Seven days on the ship without my Cell Phone, PDA and INTERNET.. is so strange

[conversationist]

In the 21st Century many of us are afraid to not be connected all the time. I can not picture a day this century that I have not sent an email, checked the Internet, sent a text message or talked on my Cell Phone.

 

When I go on a cruise later this month I am not bringing my cell phone, or plan to go on line the entire time. I understand the ships have computers but they are so expensive and my Cell Phone would work but with huge roaming fees.

 

Any other first time cruisers have a hard time surviving without these things?

[fantavet]

That is why a cruise is so relaxing! Your brain gets "wired" doing all these things like the internet, cell phones, checking email etc....

 

There is a mental tax to all that, it sounds stupid but your brain is constantly working with all that stuff.

 

But now you are on a deck chair, sun is shining, and NOTHING. No thinking. You will be amazed how you will feel by getting away from LIFE for 7 days.

 

But you don't have to completely stay away from the real world either. You should be able to get CNN in your room and I remember RCCL had some headline stories from some mainland newspapers faxed and available to be picked up for you to read.

[sk8teacher]

When I go on vacation, I am ON vacation. My cell phone is off once the mooring lines are cast off. I do check my personal email once per day as we have our oldest granddaughter living with us (shes 20 years old), and that is how she can reach us if she has a question. We leave a complete list of contacts for her in case something happens.

 

And I never agree to do any work related things during my vacation. There is always somebody that can do my job while I am gone. Too many people think that they must stay in contact with their company while on vacation. IF that is true, then you are not on vacation. You are simply telecommuting.

 

We as a society work too many hours as it is, and we need downtime. So go on your cruise, turn off the cell phone/pda/whatever, and relax!

 

Cheers,

[walkswife]

It is the best feeling in the world...... no one can bother you, no one can call you about meaningless things and you just relax......

 

2nd best thing..... no cooking and no cleaning for a week!!!!!!

[johnql]

I have absolutely no problem getting unwired. The harder to reach, the better.

[Kerry&LuAnn]

The first day we usually felt as though we needed to stay in touch with people back home. But by the second day we were so immersed in the cruise experience that we thought no more about it!

[EggDropErin]

My father had this "problem" when he and my mother cruised with us for the first time last month. He is a minister, and he has NEVER (even when he's been hospitalized) been out of touch with his congregation. He was very nervous about being out of touch with the world, but once he got onboard, that all just kind of seemed to slip away. I think he and my mother had one of the best, most relaxing vacation they've ever had. It was also probably the longest vacation they've ever had because no one was able to interrupt it. I think he was very pleased with the trip, and he was surprised at how well he did without having a phone glued to his ear or a computer in front of him.

[klct39lg]

My husband and I really enjoyed being out of reach. Princess's "Escape Completely" motto was exactly what we wanted. It is sooo nice to let it all go for awhile.:)

[bububr]

I don't own a cell or PDA. Even better I don't want one.

 

I've made it to 42 years travelling extensively...and am doing just fine.

 

Obviously I have a PC. Actually a laptop that I can tuck away when I don't need to check my e-mail or post on Cruisecritic.

 

I have a 19" diagonal TV....in the basement.

 

And my Ford Ranger has windows that you have to roll up manually, and its a 5 speed.

 

So I don't miss technology, or the prevalent overuse of it and the EXCUSES that go with ABUSES of it.

 

Sometimes life is better without all the accessories.

 

Besides, without all of the extra money going to gadgets and tech companies I can easily afford to go on more and longer vacations, and spend my money on things I enjoy as opposed to just bills.

 

Dave:eek:

[rinakop]

Due to the nature of my husband's business (and us being the sole owners), he has to check in on it - it kind of helps upon returning and walking into a black hole of mistakes, unanswered questions, some direction, wjhatever. We do alot of preparations and guidelines - we'll check in maybe 2 or 3 times during our week away. Real quick - maybe 10 -15 mins. We checked with Verizon and when we get to the islands, it's cheaper ($.69/min. in USVI, $1.29/min. in BVI & DR) than calling from the ship itself ($2.29/min). Sometimes he'll surprise me and not check in at all. My oldest daughter, 24, is not going with us this time and my father-in-law is very ill, he'll probably check in a couple of times. He'll wait and call in the evening usually. We shall see - :cool:

[eyzwdeshut]

I don't own a cell or PDA. Even better I don't want one.

 

I've made it to 42 years travelling extensively...and am doing just fine.

 

Obviously I have a PC. Actually a laptop that I can tuck away when I don't need to check my e-mail or post on Cruisecritic.

 

I have a 19" diagonal TV....in the basement.

 

And my Ford Ranger has windows that you have to roll up manually, and its a 5 speed.

 

So I don't miss technology, or the prevalent overuse of it and the EXCUSES that go with ABUSES of it.

 

Sometimes life is better without all the accessories.

 

Besides, without all of the extra money going to gadgets and tech companies I can easily afford to go on more and longer vacations, and spend my money on things I enjoy as opposed to just bills.

 

Dave:eek:

 

 

Then again, some of us wouldn't have jobs without this technology. I guess it's a good & bad thing...

[bububr]

"Then again, some of us wouldn't have jobs without this technology"

 

And it great that you do have jobs because of it!:D

 

But a vacation is not a job. And I have no problem with the idea of people having to make important or emergency calls discreatly.

 

Unfortunately, most feel they are the most important people in the world and not only install annoying ringtones turned up at full volume, but the shout into their phones.....this behavior does not belong on a vacation because it simply diminishes the vacation of people around them.

 

However we've become a selfish, rude, self serving society where we don't give a crap if we impose on others ..........so it might be hard to stop the ball from rolling any further. Recently I've seen people texting while at dinner as well as parents throwing dvd players and game boys at their children in restaurants to occupy them. In my day it was about manners and respect, today its about lazy parents that just don't want to deal and don't really care.

 

BTW: I am a business owner also. Before I leave I inform my clients and suppliers that I will be unreachable from X to Y. If something comes up they can leave a message on my answering machine, I'll get back to them as soon as possible. Most understand , the ones that don't can go somewhere else for services. I don't allow my customers to dictate my life.

 

Dave:eek:

[KKB]

I am a news junkie! I check these boards daily...a good hour (sometimes more:p ) purusing the web! I call my mom driving home from work each day...I watch the news before bed each night, listen to the news on the way to work, read the paper at lunch....

I was AMAZED how liberating it was to NOT have these features easily at my beck each day! We did email kids twice, with internet spotty at best. CNN international is very repetative...daily Patters helped my paper withdrawal. Frankly cell was used on embarkation/disembarkation days only.

I do recall how amazing it felt! ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jroth31]

I will not need the internet while on the cruise. The only thing that I do on it now is obsessively read every post that I can on Cruise Critic!!

I love this place!!!!

I am excited to find out how much I WONT miss the cell phone, computer, internet. ((Although I will need to check in with the kiddos, I WILL miss them!))

[theothermadsnowman]

I dont know if it is so much strange as it is refreshing. I can safely say as a person tied to life with a cellphone there are times that i enjoy not having it. infact if my job did'nt require me to have one i would'nt. call me a hermit and i will say "yeah and the problem is?"

[celbercrz333]

I've cruised twice and it's wonderful to thrown back to an age where computers, e-mail, cell phones and PDAs don't exist. You do other things that make your life full--go to the theatres on board, go to ice carving demonstrations, trivia game contests, the casino, the pool, etc. And then once you arrive at your destination you go sightseeing, snorkling, golfing, swimming at exotic locations, etc. We only used the computers on board once on each trip to let everyone at home know we were ok. The second cruise we were Nassau bound but a hurricane was there. My mom was worried for us. She could have called the 1 800 number but she didn't. I e-mailed my kids to let them know we were ok. Other than that you have plenty to do or do nothing at all. It's a different world.

[NAS-KARR]

I'm with you dude !

Born and raised in Austin(area)next door.

 

 

CIAO,

[CaribbeanBound]

Enjoy it.

 

I refuse to take my phone or use a computer while I am on a cruise. It's downright liberating.

[TanyaAri]

We're going on the NCL Pearl the next week, and taking our 3 y/o son with us, but leaving our 8 month old daughter w/ mom-in-law for the week. My wife will have a hard time being away from the baby for the first time for more than 10 hours...

 

Luckily, we'll be in south Florida Saturday and Sunday, and will be able to call from Cozumel on Tuesday.

 

I have a Palm Treo, and conduct tons and tons of business on it. I will feel naked w/o it on my belt, but hey, we're on vacation, and someone else will be able to take care of my work for me!

 

I was also told that the cruise line (at least NCL) gives an onboard email address for any kinds of emergencies? Is this correct?

[wraithe]

When I go on vacation, I am ON vacation. My cell phone is off once the mooring lines are cast off. I do check my personal email once per day as we have our oldest granddaughter living with us (shes 20 years old), and that is how she can reach us if she has a question. We leave a complete list of contacts for her in case something happens.

 

And I never agree to do any work related things during my vacation. There is always somebody that can do my job while I am gone. Too many people think that they must stay in contact with their company while on vacation. IF that is true, then you are not on vacation. You are simply telecommuting.

 

We as a society work too many hours as it is, and we need downtime. So go on your cruise, turn off the cell phone/pda/whatever, and relax!

 

Cheers,

 

Hey Senior,

 

I've had to take my computer with me to work on homework while finishing my degree, so you can't always just shut it off completely. I'm a complete internet junky, but have found that checking email once during a 7 or 9 night cruise while in port at an internet cafe, has worked just fine for me (other than homework). You're completely correct about using the opportunity to unwind as much as possible.

R/

ETC(SS) Ret.

[Happy ks]

We take along one cell phone, but it is turned off and tucked away all week. You may have an emergency, we use ours to call for ground transportation when we arrive back to the airport. I learned the hard way not to depend on the availability of pay phones in port or at the airport. If you have any type of delay or problem, a cell phone is preferrable to standing in long lines at the airport.

 

I also keep important numbers, like TA and the airline handy. On our last cruise I had an issue that I needed the help of the TA and it would have cost a fortune to use the ships phone, we had not set sail yet.

 

I'm certainly grateful we have no need for other electronic devices and can happily do without them for a week. Even email just has to wait until we get home. I only make phone calls that are absolutely necessary.

 

It's wonderful to shut life off for a week or so.

[songanddance]

Interesting how George Washington was able to run an entire revolution without having as much as a telegraph and he won. And Benjamin Franklin sailed to Europe spent years out of touch and still managed to negotiate treaties and get loans for the American Government with only a quill pen and his mind.

 

I fear we have been spoiled too much.

 

Cruises are the perfect place to retreat from the rat race and be unreachable. If there is a real emergency, people will get to you by ship's phone or email. Relax - enjoy.

[Barkingowl]

On my last cruise my internet bill was higher than my drink bill. LOL

[christygobar]

As a single female traveling alone, I'm afraid I'll have to check in via internet every couple of days to my family at home.....just so they know I'm alive and well albeit unreachable :) My cell phone goes with me but only gets used at the airport to let them know I've arrived and that I'm about to depart. It's just a safety blanket for me - otherwise there is no way I'm spending my whole time on the internet when there are drinks to be drunk and sights to be seen :D

[Insane]

I think most people just think the world will stop if they don't check in with the office, or the office can't live without them for a week. Well, guess what, the world will keep turning.

 

So, enjoy yourself. Obviously, if you're going on a cruise you deserve the relaxation. Before you know it the week is gone and you're back to the ole' grinding stone. Yeh, you might have mistakes you have to fix when you return to the office, but it's all worth it. Once your done fixing those mistakes.....schedule another vacation!

 

Enjoy Cruising!