The Navigator, a mobile-friendly tool onboard Holland America Line Ships

I had many questions about the Navigator before my last cruise so I took a few pictures and screen shots to share on here.

We did not receive an announcement about the app until a few hours after being onboard and then we saw the poster listed below on one of our walkabouts.

Each ship will have a different WiFi to connect to, ours was the “Amsterdam-Guest.”

You will create a login and pin. The pin allows you to see the onboard account charges and statement if you are the primary person; and it allows you to make purchases and reservations regardless of being the 1st or 2nd guest in the stateroom.

In the upper left corner there is a chat bubble icon. Click this icon to chat with others onboard. The tool does not notify you that you have a message so check it throughout the day when you are not with individuals in your party or as you make new friends on board whom you can also chat with.

In the upper right corner, there are three lines that you tap on to take you to the different options available in the tool.

You tap on the picture menu you want to access.

You can electronically plan your day and future days onboard by adding events happening on board. Here I was browsing events for the next day at sea on our way to Victoria after leaving Ketchikan.

Also, dining reservations will automatically show up in your itinerary, if I remember correctly.

Continued in next post...

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My favorite feature was reviewing dining options and menus.

This is an example of the Canaletto menu available online.

Breakfast and lunch menus were not available online neither were any Lido Market menu.

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Here are a few other screen shots of the Navigator

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Thanks for the good info. One question; are you still limited to one login per stateroom/account?

We were on Maasdam in April and May, and could readily book the extra-cost restaurants, but had to call the reservations desk to change or cancel, which made that function seem unfinished.

Thanks for the good info. One question; are you still limited to one login per stateroom/account?

 

We were on Maasdam in April and May, and could readily book the extra-cost restaurants, but had to call the reservations desk to change or cancel, which made that function seem unfinished.

On Westerdam two weeks ago, both of us were able to log on at the same time.

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There were some discrepancies between the printed where and when and the navigator app when it came to locations of events. As we were told, if there is a discrepancy, go with the printed copy.

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Thanks for the good info. One question; are you still limited to one login per stateroom/account?

 

We were on Maasdam in April and May, and could readily book the extra-cost restaurants, but had to call the reservations desk to change or cancel, which made that function seem unfinished.

We each had our own accounts.

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There were some discrepancies between the printed where and when and the navigator app when it came to locations of events. As we were told, if there is a discrepancy, go with the printed copy.

 

 

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We did not experience this. One thing that the Navigator tool does is group things on the hour and then the description of the event indicated the time within that hour. For instance under the 5:00 PM hour it might say wildlife viewing, but in the description is gives the time of 5:30 PM. That tripped us up a few times in the beginning, but at least we were early to those events.

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Thanks for the good info. One question; are you still limited to one login per stateroom/account?

We were on Maasdam in April and May, and could readily book the extra-cost restaurants, but had to call the reservations desk to change or cancel, which made that function seem unfinished.

Anyone can use the intranet and the HAL app. It's the internet account that can only be used by one person at a time. For example: If I purchase an internet plan, I can log in on my computer - but not my phone at the same time. If I log out, my wife can log in and use the account. You could theoretically purchase two accounts, but that's kind of expensive.

However, the Navigator "app" which is really just an intranet website, can be used by anyone. Your account there is tied to your folio - as opposed to the internet account which is tied to a username and password. (Hope that made sense.)

Anyone can use the intranet and the HAL app. It's the internet account that can only be used by one person at a time. For example: If I purchase an internet plan, I can log in on my computer - but not my phone at the same time. If I log out, my wife can log in and use the account. You could theoretically purchase two accounts, but that's kind of expensive.

 

However, the Navigator "app" which is really just an intranet website, can be used by anyone. Your account there is tied to your folio - as opposed to the internet account which is tied to a username and password. (Hope that made sense.)

Some may consider it "cheating" or "gaming the system", but with a wireless travel router even the 1 device at a time restriction on internet logons can be circumvented. They usually also function as an external power source as well.

OP, nice in-service on the Navigator tool. :D

Thanks for the tutorial, OP! Very timely for me!

Anyone can use the intranet and the HAL app. It's the internet account that can only be used by one person at a time.

You're right, I wasn't differentiating between the two. My apologies.

Super-helpful preview for those of us who haven't seen it yet. Thanks for posting!

I found the Chat icon did advise you if you had a message, with a little number alongside the icon - but of course, no sound. It would be nice if there was a sound...:)

Some may consider it "cheating" or "gaming the system", but with a wireless travel router even the 1 device at a time restriction on internet logons can be circumvented. They usually also function as an external power source as well.

 

OP, nice in-service on the Navigator tool. :D

Thank you!

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I found the Chat icon did advise you if you had a message, with a little number alongside the icon - but of course, no sound. It would be nice if there was a sound...:)

Yes, that is correct. If you had a message a number in a red circle did appear, but no sound notification.

It is a helpful tool. We used the chat feature about once or twice a day depending on what we had going on.

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There were some discrepancies between the printed where and when and the navigator app when it came to locations of events. As we were told, if there is a discrepancy, go with the printed copy.

 

 

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yes,we were on the Eurodam and NUMEROUS times the online navigator was not in synch with the printed copy.

Sometimes the printed was correct. Other times the online one was correct. Very frustrating.

I used the chat feature on the Navigator quite a bit to communicate with my kids (young adults). It was very convenient. Not as convenient as iMessage but it did the job.

I found the Chat icon did advise you if you had a message, with a little number alongside the icon - but of course, no sound. It would be nice if there was a sound...:)

As someone who prefers to not hear a lot of "noise," I'm perfectly fine with no sound notification from the Navigator chat. When dining with DD's family, their phones are pinging. (Even if the phones are on vibrate, all four feel they must check the sender.) Sometimes, even those sitting at adjacent tables get more notifications than DD's family. Whatever happened to conversing with others at the table????

JMO

As someone who prefers to not hear a lot of "noise," I'm perfectly fine with no sound notification from the Navigator chat. When dining with DD's family, their phones are pinging. (Even if the phones are on vibrate, all four feel they must check the sender.) Sometimes, even those sitting at adjacent tables get more notifications than DD's family. Whatever happened to conversing with others at the table????

 

JMO

I understand! We have a no phones at dinner policy with the exception of taking a few food pictures. Our phones are with us, just turned off or put away and no checking it if it does go off unless we are expecting a message for some reason.

Even on land, I remind my hubby and parents to put their phones away at dinner lol. ;)

I didn’t mind that it didn’t notify you as for the two of us traveling, we knew when to check for messages.

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I am trying to set up my account on the Navigator right now, but it doesn't seem to work. Is this something that has to be done on the ship or very close to cruising time? I am still a month away from our cruise. 

By the way, that was an excellent review/information on this feature. 

33 minutes ago, Sunworbythebeach said:

I am trying to set up my account on the Navigator right now, but it doesn't seem to work. Is this something that has to be done on the ship or very close to cruising time? I am still a month away from our cruise. 

By the way, that was an excellent review/information on this feature. 

It has to be done on the ship after you board as you have to connect to the ship’s wifi to set up your account for that ship.

Thank you so much. You have saved me much aggravation 😀

Navigator app worked well.  I used it a lot on our 10day Southern Caribbean cruise last week on Koningsdam.  Was handy for checking things going on during the day and the onboard account. Only thing I wish it had is an option for the messenger portion to buzz when you get a message.

This is something I would definitely use on the cruise!