Cruises used to mean near isolation from the real world.
Less than a decade ago cruise internet was very expensive and not very useful. People might buy a package in order to check email and try to keep in touch with someone back home, but it was capable of little beyond basic tasks.
You also could use a phone in your cabin to call home, but the prices for that service limited uses to emergencies.
Related: Another Caribbean cruise destination raising port fees
Now, even in the era of Starlink, which makes shipboard internet viable and even reasonably affordable, some people still like to use a cruise to disconnect. Cruisers commonly put their phones away – maybe even in their safes — as soon as they get on board.
That’s become less viable as an on-board strategy, however, as many cruise lines have moved to using QR codes for menus and putting daily schedules in their apps. That’s what Carnival Cruise Line has done and some passengers are not happy.
Brand Ambassador John Heald recently fielded a question about the cruise line forcing passengers to use devices.
Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or your first) cruise.
Carnival does offer paper menus by request.
Image source: Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival offers menus via QR code
During the comeback from the Covid pandemic, many cruise lines moved to using QR codes to show passengers menus. The goal was to limit the spread of the virus by people touching physical menus.
Limiting the number of surfaces many people touch makes sense on cruise ships. And Carnival has kept the policy in place.
Carnival has also been using the app for a variety of other purposes as well.
Rhonda Johnson was not thrilled with the cruise line pushing passengers to use its Hub App for so many things on board.
“John…just off the Breeze…had a good time but VERY frustrated by the need to use the Hub App to eat in the dining room…we had Your Time dining and showed up when the dining room opened…we were informed that we HAD to check in on the App. We didn’t have our phones with us…I AM ON VACATION…so had to go back to the cabin to check in,” she wrote.
Johnson did not understand why she had to use her phone.
“Our table was ready by the time we returned. Why couldn’t they just have seated us while we were there?”
She was also upset that she could not get a paper menu.
“Once we had a table, I asked a wandering waiter for a paper menu,” she said. “He looked unhappy but said ‘okay.’ He NEVER returned.
“I do not like to have to carry my phone with me on vacation. Surely there is a way to eat in the dining room without the app? My parents were avid Carnival cruisers — didn’t have a smartphone and wouldn’t be able to figure this out anyway. I am sure there are a few cruisers that would also fall into that category. Please allow people to eat in the dining room without carrying their phone.”
Carnival promises a solution
Heald answered but could not fully address the situation.
“Thank you so much,” he wrote. “I will have to ask you to please allow me some time to speak with the ship and see what they have to say and what you reported to them. I know it was a very busy cruise and they would’ve done everything they could, but I need them to see your comments and your valuable feedback.
“I do sincerely hope that overall you had a wonderful time. Please would you leave this with me, and I promise the right people will see it.”
Many passengers agree with Johnson that they should not have to carry their phones when they’re on vacation
“I agree with this. I don’t like having to even turn my phone on while on vacation. I still have a camera for that very reason,” wrote Janira Colon.
Carnival does offer paper menus. In a December 2023 post Heald made clear that paper menus are available.
“The Hubb App is important, it makes things so much easier for so many people, and the Beards have only just begun,” the executive wrote.
ALSO READ: Top travel agents share how to get the best price on your cruise
(“The Beards” is Heald’s term for Carnival executives.)
“But let me say that I care, Carnival cares, and that is why we do have paper menus, we really do so please do this,” he wrote. “Ask the waiter on the first night at dinner that you will need one each time you are in the dinning room and they will make sure you have one. It really is that simple.”
(Dinning room is another piece of Heald slang.)
Are you taking a cruise or thinking about taking one? Visit our Come Cruise With Me website to have all your questions answered.
