We all want to go on vacation to disconnect, but that doesn’t mean you want to be completely cut-off from everyone. After all, it’s nice to keep in touch with people back home. Perhaps just as importantly, you also want to keep in touch on the ship with others that you’re traveling with.
When you’re on a cruise, it’s a great way to disconnect, but let’s be honest. All of us will need to keep in touch with someone, whether it’s on the ship or back on land.
So how can you stay in communication with people while onboard? These days, it’s easier than you think…
Keeping in Touch With Others Back Home
Let’s start with being on the ship and wanting to get in touch back home. Maybe you need to check on the kids that you left with the grandparents (hopefully!) or have a work call or two that you need to make (not hopefully!).
Obviously there are no cell phone towers in the middle of the ocean. In that case, here are your best options:
Calling Via Wi-Fi: These days internet service is on any cruise ship you’ll sail. However, it comes at a cost. The wi-fi service price can vary, but expect to pay anywhere from $15-$30 per day for the highest-tier service. (Due to the slower speeds on the ship, we always suggest purchasing the fastest plan you can.)
With this service you can do everything you do back home with the internet, albeit at a slower speed. You can stream music or video, surf the web, and even text and make phone calls.
We personally use the wi-fi to Facetime with family back home when sailing solo. We also like to be able to text throughout the day. Meanwhile, all the traditional communication apps like iMessage and WhatsApp work via the ship’s wi-fi.
There’s no arguing it’s pricey to connect but as far as staying in touch back home, it’s the best option.
Calls Via Cell Service: Similar to every ship having internet service, they will also have cellular service you can connect to. With these options, instead of connecting to your traditional carrier you connect to the service on the ship, though it’s often considered international roaming by your carrier. As you might guess, this can be expensive not just for data, but also texting and calls.
Major carriers have cruise ship packages that can help bring the cost down. Still, they typically aren’t a great deal. For instance, AT&T offers a “Cruise Basic” plan that’s $60 and includes only 100 minutes of talk time and a $1 per minute overage charge.
For that cost, we think the ship’s wi-fi plan is a much smarter idea.
Keeping in Touch With People Around the Ship
To us, keeping in touch back home is pretty simple. Just use the ship’s wi-fi service. However, if you want to stay in contact with others on the ship, then you have a lot more options.
For instance, say you’re traveling with friends or you have older kids that want to go explore on their own. How do you communicate with them when you aren’t even sure where on the ship they might be? Here are several ways…
Texting via Wi-Fi: By far the easiest way to keep in touch is if you can all just text each other. Unfortunately, that will also be the most expensive. As mentioned, wi-fi on the ship is pricey and the costs include only one device connected at a time.
You can pay more to have more devices connected at once. So it might be $20 per day for one device but $60 per day for up to four devices. And since the text messages will be sent over wi-fi, everyone will need wi-fi access to be able to talk. If you’re already buying access for multiple devices, this might be your best bet. If not, then it is fairly expensive.
In-App Texting: There is a cheaper option for text on your phone, and it is the cruise line’s app. These days all the major cruise lines offer an app that includes things like ship maps, menus, daily schedules, and more. One other feature is the ability to text via the app. This doesn’t require paid wi-fi (it piggybacks off the free wi-fi that app uses), however, it’s normally a nominal charge of $5 per phone for the entire cruise.
With this, you can message each other through the app similar to how you would through something like WhatsApp. Just be sure to have notifications turned on or else you may not realize you have messages unless you are looking at the app.
Notes: Don’t want to have to deal with a phone? One of the simplest ways to keep in touch is simply leaving notes in the cabin. Cruise lines usually have a pen and notepad in the room. Or you can just bring a stack of Post-It notes. Then you can leave a note in the cabin about where you are or where you’ll be.
It’s not real-time, but it does offer a simple way to communicate with the rest of your party without paying extra or having to carry around a phone on vacation.
Check-In Times: When it comes to low-tech, we like leaving notes in the cabin, but you can also just have check-in times. Similar to the old days when parents and teens would split up at the mall and then meet back at a designated point and time, you can do the same on a cruise ship.
The drawback here is that it means constantly having to check your watch and schedule around a meeting time. Maybe you’re out enjoying the pool, but you have to stop what you’re doing to to meet up.
It works, but there are some drawbacks.
Walkie-Talkies: Around the ship, you might see people carrying walkie-talkies. At first, it can seem like a smart idea to bring them. After all, they brag about miles of range and once you buy them, there are no monthly fees or roaming charges to worry about.
Truth is, walkie-talkies don’t work that well on a cruise ship. On the pool deck they are great. But if you are in the interior of the ship, the steel and dividers quickly reduce the talk range to almost nothing.
Further Reading:
- Everything to Know About Internet on a Cruise (Speed, Cost, & More)
- Complete Guide to Using Your Phone on a Cruise
The post The Best Ways to Keep in Touch While on a Cruise Ship (Back Home and Onboard) first appeared on Cruzely.com.
Appeared first on: Cruzely.com
