2 are very slow very old.

[tacticalbanjo]

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Plans change, so you leave a note, or trust their ability to find you.

 

Part of the reluctance is that it does impinge. Counterintuitively, it seems to hold stuff up. Anyone who embarked at Southampton, while Covid was still taken seriously, will remember how much longer the queue took when you were behind someone who had all their docs. on their phone, but could never quite find them, compared to being behind someone brandishing an easily accessible sheaf of paper docs.

 

Strange how this market research never lights on me, who has never done any of the things you mention, despite being youngish for Cunard. Why on earth do people want to look at family photos, when they’ll be back in a fortnight?

Or if you could message another passenger then you could do that and avoid walking round half the ship trying to locate your other half who is probably trying to find you and effectively hiding. I suppose at least you get your steps in your way. 

 

The problems caused by having digital documents were because, as you point out, there were not stored in a way that was easily accessible. I also saw people struggling to find papers in their unorganised heap. Being able to upload a photo and my card details during an online check in process is in essence organising your documents and has sped up check in times in my experience.

 

We must be talking to some people like you or we wouldn't get respondents saying that they never use those things. But the point is that fewer and fewer people are saying that. And more and more saying that they use these things daily or weekly. How long does Cunard wait before bringing in a real app? Do they wait until their regular passengers start saying that an enforced digital detox is off putting or do they anticipate that change so they can attract new guests before the current regulars churn either to other lines or to the great beyond?

 

And you must know that a lot of people want to keep updated with what their children or grandchildren are up to especially if they are used to hearing from them often. Crikey, I want to be updated on what the dog's doing when I'm away!

[exlondoner]

Why do you want to know what people and dogs are doing in your absence? Spoils the break.

 

Of course the other way the development of an effective app impinges on everyone is that it would cast a lot of money. In the case of Cunard, an awful lot of money, because they would have to employ two sets of people, the second to correct all the messes made by the first lot. 😀 I should much prefer the money to be spent on other things, such as further improving food quality and choice, perhaps paying some staff a little more, having better value tours, employing quartets rather than trios, etc.

[david63]

6 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 it would cast a lot of money.

Doesn't need to if there was to be collaboration between the different Carnival brands as the basis for an app already exists and it just needs modifying (and for all we know that may already be taking place)

 

8 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I should much prefer the money to be spent on other things,

And this is where the problem lies - who makes that decision? On one hand there are the traditionalists who want most things to stay the same and on the other hand there are the modernists who want things to progress. It is impossible to please both sides in this and tough though it is it will be the modernists who will win because they are the future.

[tacticalbanjo]

Because I love them. It adds to my enjoyment to know everything is going at home today. And it goes both ways - my parents want to know that my kiddo is having a great time on holiday. And really when you think about it, it's the same thing as you chatting about Cunard endlessly when you aren't currently on a Cunard ship!

 

Ideally, Carnival Corp would consolidate a lot of the back end stuff as central functions shared by all the cruise line groups in its portfolio. Money saved in the long run and you only have to pay for one white label app and turn functions on and off according to which line. But we both know there's no change whilst the bean counters rule all. They won't spend unless they have to and nothing escapes their cuts.

[tjunmin]

1 hour ago, alc13 said:

Like white mice in a maze.  Somewhere I picture lab coats and clipboards monitoring our tracking data.

Actually, picture people in suits - in their posh offices - looking at applications on their computer screens - or tablets - like the one below, to have a better understanding of what consumers are doing and make business decisions. The image has been heavily readacted, but it gives you an idea of what is out there. This system is a few years old, so what is currently out there can be even more sophisticated. It tracked data for a small portion of the business and is not related to cruising or travel. The system was fed by massive amounts of data that were poured into it on a daily basis, and were processed by multiple servers nightly, before it was presented in a neat graphical way, easy to be visualized and consumed by business decision makers. All the visual data can be filtered by different categories, and clicking on any of the data on the screen will drill further down into the data, at a more granular level.

[D&N]

I certainly use my phone to access internet onboard but can do everything I need or want with a passable internet connection. Any additional information that Cunard might provide that I might find useful could easily be added to the My Voyage facility.

 

There is a female vlogger who travels alone who has posted a video on YT with concerns about security with Medallion. She claims to have been the subject of unwanted attention from another passenger who she claims tracked her cabin through the app, amongst other issues.

Perhaps there are privacy settings she hadn't made that could have prevented that.

 

Setting up a room-cam might alert me if this young lady jumps somewhere we'd prefer she didn't go and starts a massacre of the portraits! 🤣

Although there's not much point unless I have a way of scaring her down. Again an internet connection is all that's required for that.

[D&N]

7 minutes ago, tjunmin said:

Actually, picture people in suits - in their posh offices - looking at applications on their computer screens - or tablets

But we keep being told they are all dressed in T-shirts and jeans these days. 🙂

[alc13]

4 minutes ago, tjunmin said:

Actually, picture people in suits - in their posh offices - looking at applications on their computer screens - or tablets - like the one below, to have a better understanding of what consumers are doing and make business decisions. The image has been heavily readacted, but it gives you an idea of what is out there. This system is a few years old, so what is currently out there can be even more sophisticated. It tracked data for a small portion of the business and is not related to cruising or travel. The system was fed by massive amounts of data that were poured into it on a daily basis, and were processed by multiple servers nightly, before it was presented in a neat graphical way, easy to be visualized and consumed by business decision makers. All the visual data can be filtered by different categories, and clicking on any of the data on the screen will drill further down into the data, at a more granular level.

I have no doubt that is the reality.  The geek in my loves the data crunching aspect, and those are some pretty graphics.  But companies routinely monetize our behavior nowadays (eg, all social media platforms), and the underlying technology has gotten increasingly nosy.  

 

But that

[exlondoner]

15 minutes ago, tacticalbanjo said:

Because I love them. It adds to my enjoyment to know everything is going at home today. And it goes both ways - my parents want to know that my kiddo is having a great time on holiday. And really when you think about it, it's the same thing as you chatting about Cunard endlessly when you aren't currently on a Cunard ship!

 

Ideally, Carnival Corp would consolidate a lot of the back end stuff as central functions shared by all the cruise line groups in its portfolio. Money saved in the long run and you only have to pay for one white label app and turn functions on and off according to which line. But we both know there's no change whilst the bean counters rule all. They won't spend unless they have to and nothing escapes their cuts.

We clearly live in very different worlds. I should be very disconcerted by the thought that someone who purported to love me wanted to know what I was doing whenever I wasn’t with them. I’m not sure that equates to chatting about Cunard when not on board. I’m not sure what you mean by endlessly, but will take it as a signal to shut up and stop trying sometimes to be helpful for the rest of the week.

[Victoria2]

2 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

We clearly live in very different worlds. I should be very disconcerted by the thought that someone who purported to love me wanted to know what I was doing whenever I wasn’t with them. I’m not sure that equates to chatting about Cunard when not on board. I’m not sure what you mean by endlessly, but will take it as a signal to shut up and stop trying sometimes to be helpful for the rest of the week.

Don't take it personally and for goodness sake, don't 'shut up'.

 

If many of us didn't chat about Cunard even though not actually at  sea, how would we be able to help others and believe me, you and others, do help. A lot.

 

I'm not interested in any Cunard technology as such. I'm quite happy with internet access and my iPad. I can keep up with anything at home if needs be and at home can get in touch with me.

 

So jsome think Cunard needs to get its act together re technology and some of us are perfectly OK with an internet which works [can we have included Wi-Fi access in the top CWC level pretty please]  but whatever, don't give up on the help and advice front.🙂

 

and that goes for anyone able to give clear cut  advice and help.

[tacticalbanjo]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

We clearly live in very different worlds. I should be very disconcerted by the thought that someone who purported to love me wanted to know what I was doing whenever I wasn’t with them. I’m not sure that equates to chatting about Cunard when not on board. I’m not sure what you mean by endlessly, but will take it as a signal to shut up and stop trying sometimes to be helpful for the rest of the week.

Don’t go away, I’m only poking fun. I’m here chatting about Cunard because I can’t stop thinking about being on board even when I’m not too. And I want people to have a good time on board just like I do. Even if their fun is sometimes different to mine we all get that same thrill when we see a Queen waiting for us at the port 

[tjunmin]

2 hours ago, tacticalbanjo said:

Ideally, Carnival Corp would consolidate a lot of the back end stuff as central functions shared by all the cruise line groups in its portfolio. Money saved in the long run and you only have to pay for one white label app and turn functions on and off according to which line. But we both know there's no change whilst the bean counters rule all. They won't spend unless they have to and nothing escapes their cuts.

It seems quite logical and straightforward, but the reality is quite different.

When a corporation expands through acquisitions, with each new company brought into the fold, a new set of legacy systems come into the IT mix. In order to do what you are suggesting involves not only replacing the systems in the new company with the equivalent one from the parent company, but it also involves integrations with a number of existing backend systems, which are usually quite complex. Furthermore, when you start replacing systems and integrations, it usually involves process re-engineering, which is another can of worms. Such projects are usually costly and can take multiple years to be completed. And here I'm talking purely from the IT perspective, without even involving the bean counters.

[Victoria2]

Now totally into the realms of gobbledygook  for me, sadly.🥴

[NE John]

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

We clearly live in very different worlds. I should be very disconcerted by the thought that someone who purported to love me wanted to know what I was doing whenever I wasn’t with them. I’m not sure that equates to chatting about Cunard when not on board. I’m not sure what you mean by endlessly, but will take it as a signal to shut up and stop trying sometimes to be helpful for the rest of the week.

As a former Latin teacher, you should know that I (and anyone who counts on CC) appreciate what you post here and Semper Loqui!