CruiseLink: Offline Messenger

Message your family on a cruise ship without buying the ship's internet. CruiseLink is a free group chat for people travelling together on a cruise. It does not use the internet at all. Your phones pass messages straight to each other over Bluetooth and the ship's own Wi-Fi network, so nobody needs a wifi package, a signal, or an account. It works on iPhone and Android, and the two talk to each other. WHAT PEOPLE USE IT FOR • "Where are you?" — the question every family asks ten times a day on a ship • Agreeing where to meet, and seeing who is coming • Checking everyone got back on board • Looking for someone when their phone is on silent: every phone in your group joins the search • Sharing cabin numbers and the day's plans HOW IT WORKS Messages travel phone to phone. When two phones in your group are near each other they swap messages. When they are further apart, a message can be carried by another phone in your group that moves between you. Everything is sealed, so only your group can read it. In port, or if somebody has bought internet, CruiseLink will use that too. WHAT IT WILL NOT DO It reaches only the group you set up, not the whole ship. Everyone needs it installed before you sail, while you still have a normal connection. And it is not instant across a large ship: a message travels when phones come near enough, which is usually quick and occasionally is not. Every message shows whether it has been delivered and seen, so you are never guessing. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no phone number, no adverts, nothing to subscribe to. Your group's messages are encrypted with a key only your group holds, and the relay that passes them between phones cannot read them. Free, from Youell Systems Ltd in the United Kingdom.