Bringing Apple Watch on Princess ship - tips? WIFI only

[Coral]

So I acquired an Apple Watch (Series 5 WIFI only) over Christmas. So far, I really like it. Still new with it. I plan on taking it on a longish cruise where I have Best Sale Ever (free wifi). I am not used to carrying around my iPhone around with me on a ship. Usually it is just turned off. I don't plan on paying for cell service in the ports. Though if I have free WIFI on my iPhone and carry it with me on the ship, it should work fine....right? I don't have a desire to order a drink and have it magically delivered to me with the Medallion and my iPhone. So still debating about bringing iPhone with me around the ship. I am somewhat afraid of taking iPhone around with me and being pulled into work matters via email. I would prefer to just check those at night. If I have my iPhone with me during the day, I am more likely to respond to work emails. And the purpose of the trip is to try to avoid this as much as possible (except at night when I probably do need to respond to these).

 

Any tips one can provide so I can take advantage of some features and also guidance when it will not work. I am assuming if there are time changes and my iPhone doesn't automatically change, I will manually change it. I am guessing the Watch will read off of that. I want it to record steps in port and on the ship.

 

Maybe it will be best to just wear a regular watch. I will appreciate first hand knowledge - thanks!

Edited January 23, 2020 by Coral

[jagoffee]

Coral, I am not an expert.  I have heard that the IPhone is suppose to update the time when connected to WiFi, but thus does not work reliable for me. 
This is what I do:

1.  I put my phone into airplane mode and turn on WiFi.

2.  Once I leave port, I set my phone on manual time zone.  
3.  As the ship changes time, I find the corresponding time Zone and manually set it on my IPhone.

4.  My watch follows my IPhone  time.  I do not need to carry my phone, but I usually have it for pictures, but always in airplane mode with WiFi turned on.

5. My watch uploads my exercise results when it is near my IPhone.  
 

I also love my Apple Watch.

Edited January 23, 2020 by jagoffee

[vampiress]

for the email problem, turn off email push notifications, so it only syncs emails on demand. 

[Thrak]

Coral: Work is bad m'kay? 

 

Do... Not... Work... On... Your... Cruise!

 

Just back away slowly...

[shellbeachjim]

If you track your exercise using your Apple Watch while on the ship, you may be surprised by the results. This pertains particularly to outdoor walking  If you walk while the ship is moving, the distance shown for your walk will be the distance the ship travels. I had some “interesting” results, including a 22 mile walk one morning. I averaged 3 minute miles. Just a few minutes more and I could have obliterated the world record in the marathon - and I would have done it walking. 😺🚶🏻

[Coral]

3 hours ago, Thrak said:

Coral: Work is bad m'kay? 

 

Do... Not... Work... On... Your... Cruise!

 

Just back away slowly...

I am leaving before the end of the semester. I do need to check it but will only do it at night. Part of the deal when working in academia. 

[Coral]

7 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Coral, I am not an expert.  I have heard that the IPhone is suppose to update the time when connected to WiFi, but thus does not work reliable for me. 
This is what I do:

1.  I put my phone into airplane mode and turn on WiFi.

2.  Once I leave port, I set my phone on manual time zone.  
3.  As the ship changes time, I find the corresponding time Zone and manually set it on my IPhone.

4.  My watch follows my IPhone  time.  I do not need to carry my phone, but I usually have it for pictures, but always in airplane mode with WiFi turned on.

5. My watch uploads my exercise results when it is near my IPhone.  
 

I also love my Apple Watch.

Thank you! You are an expert to me if you have been using it for more than 3 weeks and have taken it on a ship.

 

I was thinking ship time and iPhone time may not be the same and I may need to manually change it. Thanks for letting me know when it updates if my iPhone is not on. So far, they have both been with it and both on at the same time.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, shellbeachjim said:

If you track your exercise using your Apple Watch while on the ship, you may be surprised by the results. This pertains particularly to outdoor walking  If you walk while the ship is moving, the distance shown for your walk will be the distance the ship travels. I had some “interesting” results, including a 22 mile walk one morning. I averaged 3 minute miles. Just a few minutes more and I could have obliterated the world record in the marathon - and I would have done it walking. 😺🚶🏻

I was somewhat worried about this. Maybe I shouldn't wear it on sea days as the results will be skewed. 

[jagoffee]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

Thank you! You are an expert to me if you have been using it for more than 3 weeks and have taken it on a ship.

 

I was thinking ship time and iPhone time may not be the same and I may need to manually change it. Thanks for letting me know when it updates if my iPhone is not on. So far, they have both been with it and both on at the same time.

I may not have explained it properly.  What do you mean by “when it updates if my phone is not on”?  The watch stores some days of the data and updates your phone with the exercise data when your watch is near your IPhone.  The phone needs to be on (but it can be in airplane mode). Also the phone needs to be turned on and connected to your Apple Watch via Bluetooth to sync the IPhone time or data with the watch.

 

This is how I manually set the Time Zone on my IPhone.  General/Date&Time/turn off set automatically/select the time zone.  You might already know this since you cruise with your IPhone.  Then I apologize if you already knew.  When doing TP’s or TA’s it takes some figuring out to find the right time zone.

[jagoffee]

5 hours ago, shellbeachjim said:

If you track your exercise using your Apple Watch while on the ship, you may be surprised by the results. This pertains particularly to outdoor walking  If you walk while the ship is moving, the distance shown for your walk will be the distance the ship travels. I had some “interesting” results, including a 22 mile walk one morning. I averaged 3 minute miles. Just a few minutes more and I could have obliterated the world record in the marathon - and I would have done it walking. 😺🚶🏻

Interesting.  I have not noticed that much of a difference.  My DW and I do laps , maybe the different directions cancels the effect.

i wonder if what you saw had something to do with a time change?  Did it happen more than once?

[Coral]

22 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

I may not have explained it properly.  What do you mean by “when it updates if my phone is not on”?  The watch stores some days of the data and updates your phone with the exercise data when your watch is near your IPhone.  The phone needs to be on (but it can be in airplane mode). Also the phone needs to be turned on and connected to your Apple Watch via Bluetooth to sync the IPhone time or data with the watch.

 

This is how I manually set the Time Zone on my IPhone.  General/Date&Time/turn off set automatically/select the time zone.  You might already know this since you cruise with your IPhone.  Then I apologize if you already knew.  When doing TP’s or TA’s it takes some figuring out to find the right time zone.

Sorry - it was me typing at 6 am. Yes it is a TA. I meant to say it will update when it is near my phone when it is on.

Edited January 23, 2020 by Coral

[Coral]

18 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Interesting.  I have not noticed that much of a difference.  My DW and I do laps , maybe the different directions cancels the effect.

i wonder if what you saw had something to do with a time change?  Did it happen more than once?

I did do a search before hand and people did say their steps were amplified when the ship was at sea.

[msmoger]

6 hours ago, shellbeachjim said:

If you track your exercise using your Apple Watch while on the ship, you may be surprised by the results. This pertains particularly to outdoor walking  If you walk while the ship is moving, the distance shown for your walk will be the distance the ship travels. I had some “interesting” results, including a 22 mile walk one morning. I averaged 3 minute miles. Just a few minutes more and I could have obliterated the world record in the marathon - and I would have done it walking. 😺🚶🏻

 

I use a Fit Bit and have never had this happen.  My steps reflect my actual steps, same as when I'm on land.  I've experienced a few third party apps that have done this, but never with my Fit Bit or it's app on my iPhone.

[MarkBearSF]

I've done 3-4 crossings with my Apple Watch.  I'd just like to make a small addition/option to the instructions.

After setting your phone to manually update the time (Settings > General > Date & Time, "Set Automatically" - OFF),
Instead of trying to find the appropriate Time Zone, just touch the actual time, and manually change it directly. 

 

[shellbeachjim]

Regarding my previous comment about using an Apple Watch during an outdoor walk workout, the steps are accurate. What is not accurate is the distance you travel. The watch can't distinguish between the distance you walk and the distance the ship travels. I really don't track my steps, I'm more of a distance guy.

 

Here are the examples from our recent cruise to Mexico. This is on a sea day. The second image shows the route I took, although it clearly is the ship's course. My steps for the day totaled a bit over 14,000, which is reasonable for the day.

 

. 

 

 

[Coral]

4 minutes ago, shellbeachjim said:

Regarding my previous comment about using an Apple Watch during an outdoor walk workout, the steps are accurate. What is not accurate is the distance you travel. The watch can't distinguish between the distance you walk and the distance the ship travels. I really don't track my steps, I'm more of a distance guy.

 

Here are the examples from our recent cruise to Mexico. This is on a sea day. The second image shows the route I took, although it clearly is the ship's course. My steps for the day totaled a bit over 14,000, which is reasonable for the day.

 

. 

 

 

Thank you! That makes sense. I am still new at this though I always looked at my steps on my iPhone. Now I also look at distance.

[Coral]

7 hours ago, MarkBearSF said:

I've done 3-4 crossings with my Apple Watch.  I'd just like to make a small addition/option to the instructions.

After setting your phone to manually update the time (Settings > General > Date & Time, "Set Automatically" - OFF),
Instead of trying to find the appropriate Time Zone, just touch the actual time, and manually change it directly. 

 

Perfect - thanks!

[polmcs]

I would turn off GPS tracking to get a more accurate representation of the actual miles walked.

[candydane]

A lesson I learned on my first “watch” cruise:  Turning on Airplane Mode on your iPhone will automatically change your watch too.  HOWEVER, turning off Airplane Mode on your iPhone does not change your watch!  You have to turn it off on the watch.

 

 

 

[lstone19]

From what I’ve empirically determined, indoor walk/run on the Apple Watch do not use GPS while outdoor walk/run do. Select an indoor activity and you won’t have the distance problem.

[jagoffee]

3 hours ago, shellbeachjim said:

Regarding my previous comment about using an Apple Watch during an outdoor walk workout, the steps are accurate. What is not accurate is the distance you travel. The watch can't distinguish between the distance you walk and the distance the ship travels. I really don't track my steps, I'm more of a distance guy.

 

Here are the examples from our recent cruise to Mexico. This is on a sea day. The second image shows the route I took, although it clearly is the ship's course. My steps for the day totaled a bit over 14,000, which is reasonable for the day.

 

. 

 

 

I see why you get those results.  I just use the steps and distance especially since I am walking in a loop.(but is usually what I used throughout the day). Like a Fitbit.

Your outdoor walking workout  is not reflecting the laps around the ship.  It would be an interesting route if it is tracking your actual walk on a moving ship with both laps and ship movements.
Thank you for the explanation.

[jagoffee]

10 hours ago, MarkBearSF said:

I've done 3-4 crossings with my Apple Watch.  I'd just like to make a small addition/option to the instructions.

After setting your phone to manually update the time (Settings > General > Date & Time, "Set Automatically" - OFF),
Instead of trying to find the appropriate Time Zone, just touch the actual time, and manually change it directly. 

 

I do not recall why I do not do what you suggest.  I think it may be because I keep track of the at home time on the upper left hand corner of my watch and it might affect that time.  I will try it next week on my cruise.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Edited January 24, 2020 by jagoffee

[Steelers0854]

@Coral Settings>Passwords and Accounts> 

 

scroll all the way to the bottom and select Fetch New Data

 

Turn Push off

 

scroll to the bottom and select Manually from the list. 
 

Your emails will now only pull in when you actually open the email app. You can enjoy your free internet without worry about work emailing popping in unexpectedly. 

[Coral]

15 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

@Coral Settings>Passwords and Accounts> 

 

scroll all the way to the bottom and select Fetch New Data

 

Turn Push off

 

scroll to the bottom and select Manually from the list. 
 

Your emails will now only pull in when you actually open the email app. You can enjoy your free internet without worry about work emailing popping in unexpectedly. 

Thanks - I know this and I am not going to do this. I need to work during this time - I am just going to try to limit it when I am in the cabin and with my laptop. I really don't think I have a desire to carry my phone around with me during the day. I don't see a desire to order a drink from my phone or use any of the other features on my phone using the Princess app. I know others are different.

 

I will wear my Apple watch during the day and it won't be attached to wifi on the ship so no chance of getting emails that way!

 

I appreciate the tip. I actually do work in IT but have not explored the concept of having the Apple Watch with out the iPhone as I am only 3 weeks into this. Plus add the ship, a TA cruise and being in Europe where I usually don't use my iPhone as it is expensive on my Verizon plan. Thus the questions.

 

It is my first medallion cruise as I have sort of avoided ships with it in the past and am cruising Princess less. First time with free unlimited internet. I was supposed to have it last year on a cruise but cancelled due to bronchitis.

Edited January 24, 2020 by Coral

[foodcruiser]

DO NOT forget to take the Apple Watch Charger with you!  I forgot mine on the last cruise. I had this new watch and could not use it.  They did not sell Apple Watch chargers onboard ship.