What Are Your Favorite GPS Apps While At Sea?

I always sail on Carnival and their WiFi is not the best in the world. However, I understand that it has improved over the last couple of years but it is still relatively slow, even with their best package. When I get on a ship the first thing I do is turn on airplane mode and then turn off the phone. I don’t use my phone while on the ship. I disconnect from everything! That’s why I go on cruises. Just my preference.

Your choice of cruisemapper is good.

As a former Merchant Marine engineering officer (and Naval officer) I like https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/9795737. Many of the “free” trackers present a very cluttered screen. In addition, they often show the position acquired about 12 to 14 hours earlier, not the current or live position which is in the pay versions.

A funny story…about 10 years ago friends did Alaska in mid August; something in general you do not want to do by the way. We are the godparents of their children so each day I would send them an email (Subj: do you know where your parents are?). Everything went fine until the tracker I was using suddenly reported “vessel not found”. At the time I had a college classmate who was in charge of the harbor pilots in Puget Sound. I contacted him and he reported back that the vessel had lost its transponder in exceedingly high winds. Now you know why you don’t do Alaska in August. I always tell people to look carefully at the fare structures as a guide as to when to cruise. The higher fares represent desirable times. When they are low there is a reason, typically off-season which equates to weather.

I share your perspective.

What you do is a good suggestion. At least as of a few years ago it could end up being very costly to use the ship provided links to the outside world. These days, more and more ships are utilizing Musk's Starlink which can significantly reduce the cost as well as provide vastly improved service. For some of the companies using it review the content at https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/what-is-starlink-and-w....

But it always pays to check before using the offered service.

I like to learn what I can. I am a licensed Amateur Extra (Ham Radio License) and I have an FCC GROL. I don't have my GMDSS, however. I started reading about it and it interests me.

I may just take the GMDSS license. examination I have no real need, but I do have a desire to know more about it.

The TELEX on 518 khz is a bit dated now, but USCG still transmits data on it as well as other countries.

Part of GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System) is the AIS Automatic Identification System. These essentially are the transponders used by ships at sea to allow the tracking. The system updates every two seconds. For the Odyssey of the Sea, "Marine Tracker" also shows details well; see https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:64...

I have used 3 android apps (with offline navigation charts) while at sea:
MX Mariner
i-Boating
Navionics
I use these apps to plot the planned route and actual track on the cruise ship or sailboat I am on.