Carnival HUB App: Is It Worth Downloading?

Carnival Cruise Line now has its very own app called Carnival HUB. This handy app allows passengers to stay up-to-date with the schedule of activities happening around the ship, track onboard spending, and view maps of the ship all at the touch of your fingertips. We put the app to the test on a recent cruise to see if it was worth it. Here’s our experience…

HOW TO DOWNLOAD IT

As of April 2017, guests are able to use the app on board all 25 ships in the Carnival fleet. Carnival HUB is available on Android and Apple phones and can be downloaded through the AppStore (iPhone) or Google Play Store (Android). Best part? It’s free! The app works on airplane mode, so you don’t pay any roaming fees. We downloaded the Carnival HUB app before we boarded so it was one less thing to do when we arrived.

HOW TO USE IT

There’s really no sneak preview with this app, it’s all or nothing, meaning that before you board the ship, it’s not very useful. You enter the date of your cruise and then a cruise countdown is the only thing on the screen as your cruise approaches. That thing sure moves slow when you’re excited to leave! At the bottom of the screen is a blue bar that says “I’m onboard, log in” with an arrow pointing right. Until you get on the ship, there’s not much to the app and it’s pretty lame (there, we said it).

Once on board though, the features come alive! After you log in, you’ll go through a set of instructions about how to connect to the ship’s wifi. The app is free to run since it connects to the ship’s wifi, so you won’t have to pay to connect. When you turn your phone on airplane mode, connecting is easy. The next step is to enter your sail and sign account details and your date of birth, then you’re all set.

 

The main menu contains a complete list of options:

• Chat
• What’s Happening
• Food & Drinks
• Shore Excursions
• Ship Maps
• Open Times
• Good to Know
• Account Summary

A little more about each of these areas:

Chat

Alright, this feature costs $5 per person. Was it worth it? Not for us on this trip but we could definitely see it being useful when traveling with our family or with larger groups. The chat feature basically works like texting. You can “chat” with other people in your party using the app so it’s easy to stay in touch while onboard.

What’s Happening (Daily Schedule)

One of the best parts of a cruise is the number of activities going on all the time. In this area of the app, you have a day-to-day schedule of all the events in the palm of your hands. No more forgetting the FunTimes in your room. You can also click on an event to read more details about it which is helpful to learn more if the title is vague. You can mark your favorite activities throughout the day which will then show up as your favorites. If you’ve set the app to allow notifications, you will get a reminder right before the activity begins.

Food & Drinks

Where’s the nearest place to get food? Here you’ll be able to find a comprehensive list of the various dining and bar options around. You can also see what restaurant areas are open and find out what kind of food is served in each location. Menus for the main dining room are also listed each day which helps to decide whether or not to stick around for the formal dinner or to go to the buffet.

Shore Excursions

In this area of the app, all available shore excursions are listed for the cruise. You can sort results using a lot of different filters including activity type, price, duration, location, etc. We used this part of the app for shore excursion descriptions and purchases. Since the shore excursions desk wasn’t open 24-7, and we didn’t book our shore excursions via the website, we used the app to book a shore excursion onboard. We did this from our balcony and it couldn’t have been easier.

Ship Maps

These were so nice to have! There was a map of each deck on the ship as well as various icons indicating different areas on the ship, like restaurants, bars, etc. We also found the list view helpful if we were looking for the name of a specific place on the ship.

Open Times

The operating hours for each area of the ship can vary, so this area is helpful to find out when everything on the ship opens and closes. We also noticed this area is updated every day to reflect whether the ship is in port or at sea because times can vary, especially the hours of the Lido buffet and other food options.

Good To Know

This part of the app captured a lot of miscellaneous but helpful information. The drop down arrows on the right side expand to provide additional details about each area.

Account Summary

Yes, you can check your balance on the tv in your room. The thing is, we’re not usually in our room. It’s nice to be able to periodically check your balance from anywhere on the ship, whenever you’re thinking about it. The purchases are updated almost instantly, also providing the peace of mind to know there are no wrong charges on your account.

 

OUR EXPERIENCE

Our expectations were low to begin with (remember the lame countdown before we got onboard the ship?) but we walked away impressed by the usefulness of the app and we’re already thinking of more features to add. The app worked great plus it was quick and easy to navigate through the different features while we were onboard.

 

FUTURE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

Real Time Ship Maps

We would LOVE to see the real time location of the ship. All ships have the screen showing the current location as well as pertinent sailing information (speed, coordinates, etc.) and this would be neat to include in the app.

Kids Activities

As of August 2017, the app does not include Camp Carnival, Circle “C” or other kids and teens activities on its schedule. These could have their own area which would really be useful for parents as well as younger passengers who have cell phones.

Port Area Maps

Maps of the port areas would be great to include for people to check out before they get off the ship. Many passengers enjoy shopping and in-app maps could help people plan their day. Since the app does not work without being connected to the ship’s wifi, Carnival could make the port map available via offline download.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall we thought the app was a great addition to our cruise experience and would recommend it to future cruisers.

Questions about the app? Have you used it? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below.