Ship vs Hey Dad!
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ship
Connect with fellow travelers before and during your cruise. Plan activities, find dining companions, and build a temporary social community tailored to your specific voyage. Enhance your vacation with organized meetups and shared experiences.
- Voyage-specific community
- Pre-boarding connections
- Activity planning and joining
- Group coordination
- Optional dating toggle
- Profile interest filters
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Transform your cruise into a social adventure with ShipMates, the only social networking app made exclusively for cruise passengers. ShipMates solves a common problem: helping travelers connect before boarding, plan activities together, and avoid exploring or dining alone. Whether you’re sailing solo, as a couple, or with friends, ShipMates creates a temporary social community tailored to your exact voyage. Unlike location-based dating apps, ShipMates is an event-specific social network. You only see passengers on your exact cruise—same ship, same dates, same ports—giving you a private, focused community. Once you add your cruise, you can instantly connect with fellow passengers, organize activities, coordinate excursions, and build your group prior to departure. The heart of ShipMates is Activity Planning, where users create or join group activities for anything onboard or ashore. Activities can be public or private, making it easy to coordinate plans, split costs, or simply find people who share your interests. ShipMates also includes an optional, fully-disableable dating toggle, but the primary purpose of the platform is social connection—finding friends, activity partners, dinner companions, or excursion buddies. Profile filters prioritize travel style, cruise experience, and shared interests to help you connect with the right people. By letting passengers connect before the cruise begins, ShipMates eliminates the awkward first-day scramble and ensures you start your vacation with a group, a plan, or at least a familiar face. ShipMates is not a dating app, not location-based, and not a permanent network. It’s a voyage-specific community platform designed to enhance your cruise through meaningful, purpose-driven connections—and nothing else offers this combination. Make your cruise more social, organized, and memorable. Download ShipMates today.
Hey Dad!
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Welcome to Hey Dad! A supportive community built for dads at every stage—from expecting to seasoned fatherhood. Connect with dads like you - Join groups by interests and dad stage - Meet local dads through meetups - Message other dads 1:1 for advice and friendship Share and learn - Post wins, questions, and real-life moments - Discover tips and support from the community Hey Dad+ (optional subscription) - Upgrade to Hey Dad+ to unlock premium features and get the most out of the app. Subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy & Support We’re committed to keeping Hey Dad! safe and respectful. If you have feedback or need help, contact us anytime. Privacy Policy: https://theheydadapp.com/privacy.html Support: https://theheydadapp.com/support.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ship at none against Hey Dad!'s 2. Hey Dad!'s advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 3 days) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Hey Dad! sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Ship asks for nothing beyond the download.
Ship ships an update every 3 days, Hey Dad! daily. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ship | Hey Dad! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | James Goodyear | Malachi Patrick |
In-app purchases
Ship
No in-app purchases
Hey Dad!
- Hey Dad+ Member$4.991 Month
- Hey Dad+ Yearly$39.991 Year









