Carnival HUBSafe

Editor's Review

Book a Carnival cruise and the HUB app becomes something you check several times a day once aboard. Before sailing it holds the reservation, the check-in process, boarding documents and the countdown. On the ship it turns into the daily programme, showing what is happening where, which restaurants are open and which excursions still have space.

What surprises first-time cruisers is that the app keeps working at sea. It runs over the ship's own network rather than the open internet, so schedules, deck plans and account balances stay reachable without buying a Wi-Fi package. Onboard chat between people in your party is the exception, sold as a paid add-on charged per person for the voyage, which is worth settling before everyone boards.

Outside a booking there is nothing to do here, and that is the honest limit. The 4.56 average across five million installs comes from people using it in the single context it was designed for. Complaints usually concern sign-in before departure and syncing after a reservation has just been changed, both of which tend to settle once you are on the ship.

Features

• Booking details, check-in and boarding documents

• Daily onboard schedule of activities and dining

• Deck plans and venue opening hours

• Shore excursion browsing and booking

• Paid onboard chat with others in your party

Pros

• Works over the ship's network at sea without an internet package

• Replaces the printed daily programme with a searchable schedule

Cons

• Nothing to use without an active Carnival reservation

• Onboard chat carries a separate per-person charge

• Sign-in and reservation syncing are the recurring pre-cruise complaints

Questions people ask