Issues with Disney Cruise Navigator App

[bigAWL]

We sailed back-to-back on the Magic (July 17 and July 22) and had a few issues using the app (iOS version).

The first thing we noticed was that chat messages were not very effective. They often did not trigger notifications on the recipient's phone and only popped up when they unlocked their phone. Other notifications didn't seem to have a problem, such as laundry and kids club notifications. There were a couple times when I was trying to message my teen in Vibe and it immediately said Not Delivered, as if she were out of range.

The second issue we had with the chat function will not affect most people But for back-to-back cruisers, the chat codes need to be reset at the beginning of each cruise. It does not remember your chat friends between cruises. This makes sense, as many of them may have left the ship, but it was mildly annoying to set up family members in a different cabin again.

Finally, we noticed occasional discrepancies between the app and the printed navigator. Events that didn't happen, events with wrong age group listed, events with incorrect duration, etc. In all of these cases, the printed navigator showed the authoritative schedule, and the app was in the wrong. So when in doubt, check the paper. This was only a little annoying at first when we showed up for an event that wasn't actually scheduled. We (and several other families) waited past the start time before realizing the mistake, and by then it was too late to catch another option at the same time. But it really messed up our enjoyment when an event listed for "all-ages" turned out to be adults only. We brought our teens, and they were politely asked to leave. When we showed the CM the all-ages listing on the app, he consulted with his manager and we were still asked to leave. I get it, mistakes are made, and adult-only venues should be protected. But the girls were tastefully dressed, not disruptive, not ordering alcohol, and the show was not inappropriate for younger cruisers. So we were upset that their mistake affected our enjoyment. Especially for my obsessively-rule-following teen who was humiliated at being "caught breaking the rules" and hid in the cabin for the rest of the evening.

The app is a great idea, though, so I hope they can work out the kinks in the system (and it should be able to work on Castaway Cay, too. Apparently, it doesn't right now?).

 

[islandsnoopy]

We had a problem with the chat function not notifying us despite have notifications set to "on". The network would also drop us out and had to constantly reacquire it. We noted all the app problems on the comment card so hopefully these problems will be fixed.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

I get it, mistakes are made, and adult-only venues should be protected. But the girls were tastefully dressed, not disruptive, not ordering alcohol, and the show was not inappropriate for younger cruisers. So we were upset that their mistake affected our enjoyment. Especially for my obsessively-rule-following teen who was humiliated at being "caught breaking the rules" and hid in the cabin for the rest of the evening.

Before a whole lot of people post why even mature, well dressed etc teens should not be in adult areas, I just want to salute you on your rule-following teens! Maybe you could loan them to me and my "not embarrassed by ANYTHING" teens and perhaps they can help each other out. The lucky part of mine is they aren't embarrassed by ANYTHING, not even their old Dad, so I get to hang out with them and their friends sometimes (in appropriate settings) with no problem because they don't find it embarrassing.

Oh, and we had the same notifications issues, and quickly learned to just check frequently for new posts, though I get that that is frustrating. As for Castaway Cay, we thought it didn't work there at first, and then it did. Basically, if you check it on the tram when you first get on, it may not work, but if you check it while you are near the water, it probably will. At least that was our experience.