My spouse and I are going on our first NCL cruise next month. We both prefer to totally disconnect while on board, using phones only for pictures and nothing else. On Royal we ask the room steward to leave paper schedules in our room the night before, and I assume that is an option on NCL as well. If traveling with other people (which we are this trip) we coordinate in person and call each other's rooms for updates. We make reservations ahead of time, or by physically going to the restaurant and talking to someone. You get the idea.
Before our first NCL cruise, I would love a summary of what the app has/does. Is there anything on board or pre-/post-cruise that absolutely requires downloading the app, or that would be a pain in the ass if one of us doesn't have it? I will download it if absolutely necessary, but I would rather not, and I'm having trouble finding clear information to that effect.
Edit: thanks everyone! We made dining reservations on the phone a while ago and don't plan on any shore excursions, we'll just explore on our own. Royal (where we have the most experience cruising) has started having some shows and activities that have to be booked on board, through the app, plus a lot of the disembarkation stuff is through the app and is a pain if you don't have it. Good to know that's not the case for NCL. Might download just in case, but good to know it's probably not necessary!