You can't be on vacation all the time, but, thanks to technology, you can pretend to be -- even at the office!
As with virtually every other aspect of life, cruising has migrated to the world of mobile applications for the iPhone and, to a lesser extent (so far) Android smartphones. Some apps come straight from the cruise lines, and are basically hipper, more interactive versions of their websites and brochures. Other apps come from independent developers focused on providing information or a virtual escape. Others might not technically be cruise-related at all, but their subject matter still makes them a good fit. Bartender out on the pool deck doesn't know the recipe for an Emperor Norton's Mistress? Hold on, they've got an app for that.
Celebrity Xplorer (free): Released just this month, Celebrity Cruises' official app for the iPhone includes a cruise finder function, descriptions of the regions in which the line sails, introductions to its ships, stateroom diagrams and descriptions, an introduction to onboard activities (including computer and technology classes taught by Apple-certified staff, and Rosetta Stone language courses), a packing guide for different trip lengths (though not, weirdly, for different climates), and a direct link to Celebrity customer service.
Get it:
Find Celebrity Xplorer in iTunes App Store
Costa App (free): Costa's very cool official app, available for iPhone and Android, is focused on the line's ships, offering information, photos, 360-degree photo tours of various public rooms and cabins, live views from the webcams on every ship, and (of course) information on how to book.
Get it:
Find Costa App in iTunes App Store
Find Costa App in Android Market
CruiseNCL (free): NCL's official app has a fun twist: Just shake your device and a "slot machine" spins three columns (cruise length, destination, and date) and spits out random NCL itineraries for you to consider. (You can also search for specific cruises by moving the columns manually.) Click on any of them for details. You can also make a reservation directly from the app. This could be very dangerous on a Friday night, after a few drinks.
Get it:
Find CruiseNCL in iTunes App Store
Royal Caribbean International App (free): Hugely functional, RCI's official app gives you a "find your cruise" function; current special offers; destination information, (including a web link to shore excursions listings); live webcam images from various areas around Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas; and tons of ship information, including general intros, deck plans, image galleries, and stateroom photos and descriptions.
Get it:
Find Royal Caribbean International App in iTunes App Store
SeaDream App (free): The official app of luxury line SeaDream Yacht Club is focused more on fun than on hard information, giving photos and videos from the line's two ships, the latest news, a signup for special offers, and interactivity with the line's Facebook page.
Get it:
Find SeaDream App in the iTunes App Store
Find SeaDream App in Android Market
Lindblad Expeditions Podcasts (free): Not an app but even more accessible are these 34 (so far) video podcasts prepared by adventure-cruise leader Lindblad Expeditions. Some are mostly promotional (introducing various areas the line sails), while others deal with conservation issues. Some podcasts detail aspects of the line's hardware (such as the creation of its newest ship), and some are just plain fun -- like the footage of a baby sea lion riding on the back of a sea turtle across a Galapagos beach as Lindblad guests look on.
Get it:
Find Lindblad Expeditions Podcasts in the iTunes App Store
Holland America Glacier Bay Podcasts (free): Just announced this week, Holland America has partnered with the U.S. National Park Service and longtime radio hosts Paul Lasley and Elizabeth Harryman to produce 16 audio podcasts about Glacier Bay National Park, including episodes on the park's history, mountains, glaciers, and wildlife. The podcasts will also cover the perspectives of Native Alaskans about the region, climate change, and early exploration. Each includes in-depth interviews with Glacier Bay rangers, scientists, and administrators, plus an elder from the Huna people, a Tlingit group that's lived in the region of Glacier Bay and Icy Strait area for centuries.
Get it:
Download Holland America Glacier Bay Podcasts from www.hollandamerica.com/GlacierBayPodcast
Cruise Card Control (99¢): The tech equivalent of a penny-pinching spouse, this app helps you keep your onboard spending under control by letting you create categories and track the size of your bill as you go along. You can also save information from past cruises so you can compare the total costs of different lines and destinations. Fun stuff includes a countdown clock to your next trip, and photo backgrounds from more than 230 ships spread across 35 cruise lines, so your app will match the ship you're sailing.
Get it:
Find Cruise Card Control in iTunes App Store
World's Largest Cruise Ships (free): Totally no-frills, this app just gives the company and ship name, launch year, gross tonnage, and passenger capacity of the world's 42 biggest cruise ships. As the developer's description says, it's "useful for amazing friends with cruise ship trivia" and is also "endless fun!" That's debatable, but it is free.
Get it:
Find World's Largest Cruise Ships in iTunes App Store
Cruise Cam ($1.99): Cruise Cam links to webcams installed on nearly 100 ships of a dozen different cruise lines, plus more than 150 port cams from around the world.
Get it:
Find Cruise Cam in iTunes App Store
Two similar apps are available for Android phones: Cruise Webcams($1.61) and Cruise Cams (free)
Deck Director -- Onboard Cruise Ship Guide ($4.99):An app for people with no sense of direction, Deck Director is loaded with deck plans from all the ships in the Carnival, Princess, and Holland America fleets, and gives you directions on how to get from one place on board to another. You are here? Now go there. The app gives options for only using stairs, only using elevators, and using stairs if less than a certain number of decks. It'll also plot your return trip for you.
Get it:
Find Deck Director in iTunes App Store
Frommer's Travel Tools (free): Not specifically cruise-related, but useful anyway, this app includes a currency-exchange calculator, a metric system converter, a global tip calculator that will even divide the tab for you, a function to create packing lists, a time translator that tells you the time in whatever cities you like, the ability to make postcards and e-mail them or post them to Twitter or Facebook, a flashlight (a white screen, but it does the trick), travel trivia, and purchase links to the company's city guide apps.
Get it:
Find Frommer's Travel Tools in iTunes App Store
Mr. Boston Official Mobile Bartender's Guide (currently 99¢): Created by the folks at the industry-standard Mr. Boston bartender's guide, this app gives more than 1,500 searchable and browsable recipes viewable in metric or U.S. units and searchable by name, primary liquor, type, and key ingredients. It also has a ton of extras, including the ability to add notes, a "favorites" list, and a randomizer that lets you shake your device to generate a random recipe. No need to ever again shout directions at a bartender who doesn't know how to mix your favorite. Just hand him your phone -- and make sure to get it back.
Get it:
Find the Mr. Boston app in the iTunes App Store
