Navigator APP... texting on ship?

[PRINCESS VIJA]

On the cruise line navigator APP can you text each other?

 

[NC DCL fans]

Yes! See the full description on google play store or your app store. The description from google play is:
STAY IN TOUCH WITH ONBOARD CHAT. • Use Onboard Chat to stay connected to your family, friends and shipmates—now available on all 4 Disney Cruise ships.
• Chat one-to-one with friends and family on board your cruise. • Receive vibrating message alerts on your smartphone. • Control access by children with permissions feature. Disney Cruise Line Navigator helps you to stay informed, navigate the ship and enjoy every cruise day to its fullest. Download the app to get started!

It worked well for my family on the Fantasy. They all have LG fuel android 4.4 phones, but my old ZTE valet android 4.1.1 could send texts but could not receive texts. The onboard IT help guy tried to "fix" mine, then just gave up. I guess its a good excuse for me to get an upgraded android phone. It is supposed to work on android 4.0.3 or higher- but maybe not in my case. He didn't seem to be logging which types of phones were having problems or their versions of android, so I'm not sure they're really working on the issue real time. Oh well. Just download the latest version before you leave home, then connect on the ship.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

thanks for the help. I looked at something and it said standard carrier data charges may apply... what does that mean? I don't want to incur some crazy international charges.

 

[chivi50]

We used the App during our Fantasy cruise on 5/30. We didn't incur any fees, but there were text delays of hours and sometimes days. But when it worked it was great!

 

[MelSpees]

As long as your phone is on airplane mode and you're just using the app, you're not hooked up to any regular networks and there should be no charges at all.

 

[NC DCL fans]

Our texts came through immediately on the phones that worked, but not always with the vibrating alert. You may have to check your phone and open the app to see if there is a message there. And the app is completely free to use onboard. The warning about fees applies to the initial downloading of the app at home, which on wifi is free of course. The instructions are clear about putting your phone on airplane mode etc once onboard the ship to avoid charges from your cellular service.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

thanks!

 

[ChipNDale86]

For those who have used to app to text other members of your party...how often did you use the Wave phones? I really don't think I will want to carry around the Wave phone with me while on board.

 

[robbs49]

We just got off the fantasy on Saturday and the wave phones didn't leave the room. The texting isn't perfect but it does work pretty well. Sometimes they will "push" and vibrate the phone and sometimes you have to open the app. The only think I found funky is my wife and I both have iphone6s and the same os but her could turn hers off with the app on and it would stay up to check texts. My phone you would have to open the app every time and go to the chat page. Hers was much handier to use. We couldn't figure out why hers was that way and my wasn't.

 

[Weedy]

Texting works good. One text the whole week came in late. There were no extra charges. Works like typical texting. [

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We just got off the Magic. We used the app and loved it. It was great for seeing the schedule. You can chat with it, but can't text with your phone's messaging app. You have to communicate through the app. In order for the other person to receive the "chat", they have to be currently in the app, otherwise you don't get the message until the next time you open the app. So you can get delays. Don't send anything time sensitive.

 

[chunkymonkey]

We used the app in May on the Magic...and it was really quite bad. No one got texts until hours later and it looked like people were always offline when they were in fact next to you with the app open. I think there may be a trick in that you have to keep closing out and opening the app to see new messages. We stopped using the app to communicate in all honestly and just used the wave or in room phones. It's a bit 1990s but it worked!

 

[bumbershoot]

I looked at something and it said standard carrier data charges may apply

What were you looking at?

If you use the app to text others using the app, and if you've turned off everything but the wifi, and you don't go through the process to use the PAID wifi, you won't get charged.

For those who have used to app to text other members of your party...how often did you use the Wave phones? I really don't think I will want to carry around the Wave phone with me while on board.

Hate the Wave phones. The app doesn't work on Castaway so I brought the Wave off the ship to contact DH and DS on the ship, and despite having used the in the past I could ot get it to even call, let alone text. Ugh.

You have to communicate through the app. In order for the other person to receive the "chat", they have to be currently in the app, otherwise you don't get the message until the next time you open the app. So you can get delays. Don't send anything time sensitive.

YES.

 

[Mazz519]

Thats great can keep track of all the kids

 

[MUN]

For those who have used to app to text other members of your party...how often did you use the Wave phones? I really don't think I will want to carry around the Wave phone with me while on board.

Not at all. The app worked great for us.

 

[MUN]

What were you looking at?


Hate the Wave phones. The app doesn't work on Castaway so I brought the Wave off the ship to contact DH and DS on the ship, and despite having used the in the past I could ot get it to even call, let alone text. Ugh.

YES.

The app worked fine for us on Castaway Cay.

 

[bumbershoot]

The app worked fine for us on Castaway Cay.

All over the island? I got lucky; didn't know it wasn't supposed to work and got a message through the first cruise where we used the app, but found out later that it's NOT supposed to work on the island.

 

[erionm]

thanks for the help. I looked at something and it said standard carrier data charges may apply... what does that mean? I don't want to incur some crazy international charges.

For the DCL Navigator app, that verbiage applies to when you go to download the app.

Once you've downloaded the DCL Navigator app, the connection instructions say to place the phone in airplane mode and connect to the ships WiFi (free for app use only).

 

[KristiMc]

We loved the app on our Alaskan cruise this month. We didn't use the Wave phones at all.

 

[RHSTigerMom]

One odd thing about chatting via the Navigator app is you have to enter each person's unique code. If you've got 6 people with the app, then you have to enter each person's code to communicate with them. We all downloaded the app a few days before boarding, then while in the terminal waiting to board, activated it and got everyone set up to chat. It worked great for us on the Dream in May.