Disney App vs Navigators?

[llachance]

is set to how many days until my next cruise My husband used it exclusively when we were on the Dream in January.

 

[jplee3]

Got back from our cruise a couple weeks ago and just wanted to give a brief update/review of what I thought of the app.

I really do like the idea of it, as it centralizes almost everything you can see on the Navigators. I kind of like how they include tidbits and history about the ports of call on the day of. And I really like how they include the dinner menus!

Some things I'd probably improve upon:
- flow of navigation: it just didn't seem to flow very well in general (e.g. if you want to stay in the same view/area but just hop to a different day... there are just things they could do to eliminate say 2-3 steps every time you want to view something else when using the app)
- add different schedule views (so, much more similar to the way the paper Navigator schedule looks): show a schedule of events by time of day and even show a higher level view of the week so you can drill-down and pick which day to look at
- better filters: they seem to limit you, in the section where you can view activities, to either view all OR one other category: kids, adults, etc. I don't recall everything but it would have been nice to be able to select multiple items to filter instead of having to filter one at a time before having to reset the activities view.
- always reset the overall view to the current day: if I was using the app on Monday then viewed it again on Tuesday it would be reset to either where I last was or would reset to Saturday when we embarked. I wish they would just reset the view to be on the current day. I don't see how this would be hard since they could probably just base it off the same logic they use for the countdown timer.
- food selection for more (or all) restaurants for all other meals (breakfast and lunch) as well as room service.
- shipboard phone numbers and contact info

Other than these things, I think the app is a great tool and hopefully they'll continue to expand and improve on it for years to come!

 

[Ravenne]

What is the app name?

Disney Cruise Line Navigator App

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/disney-cruise-line-navigator-app/

 

[allears]

We sailed on 2/1/14 on the Fantasy and heard great things about the app. While I did down load the app before the trip, we made the decision not to use it on our cruise. One of my favorite things about the cruise is being mostly disconnected from the outside world, I won't even watch the news! We turned our phones off and locked them in the safe.

I like technology, but just didn't want to have my phone on me much of the time and my face in the screen. I liked being untethered and free of the device and didn't have to worry about loosing it, dropping it, getting it wet etc. But mostly just liked being personally powered off!

 

[Dug720]

There are no charges. You don't need to sign up for their wifi plan or use your carrier's data. You do connect to the onboard wifi, but the app information loads without having to register or buy a data plan.

I feel like there needs to be more explanation on ship or even handed to you at check-in about how to do this. The only way I know to avoid any charges to my phone is to keep it in airplane mode, but then the app doesn't work obviously. I'm not old, but I'm not super computer or phone savvy, so I opted to just use the paper version.

 

[allears]

I feel like there needs to be more explanation on ship or even handed to you at check-in about how to do this. The only way I know to avoid any charges to my phone is to keep it in airplane mode, but then the app doesn't work obviously. I'm not old, but I'm not super computer or phone savvy, so I opted to just use the paper version.

The app actually has very clear detailed steps to activating this once on board. Yes you put the phone in airplane mode, but you still connect to the guest wifi net work on board.

 

[jplee3]

I feel like there needs to be more explanation on ship or even handed to you at check-in about how to do this. The only way I know to avoid any charges to my phone is to keep it in airplane mode, but then the app doesn't work obviously. I'm not old, but I'm not super computer or phone savvy, so I opted to just use the paper version.

On most smartphones you have the ability to selectively turn off/on certain things. So while you can set it in airplane mode, you should still be able to turn on wifi-only, in which case the app will still work.

Any charges to your phone, if not in airplane mode, would only come from your carrier if you end up roaming (this happening to me on the Disney Wonder when I forgot about turning off my phone, and it was a dumb phone so it incurred all fees ughh).

As far as wifi charges, you won't be charged for that - the way it works is that you have to sign up for an account and login before you can start browsing the web. You can be connected to the "DCL-GUEST" wifi network but will never incur any charges unless you proactively sign up to browse the internet and go from there.

 

[Mrstiffanyh]

We sailed on 2/1/14 on the Fantasy and heard great things about the app. While I did down load the app before the trip, we made the decision not to use it on our cruise. One of my favorite things about the cruise is being mostly disconnected from the outside world, I won't even watch the news! We turned our phones off and locked them in the safe.

I like technology, but just didn't want to have my phone on me much of the time and my face in the screen. I liked being untethered and free of the device and didn't have to worry about loosing it, dropping it, getting it wet etc. But mostly just liked being personally powered off!

This is my thought, too! I love the idea of this app, but there is a big part of me that likes disconnecting completely, and not always having my phone nearby (and checking it often) like I do in "real life."

 

[allears]

This is my thought, too! I love the idea of this app, but there is a big part of me that likes disconnecting completely, and not always having my phone nearby (and checking it often) like I do in "real life."

Yep! Yep! For a nano-second I thought about activating the app once on board, but knew I'd be sucked right into it and have the phone in front of me way too much, like I did while in EPCOT the day before using the Magical Experience App. I was very glad I stayed unplugged!

 

[algae]

It was a mix for us.

The app gave us some info that the Navigators did not. Having menus for the whole trip on the app was cool. Flagging activities we wanted to do was great also.

But, if we wanted to find out what time clubs were open, it was much faster to whip out the Navigator and get the info. No need to unlock the phone, start the app, let the app download updated data, navigate to the right place and then get the info.

Use the right tool for the job at hand...

 

[Steve Dexter]

I loved it! It was easy to set up, worked great and was just easy to use. It was much better than carrying around pieces of paper. I have zero interest in being "disconnected", so this just came natural.

 

[Ravenne]

Yep! Yep! For a nano-second I thought about activating the app once on board, but knew I'd be sucked right into it and have the phone in front of me way too much, like I did while in EPCOT the day before using the Magical Experience App. I was very glad I stayed unplugged!

While I love the appeal of being disconnected for a few days, and I am looking forward to it as being at sea will force me to not check FB, etc for a few days, I don't view using an app onboard with extremely limited access is the same as using the MDE where you have full net access. You can only use the app onboard and you're limited to that. It's not much different than using the paper Navigator other than a different format. It's not like you use the app then go and check Twitter, and FB, etc to see what other people are doing, end up getting sucked into replying, sharing, photos, and hours later, you missed out on half a day of fun. Of course, you can still choose to pay for net connection but that's not the same as using a limited usage app.

 

[allears]

While I love the appeal of being disconnected for a few days, and I am looking forward to it as being at sea will force me to not check FB, etc for a few days, I don't view using an app onboard with extremely limited access is the same as using the MDE where you have full net access. You can only use the app onboard and you're limited to that. It's not much different than using the paper Navigator other than a different format. It's not like you use the app then go and check Twitter, and FB, etc to see what other people are doing, end up getting sucked into replying, sharing, photos, and hours later, you missed out on half a day of fun. Of course, you can still choose to pay for net connection but that's not the same as using a limited usage app.

Mine was just a view from the other side, not knocking the app or those who like using it. And for me, picking up my phone, unlocking it, opening the app and viewing it is connected. I personally, and again this is my opinion and feeling, enjoyed not having my phone on me at all and I could carry the insert to the navigator for the rare times I needed to check on something.

 

[Ravenne]

Mine was just a view from the other side, not knocking the app or those who like using it. And for me, picking up my phone, unlocking it, opening the app and viewing it is connected. I personally, and again this is my opinion and feeling, enjoyed not having my phone on me at all and I could carry the insert to the navigator for the rare times I needed to check on something.

Oh, I know. I definitely get the addiction, and the appeal of not even having to turn the phone on at all. As much as I am addicted to it, oddly, I miss the days when people didn't share vacation photos until after they got home. Maybe I'm just trying to justify my addiction to my phone when I'm on board. That and I want to preserve my Navigator. I know I can get copies of it at guest services, but do I have to get them on the same day or if I go on the last day, I can pick up copies of all of the previous days too? I don't really want to go to guest services to pester them for extra copies every day.

 

[allears]

Oh, I know. I definitely get the addiction, and the appeal of not even having to turn the phone on at all. As much as I am addicted to it, oddly, I miss the days when people didn't share vacation photos until after they got home. Maybe I'm just trying to justify my addiction to my phone when I'm on board. That and I want to preserve my Navigator. I know I can get copies of it at guest services, but do I have to get them on the same day or if I go on the last day, I can pick up copies of all of the previous days too?

That's it on the head! I can get addicted to it. The Magical Experience App was that way. I didn't access anything else, but found myself checking wait times and such constantly. While that was useful, I liked being "free" for the week on board. And that's just me.

I think you probably have to snag the Navigators the same day, but you could always check with guest services.

 

[johardy]

Can the app be used on an ipad,I've searched in the app store but nothing found for Disney cruise line navigator

 

[Bree]

Can the app be used on an ipad,I've searched in the app store but nothing found for Disney cruise line navigator

Yes it can. You need to download the iPhone version, but it works. Search for Disney Cruise in the App Store then at the top on the left hand side change it from "iPad Only" to "iPhone Only". The app will sow up for you to download.

 

[rentayenta]

I preferred the old school paper Navigator. I liked not having my face in my phone, felt more vacationy. It was nice to be able to just take pics with the phone and be disconnected from everything.

 

[johardy]

Thank you so much for your quick reply I'm going to try it now

 

[johardy]

I will use the paper version too,but will download the app if only for the countdown clock