Has X gone App-Happy like Carnival?

[Moonarino]

Several days after returning from a cruise on the "fabulous" Mardi Gras, I'm still cringing at how much of a let-down it was. Too much too explain (too many things wrong), but after defending Carnival for many years I just might be done with them.

 

One Big Reason was having to depend 100% on CCL's Hub App for dining. We could not get seated without using the app. So whatever personal touches Carnival might've had left was banished to the dungeons because of that.

 

Specifically, getting an actual Table For 2 was pretty much impossible. Both nights, after a long-to-very-long wait (about 90 minutes the second night, after the app had told us 40-50 minutes), we were led to a "table-for-2" that was lined up so closely (inches apart) with other 2-seaters that it was really a table for TWELVE - and after waiting so long for uncharacteristally lousy food (and very limited choices) - the two of us are still reeling.

 

So... what problem does an app actually solve, beyond reducing staff by a handful of people? If we'd had the luxury of talking to a real person when we checked in for dining, we could've specified that we wanted an actual table for 2. Instead it was far more like herding a few hundred mindless sheep. And there were a lot of people complaining about it. We talked to quite a few, while we were waiting... waiting... waiting.......

 

TMI maybe. Just needed to clarify the major point of my concerns. So, in recent experience, have others experienced this kind of meltdown on Celebrity because of an App?

 

 

 

[doghog]

1 minute ago, Moonarino said:

TMI maybe. Just needed to clarify the major point of my concerns. So, in recent experience, have others experienced this kind of meltdown on Celebrity because of an App?

No. Not with Celebrity, RC and Princess. Once onboard I never use the app or my phone. 

[Liao]

1 minute ago, Moonarino said:

Several days after returning from a cruise on the "fabulous" Mardi Gras, I'm still cringing at how much of a let-down it was. Too much too explain (too many things wrong), but after defending Carnival for many years I just might be done with them.

 

One Big Reason was having to depend 100% on CCL's Hub App for dining. We could not get seated without using the app. So whatever personal touches Carnival might've had left was banished to the dungeons because of that.

 

Specifically, getting an actual Table For 2 was pretty much impossible. Both nights, after a long-to-very-long wait (about 90 minutes the second night, after the app had told us 40-50 minutes), we were led to a "table-for-2" that was lined up so closely (inches apart) with other 2-seaters that it was really a table for TWELVE - and after waiting so long for uncharacteristally lousy food (and very limited choices) - the two of us are still reeling.

 

So... what problem does an app actually solve, beyond reducing staff by a handful of people? If we'd had the luxury of talking to a real person when we checked in for dining, we could've specified that we wanted an actual table for 2. Instead it was far more like herding a few hundred mindless sheep. And there were a lot of people complaining about it. We talked to quite a few, while we were waiting... waiting... waiting.......

 

TMI maybe. Just needed to clarify the major point of my concerns. So, in recent experience, have others experienced this kind of meltdown on Celebrity because of an App?

 

 

 

Lots of unnecessary drama for a simple one sentence question.

[Galaxy2004]

@MoonarinoNot had problems with app use on Celebrity, but many of their 2 toppers are the same as you describe on Carnival - maybe 1 foot from the next table and 6+ of them in a row. Met some really nice couples that way, and have also witnessed some rude and odd ones too. We cruise to relax and reconnect with each other and it's hard to do that when seated the way most 2 toppers are situated now. 

 

[Moonarino]

3 minutes ago, Liao said:

Lots of unnecessary drama for a simple one sentence question.

 

Too much for you I guess. "Drama" after laying out $3k in total for our worst cruise ever, where dining should've been our most enjoyable aspect. I don't feel the tinest bit guilty.

[Moonarino]

8 minutes ago, Galaxy2004 said:

@MoonarinoNot had problems with app use on Celebrity, but many of their 2 toppers are the same as you describe on Carnival - maybe 1 foot from the next table and 6+ of them in a row. Met some really nice couples that way, and have also witnessed some rude and odd ones too. We cruise to relax and reconnect with each other and it's hard to do that when seated the way most 2 toppers are situated now. 

 

Thanks. I generally like to connect with others - at times - but not have it forced on me, and my lady is even more that way. (Edit to clarify because I initially misread that part of your comment.)

 

I do remember on Silhouette in November 2022 that many tables were closer together. But when it was too squeezed in, we were able to ask for a different table and got it. When the app assigns tables, there's no help at all beyond "canceling" the table and going back to the end of the line.

 

 

 

Edited April 18 by Moonarino
clarification

[Moonarino]

16 minutes ago, doghog said:

No. Not with Celebrity, RC and Princess. Once onboard I never use the app or my phone. 

 

Thanks, love that last. I'm an old IT pro and appreciate tech, but definitely NOT when it gets in the way of relaxation.

 

[hcat]

I think the post had great merit..Hope this will not come to pass on X 

 

We manage quite well without using the app, no medallions, no open sesame codes!

 

For those who enjoy the tech stuff..it's fine, but my no robot world suits me  fine,  even if my husb likes to play with the lighting and IV window buttons!

[keesar]

13 minutes ago, Moonarino said:

 

Too much for you I guess. "Drama" after laying out $3k in total for our worst cruise ever, where dining should've been our most enjoyable aspect. I don't feel the tinest bit guilty.

Boy, that was a cheap cruise!   Trying getting a cruise for that amount on Celebrity.  

 

Did you try the burgers on the Fun Cruise?

[Jeremiah1212]

No. 

[newcruzer2]

14 minutes ago, Moonarino said:

 

Too much for you I guess. "Drama" after laying out $3k in total for our worst cruise ever, where dining should've been our most enjoyable aspect. I don't feel the tinest bit guilty.

I for one totally understand your point OP. Sorry that some only take the time to post negative comments. Like all social media, you get people that can't add any real feedback and choose to be snippy.

[doghog]

3 minutes ago, Moonarino said:

 

Thanks, love that last. I'm an old IT pro and appreciate tech, but definitely NOT when it gets in the way of relaxation.

 

We were on the Enchanted Princess from 27 March to 6 April 2024. We liked the medallion. But didn't use it to its full potential as my  phone was off and stashed in one of the nightstand drawers next to the bed. 

[Galaxy2004]

@Moonarino On our last Ascent cruise the hostess in Normandie learned by the 2nd night that we like some space and she suggested that we come at certain times to avoid the crowd, which resulted in us getting the separation we wanted. Certainly happy that Celebrity has that personal touch and doesn't make you reserve a specific table through the app.

[Moonarino]

11 minutes ago, keesar said:

Boy, that was a cheap cruise!   Trying getting a cruise for that amount on Celebrity.  

 

Did you try the burgers on the Fun Cruise?

My 10-day on Celebrity November 2022 didn't cost a lot more. It seems the trick is to book far ahead, a year or better if possible. I saw how much higher the prices got over the months after my booking.

 

Yeah Guy's Burgers was one of our more enjoyable meals. Good shrimp at the Seafood Shack too. We ended up eating there 3-4 times after giving up on the sit-down restaurants.

 

[Moonarino]

12 minutes ago, Galaxy2004 said:

@Moonarino On our last Ascent cruise the hostess in Normandie learned by the 2nd night that we like some space and she suggested that we come at certain times to avoid the crowd, which resulted in us getting the separation we wanted. Certainly happy that Celebrity has that personal touch and doesn't make you reserve a specific table through the app.

 

"Come at certain times" would've been workable for us, if not the fact that the longer one waited, the longer the wait time got. 100% truth, we saw wait times up to 120+ minutes on the app for our assigned dining room. And then get a bad table.....

[Moonarino]

18 minutes ago, doghog said:

We were on the Enchanted Princess from 27 March to 6 April 2024. We liked the medallion. But didn't use it to its full potential as my  phone was off and stashed in one of the nightstand drawers next to the bed. 

 

Yep.

 

I had also booked Enchanted back in 2022, but decided against it partly because the medallion seemed to be a bit much (from what I'd read in these boards). Good to know it's avoidable.

[Moonarino]

23 minutes ago, newcruzer2 said:

I for one totally understand your point OP. Sorry that some only take the time to post negative comments. Like all social media, you get people that can't add any real feedback and choose to be snippy.

Thanks for that. I should've added, my #1 reason for posting this is to avoid the same problems on our next cruise. I figured some detail would help.

[Moonarino]

32 minutes ago, hcat said:

... Hope this will not come to pass on X

 

Thanks hcat, and that's exactly why I asked. As mentioned, we sailed Silhouette 18 months ago and there was barely a mention of the app (relatively speaking). Two years later, who knows what might have changed.

[PTC DAWG]

You can use your phone/tablet as much or as little as you want..

[Travelling2Some]

We recently tried the Carnival Mardi Gras and agree with the OP's complaints. We probably will not sail with them again for several reasons, one being that we had to book dining at the last minute on the ap.  We like to plan out our evenings in advance and we are not fans of this.  I kept thinking about how I already had all my dining reservations set 125 days in advance on NCL as opposed to having to "scramble" every night on Carnival.  Just not the way we like to do things.

[lovesthebeach2]

1 hour ago, doghog said:

No. Not with Celebrity, RC and Princess. Once onboard I never use the app or my phone. 

I use the app to look at the dinner menu, to see what’s going on that day, and to keep track of our D+ drinks. 

[Travelling2Some]

1 hour ago, keesar said:

Boy, that was a cheap cruise!   Trying getting a cruise for that amount on Celebrity.  

 

Did you try the burgers on the Fun Cruise?

Well, our upcoming cruise on the Constellation (10 nt. Italy/Croatia) cost us $2,182 all in.  Mardi Gras was more expensive for 7 days and the one we have booked on the NCL Viva is over twice that.  Agree that Guy's Burgers and Big Chicken were great though.

[keesar]

10 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

Well, our upcoming cruise on the Constellation (10 nt. Italy/Croatia) cost us $2,182 all in.  Mardi Gras was more expensive for 7 days and the one we have booked on the NCL Viva is over twice that.  Agree that Guy's Burgers and Big Chicken were great though.

Got to remember that the Constellation is almost 20 years older than the Mardi Gras and looks its age.  Good deals can be had on the Constellation as you can see.   But you can't compare Guy's versus what they are giving out as burgers on Celebrity.   

[Mark_K]

2 hours ago, Galaxy2004 said:

@MoonarinoNot had problems with app use on Celebrity, but many of their 2 toppers are the same as you describe on Carnival - maybe 1 foot from the next table and 6+ of them in a row. Met some really nice couples that way, and have also witnessed some rude and odd ones too. We cruise to relax and reconnect with each other and it's hard to do that when seated the way most 2 toppers are situated now. 

 

If I’m at a table for 6/8 I feel somewhat obligated to be sociable and engage with the table mates.  If I’m at a table for two, even if it’s inches away from the next one, I don’t feel the same obligation.

[Travelling2Some]

1 minute ago, keesar said:

Got to remember that the Constellation is almost 20 years older than the Mardi Gras and looks its age.  Good deals can be had on the Constellation as you can see.   But you can't compare Guy's versus what they are giving out as burgers on Celebrity.   

Of course.  My point was that Celebrity CAN be less expensive than Carnival since you suggested that it would not be possible to get a Celebrity Cruise for less than one on Mardi Gras.  We cruise for itinerary, not burgers.