Leaving your phone on the ship

[SewMuch]

Plenty of people don't take their phones with them when they go onshore, which I understand. My old flip phone wouldn't support an international plan even if I wanted one. I now have a smart phone so I guess I would keep it with me - certainly for our next cruise to Alaska. But what would you do in an emergency in the Caribbean, big or small? Ask a local to call? Is it possible to buy and activate a local phone with paid minutes?

[leaveitallbehind]

I always have my phone with me both on board and especially in ports of call. I never leave it on the ship and not sure why anyone would. I use it as my camera, my watch, as well as to have the ability to call someone as an option or to use in case of an emergency. I would not depend on someone else unknown to me on shore to support that for me.

 

In an emergency I would likely call the ship's port agent, who's name and contact information is published on the ship's daily information sheet, and seek assistance from them. That is part of their function with the ship. We always take that with us off ship as well just in case.

 

BTW, check with your carrier as most offer short term international cruise calling and text plans that are reasonably priced and provide for international service both on the ship and in ports of call.

Edited April 29, 2017 by leaveitallbehind

[Hlitner]

I am trying to understand how I lived (and traveled extensively) for nearly 50 years without a cell phone :). But somehow we did manage...and managed quite well. So what do you do in an emergency without a phone? Just ask somebody for help (they will likely have a phone). Now we have an iPhone with T-Moble which means it works just about everywhere in the world (except Japan). In the Caribbean we generally do not take our phone off the ship because we spend a lot of time on beaches and in the water....where a phone is a liability. Our major exception in the Caribbean (or elsewhere) is we always take our phone if we have a rental car. Love its GPS functions and its handy for finding the nearest gas staton. In Europe, Asia,,Africa, etc. we do take our phone.

 

Hank

[leaveitallbehind]

I am trying to understand how I lived (and traveled extensively) for nearly 50 years without a cell phone :). But somehow we did manage...and managed quite well. So what do you do in an emergency without a phone? Just ask somebody for help (they will likely have a phone). Now we have an iPhone with T-Moble which means it works just about everywhere in the world (except Japan). In the Caribbean we generally do not take our phone off the ship because we spend a lot of time on beaches and in the water....where a phone is a liability. Our major exception in the Caribbean (or elsewhere) is we always take our phone if we have a rental car. Love its GPS functions and its handy for finding the nearest gas staton. In Europe, Asia,,Africa, etc. we do take our phone.

 

Hank

 

Agree completely! I used to work exclusively from my home for a number of years where FedEx, Fax (when introduced) and phone (standard variety) was my entire means of business support. But now that I have my smartphone, I use it for the value and tools it provides (many of which you outline) and very rarely am without it. On the beach it is kept in a watertight container with other things we have, but is still with me. To me because it is so much more than just a phone (which ironically with most millennials is the least used function) as said I have it with me at all times. But that is just my preference.

[Robinsoncruiseso]

In port, in an emergency, many tour operators have phone which call the US and I assume would let you use in an emergency.

 

I use a $10 watch set to ship time and a camera with wi-fi while on shore.

[NLH Arizona]

I would do the same thing I did before cell phones, ask someone for help.

[cb at sea]

If you have a TRUE emergency, the cost of a call won't matter one bit. We take our phones ashore, unless we're doing a beach day only.

We don't use the phone at all on the ship....it's turned off, even when ashore! Unless, of course, we're in St. Thomas or Puerto Rico...both support US calling.

[WatchHill]

I am trying to understand how I lived (and traveled extensively) for nearly 50 years without a cell phone :). But somehow we did manage...and managed quite well. So what do you do in an emergency without a phone? Just ask somebody for help (they will likely have a phone). Now we have an iPhone with T-Moble which means it works just about everywhere in the world (except Japan). In the Caribbean we generally do not take our phone off the ship because we spend a lot of time on beaches and in the water....where a phone is a liability. Our major exception in the Caribbean (or elsewhere) is we always take our phone if we have a rental car. Love its GPS functions and its handy for finding the nearest gas staton. In Europe, Asia,,Africa, etc. we do take our phone.

 

Hank

 

I, too, often wonder how we survived without a cell phone for decades, not to mention booking a suite for the 2-port holes - a balcony was unheard of.

 

Since we are frequently in NH and drive rather close to Canada, I have North American plan with Verizon. So, our Alaska cruises & road trips are no longer an issue when in that region. With this, I can also use the phone in Bermuda and the Caribbean. When we travel to Europe, I notify Verizon and add International calling. Last trip I switched off airplane mode as I was sitting on LHR Express into London; the phone immediately beeped with a welcome message. I comes in handy as we always do a week-long road trip before a cruise.

 

I use my iphone contact number when booking private tours. We were approaching Belfast, the tour operator called me to say the ship wasn't going to make it on time due to wind, current and tide. An hour later the ship announced we would not dock until late afternoon and all ship tours were cancelled, but would remain in port until 11:PM. So very happy we booked a private tour and our driver was there waiting for us. In Edinburgh, I was able to call our private tour driver to let him know where we were so he could find us for our ride back to the ship.

 

Darcy

[champagne123]

Many places also have free Wi-Fi. So if you do not get the ships package, you can touch base with what ever you need to do. I never leave the ship without mine. TONS OF PICS! :cool:

[Z'Loth]

Who would you want to leave your smart phone behind on your ship? It also doubles as a camera. If you have it set up correctly, you can then upload the photos to either Dropbox or a Plex media server when you are on a WiFi connection.

 

Also, Google Maps allows you to download maps in offline mode. They also just issued an update where you can tap on the blue dot and save your parking space and set the time until the meter expires. Now.... how can I use that to avoid participating in that well-known cruise sport called "Pier Running"?

 

Also, there are audiobooks and music to listen to. ;)

[Flatbush Flyer]

Don't forget the maplets app: offline maps - many of which are gps enabled.

 

 

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[easyboy]

I always bring my cell phone in port and use it as a camera. I carry it on my fanny pack.

[champagne123]

I always bring my cell phone in port and use it as a camera. I carry it on my fanny pack.

Hahahahhahahahahaha and eewwwwwwwwwww:loudcry:

[Nebr.cruiser]

I'm really not into the whole phone thing and use ours mostly just for calls and some texting. I don't use it on board the ship and usually don't take it ashore, unless we really need to for some reason; for instance in St. Thomas this December we had to make calls due to a family emergency.

 

I use actual cameras rather than my phone and just don't want to bother with all the other gadgets; haven't used them in port yet; I can see the value of GPS I guess, but we navigate the old fashioned way, mostly.

 

I know this is old school, but so am I! I kind of think it's sad to see so many people staring at their phone in the most spectacular places.

[SantaFeFan]

I'm really not into the whole phone thing and use ours mostly just for calls and some texting. I don't use it on board the ship and usually don't take it ashore, unless we really need to for some reason; for instance in St. Thomas this December we had to make calls due to a family emergency.

 

I use actual cameras rather than my phone and just don't want to bother with all the other gadgets; haven't used them in port yet; I can see the value of GPS I guess, but we navigate the old fashioned way, mostly.

 

I know this is old school, but so am I! I kind of think it's sad to see so many people staring at their phone in the most spectacular places.

 

I agree. I leave my phone in my safe when on board and going ashore. I have never missed it and nor have I ever wished I had it on me. For photos, I use a real camera, not my smart phone's. Real cameras are much more capable, take better photos, and are easier to use. As for using my phone as maps, I much prefer the excellent travel books available. They are easier to read, quicker to find things, and they never run out of battery power. For time, I prefer a watch. A simple, quick glance will tell me what I want to know without having to reach into my pocket, pull my phone out, and then turn it on.

 

No, I am not anti technology. I just bought the latest Samsung Galaxy S8, which just came out a week ago, to replace my Galaxy S6 edge which I also bought as soon as it came out. But even though I have the newest and best phone available today, I still won't allow myself be held captive my an addiction to these devices. They have their purposes, but when I travel, I prefer to focus on where I am, not on my phone.

[slidergirl]

I am trying to understand how I lived (and traveled extensively) for nearly 50 years without a cell phone :). But somehow we did manage...and managed quite well. So what do you do in an emergency without a phone? Just ask somebody for help (they will likely have a phone). Now we have an iPhone with T-Moble which means it works just about everywhere in the world (except Japan). In the Caribbean we generally do not take our phone off the ship because we spend a lot of time on beaches and in the water....where a phone is a liability. Our major exception in the Caribbean (or elsewhere) is we always take our phone if we have a rental car. Love its GPS functions and its handy for finding the nearest gas staton. In Europe, Asia,,Africa, etc. we do take our phone.

 

Hank

 

Yep. My iPhone is from T-Mo also. All the cool travelers have T-Mo ;-)

The last thing my iPhone is used for is it's phone. Seriously. I have a very small list of people, a handful really, that have that number. It is my ICE phone. If someone wants to get in touch with me, they can call my home phone and leave a message if I'm not there.

I prefer my iPhone for looking up information on a place rather than looking like a clueless tourist who pulls out the guide book in a public location. I love the map functions that lay out a walking path for me and changes on the fly with new directions if I mess up. I LOVE the Google Translate app so I can read signs and menus easily (love the feature where you use the onboard camera to point at the sign and it magically translates the words on the sign!) I'm not so much into taking tourist sight photos - I can buy a professionally done card for those. But, the phone camera comes in handy for shooting on-the-fly food porn or a cute animal sitting in the shade that would bolt if I had to take the time to pull out my camera, take off the lens cap, adjust the focus, adjust the length...

If I'm going to the beach, I'll leave the phone, but take my iTouch. Has everything but a phone, and has all my music on it. I have it in a waterproof pouch and it will go in the water with me if I'm just dipping. I'm I'm diving in, or snorkeling, I will keep it onboard just because I don't have waterproof headphones...

And, I do drive extensively around outside the US - the GPS and mapping features are too valuable to leave at home or in a safe on a ship!

Just because I used to something one way in the past does not mean that I cannot embrace new things that come around.

[zqvol]

Plenty of people don't take their phones with them when they go onshore, which I understand. My old flip phone wouldn't support an international plan even if I wanted one. I now have a smart phone so I guess I would keep it with me - certainly for our next cruise to Alaska. But what would you do in an emergency in the Caribbean, big or small? Ask a local to call? Is it possible to buy and activate a local phone with paid minutes?

 

Lots of us spent large portions of our lives without cell phones being available, not having a phone is not a big deal.

[Z'Loth]

For photos, I use a real camera, not my smart phone's. Real cameras are much more capable, take better photos, and are easier to use. As for using my phone as maps, I much prefer the excellent travel books available. They are easier to read, quicker to find things, and they never run out of battery power.

 

You are making it sound like a either/or situation when, in fact, it's more of a complimentary situation. You just need to know how to effective use the tools that are available to you.

 

Take the camera, for instance. Having your smart phone camera nearby doesn't prevent you from using a real camera, and some cases, the smart phone cameras are darned good. In some areas, however, it is more convenient to use the smart phone camera over the regular camera.

 

Using the maps app help you know exactly where you are where trying to locate that place mentioned in that tour book, and using apps like Yelp, Zomato, and TripAdvisor help in locating some local restaurants and places to visit. Not to mention, the time estimate to walk or drive to that location or back to the ship.

 

I also have PDFs of my cruise documents, hotel documents, airline info, and (during the trip) passport info pages stored in a Google Drive folder which I can access from my phone and tablet. It doesn't replace the physical copies, naturally, but makes it easy to locate the information.

 

For time, I prefer a watch. A simple, quick glance will tell me what I want to know without having to reach into my pocket, pull my phone out, and then turn it on.

 

Please don't tell me you turn your phone off completely, and have to wait a couple of minutes to become available.

[Z'Loth]

Lots of us spent large portions of our lives without cell phones being available, not having a phone is not a big deal.

 

Like the first half of my life? I didn't get a mobile phone until 1995, and back then, the plan was 50 peak minutes/300 off-peak/weekend minutes. I even got told that when I got my first phone bill, I was going to end up putting that mobile phone in a drawer for a long long time. They were, of course, wrong, because I knew that 50 peak minutes was precious little time. In 2003, I shut down the landline and went cellphone only.

 

When I was growing up, you always kept a dime (and then a quarter) to use the pay phone. At it's peak, there were 2.6 million pay phones installed in the United States in 1995. As of 2012, the number of pay phones installed and reported to the FCC is 243,487, with the major carriers having exited the pay phone business. So, what do you do in case of an emergency while on a port day nowadays?

It is true that the last time I took a cruise in 2005, my phone spent the week powered down in my room's safe as on-ship cell service was non-existant. Twelve years later has seen better mobile plans (including international plans), better cameras on phones, and even the introduction of smart phones with the iPhone in June, 2007 and Android in September, 2008.

 

Have I seen the ship rates for WiFi and Cell Phone service? Yes, I have, and they look confiscatory to me. My plan was to use the airplane mode on board anyways.

[SantaFeFan]

Please don't tell me you turn your phone off completely' date=' and have to wait a couple of minutes to become available.[/quote']

 

Well, yes, as a matter of fact, it is off. Since it is in the safe, it doesn't need to be on. ;p

 

Seriously, I keep it on when I have it with me. But, a watch is still much more convenient for telling time. Tilting my wrist to see the face of a watch is much more convenient than digging in my pants pocket for my phone, waking up and unlocking the phone (no way would I not have my phone's security feature on at all times!), and then - FINALLY - I can check the time. Which is something that I can do in much less time with a watch on my wrist. Using a phone to tell time reminds me of a Rube Goldberg device - too many steps to do a basic function. ;)

[Z'Loth]

Tilting my wrist to see the face of a watch is much more convenient than digging in my pants pocket for my phone, waking up and unlocking the phone (no way would I not have my phone's security feature on at all times!), and then - FINALLY - I can check the time. Which is something that I can do in much less time with a watch on my wrist. Using a phone to tell time reminds me of a Rube Goldberg device - too many steps to do a basic function. ;)

 

Check your screen saver settings for the lock screen then. Mine is set to "Clock", which means that I just hit the power the power button or even wave my hand over my screen and up pops the time.

 

Also, unless you have one of those watches that sets itself automatically, your watch is prone to "clock drift" where it adds or subtracts a few seconds each day. I gave up on watches because of this. Not as much on a cruise (and geez, how hard is it to get a el cheapo digital watch on board ship), but very much for my job. Needless to say, I live "and die" based upon my Google Calendar.

 

Now, as I stated in a previous post, I can use my smart phone for multiple function, not just telling time.

[hancock]

If you are out of country and need to keep in contact with home, try downloading the WhatsApp. Have someone at home download it as well. As long as you have access to WiFi, you will be able to text and call from anywhere to someone who also has the app. Daughter used it to call her bro from Croatia to keep us informed while she was away.

[calliopecruiser]

I love my smartphone when I'm traveling, though I admit if I were taking a tour it wouldn't be as big a deal. For being on my own in port, it's wonderful, even if I can't make phone calls. As others have said, if you need to make a call in an emergency, there are people to ask for help or choose to eat the cost because it's an emergency.

 

 

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[luvtheships]

The reason people survived without cell phones is simple...they just didn't exist so that argument is now moot

 

But now they exist and are not all that expensive to use worldwide.

 

For beaches you get water proof pouches

 

Honestly if you have a cell you take it into port

 

If you don't have a cell...it's time to get one

 

 

 

 

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[luvtheships]

Lots of us spent large portions of our lives without cell phones being available, not having a phone is not a big deal.

 

 

It's 2017 now

 

 

Not 1975

 

Lots of people spent theirs lives without lots of things

 

Because they didn't exist

 

I bet your parents (or grandparents )survived without a tv too...but then I also bet they eventually got one

 

 

 

 

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Edited May 1, 2017 by luvtheships