ShipMate App

photo courtesy of ShipMate App

There are quite a few tools out there that I find so very helpful when planning cruises.  Or tools I use to connect with others who are cruising.

Ship Mate has been around for a while but it has really grown into something that I find to be very helpful. Especially for new cruisers.  Or if you are travelling with friends/family.

The app is free and once loaded you can add you upcoming cruises onto it.

See the itinerary, ship photos, deck plans, shore excursions and even a so so roll call that I personally find cumbersome but does the trick.  I would use other roll call avenues for chatting, like Cruise Critic or create an event on Facebook and have others join.

I like the countdown feature and the itinerary feature.  

Also love the ship tracker.  With this I can see where my ship is currently.  For some reason this excites me - yeah crazy I know, but cruise addicts can relate.

Often I forget where I am going to be on which day and all I have to do is quickly open the app and pull up my cruise and view the itinerary.

A great tool is detailed information and tips from others about ports you will be visiting, along with photos.

You can also chat with others who are sailing on that ship but again I find it a little disjointed.  Someone posts and then you respond and conversations just don't flow that well. 

But if it is something you may be interested in you can learn more about it here.

My Must Haves To Take On A Cruise

So many people ask me all the time what are some of the items you take on a cruise?

Or they see pictures of our cabin and see an item or two in the picture and ask about it.

So even though I have an album of pictures of those special items on my facebook page Cruising With Princess Cruiseline with Vickie I decided to do a short video on my Youtube channel to share it for anyone who wants to learn more about the items.

This also gave me the opportunity to explain why we take each item.

Hope you enjoy.