No, I’m not penguin obsessed.
But gosh darn, they are cute. Even if it is just the little origami one the barista gave me with my coffee.
Coffee and technology are two things that have changed since I started sailing.
Back in the day, we didn’t have the obsessions with specialty coffees, and you really didn’t see people asking for/drinking fancy coffee drinks. You suffered through whatever was on offer in the dining room or the Lido. I say “suffered” because different cultures have different coffee expectations, and inevitably a diverse group is never going to be happy with the “free” coffee offered onboard. This is a grumble I have heard many times over the years. Personally, I have always thought it’s like the old adage that college cafeteria food is notoriously bad so that it is what the students are complaining about instead of something else…
Technology is another one of those grumbles. Back in the day, it was hard to find a cell phone carrier and physical cell phone that you could use internationally. And once you found one, the rates were sky high. This was really for emergency use only. Instead, you hunted down phone cards from news kiosks and then searched for working pay phones. My first contract sailed to Greece, Turkey and Egypt, so Greece was the best bet. Before Google translate, you had to figure out enough Greek to use the card. Finding a working, unoccupied, not hot-as-blazes, not stinky-from-the-previous-caller phone booth was like winning the lottery. Internet? You learned the secret and not-so-secret locations of internet cafes, sat down in their dingy interiors, and reconnected to life back home. Yep, it was the equivalent of your grandparents walking miles in the snow, both ways, uphill to school.
So what about these days? Since 2001 coffee tastes have certainly shifted to expecting something beyond drip coffee. And the demand we make of our phones and other devices has shifted exponentially: questions of technology have evolved from access, to price and slowness, to almost universal expectation of fast, reliable, inexpensive internet access and to understanding how to use cruise line apps. Booked a shore excursion? Gone are the paper tickets, now you will have an e-ticket through your cruise line’s app. Just within the last few years, the Covid 19 pandemic shifted technology uses and demands quite a bit. We rely on these mini-computers a lot.
Speaking of feeling unwell; it’s been another week of recovery. Finally the cough is minimum, and finally I feel ok to be out and about in guest area. Even though we have a very nice cabin with a balcony and lots of windows, so many square feet can still feel a little limiting.
Dirk and I were out for a drink in Billboard Onboard (the piano bar) and had a nice chat with some guests. Of course one of the topics was the Wi-Fi onboard, and funny stories were shared about the phone was picking up a New Zealand time zone and so the alarm for 6:30am went off at 2:30 am. The wife was not so excited to be up that early. Another guest was trying to share with family back home just where the ship was in Antarctica. Find my phone wasn’t working for him, but Cruise Mapper did. He also gleefully marveled that he was able to make a capital purchase for his business while all the way in Antarctica because we still had Wi-Fi.
(In writing this, I was checking out cruise mapper - here is a nifty map of where ships from the major lines currently are. Cool!)
I am certainly not the most tech savvy out there, but I do get that some apps seem to work on where the phone is physically located, whereas others rely on where whatever satellite you are connecting to is. Many phone features need location information to work properly - maps, weather, find my phone, phone time zone settings (and hence alarms), etc. Here are basics that you need to know:
Tech Tips at Sea
Before you go, download whatever app your cruise line has created. Even better, play around with it. You will not be able to access all the app’s features before boarding, but you can familiarize yourself with its layout and functionality, so that when you are onboard you know what you are doing and can relax.
Within your phone settings, change the time and date to manual update rather than automatic. Even if your itinerary does not include time changes, as noted with the above guest, you don’t know what time zone your phone will pick up if you leave this to automatic. If your itinerary does include time zone changes, your ship will move its clocks forward and back in a way that disrupts the cruise flow as little as possible. As this may not match what your phone picks up on its own, again, best to manually make the change on your phone. Tales of guests missing tours because they did not set their timekeeping devices (usually phones) and were an hour late are real.
When you get on the ship, put your phone in airplane mode. Cell phone roaming charges for calls, texts and data usage at sea are notoriously high. And after those sailaway cocktails, you might forget to turn off your cellular service. Not planning on making calls or texting? Gone are the days when folks used phones for phone calls and texts only. All those apps are using your cellular data unless you are in airplane mode.
Understand the difference between Wi-Fi and internet. If you are connected to the ship’s Wi-Fi, you will be able to use the cruise line’s app. To use all those other apps, email, surf the web, etc., you will need to (most likely) purchase a Wi-Fi package. Packages may come in various levels - if you want to stream videos, etc., you will probably need a premium package.
Even with internet, you may or may not be able to make phone calls depending on your phone model and the phone model of who you are trying to reach. A work around for this is making calls through data-based apps such as Facetime, Messenger, GoogleVoice and What’sApp.
As for staying connected ashore? I used to have T-Mobile, which has pretty good international access/usage as long as you are in the USA more than you are out. For most folks, this is the case. Years ago, T-Mobile was one of the original US carriers offering international roaming. Unfortunately, they caught on to my lifestyle and were ready to cut me off. Back in the day, if you had an unlocked phone you could buy different (physical) sim cards for different countries. I still remember heading down a dim alley in Dublin to get my phone unlocked so I could put an Italian sim card in my phone…I now use Mint Mobile for my US based needs and buy e-sim cards for when I am abroad. These e-sims allow me to use all my phone apps and to make calls through the above data-based apps but not “regular” calls. They can be a little tricky to install, but Nomad has great regional packages and Airalo has great global packages. I have not tried either's single country e-sims.
Wellness Round Up
Nutrition: I have been enjoying a specialty coffee in the mornings - an Americano with a little cream. Way less calories than a latte or other fancy drink.
Meals have continued to come from the usual locations, although there have been some different, yummy vegetarian options. I still like to have salads to get in vegetables, but the greens have been looking a little sad. And the berries and bananas have disappeared.
It can happen on a long cruise when it may be quite some time between loading. Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries were a nice surprise this morning.
Uruguay and Argentina are known for their beef. Yesterday we had a quick meat-a-licious lunch ashore. Close to the Montevideo pier is the old train station, full of parillas. And tonight we are treating ourselves to a 9-course tasting menu at Fogón Asado….Makes those fruit and vegetable options onboard even more important. I am looking forward to the dinner tonight, but I am also looking forward to the summer with the Mediterranean diet.
Hydration: Still been excellent.
Sleep/Stress: Always seem to go hand in hand! I have been working furiously on my Seabourn presentations. By January 31st, I want to have my two Croatia presentations in good shape. Almost there, but they are almost as much work as the full-time job, so stress has been sitting on my shoulders. Waking up at 3 am most nights (not due to a satellite phone alarm! but) due to running errands in my head.
Movement: Still been minimal due to recovery, work and writing. Grr.
Time to put away the laptop away and get in a walk on deck and maybe a dip in the pool. Sometimes just disconnecting is the way to go.
That's it for now. Bon Voyage & Bon Appétit!
Post updated August 17, 2024
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