Pokémon GO could be Pokémon NO!

Unless you are completely blind you will know all about the Pokémon Craze hitting the world as you see strange gatherings of teenagers and adults too, might I add and in the strangest places.

I live next to a cemetery and there is a Poke Stop as you first walk in and the central part is a Poke Gym.  Get me knowing the lingo! No I do not play it but I have an 18-Year-old son who loves it. I have to say it certainly seems to be getting people out and about walking.

Anyway. The reason for my blog is that you may or may not have heard that Pokémon Go could be available to play on your cruise ship.

The individual cruise lines will have to decide if this is something they want to offer and if they do there will be a few things to consider. It could pose a few technical issues as it relies heavily on GPS to use the poke stops and gyms and these places are usually static so having them on a constantly moving vessel may prove difficult for the developers. It will also reply on a reliable internet connection which let’s face it I don’t think I have found a really reliable signal at sea yet!

The ships would of course have to be mapped as the game itself uses Google maps to guide you.

There is also the safety issue. People walking around with their heads in their phones on a ship? There have already been accounts on land of people walking into lampposts, trees, in front of cars etc but there is also that temptation to follow the Pokémon you are trying to catch into areas where you should not go. The game does not always take into account that the place has unauthorised access. This could cause problems in a foreign country.

Then there is the Cost factor. Data packages on-board cruise ships are not cheap. Any cruise line hoping to cash in on this craze would need to consider the data charges. Downloading data to use Pokémon Go could cost a fortune and imagine if you have say 3 kids all wanting to play?

Then there is the simple question of whether you want your kids playing this on a cruise. Surely there are better things to do. As fun as chasing Bulbasaurs, Squirtles, Caterpies, Weedles and Siducks is, surely the point of a family holiday is to enjoy new experiences together. Entertainment, Sport, Culture, food etc or just chilling around the pool. Parents are going to be under pressure when their kids see other children wandering around stuck in their phones as they will know what they are doing.

What do you think? Would you let your kids Pokémon Hunt on-board and more importantly would you want to pay the price?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.