Top 5 Tips How to Use Your iPhone on a Cruise Ship

Have you ever gone on a cruise and wondered why your iPhone is not working the same way it does at home? Here I am going to tell you my top 5 tips on how to use your iPhone on a cruise ship.

(This post was updated in January 2023)

I get asked a lot of iPhone questions on board and at home. I am not an IT expert, but I know how to use my iPhone. Probably because I cannot put it down!

Back to how to use your iPhone. Why doesn’t your iPhone work the same way on board as it does at home? This is mainly because when you are travelling on a cruise ship you are not going to be connected to the internet 24 hours a day.

How to Use Your iPhone on a Cruise Ship

Once you have left shore the 4G will only stay connected when you are near land or if there is a satellite above you. There is Wi-Fi on board, but on most cruise lines this is a paid extra or you have a package of minutes or MBs included in your ticket.

When you are on land, 4G and your home Wi-Fi is always connected to your phone. So, you have no idea which apps require the internet to function.

We really do not realise how much we rely on our phones these days, so I am going to tell you my top 5 questions and hopefully give you some answers.

Time

The time changes on board when arriving in different countries. Sometimes it is a few hours difference so you may be changing the time over a few days at sea and your phone will not set automatically to ship time.

How do you change the time?

• Go to Settings App
• Press General
• Press Date and Time
• Switch off, set automatically
• Change time zone to the city you are going to be in or just change the time manually

Fitbit/Fitness Tracker Watch

If you have a Fitbit or another fitness tracking device and you would like to sync your, daily steps you will need to do the following:

• Change the time if there has been a time change
• Make sure your Bluetooth is on and your phone is connected to your Fitbit
• Log on to the ship internet
• Go to the Fitbit app
• Pull down the home screen of the Fitbit app to sync
• Wait for the sync to finish
• Log off the internet 

How to Use Your iPhone on a Cruise Ship

Airplane Mode

While on board and sailing put your phone on airplane mode to save the battery and stop receiving calls or use your data when you are close to shore. This way you will not receive phone calls in the early hours that you may not want to answer. As your hometown may be in a completely different time zone.

To put on airplane mode on, go to:

• Settings
• First option airplane mode
• Switch on

Background App Refresh

Switch off background app refresh as if you are using the ship Wi-Fi, this will eat a lot of your data plan. You can update your apps when you return home.

How to switch off background app refresh:

• Go to Settings
• Press General
• Press Background App Refresh
• Switch off background app refresh

Saving the Battery Power

Phone batteries do not last like they use to, due to using the camera app, the internet, playing games, etc.

There are a few ways to save your battery power while ashore and on board:

Switch off the location services (just switch it back on when you would like to use maps or set your location for your Facebook photos).

• Go to Settings
• Press Privacy
• Press Location Services
• Switch off location services

Put the battery on low power mode

• Go to settings
• Press Battery
• Switch on Low Power Mode

If not using 4G, switch it off

• Go to settings
• Press Mobile Data
• Switch off Mobile Data

If not using your phone for phone calls or data while ashore, put on airplane mode.

To put on airplane mode on, go to:

• Settings
• First option airplane mode
• Switch on

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Cruise Ship Essentials

Here are some cruising products from Amazon you may find useful on your next cruise. To see more, have a look at my Amazon shop page click here.

HERE ARE SOME MORE CRUISE SHIP TIPS:

WHAT TO DO ON THE DAYS AT SEA ON A CRUISE SHIP

10 TIPS ON HOW TO PACK JUST HAND LUGGAGE FOR A CRUISE

TOP 10 HANDY THINGS TO BRING ON A CRUISE

APPS THAT WORK ON A CRUISE SHIP WITH NO WI-FI CONNECTION 

I hope these tips have helped you. Do you have any top tips for using your iPhone whilst on a cruise ship? I would love to hear them, just comment below.

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Happy Cruising!