I just got this email from Disney Cruise Line – looks like messaging via the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App is finally a reality! This app can be used while onboard Disney Cruise Line ships and does NOT require you to pay for access to the internet.
Wonder if this means the Wave phones, once a revolutionary amenity (a portable phone? on a cruise ship?), will finally go the way of the dinosaur? When we cruised last month, my boys couldn’t figure out how on earth to use the Wave phone for texting since it had no keyboard.
Dear Jennifer Upton,
We are excited your clients will be sailing with us soon.
As you may have heard, we have recently unveiled the “Disney Cruise Line Navigator App” for Guests with an iOS or Android smartphone to experience during their cruise vacation. This free app offers the convenience of having the Personal Navigator – our shipboard daily newsletter detailing all there is to see and do – from dinner menus, entertainment offerings and deck plans in an electronic version right at their fingertips once onboard.
Recent enhancements to the App include the ability to allow for chat among family members or other Guests aboard the ship. Since your clients are among the first to experience this new feature, we want to share the addendum to the Cruise Contract/Conditions of Carriage that will be in effect during their sailing as it contains important information on setting permissions. Your assistance in communicating this information is appreciated.
If available on your Vessel, each Guest will have the opportunity to use Onboard Chat, a text messaging feature in the Disney Cruise Line Navigator mobile application (the “Mobile App”). The primary Guest on each reservation has the ability to allow children under 13 years of age in the primary Guest’s stateroom to use Onboard Chat by providing the Activation PIN to such children to enable access. Children under 13 in your stateroom will not have access to Onboard Chat unless you, the primary Guest, provide them with the Activation PIN. You may withdraw your consent at any time through the child’s contact details page in the Onboard Chat section of the Mobile App, even if you have already provided a child with the Activation PIN. You understand and agree that, by providing such Activation PIN to your children under 13, you are giving the child permission to send and receive Onboard Chat messages with other Guests within the DCL-GUEST on-ship network. While children will only need to disclose their assigned Onboard Chat Number and Chat name to other Guests in order to send and receive Onboard Chats with those Guests, it is possible that children may reveal personal information about themselves in the Onboard Chat messages. Because Onboard Chat will enable children to freely chat with other Guests, we encourage you to monitor and supervise children’s Onboard Chat conversations. You may, for example, want to set rules for children about whom they can connect with, what general discussion topics are allowed, and what personal information, if any, is appropriate to share. For more information about our privacy practices, you may view our privacy policy at disneyprivacycenter.com.
While the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App is available on all of our ships, at this time, the Onboard Chat feature is only available on the Disney Dream starting on October 16, 2014, and Disney Fantasy beginning with the October 25, 2014 sailing.
Again, we are glad your clients will be joining us and look forward to providing them with an exceptional voyage.
Sincerely,
The Cast and Crew
Disney Cruise Line