“Smartguide” excursion app

[flossie009]

Last month there was a thread about Regent’s introduction of an app to be used on smartphones to hear tour guides.

The app has been introduced on Voyager and was in use on a number of excursions during last week’s cruise.

David went on an excursion to Herculaneum where the guide used the app. Here is his report on the experience:

 

Positives

• The app was easy to download onto an Apple iPhone 5 (downloaded before the cruise)
• Connected to the guide OK (but took a number of attempts)
• Was able to use with wireless (Bluetooth) earbuds
• Quality of reception was excellent

 

Negatives

• If too close to the guide then an echo is created (because hearing direct and through the app)
• If too far away then reception drops out; but range is good
• When going from room to room in Herculaneum, I needed to be in the same room as the guide or reception was lost
• After loss of reception, app often did not reconnect automatically when back in range
   

On the basis of my experience, very few guests used the app; probably 3 out of 30 on my tour.

Some of the reasons given for not using the app were:

 - Did not have a smartphone

 - App not downloaded

 - Could not connect

 - No earphones

 - Difficulty because of hearing aids

  - Like to hear the guide direct

 - Think Regent should supply receiving equipment

 

The above is not a full survey, just some comments picked up during the cruise.

It is to be hoped that Regent is canvassing opinions from its guests and tour operators as this technology is trialled. It was very odd that there was no survey about use of the ”Smartguide” or even a specific question on the electronic end of cruise survey.

 

 

 

 

 

[flossie009]

Here are some screenshots from the “Smartguide” instructions available on the suite TV:

 

 

 

[flossie009]

 

 

[flossie009]

 

 

[mrstanley]

We were on a Crystal River cruise last year. Everyone had a Whisperer to use. It was in your cabin in the charger.

It was your responsibility to use it when taking tours. They worked great. Regent should invest and provide these on 

all ships. We tried using the App from Regent on our last cruise. Didn't work well at all.

[Xerxes10]

1 hour ago, mrstanley said:

We were on a Crystal River cruise last year. Everyone had a Whisperer to use. It was in your cabin in the charger.

It was your responsibility to use it when taking tours. They worked great. Regent should invest and provide these on 

all ships. We tried using the App from Regent on our last cruise. Didn't work well at all.

Having used both the whisper device and Regent's solution, I find the whisper far superior. I agree that Regent should invest in them.

[wishIweretravelling]

I just returned from a river boat cruise on Scenic, which used to provide devices but now has moved to an app that sounds identical to the Regent app.  Exactly the same pluses and minuses. If you had an iphone you needed it to be updated to at least ios11, which left out some people, but the ship had some "loaner" phones. Those who didn't use the app just stayed close to the guide. Those who didn't have earbuds, or used hearing aids, just held their phones to their ears.  

[CruisetheCs]

The new system for listening to tour guides is not ready for prime time, IMO.  It worked more or less most of the time on my cell phone, but on one occasion I got disconnected and couldn’t get reconnected. On other occasions it took a bit of dexterity to move through screens on the phone, and the app would disconnect and then have to be reconnected.  I saw lots of people struggling to get or stay connected.  Many guests didn’t have earphones and tried to listen by holding phones to their ear. I noticed one person who would keep getting disconnected because his ear would touch the screen and change channels or somehow disconnect him.

 

If you are using the camera on your phone then it means switching from the Regent app to camera mode and taking photos while having wired earphones attached (almost no one had wireless earphones) along with juggling purses, backpacks, etc..  Moving among screens is an invitation to hit the wrong spot on your phone screen and switch to some unwanted app. Also changing the volume on the phone can be another invitation to do something wrong and mess up the connection.

 

Since guests are ordinarily walking around while trying to navigate the app and use the camera, etc., it can be difficult to use or to stay connected while trying to keep up with a group and avoid accidents.  Also if anyone has a visual problem or a physical problem such as even a slight hand tremor, using the app becomes more difficult especially while walking around.  I noticed several times that people were handing phones to someone else to fix some problem they were having with the connection.

 

An inherent problem is that there is sound delay with the bluetooth connection.  So if you are close enough to hear the guide’s voice, it will not be in sync with the earphone. This can be very annoying and means you have to play with the app if you don’t want “double-talk” or remove your earphones, etc.

 

And then there is the lack of thought in the design of a simple thing such as the Regent app icon.  It is a black icon with a kind of dark dull gold lettering on it.  In bright light out of doors It is impossible to read the lettering and depending on the background screen color of one’s phone, it may be difficult to even find the app amidst other apps.

 

I have my doubts that it will ever work well given the complexity of cell phones and the use of cell phones for photos and other tasks while on tours.  There is simply too much multi-tasking on one device under the circumstances of a walking tour and there seem to be app glitches when the app is running in the background.  A device with a simple on/off button, volume control and channel selector would be much easier to use.

[xrvlcruiser]

CruisetheCs,

Thanks for the reminder that if I use my phone as a camera - which I do some/most of the time - using it to listen to the guide becomes a real issue. I had heard about some of the other issues but somehow this one slipped by me,

Peggy

[JMARINER]

7 hours ago, Xerxes10 said:

Having used both the whisper device and Regent's solution, I find the whisper far superior. I agree that Regent should invest in them.

They did have the maybe about 2008? . I don't know if it was the exact name brand, but something similar. The ShoreEx was in charge of them and would hand them out to the tour guide, who would hand them out on the bus. Regent did not use them to long, a year or less. I liked them and asked why they were discontinued. The answers I got was a fuzzy; "They were to much trouble."

 

J

[wishIweretravelling]

13 hours ago, xrvlcruiser said:

CruisetheCs,

Thanks for the reminder that if I use my phone as a camera - which I do some/most of the time - using it to listen to the guide becomes a real issue. I had heard about some of the other issues but somehow this one slipped by me,

Peggy

Again, referencing the Scenic app (which really does look identical), I had no problem taking pictures with my phone while listening to the guide. At least on on iphone, unless you swipe the app shut altogether, it continues to run in background while using other apps.

[xrvlcruiser]

Thanks Crystal . . .

 

[jeb_bud]

On 10/27/2019 at 5:08 AM, wishIweretravelling said:

Again, referencing the Scenic app (which really does look identical), I had no problem taking pictures with my phone while listening to the guide. At least on on iphone, unless you swipe the app shut altogether, it continues to run in background while using other apps.

We were also on Scenic recently, disembarking last Wednesday. On my iPhone XS the sound quality took a big hit when I brought my camera app into the foreground. OTOH on my wife’s iPhone 6s she had no such problems. 
 

I like the idea of using my own phone and earbuds to listen to the guide. The technology is still in its infancy and hopefully they will make improvements in future versions. Our CD on Scenic was happy to receive constructive feedback and will forward it to the people who can do something about it. Probably the same is true on Regent. 

[1982CruzStart]

We used the new app on our Regent tour today and it worked perfectly.  For others not so much. They couldn't get their phones to connect at all.  The majority of people didn't seem to know anything about it or be interested in dealing with it. 

[DeepFreeze63]

jeb_bud posted above "I like the idea of using my own phone and earbuds to listen to the guide. The technology is still in its infancy and hopefully they will make improvements in future versions. Our CD on Scenic was happy to receive constructive feedback and will forward it to the people who can do something about it. Probably the same is true on Regent."

 

I too liked it when it worked on Regent! It worked on 1 of 3 my Regent excursions where it was available. Otherwise, its a MAJOR distraction to the operation of the excursion!

I object to paying Regent goodly sums to be a test subject.

During our September cruise on Explorer, absolutely NO ONE asked about our excursion experience with the excursion phone system; NO question about the experience on the new electronic Comment Card.

[wishIweretravelling]

4 hours ago, jeb_bud said:

We were also on Scenic recently, disembarking last Wednesday. On my iPhone XS the sound quality took a big hit when I brought my camera app into the foreground. OTOH on my wife’s iPhone 6s she had no such problems. 

My XR's sound was fine when the camera was in the foreground.  I wonder what makes the difference?

[poss]

Since we own no smartphones or any other kind of gizmos (just an iMac at each of our desks at home), I've been a little concerned about this new way of doing.   Not sure where it'll leave us technological troglodytes.

[Joanandjoe]

23 hours ago, poss said:

Since we own no smartphones or any other kind of gizmos (just an iMac at each of our desks at home), I've been a little concerned about this new way of doing.   Not sure where it'll leave us technological troglodytes.

I couldn't have said it better.  In April I was forced to get a smartphone (Android) because I couldn't get a good new flip phone.  I'm not a fan!  It's nice to have a camera always with me (although I seem to get multiple photos most of the time); but I'm hopeless with aps, and I don't own any headphones (or want to own any). I have Pandora on  my phone, but can't get it to work.

 

Regent management, having guides use aps instead of the transmitter sets we used on our 8/14 to 9/3/10 cruise on the Navigator will work for some people, but won't work for many of us Luddites.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 10/29/2019 at 3:42 PM, Joanandjoe said:

I couldn't have said it better.  In April I was forced to get a smartphone (Android) because I couldn't get a good new flip phone.  I'm not a fan!  It's nice to have a camera always with me (although I seem to get multiple photos most of the time); but I'm hopeless with aps, and I don't own any headphones (or want to own any). I have Pandora on  my phone, but can't get it to work.

 

Regent management, having guides use aps instead of the transmitter sets we used on our 8/14 to 9/3/10 cruise on the Navigator will work for some people, but won't work for many of us Luddites.

 

Too bad Regent doesn't offer classes in this type of thing.  What you need is someone to give you a good lesson in how to use your new phone.  It's possible that you might end up loving it after you got the hang of it.  If you get multiple photos it means your camera app is set to "burst" mode, this can be turned off.

[CruisetheCs]

Using guests' cell phones as audio devices on tours might be a good idea in theory.  But Regent’s implementation is fraught with problems, and having no alternative system for guests is a truly bad idea.

 

By making cell phones the basis for a voice app, Regent seems to have paid no attention to the demographics of its guests and the circumstances under which guests will be using their phones. The Regent app may work well if users are sitting still around a table. But that isn’t the way devices are used on tours.

 

Instead, guests are walking about.  Most guests are simultaneously using their phones to take photos.  Some guests use canes and walking sticks and thus have limited hand use.  Some guests seemingly do not know much about the controls on their phones.  Some guests do not have earphones. Some guests forget to charge their phones.  Some guests have difficulty reading their phone screens. Some guests have tremors or finger limitations making it difficult to switch apps and operate phone controls. And some guests don't have cell phones.

 

Imagine holding onto a cane, trying to switch from the Regent app to the camera with wired earphones attached. Imagine the app disconnecting and having to try to get reconnected with bright light obscuring the screen or with “shaky” fingers and trying to keep up with the tour group at the same time.  Imagine having to turn off the audio or take out your earphones each time you get close to the guide to avoid annoying echoing. Imagine having to do any of these actions when it is raining.

 

The system should have been throughly debugged and field tested before releasing it on such a wide scale. The guides were mostly unfamiliar with the system and of little help. There were no Regent representatives on any of the tours I took during my 14 day cruise. There was no specific survey to get valid feedback about the app.

 

Those with disabilities should be accommodated with appropriate audio devices.  Alternative audio devices should be available for guests who don’t have cell phones or who don’t wish to use their cell phone as a listening device on a tour.

 

This was a poorly conceived and implemented project.  It is not consistent with a "luxury" experience.  

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

23 minutes ago, CruisetheCs said:

Using guests' cell phones as audio devices on tours might be a good idea in theory.  But Regent’s implementation is fraught with problems, and having no alternative system for guests is a truly bad idea.

 

By making cell phones the basis for a voice app, Regent seems to have paid no attention to the demographics of its guests and the circumstances under which guests will be using their phones. The Regent app may work well if users are sitting still around a table. But that isn’t the way devices are used on tours.

 

Instead, guests are walking about.  Most guests are simultaneously using their phones to take photos.  Some guests use canes and walking sticks and thus have limited hand use.  Some guests seemingly do not know much about the controls on their phones.  Some guests do not have earphones. Some guests forget to charge their phones.  Some guests have difficulty reading their phone screens. Some guests have tremors or finger limitations making it difficult to switch apps and operate phone controls. And some guests don't have cell phones.

 

Imagine holding onto a cane, trying to switch from the Regent app to the camera with wired earphones attached. Imagine the app disconnecting and having to try to get reconnected with bright light obscuring the screen or with “shaky” fingers and trying to keep up with the tour group at the same time.  Imagine having to turn off the audio or take out your earphones each time you get close to the guide to avoid annoying echoing. Imagine having to do any of these actions when it is raining.

 

The system should have been throughly debugged and field tested before releasing it on such a wide scale. The guides were mostly unfamiliar with the system and of little help. There were no Regent representatives on any of the tours I took during my 14 day cruise. There was no specific survey to get valid feedback about the app.

 

Those with disabilities should be accommodated with appropriate audio devices.  Alternative audio devices should be available for guests who don’t have cell phones or who don’t wish to use their cell phone as a listening device on a tour.

 

This was a poorly conceived and implemented project.  It is not consistent with a "luxury" experience.  

 

You've laid it out very succinctly, thanks.

[Joanandjoe]

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Too bad Regent doesn't offer classes in this type of thing.  What you need is someone to give you a good lesson in how to use your new phone.  It's possible that you might end up loving it after you got the hang of it.  If you get multiple photos it means your camera app is set to "burst" mode, this can be turned off.

I agree with Cruise the C's comments.  A tour app is a bad idea, given Regent's demographics.  Management, are you reading this thread?

 

Thanks for the comment about turning off "burst".  My multiple exposures did, indeed, say "burst # 1, burst # 2, etc."  However, I don't see a burst setting on my LG Android phone.  I do see an "HDR" setting, but that is turned off. Maybe this setting was on, and I accidentally turned it off, stopping the bursts.

 

As for instruction on my smartphone, it would be nice if it were offered by Regent.  Even a few years ago, the only classes seemed to be for iPhones, not Android.  Now classes on how to use an Android phone don't seem to exist, if they ever did..  Maybe people assume that everyone knows how to use the phones, since the phones have been around for many years; but Joan and I didn't get our phones until this April.  Learning to use them seems hopeless, and we go back to the phone store several times a month because we can't get get certain features to work.  Facial recognition and pairing the phones with our cars both seem hopeless!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

37 minutes ago, Joanandjoe said:

Thanks for the comment about turning off "burst".  My multiple exposures did, indeed, say "burst # 1, burst # 2, etc."  However, I don't see a burst setting on my LG Android phone.  I do see an "HDR" setting, but that is turned off. Maybe this setting was on, and I accidentally turned it off, stopping the bursts.

 

You should be able to go into your Camera app, tap the Menu (the multi-pointed star usually in the top left).  Then you may see "Hold Shutter button to" > "Take burst shot" (or just take a picture), or you might just see an option for "Burst", where you can set or unset the option.  I see mine is the former, and is set to burst if I hold the button down (too long, I presume, so I'm going to unset it!)

[Joanandjoe]

12 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

You should be able to go into your Camera app, tap the Menu (the multi-pointed star usually in the top left).  Then you may see "Hold Shutter button to" > "Take burst shot" (or just take a picture), or you might just see an option for "Burst", where you can set or unset the option.  I see mine is the former, and is set to burst if I hold the button down (too long, I presume, so I'm going to unset it!)

Nope.  The selfie camera menu settings are selfie shot, HDR. gesture view, voice shutter, and help.  The regular camera options are HDR, voice shutter. Scan QR code, Tag locations, grid, and help.  Nothing in help mentions burst.  I may have learned something, at least, by checking these menus.  Perhaps "Scan CR Code" is what you do with those mysterious (and, until now, useless) square codes that we're asked to scan.  Who knows, someday I may learn to scan and deposit a check!

[flossie009]

During the Voyager cruise we are on at present, use of the new excursion app has been inconsistent.

There have been excursions where the guide had the equipment but it wasn’t really needed; there were tours which would have benefited from use of the app but the guide had not been supplied with the transmitter.

Uptake in use of the app by guests has been low (some of the reasons are in post #1), but those who have used it find it to be good quality & useful.

 

Today our guide had been supplied with the transmitter but decided he did not want to carry it around and felt his voice projection would be good enough for the group. He therefore encouraged the bus to “agree” that he would not use it.

In the event, we feel that use of the app would have been useful as the background noise in some of the areas we visited meant listening to the guide without the benefit of amplification & earpieces was very difficult.

It is a shame that those guests on our excursion who could not or would not use the technology, backed the guide, ensured that the technology was not available to any of us.

 

Edited November 1, 2019 by flossie009