Poll - Experience with Smartguide App?

[toolworker]

We used something similar to Smartguide on a Scenic river cruise a year ago. I'm wondering if it's been improved.

Edited December 4, 2022 by toolworker

[jeb_bud]

We had some issues, similar to Scenic, but so much better hearing the guide with some drop-outs than not hearing them at all because we weren’t Siamese twins. 

[toolworker]

The Regent info page instructions say "After placing your phone in Flight/Airplane Mode, open the app." So will the app block sending and receiving texts? I need that to coordinate with others in our group.

[JMARINER]

The app is no longer being used. The ShorEx department told me, in November, on Splendor, that they had too many problems, specifically with explaining to pax how to manage the app.

 

j

[flossie009]

6 hours ago, JMARINER said:

The app is no longer being used. The ShorEx department told me, in November, on Splendor, that they had too many problems, specifically with explaining to pax how to manage the app.

 

j

That is a shame. The few times we used the app pre-covid it enhanced our experience and was easy to use.

Some guests, and some guides, preferred not to use the technology, for various reasons 🤨

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by flossie009

[Gilly]

I hope it will be replaced with something more suited to Regent's requirements.  A couple of our tours on Voyager in the Adriatic were less successful than we hoped mainly because the guides just could not manage a group and offer a commentary on walking tours.

[jeb_bud]

22 hours ago, toolworker said:

The Regent info page instructions say "After placing your phone in Flight/Airplane Mode, open the app." So will the app block sending and receiving texts? I need that to coordinate with others in our group.

I don’t think the app would block texting, but not having cellular might. If you could set up a peer to peer WiFi network with your group you should be able to text. Or you could leave cellular on, pay the international connection fee and text to your heart’s content. 
 

On a recent cruise I stayed connected for business reasons and was able to use maps and browse the web while listening to the guide. I’m sure I could have texted too. 
 

If Jamariner’s info from Splendor is correct for the fleet then this is all moot of course. 

[NCCruzQueen]

Have just gotten off a 3 month  cruise on Splendor, we used the Smartguide app once and it worked fine.  Wish it could have been used more, but I think that those tour companies that use similar devices prefer their own.  Also passengers have not previously downloaded the app and have issues first using it or don't have a Smart phone or knowledge to use it.  Too many logistical issues.  

[toolworker]

I wonder if the folks who liked the app stuck close to the guide. The app I used disconnected whenever I got more than 100 feet or so away. That happened often because I like to take photos. Reconnecting was fiddly and often took a minute or two, despite my technical expertise. So most of the time I was either not hearing the guide or trying to reconnect.

Some years ago, on a Rhine cruise that used dedicated wireless units, our tour got to the main square in Bonn. There was a flea market, so my wife and I wandered through it and bought something, hearing the guide all the while. When the signal started to fade, we looked around, saw where the group was leaving the square, and caught up. Can't do that with a wifi app!

 

1 hour ago, jeb_bud said:

Or you could leave cellular on, pay the international connection fee and text to your heart’s content.

We have T-Mobile. Free texting and data, $0.25/minute calling, almost everywhere outside the U.S. Some plans include 5 Gb high speed data per month.

[wishIweretravelling]

On the poll, I marked “other problems” on #2 because there wasn’t a way to mark “no problems.”

 

 

[wishIweretravelling]

On 12/6/2022 at 2:16 PM, toolworker said:

The Regent info page instructions say "After placing your phone in Flight/Airplane Mode, open the app." So will the app block sending and receiving texts? I need that to coordinate with others in our group.

I think what they were trying to say there was that the app will work even if you are in airplane mode, since it operates via blue tooth rather than cellular or wifi.  I’ve never had a problem with receiving texts or calls while using Bluetooth for other applications, so I wouldn’t think it would be a problem with the app. 

 

That being said, Splendor rarely used the app on the cruise I just disembarked.

[toolworker]

48 minutes ago, wishIweretravelling said:

On the poll, I marked “other problems” on #2 because there wasn’t a way to mark “no problems.”

It wouldn't let you leave them all unchecked? Sorry about that - it's my first poll.

 

42 minutes ago, wishIweretravelling said:

I think what they were trying to say there was that the app will work even if you are in airplane mode, since it operates via blue tooth rather than cellular or wifi.  I’ve never had a problem with receiving texts or calls while using Bluetooth for other applications, so I wouldn’t think it would be a problem with the app. 

 

That being said, Splendor rarely used the app on the cruise I just disembarked.

It works on wifi.

I started up the app to check this. When connecting, it displayed the wifi calling (telephone over wifi) icon in my notification area. So it's using that feature, and I'd guess it needs to be in airplane mode so that incoming or outgoing calls don't try to use the same feature.

 

After exiting from the app, the icon was still there, so the app remains alive and controlling at least one of the phone's settings. I had to kill the app to get rid of it. And then of course remember to take it out of airplane mode. Not ready for prime time.

Edited December 7, 2022 by toolworker

[wishIweretravelling]

1 hour ago, toolworker said:

It wouldn't let you leave them all unchecked? Sorry about that - it's my first poll.

 

It works on wifi.

I started up the app to check this. When connecting, it displayed the wifi calling (telephone over wifi) icon in my notification area. So it's using that feature, and I'd guess it needs to be in airplane mode so that incoming or outgoing calls don't try to use the same feature.

 

After exiting from the app, the icon was still there, so the app remains alive and controlling at least one of the phone's settings. I had to kill the app to get rid of it. And then of course remember to take it out of airplane mode. Not ready for prime time.

It can't work on wifi when you're on an excursion because there is no wifi to connect to. It operates on bluetooth when away from wifi.

[flossie009]

I understood that the Regent Smartguide app connected to a local Wi-Fi network generated by the guide’s piece of kit (which some guides did not want to carry)

 

Academic now if Regent has decided to retire the system 😕

 

 

 

[JMARINER]

On 12/7/2022 at 2:02 AM, flossie009 said:

That is a shame. The few times we used the app pre-covid it enhanced our experience and was easy to use.

Some guests, and some guides, preferred not to use the technology, for various reasons 🤨

 

 

 

 

 

AFAIK there were several problems that the pax had. First, the app seems to work differently for IOS and Android, some of the guides were not familiar with one, or the other. Second, the app would inadvertently get shut off when pax were switching between photos and switching to another app, like text or emailing. Lastly, as you mentioned, some guests are not technology savvy enough to make the app work, change settings, make sure phone/ear-pods wee charged etc. It would cause  a lot of annoyance to the other guests and the guide when someone would interrupt the presentation (constantly) that the could hear, the phone wasn't working, etc, and the guide would have to stop and fix the guest phone.

 

My sense it that the ShorEx crew has gotten tired of fixing/setting up guests phones, and of the myriad of complaints.

 

Me, I like it for the most part. The last time I used the app was in Ephesus, last fall on Splendor. The range was fairly good ans was the clarity. But I don't think the App system works any better than the guide supplied whisper boxes.

 

J

[Sailor Sam 407]

I spoke to the Mariner GM the other day. According to her, the app was not functioning properly and they will go back to the drawing board and hopefully fix it. Their intention is to bring it back, once they’ve ironed out all the bugs.
In the meantime, she said they would start using the ‘whisper’ system throughout the fleet. 
 

[toolworker]

If the user gets out of range and the connection to the guide drops, does the app reconnect automatically when back in range? Or does the user have to do something?

[Gilly]

Our experience was that it reconnected automatically.  When we last used it, I had forgotten to bring my wireless earbuds, so I wore one of dh's in my left ear and he wore the other one in his right ear.  It all worked beautifully as long as we remembered to stand on the correct side of each other.  When we forgot, all went quiet...so we did a quick shuffle back into place and BINGO! Sound and commentary restored!

[CruisetheCs]

 

9 hours ago, toolworker said:

If the user gets out of range and the connection to the guide drops, does the app reconnect automatically when back in range? Or does the user have to do something?

Reconnecting could be problematic when I last used the app (before Covid).  I did't have a problem initially connecting, but if a connection was lost during a tour, sometimes reconnecting could be difficult requiring fiddling with restarting network or app or both.  Glad to hear they are looking at a fix or new app according to Sailor Sam 407.

 

On my Alaska cruise in May of 2022, I don't think the app was used at all.  I never saw any mention of it among the tours.

[toolworker]

1 hour ago, CruisetheCs said:

 

I did't have a problem initially connecting, but if a connection was lost during a tour, sometimes reconnecting could be difficult requiring fiddling with restarting network or app or both.

That was my experience with the app I used on Scenic last year. I suspect the people for whom the app worked better stayed close to the group and didn't have a lot of disconnections.

 

IMHO they should not put the app back in use until it is able to reconnect automatically without requiring user intervention.

 

Even if that's accomplished, I would rather have the Whisper, for a number of reasons. One is that the app will always require the user to be closer to the guide than a Whisper. Wifi range is at most 92 meters (100') outdoors. Whisper claims up to 300 meters. And of course it reconnects automatically.