'My Mom Used a Cruise Ship Tracker While I Was Vacationing—and Loved To Send Me Updates'
Woman on a cruise
Being a 90s baby with a very protective and watchful mother means that she was pretty resourceful when I was growing up; she knew where I was no matter the lack of technology at the time. The day Find My Friends and sharing locations became a thing must have been one of the best days for her, to be honest. And while, of course, she isn’t as worried about my whereabouts 24/7 like she was when I was a child (I am nearing 30, so I could only hope it would change), that protective nature doesn’t just go away. Which is why she was more than thrilled to learn about cruise ship trackers after I told her I was going on a Royal Caribbean cruise earlier this year.
Again, I am a grown woman; my mother is far more reasonable when it comes to anything regarding where I am, what I’m doing, etc. However, let’s bring this into perspective here: This is the woman who called my RA when I was a freshman in college because I didn’t respond to her texts one morning because she was afraid I overslept (or worse). In actuality, a class was canceled so I just went back to bed. So when I told her I was going on a cruise with my partner, her first thoughts rushed to all the bad, "what if" things that could happen on a voyage like this.
Again, I am a big girl now. But to help ease any fears from her—which, again, is understandable thanks to movies like Titanic and whatnot—I found a cruise ship tracker that came in handy while we were on our three-day journey. And if you have family members on the open sea—or you also have family back home anxious to know where your ship is while you’re on a cruise—here’s how to track a cruise ship and what it looked like for us.
Related: The #1 Unexpected Thing To Pack When You're Going on a Cruise
What Is a Cruise Ship Tracker?
A cruise ship tracker is exactly how it sounds; much like tracking flights or Amtrak trains, a cruise ship tracker allows you to see where any active ship is through either an app or a website. As Cruising Earth reported, this type of tracker is made possible thanks to Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, which is required by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for “nearly all ships greater than 300 tons.”
The accuracy and updated tracking information of a ship depends on how far the ship is from shore; if a ship is crossing large bodies of water, it might be a bit slower in relaying its location to data points.
Best Cruise Ship Trackers for Royal Caribbean and How To Use a Cruise Ship Tracker
Courtesy Alani Vargas/Canva
Since most major cruise lines have to report their location via AIS and very high frequency radios (VHF) (per Cruise Critic), finding them on a cruise tracker is pretty straightforward. Again, the accuracy of it is based on how far it is into the ocean, but you can probably take a good bet that a three-day cruise setting off from Florida to the Bahamas and back is going to be pretty close to many AIS data points.
And while Royal Caribbean doesn’t have an official cruise tracker, there are different websites that my mom was able to choose from.
Related: Reservations Just Opened for Disney's Newest Cruise Ship, Starting at $3,860 for Two—Get a Glimpse Inside
Cruise Tracking Websites
CruiseMapper
CruiseMapper is pretty easy to figure out, and Royal Caribbean is one of the first lines you can select so you only see their ships. You can also search the ship name you're on (I was on Icon of the Seas, their biggest ship yet). The website shows where the ship is, whether it's docked and where it's going (and by what date and time it'll be there). It even gives the weather and how choppy or calm the water is, which is a fun addition. CruiseMapper also shows a ship's route, so you can see where it's been and how it got to its current spot.
Cruisin
Cruisin is nice because, right off the bat, you can pick your cruise line and your ship's name. You can also look at your voyage's past route, complete with days and times.
Cruise Hive
It doesn't seem like Cruise Hive lets you search your cruise line like the others, which is not as helpful if you don't know where a ship is. But if you know it's docked, and where, it's easy enough to find. And once you do, it's really nice to navigate. You can also turn on alerts for the ship once you find it. Cruise Hive also has a lot of great info on the ship's pages, including 3D maps, last port calls and more.
Marine Vessel
Marine Vessel is one of the best cruise ship trackers because it can choose your cruise line at the top and is pretty straightforward. Once you find your ship, you can click "Track" to see where it's been, or you can click "Details" which opens another window giving the rundown of the ship, including recent port calls (where it has briefly docked).
Cruise Tracking App
MarineTraffic - Ship Tracking
There are many apps that I tried when searching on the Apple Store. Many didn't work out or had a lot of paid features for the most basic tasks, so if you want an app on your phone to track cruise ships, MarineTraffic is a good one.
It's similar to Cruise Hive in that you can't search for a ship using filters, but you can look for it in the search bar. And once you do, it's saved in your log so you can easily come back to it. You can view the ship's destination and what date and time it's supposed to dock there. It also tells you the last time they received info about your ship's voyage (which is nice to know if you wondered about its accuracy). There are still quite a bit of paid features, which isn't fun, but for the basic need of just tracking a ship, it seems to get the job done.
A Cruise Ship Tracker App Helped My Mom Out When 'Find My Friends' Acted Up
Courtesy Alani Vargas
As stated up top, my mom loves Find My Friends (and so do I). So that was, of course, her go-to, but it had a pretty bad glitch that made me more glad that I sent her cruise tracking apps ahead of time.
When my mom used her handy-dandy Find My Friends app, the satellites (or something) were off, and it told her that I was in Brooklyn...as in Brooklyn, New York.
At first, I was shocked; had we traveled that far North? There was no possible way in such a short time, plus it was still warm out. Not to mention we also had to be in the Bahamas by the next day. Well, dear reader, of course, we hadn’t gone that far. That definitely threw me for a loop, and my girlfriend and I found it absolutely hilarious. I follow them on Find My Friends too, and it said the same thing for both of us.
The cruise tracker that my mom chose to use, and that came in handy for her, was the MarineTraffic - Ship Tracking app for iPhone.
“I thought it was very cool to be able to see where the ship was at sea,” she told me after our trip. “I saw that it was by that island and everything; it was cool. It also gave me the distance away from [me].”
Courtesy Alani Vargas
While a Royal Caribbean cruise is a pretty safe place and we stuck to our intended itinerary, the cruise ship tracker gave my mom peace of mind. She knew she could take a peek at where we were docked or sailing, especially when her Find My Friends was being finicky.
Next up: My #1 Unexpected Favorite Thing Aboard Royal Caribbean's Newest Ship 'Icon of the Seas'–REVIEW
