As cruise lines continue to improve on-board internet connections and speeds – taking your smartphone or tablet on board can offer more and more benefits. Downloading clever little apps on your handheld device can help make every aspect of the holiday simpler and more efficient from packing to tipping. Here, we have a look at 25 fantastic apps to download before embarking on a brilliant cruise holiday.
Pack the Bag/Packing List
Are you one of those people who always seems to forget something when going on holiday? From the book you’ve pinpointed as a perfect holiday read to the husband’s underwear, there always seems to be something left behind. The Pack the Bag app for Apple devices and Packing List for Android can help simplify the process – ensuring nothing gets forgotten. It’s also a great reminder when packing to come home – so nothing is left on the ship to tour the world solo.
Get it for: iOS Android
TripIt
Designed to keep all holiday, travel and hotel confirmation emails and information in one handy, easy-to-reach location, TripIt simplifies the process of locating booking confirmations you received a year ago. If you have booked a number of excursions and hotel stays during a cruise holiday, TripIt can help you find all your booking confirmation numbers and vital details.
Onavo Extend
If your smartphone or tablet device can only use a limited amount of mobile data every month, Onavo Extend can help it go further. By compressing date and optimising services, the app makes it possible to browse efficiently without compromising experience. The simple app works in the background so you won’t even notice as it saves you data.
Get it for Android
Cruise Card Control
Making it easier to stick to a budget and holiday within your means, Cruise Card Control helps you track all of your on board spending. This app is particularly helpful for cruise fans who love to dine in speciality restaurants rather than use the all-inclusive dining options.
Get it for iOS
SicNoMore
Designed for cruise lovers who suffer from motion sickness, SicNoMore can stabilise perceived motion to reduce feelings of nausea. The app provides a visual guide to help the brain synchronise information from eyes and inner ear. Simply watching the app on a screen can help guests alleviate any feelings of nausea.
Get it for iOS
WeatherPro
Never get caught out by the weather again with Europe’s leading paid-for weather app, WeatherPro. Featuring weather forecasts for more than two million locations around the world, the app is perfect for cruisers on extensive itineraries.
Travel Diarie
Fancy sharing (bragging about) your holiday experiences with friends and families? Travel Diarie is the easy way to document holiday experiences with your contacts – showcasing the routes you have taken, the sights you have seen and the memories you have made. The app was awarded the #1 travel application by Google.
XE Currency
Ideal for ships which use dollars and trips with excursions to new lands, the XE Currency app can convert almost every currency on Earth. Using this app, you’ll never pay over the odds for goods and services due to misunderstanding the currency and value of the ‘Monopoly Money’. The app is available in a free and a pro model – which offers a few extra features.
Google Translate
Make sure you don’t commit any social faux pas when conversing with other nationalities with the help of the Google Translate app. The app can help translate your questions and comments into more than 90 different languages – helping you quickly become fluent (in a sense) in the local lingos.
TravelSafe Pro
Providing peace of mind in the back pocket, the TravelSafe Pro is ideal if you are spending a night overseas before or after a fly cruise. The app provides the emergency contact details for countries all around the world in the event of an emergency.
Get it for Android
World Clock App
Travelling through the various time zones and the International Date Line can leave you and your watch in a spin. The Perfect World Clock can keep you attuned to the exact time wherever you are in the world.
Yelp
One of the great pleasures of travel is the opportunity to try new cuisines and local delicacies from around the world. The Yelp app can help you find the very best locations to find and try the specific dishes you desire. If you’re looking for Pho in Vietnam, for example, the app can help you find the very best variation.
Reapply
Perfect for sun worshippers who love nothing more than spending a day at sea sprawled out on the top deck soaking up the rays; this Sunscreen app provides timely reminders for sunbathers to top up on their lotion ensuring the don’t burn and suffer the dangerous side effects of the sun.
Get it for iOS
InstaTip / Tipulator
Another app to help you avoid an embarrassing faux pas – InstaTip / Tipulator helps you figure out exactly how much you should tip according to local currencies and social conventions. Quickly enter your location and cost of meal, and any of these apps will do the rest.
Audible
Audible gives you the chance to enjoy thousands of audio books, directly from your smartphone or tablet. The app is the perfect way to finally get to enjoy some of the classic books you’ve always wanted to read – whilst enjoying the sea air breeze through your hair.
New York Subway
Planning a Transatlantic cruise from Southampton to New York with a few nights in the Big Apple, then this guide to using the New York Subway can help make it easier to navigate the city like a local. Know your Brooklyn from your Bronx with this app – and take in all the city’s highlights with no fuss.
Moovit
Reliant on public transport during an excursion or on your way to the port? Moovit is the ever-growing guide to the public transport hubs of an increasing number of the world’s biggest metropolitan areas.
ATM Near Me
If you stumble across a bargain whilst perusing the local markets and are aghast that you have no currency on your person – the slow realisation the bargain may be staying in the market can be heart-breaking. However, ATM Near Me can help you quickly identify the closest location to draw some cash.
PinDrop
Looking to leave your excursion exploits up to fate? Rather than excruciatingly pre-planning every step of your port visit; Pin Drop randomly sends you somewhere of note in a new city – sometimes avoiding the tourists and heavy footfall.
Museums Mobile
Adding a little extra culture to your holiday, the Museums Mobile app enables you to locate the closest museums wherever you are on your travels. The app provides information on the local museums based upon your GPS location – keeping you up-to-date with the latest exhibitions.
Get it for Windows
TripAdvisor
The independent hotel, restaurant and destination review and guide tool, TripAdvisor, gives you impartial insight into what to expect on your travels. The app for smartphones and tablets can help ensure you excursions are packed with the very best experiences.
Touchnote
Add a personal touch to the postcards you send back home to friends and family with Touchnote. The app gives you the chance to customize physical postcards with the holiday snaps you have taken – and sending them whilst you’re still on your jollies.
iMovie
A great app for the kids to document their holiday; iMovie gives them the chance to film their exploits to show to their friends and classmates. A fantastic, modern twist on the ‘What I Did on my Holidays’ essay.
Get it for iOS
eBook Reader
Turn your tablet into an eReader with the eBook app. Rather than filling your suitcases with an exhaustive collection of books to enjoy, the app can turn your tablet into a veritable library of brilliant books.
Cruise Tycoon
Has your cruise holiday inspired a change of career – making you wish your vocation was slightly more nautical? The Cruise Tycoon app is a fun game giving you the chance to simulate managing your own cruise company. Set up cruise routes, buy new ships and employ captains in this simulator, in a bid for eternal cruise line glory.
Get it for iOS
So that’s your phone or tablet prepped for a cruise holiday. If you’re still looking for the perfect getaway – check out Cruise1st’s huge array of exclusive deals on our homepage or by calling our dedicated team on 0808 2746 777.
Images sourced via Flickr Creative Commons. Credit: Tex Goodyer, Jon Dawson, juantiagues
