Travelling without a Smartphone

[bbtablet]

We are booked on the Jan 14th 2022 Cunard Southampton to the Caribbean cruise. We are in our late 70s. We have mobile phones but they are not smart phones and cannot download apps or do emails etc.

 

In anticipation of the continuing requirement for passengers to complete a passenger locator form towards the end of the cruise I read the travelling abroad info at the gov.uk site with its frequent references to the use of smart-phones. Nowhere does it even mention the possibility that some travellers might not possess a smart phone, so I rang the Helpdesk.

 

Unfortunately I got through to a Geordie - not his fault - (sub-titles please!), who was young enough to be completely thrown by the (to him) incredulous idea that I don't have a smart-phone and he kept asking me over and over to clarify that I really did not have one. He clearly didn't believe me and said "Well how come your speaking to me then?", thinking he had caught me out. I then had to acquant him with the concept of a land-line!

His only advice to me was to get someone else to do it for me - he clearly had not been trained to deal with what must be a relatively frequent situation amongst shiploads of elderly cruisers. Very poor.

 

Apart from the obvious - buy a smart-phone - any recommendations of how to proceed as I am stumped!

 

Bernard.

[BklynBoy8]

We have learned from the past as a flip cover phone how handy and useful a smartphone can connect you to the world.

 

From ordering food, communication with pharmacies, mapping while traveling on roadway with traffic reports to smartphone home shopping. With that they will also kept in touch of when items will be delivered.

 

We did know that in the past smartphones will be used on cruise ships in the future.

 

We have gone away recently and many ways it is used as a contactless use to view dining menus, daily activity programs instead having printed ones.

 

A smartphone is an important point of contact and information device and expect to use it on our next sailing.

[sultan4swing]

My wife and I are very experienced travellers and have visited some 100 countries. I was a Govt research analyst and have spent much of my 12 years retirement researching and organising our travel so I think I am switched on to current covid restrictions and documentation... Have just returned from Malta... no problems and was able to use the reception desk computer to produce our PLF for UK return...  The issue with trying to organise future trips is how you can obtain one, which is mandatory for getting on your flight back to the UK.... if like me you have no mobile phone or need for one, if you can't get access to a computer and printer...  For instance, if you want to do say a PandO Caribbean cruise. You only have 2-3 days before return to produce a PLF. How can any cruise ship , assuming even a small number of passengers may have to produce these on a ship computer, have the time , organisations or resources to get one ? It takes about 20-30 minutes to produce a PLF on  a computer, that;s about 3 every hour x 24 x3 days ie only about 200 even if organised 24 hours... impossible for every passenger who needs one to get it. So without cruise company assurance that this can be taken care of, who will want or will be able to book a cruise..? If flying to and from abroad, without it you will not be able to board your plane back to  the UK....  Waiting for PandO response/assurance on this one.... !!!

[Bloodgem]

I have never sailed with Cunard but on Royal Caribbean ships there are a few PC's that guest can use whilst they are on board.

Try asking on the Cunard forum if there are PC's guest can use?

[picsa]

On 9/11/2021 at 5:43 PM, sultan4swing said:

if like me you have no mobile phone or need for one, if you can't get access to a computer and printer...  

 

You say you don't need one, and then in your next breath demonstrate why you need one!

[Host Hattie]

12 hours ago, Bloodgem said:

I have never sailed with Cunard but on Royal Caribbean ships there are a few PC's that guest can use whilst they are on board.

Try asking on the Cunard forum if there are PC's guest can use?

There are

[sultan4swing]

PICSA....  If the only reason I need to buy an expensive mobile phone, is to produce a PLF to show immigration, before travel to the UK, maybe once a year... do you think I or anyone is going to do that .. ?? 

 

Others posters - yes I know cruise ships have a few computers for general access, but again the logistics....  2 days prior to disembarkation for how many passengers without mobile phones to flock to get time on the computers to produce their PLF....  guys .. think... common sense, logic and wider perspectives on what is a real travel issue... 

[Kristal Blade]

Cunard has computers on board which you can use. We have been able to confirm flights, get boarding passes for flights home etc using them.

 

But if lots of passengers have iPhones then there won’t be much a queue to use the public computers!

[KBs mum]

Smart phones don't have to be expensive, am typing this on a £70 phone, when I bought it there was also one that cost £40. 

It was bought sim free, I then got a sim only £10 a month contract to cover usage, at the moment it's connected to my house Wi-Fi, on a ship its connected to theirs. 

In the shop ask for a cheap sim free phone, they will try to get you to sign up for a contract that includes the phone, don't, these are more expensive. 

 

[BklynBoy8]

I think Smartphones are now second nature these days.

 

Just came home from a vacation at a resort we have gone for the last 42 years and now due to contactless touch, they use them for differents uses.

 

Menus were QR Scan as well as the Daily Activities Programmes were paperless.

 

We use them on board to call home when we reach a port and call from the fan tail.

 

I remember in the old days like stopping in St Thomas USVI we would wait on line to use the Pay Phone along with the crew.

 

Seeing the latest news, photos and videos taking is a must with the quality phones now a days. Sharing the trip with other by email, text and Facebook.

 

Invest in a Smartphone.

[wowzz]

On 9/25/2021 at 11:00 AM, KBs mum said:

It was bought sim free, I then got a sim only £10 a month contract to cover usage,

That's expensive if you are only a light user.

I have an Asda payg sim. No contract, no monthly charge,  you just need to make one call every 180 days to keep it active.

[MBP&O2/O]

GiffGaff … £6 pm, 1gb data and unlimited texts and calls.

[Harters]

I understand where the OP comes from. I don't carry a mobile phone and have no interest in carrying a mobile phone. I find other ways round things or do without.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Harters

[bluenote5]

I do have a mobile phone but not a smartphone

I have been on 2 short UK cruises this year and the only reason I needed a mobile was to get my covid test results in a text after I had taken the lateral flow test at the terminal before I checked in. I have not needed a smartphone. I have printed my luggage labels at home on my printer & made a copy of my travel details.

The PLF now we are going outside the UK is a bit different but I have heard that you can now fill it out 21 days before you travel which means I should be able to do it at home and print it out.

[Smokeyham]

As the number of people who do not have smart phones shrinks then the cruise lines (and other businesses) will likely provide less support for them.   Covid restrictions and requirements are decreasing, but likely there will be other restrictions or requirements in the future which will be difficult to do without a smart phone.   Seems the sensible thing is to get one and save yourself a lot of hassle.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Its ok people telling the OP to get a smart phone but it also requires the OP to be able to use the smart phone.

I got a cheap smart phone for my mum and she can whats app, call and check emails and thats about it. Asking her to fill out an online form is like watching paint dry bless her. She really has no idea what shes doing no matter how many times i show her. 

 

I am not suggesting the OP cannot use a smart phone i am just highlighting that even if people do have smartphones some people struggle to use them. 

 

I am sure the cruise company will have means of filling out the forms. Or IT helpers like royal do in their computer areas. 

[dsrdsrdsr]

On 9/4/2022 at 5:21 PM, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Its ok people telling the OP to get a smart phone but it also requires the OP to be able to use the smart phone.

I got a cheap smart phone for my mum and she can whats app, call and check emails and thats about it. Asking her to fill out an online form is like watching paint dry bless her. She really has no idea what shes doing no matter how many times i show her. 

 

I am not suggesting the OP cannot use a smart phone i am just highlighting that even if people do have smartphones some people struggle to use them. 

 

I am sure the cruise company will have means of filling out the forms. Or IT helpers like royal do in their computer areas. 

My mother's the same.  Her memory isn't what it was and she doesn't learn new things easily.  I really think that some people have no concept of the idea that as people get older, their minds often get less sharp and their learning capacity drops.

 

If smartphones are made essential, which is certainly unnecessary, then it will restrict the activities of older people - and people who can use a smartphone now needn't think they're safe!  As technology changes and the tech companies want to make more money, they will change things just for the sake of change.  

[Tothesunset]

Not just old people but also the blind, those with impaired dexterity etc cannot reasonably be expected to use a smartphone, at least not without assistance. 

[dsrdsrdsr]

4 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

Not just old people but also the blind, those with impaired dexterity etc cannot reasonably be expected to use a smartphone, at least not without assistance. 

I think blind people might do very well with a smartphone in some respects, because it can read stuff out for them.  I agree about those with impaired dexterity, though.  

[watsonbeau]

As now retired from a job where I spent years on computer systems I do have a smartphone- however when out of UK it goes in airplane mode ! Partly because I’m free of hassle of calls, texts and emails but also because I don’t want to end up with a large bill for roaming charges which easily be incurred accidentally.

 

Appreciate however some do need to remain in contact whereas I don’t have the need generally. So my phone in fact just functions as a camera and I might download maps to use offline and possibly some films to watch also before I leave UK.  However I wouldn’t want to fill in an online form using it - too difficult to see in some cases, and sometimes unable to complete on certain browsers eg Safari might have issues so you’d have to use Firefox or other. 

 

I am well aware wifi can be used instead of data and many a time have seen how people dash off to get into the terminal to use free wifi.

However you should know that some caution should be exercised if you use public or other insecure networks - especially if you do online banking - if you must do so then use a VPN.
 

I attended a conference with head of cyber fraud from NatWest as a speaker - he did suggest using VPN and log out of social media when not using as it can track you and be very cautious about sending photos home etc as most will have your location embedded in them ! 

 

 

 

 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

We have annual security briefs (uk military) about our online profile. To highlight how easy it is to track someone or get all their details they often ask for someone who has facebook/twitter eg, their name. Within 5 minutes they have information on where they live, names, family and friends and even can even go as far as tracking where they have been. Its scary to think how big your online profile is and how that data is easy accessed. Hence why we on certain deployments we have to hand in our phones. 

[shipgeeks]

We do not have a smartphone, and have not yet been convinced we need one.  We do at least four cruises a year.  We do have a laptop and printer at home, which we use for making our bookings, doing checkin, getting covid test results, etc.  We print out our boarding passes. When we get to the cruise terminal, we complete our checkin verbally and with our paper documents.  Onboard, there has been no problem getting paper daily schedules, menus, etc.  We're fine with not being in touch with the outside world for the duration of the cruise.

[Tothesunset]

While we tend to use the phone for boarding passes, tickets etc, I always carry a hard copy of those same items. A4 never runs out of battery or signal!