Tripcast vs American Explorer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tripcast
Share your travel experiences privately with friends and family. Create trip albums, receive live photo updates, and collect everyone's photos in one place. Browse photos by location and stay connected through comments and likes.
- Live photo updates
- Private trip albums
- Collect photos from multiple users
- Map-based photo browsing
- Location-based photo tagging
- Real-time comments and likes
- Private sharing away from social media
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* Featured as “New and Noteworthy” by Apple * Tripcast lets you share your travel photos with the people who want to see everything, not just the highlights. Start a trip, invite your friends and family to the album, and give them live photo updates from the road! The best way to share your trip: • Make updates instantly: Update your family and friends in real time • Stay in touch: Ask questions, leave comments, and like posts Build an album with everybody: • Vacationers assemble!: Collect everyone's trip photos in one place • Easy backup: Download them all when you get home Map it out: • Effortless tagging: Photos are automatically added to the trip map • Browse by location: View photos by where they happened, not when Everyone is using Tripcast to share their travels: • Keep it private: Share only with the people who care the most, away from social media • Apps for everyone: Access Tripcast through gorgeous apps for iPhone and the web • Bring everyone along: Notifications keep friends and family updated whenever there's activity How it works: 1. Create: Make an album for your trip 2. Invite: Pick friends and family to follow along 3. Update: Post photos and videos as you travel Built by the team that created Cluster, featured as a Best New App in the App Store! Tripcast Club is a monthly or annual subscription to give admins more control over their groups. Check it out by visiting the Settings → Subscription Settings section of the app. By purchasing a subscription you agree to Tripcast's Terms of Use: https://tripcast.co/terms/ and Privacy Policy: https://tripcast.co/privacy/
American Explorer
This official cruise line app provides easy access to daily schedules, shore excursions, dining menus, and ship information. Enhance your cruise experience with real-time updates and connectivity.
- Daily schedules
- Shore excursion details
- Dining menus
- Ship information
- Real-time updates
- Connectivity
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American Explorer is the official onboard app for American Cruise Lines, providing easy access to daily schedules, shore excursions, dining menus, ship information, and more. Designed to keep you informed and connected, American Explorer helps you make the most of every moment of your cruise.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Tripcast at 50% against American Explorer's 0%. Tripcast also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.4) and ratings volume (7.2K vs 17). American Explorer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). 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. Tripcast sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. American Explorer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Tripcast holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tripcast has 7.2K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Tripcast's written reviews are positive against 0% of American Explorer's.
Tripcast ships an update every 2 months, American Explorer every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tripcast | American Explorer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (7.2K ratings) — better | 3.4 (17 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 49.6% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7.2K — better | 17 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #180 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Cluster Labs, Inc. | American Cruise Lines |
Customer experience
Tripcast
American Explorer
Bugs and requests
Tripcast
Reported bugs
5 issues- Invites not being sent to users
- Uploaded photos not displaying properly
- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Account login and access issues
- Inconsistent app behavior across devices
Requested features
5 requests- Allow editing of posts and comments
- Improve photo upload and organization
- Add support for multiple photos per post
- Implement password reset functionality
- Enhance map integration and location tracking
American Explorer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Tripcast
- Tripcast Friend$4.991 Month
- Tripcast Pro$9.991 Month
- Tripcast Friend$49.991 Year
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- Tripcast Pro$99.991 Year
American Explorer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Tripcast free?
Is American Explorer free?
Which has better reviews, Tripcast or American Explorer?
Do Tripcast or American Explorer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Tripcast or American Explorer?
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