Another Weird Question - Alexa

[katmigordon]

So, I just got my first Alexa for Christmas - and I find myself relying on it for a slew of different things on a daily basis. Everything from an alarm to a sound machine to help me sleep, playing music, etc. Can I bring Alexa on the trip with me? (This may be a stupid question - as I said this is my first virtual assitant and I have no idea how she works outside of how to ask it to do things.)

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

You need an internet connection for Alexa to work. While there is wifi onboard, it is not unlimited and costs a lot. So unless you plan to pay for a lot of internet I'd say leaver her at home.

 

[MarkLT1]

I'm guessing you could.. if you want to pay for a wifi data plan for your echo.

The echo dots do very little locally. It uses an internet connection to send your request up to the cloud, where your speech is interpreted, and a command is sent back to she-who-shall-not-be-mentioned.

 

[katmigordon]

Ok, so that's a hard no. =)
Also got my first smartphone for Christmas can that be used to play music?

 

[cvjw]

Ok, so that's a hard no. =)
Also got my first smartphone for Christmas can that be used to play music?

We love to sit on deck 13 and listen to Apple Music. The songs must be downloaded to your phone if you don’t have WiFi.

 

[katmigordon]

How do I download the music to my phone so I don't need wi-fi? Sorry, this is all really new and confusing to me...

We love to sit on deck 13 and listen to Apple Music. The songs must be downloaded to your phone if you don’t have WiFi.

 

[DisBNewB]

How do I download the music to my phone so I don't need wi-fi? Sorry, this is all really new and confusing to me...

What app do you usually use to listen to music? Pandora? Spotify? Amazon? iTunes?

Many/most of them have an option to download music, but some of them require a paid subscription to do so. (Same goes for video from services like Netflix, Disney+, etc.)

 

[cvjw]

How do I download the music to my phone so I don't need wi-fi? Sorry, this is all really new and confusing to me...

We use Apple Music and there is a little download symbol - looks like a downward arrow in a cloud- by any music you select to listen to from Apple Music. You can either listen to the music without downloading it on WiFi, or download it for listening when there is no WiFi.

I only use Apple Music, so I can’t help you with any other music service!

 

[monkeydawn]

If Alexa were really a good assistant, she should have told you the answer.

How do I download the music to my phone so I don't need wi-fi? Sorry, this is all really new and confusing to me...

Depends on the phone. What exactly do you have?

 

[VictoriaAndMatt]

I use Amazon Music. You just click the three little dots to the right of the song or album and click the download arrow.

 

[katmigordon]

We have a paid sub to Amazon Music - it's on the cheap side with Prime.

What app do you usually use to listen to music? Pandora? Spotify? Amazon? iTunes?

Many/most of them have an option to download music, but some of them require a paid subscription to do so. (Same goes for video from services like Netflix, Disney+, etc.)

 

[katmigordon]

Thank you! This is what we have - I hadn't tried downloading anything with the phone yet because I always use Alexa.

I use Amazon Music. You just click the three little dots to the right of the song or album and click the download arrow.

 

[katmigordon]

An Android I think, sort of a track phone I think? Mom bought it for me for Christmas so we'd stop using hers.

IDepends on the phone. What exactly do you have?

 

[BartmanLA]

Just keep this in mind, you're going to be at sea, Internet access is SUPER expensive, so if there's anything you want to do with a device make sure it doesn't need the internet to do it. Ask friends that might have more experience to help you download music, games or movies to your device before you leave so you don't have to try to figure it out when you go. There's always a geek or techie in everyone's family that can help out!

 

[tinkerone]

What a great question. I use the night sounds for sleeping. I have wondered if Google or Alexa can be taken on vacation and used. I get that the wifi means a no go for DCL due to cost but can it be used in a hotel? It's little enough to pack. Also, we have unlimited wifi on our RCCL cruises, wonder if it can connect there.
Thanks for asking this question.

 

[monkeydawn]

An Android I think, sort of a track phone I think? Mom bought it for me for Christmas so we'd stop using hers.

I am Apple so I cant talk you through it although it seems like you are getting good advice. Keep in mind your phone will have a limited amount of memory, downloaded songs will use some of this memory. Especially important if you think you will be taking lots of photos with the phone.

Also, since you are new to having a phone on a ship (it sounds like it anyway) make note of what you need to do to all your settings to make sure you dont burn through all of your minutes/ run up a bill. There are plenty of tips here on the disboards but the big one is to put that phone in airplane mode. The person at the desk that sells you wifi can also check your settings for you (no charge to do this). I have no idea if concierge has a separate service for this but there can often be a line at the wifi desk so it might be worth asking your host.

 

[squirk]

Alexa is not something physical that you bring on the ship. Alexa is the interactive voice personification of Amazon’s cloud-based services.

You most likely have an Echo device of some kind. An Echo without wifi is basically just a bluetooth speaker.

 

[MarkLT1]

Alexa is not something physical that you bring on the ship. Alexa is the interactive voice personification of Amazon’s cloud-based services.

You most likely have an Echo device of some kind. An Echo without wifi is basically just a bluetooth speaker.

Don't you dare talk about my Alexa in such.. mechanical terms!!

 

[DisBNewB]

What a great question. I use the night sounds for sleeping. I have wondered if Google or Alexa can be taken on vacation and used. I get that the wifi means a no go for DCL due to cost but can it be used in a hotel? It's little enough to pack. Also, we have unlimited wifi on our RCCL cruises, wonder if it can connect there.
Thanks for asking this question.

Assuming you have enough data (in the hotel) or the wifi connection is good enough (in the hotel or on the RCCL ship) there's no reason you shouldn't be able to utilize it.

 

[squirk]

Don't you dare talk about my Alexa in such.. mechanical terms!!

She is a fickle mistress.