Must-have travel apps will make your next cruise a breeze!
Nothing ruins a cruise faster than spending your time in port struggling with unclear directions, language barriers, or unfamiliar currency rates. The high costs and difficulties associated with sharing your travels with your friends, family, and social networks can also put a damper on your cruising fun. Fortunately, the latest generation of travel apps is here to help. The best travel apps help you communicate with distant loved ones and locals, explore your surroundings, and purchase with confidence. To help you enjoy smooth sailing on your next cruise, www.CruiseExperts.com has put together a list of the best apps for travel, along with tips to get the optimum experience. Happy cruising!
Communicate with Google Translate
While speaking the local language is of course the best option, Google Translate is a close second. This is one of the best apps for international communication ever developed – simply speak into your phone’s microphone and the app instantly produces a written translation in any one of more than 100 languages. You can ask for directions, take a taxi, or haggle for purchases without knowing a single word of a foreign language or relying on locals to speak English. Even signs and food menus are no problem. Take a picture of a sign, menu, or other printed material in 38 languages and the app instantly translates the text. Offline translation is available for 59 languages.
Find your way with Google Maps
Have fears of getting lost or being unable to find a restaurant or bathroom kept you from taking independent walking tours? The broad functionality of Google Maps gives you the freedom to explore destinations to your heart’s content! Just type in the name of a specific attraction to find the shortest route, with turn-by-turn directions on foot, by bike, or car. Typing in “restaurant” or other generic terms will retrieve results located in your general vicinity, without having to know a specific business name, with links to business photos and reviews to help you make an informed decision. The app even unscrambles train and bus lines in the largest cities, telling you where to get off to make transfers along your route.
Stay in touch with WhatsApp
Staying in touch with family and friends is so important when you travel, but international calling and texting plans can make it ridiculously expensive to maintain even bare lines of communication. WhatsApp gets our vote as one of the best travel apps by providing free, secure messaging, calling, and video calling around the world. WhatsApp uses your phone’s Internet connection, allowing you to avoid using voice minutes or racking up SMS fees. You can send photos and videos fast through the app to share your travel journey.
Find conversion rates with XE Currency
XE Currency wins our votes as one of the best travel apps for dedicated shoppers. This handy app gives you the knowledge to haggle intelligently and find the best bargains, with live exchange rates for every world currency and instant currency conversions. XE currency saves the last updated rates, so you can use it offline to convert prices in remote regions.
Browse safely with NordVPN
Anyone traveling internationally should use NordVPN or another Virtual Private Network that provides secured, private access to the Internet for a small fee. This is isn’t just one of the best travel apps; it is a vitally important part of connecting online when you travel overseas. Public Wi-Fi networks, such as those found in overseas cafes, are notoriously unsecured. Digital thieves can easily use these open networks to steal your personal data and passwords, but a VPN keeps your online activities safe and secure. And if you travel to one of the many countries that censor the internet and restrict access to certain sites (for example, China blocks access to Facebook), a VPN will keep your online activities private and enable you to stay connected to the sites you love.
Travel app tips
It’s important to download and set up these travel apps before your cruise, so you can avoid higher Wi-Fi charges aboard ship. You should also download and save books, videos, and audiobooks to your phone, tablet, and e-reader before starting your cruise, so you have easy entertainment options for rainy days and downtimes. Lastly, be sure to get a local SIM card with an affordable data package for your destination country. This will set you free to roam, enabling you to access your travel apps anywhere in the country with cell phone service instead of restricting you to areas with free Wi-Fi.
For more travel tips or help booking your ideal cruise vacation, visit www.CruiseExperts.com today or call the travel experts directly at 1-888-804-CRUISE (2784). Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and join our InnerCircle for exclusive offers and cruise news you can use! Also, check out our new Resource Center, where you can receive expert knowledge from us before your next cruise or cruisetour!