Why doesn't Cunard have a proper mobile app?

[NE John]

1 hour ago, Victoria2 said:

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

In other words, making changes to technology is not as easy as it sounds…

[WantedOnVoyage]

Easier still is settling in a proper wood steamer chair with a good book and view over the rail of the vistas of ocean, spray and a boundless horizon.  

 

How or why one needs "IT" or any of these silly nonsenses to savour the delights of an ocean voyage is quite alien to me.  Let alone to open one's cabin door. 

[reeves35]

There are few places on earth where you are tracked as much as a cruise ship with or without an app.  Apart from cabins, the entire ship is covered by CCTV and facial recognition does the rest.  In addition, anyone with a device connected to WiFi can be tracked.  Systems track what you buy and where you go and feed a complex CRM system so targeted marketing can be directed to you for years to come.  If you crave anonymity, cruising probably isn't for you.

 

Acquiring a new company to join a group like Carnival is complex but that is no excuse for Carnival not having common back-office systems.  The last major acquisition by the group was P&O/Princess and that was 21 years ago.  That is at least two generations of IT systems ago. 

 

Bizarrely, Carnival Corp still seems to be a series of fiefdoms with at least 4 distinct groups with little crossover.  Apart from common IT systems with visual difference largely being limited to reskinning a common white-label product, you would expect a shared loyalty program where status from one line os recognised on another.  This is not radical and largely mirrors what airline alliances and hotel groups already do.

 

[david63]

6 hours ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

How or why one needs "IT" or any of these silly nonsenses to savour the delights of an ocean voyage is quite alien to me.  Let alone to open one's cabin door. 

You do realise that the plastic cruise card uses IT and that it is used to open your cabin door!

[WantedOnVoyage]

I do also realise that it was quite possible to take a cruise without one of those, too...  it was called a key. 

 

 

[david,Mississauga]

21 hours ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

I do also realise that it was quite possible to take a cruise without one of those, too...  it was called a key. 

 

 

 

On one Cunard voyage my wife's card refused to open our cabin door. There have been many comments by people who have had the same problem - even upon boarding the ship.  We have never had or heard of anyone else having a problem with their keys back in the old days.

 

As for apps, there is at least one cruise line that refuses to provide passengers with the a  printed daily programme or menus.  I don't remember what line that was, but it was one that had no appeal to us. As a person who refuses to waste money on a smartphone I would have to ask the waiters to recite the menu every meal and we would need to ask the pursers staff what events are taking place.  I can appreciate many people like mobile apps, but if the day comes when they are mandatory  we will be finished with ocean travel. 

Edited January 27 by david,Mississauga

[TowandaUK]

 

I can appreciate many people like mobile apps, but if the day comes when they are mandatory  we will be finished with ocean travel. 

•  

Seriously???? 😮

[david63]

1 hour ago, david,Mississauga said:

On one Cunard voyage my wife's card refused to open our cabin door.

That is not a problem unique to Cunard but one where any card entry system is used and in most cases is caused by being in close proximity to something magnetic, which can be as simple as a credit card.

[david,Mississauga]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

That is not a problem unique to Cunard but one where any card entry system is used and in most cases is caused by being in close proximity to something magnetic, which can be as simple as a credit card.

 

Indeed, we have been told by staff on the QM2 that credit cards and metal purse clasps are the major culprit. My wife doesn't use a  purse whilst on board, so it is a mystery. We have had far more card entry problems in hotels than on ships.

[Victoria2]

2 hours ago, TowandaUK said:

 

 

I can appreciate many people like mobile apps, but if the day comes when they are mandatory  we will be finished with ocean travel. 

•  

Seriously???? 😮

I can believe it.

There are many folk who will not venture into the IT world other than a mobile phone and even then, it might  not be Smart.

 

I'm not smart, IT wise and I realise my limitations [of which there are many!!!] but I'm realistic to know if Cunard goes Smart [please NO] I will adapt. I volunteer with a couple of charities, one of which is primarily for 'the elderly', an age which has no fixed ranges. There are perfectly sensible folk out there who want nothing to do with IT other than a mobile phone and anything else scares the bejesus out of them. They might already be Cunard loyalists but being expected to 'use technology' would be the end of their Cunard association.

 

Maybe that's why Cunard is seen by some as dragging its feet. It knows its core passenger profile

 

at the moment.

[NE John]

It’s a tough subject because I like to take a digital break while onboard and do not like the idea of using a smartphone to do all my business onboard. I like human interactions in getting things done. 
However, the trend is certainly not going back to metal keys and I see more digital rollouts coming to even Cunard in the coming years. Just look who Cunard is marketing to, the new affluent in their 40’s. 

[WantedOnVoyage]

Do you see "the new affluent in their 40s" aboard Cunard? I sure don't. If anything, the passenger profile is older than it was 30 years ago.  This is more aspirational marketing nonsense by clever young things in their slim fit Next suits... actually many surveys indicate the app addicts are actually not even disposed to travel fullstop. Gen Z doesn't leave their parents basements let alone travel and Millennials don't travel anything like boomers did as teens.  The old summer backpacking in Europe seems the stuff granddad did. 

 

But yes, if I am obliged to have a "smart phone" and they do away with printed menus and programmes, etc... I am done with ocean travel. As the customer, I am not going to be told what I should  embrace in fadish technology. 

[NE John]

On 1/27/2024 at 3:35 PM, WantedOnVoyage said:

This is more aspirational marketing

Good point. 
In terms of technology invading traditional spaces, a church service I attended yesterday announced one can make a donation via the usual pass around basket or one can scan the code on the inside hymnal cover and use Apple Pay or Venmo a donation. DW got a chuckle out of this one. 

[tacticalbanjo]

On 1/27/2024 at 8:35 PM, WantedOnVoyage said:

Do you see "the new affluent in their 40s" aboard Cunard? I sure don't. If anything, the passenger profile is older than it was 30 years ago.  This is more aspirational marketing nonsense by clever young things in their slim fit Next suits... actually many surveys indicate the app addicts are actually not even disposed to travel fullstop. Gen Z doesn't leave their parents basements let alone travel and Millennials don't travel anything like boomers did as teens.  The old summer backpacking in Europe seems the stuff granddad did. 

Millennials actually travel more than Boomers do according to the CBI, Statista, and a few others. Hence travel companies trying to attract that demographic. Many millennials aren’t having children so are able to travel more at an age when their parents were in the midst of child rearing. Their travel priorities are generally about experiences rather and destinations but I don’t think that is incompatible with Cunard especially if they can get the messaging right about that formal evening experience making every evening being an event. At least that’s how it feels for this mid-thirties millennial. 

[NE John]

8 hours ago, tacticalbanjo said:

Millennials actually travel more than Boomers do according to the CBI, Statista, and a few others. Hence travel companies trying to attract that demographic. Many millennials aren’t having children so are able to travel more at an age when their parents were in the midst of child rearing. Their travel priorities are generally about experiences rather and destinations but I don’t think that is incompatible with Cunard especially if they can get the messaging right about that formal evening experience making every evening being an event. At least that’s how it feels for this mid-thirties millennial. 

Lots of people I speak with your age do get excited when I describe Cunard Gala nights, the dress code, after 6pm, and TA’s. I really hope this Uber-casual/sloppy dress for the office, cruises, resorts, etc is coming back more to the middle with decent attire. 
I just hope millennials don’t think they’ll going to get a ship full of fellow millennials as the average age of a Cunard traveler is closer to my age~60. 
BTW, I loved your recent Cunard blog with your little one. 

[tacticalbanjo]

6 hours ago, NE John said:

Lots of people I speak with your age do get excited when I describe Cunard Gala nights, the dress code, after 6pm, and TA’s. I really hope this Uber-casual/sloppy dress for the office, cruises, resorts, etc is coming back more to the middle with decent attire. 
I just hope millennials don’t think they’ll going to get a ship full of fellow millennials as the average age of a Cunard traveler is closer to my age~60. 
BTW, I loved your recent Cunard blog with your little one. 

I think this is what is great about all the cruise blogger on YouTube. Potential customers can see what they are getting before the commit. Cruise Monkeys (Millennial looking couple Gavin and Luke) seem to love Cunard and always look the part. And more importantly, they always look like they are having fun albeit a tad more ‘refreshed’ than I would be! 
 

We did our first voyage and first cruise ever with Cunard because I really wanted to do a TA back when I was just 27. It was supposed to be once in a lifetime but I’ll have 16 trips with Cunard done by the end of the year and not once have we been made to feel out of place. Well, except for that one time someone thought we were wait staff and tried to order drinks 😂 We love the relaxed atmosphere and just sitting watching the waves with a book. And we love that every night is an event.
 

I did P&O and Princess last year as well as Cunard and while we enjoyed ourselves, we’ve got nothing but Cunard booked for the next two years.