I feel like this is a "you" problem, not a "them" problem.

In the sense that you haven't laid out a clear boundary to the "other people". You don't have to go on a cruise ship to get away from email etc. You just say, "I'm offline from x to y".

I suspect you are not comfortable actually telling the other people this - I'm not sure if it's employer, customer, or family. In all cases though the right solution is to be clear, and give advance notice. There will likely be some push-back (especially given your past behaviour) but be firm.

Feel free to browse all you like. Feel free to post pics to Instagram. But resist the urge to answer emails or messages. Let that wait.

Ultimately people will treat your boundaries based on how _you_ treat your boundaries. It's a you problem first, not a them problem.

Tell them to fuck off.

Seriously. Set boundaries. Using "no access" as an excuse implies that if you're reachable you're on the hook to serve other people's desires at all times. People need to know that there are times in your life that are reserved for you only, and some people have a problem with that, so you have to tell them yourself in no uncertain terms.

Setting boundaries is a healthy skill to exercise, but if you need an excuse you could try hiking or camping? There are still plenty of places on land without cell coverage.

Not for long: https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/t-mobile-takes-cove...

And if you must have the phone in case you need to call for help, take the battery out or turn it completely off so they can't call you.

Coming soon: the national parks service partners with starlink to offer yellowstone internet service.

That already works. You just bring your dish in there.

Who in your life is demanding to be able to contact you at any random point in time, unless you explicitly tell them it's physically impossible for you to communicate with them?

There are a (very) few people who would expect to be able to reach me relatively quickly in an emergency unless I told them I was going to be off the grid or at least intermittently available for a few weeks. I don't think that's either unusual or unreasonable.

Not unusual, but it seems like you would want to be contacted in an emergency. So it's a good thing that cruise ships will be getting great internet service. You still have the choice to ignore non-emergency calls and only take emergency calls.

Maybe? If I'm in the middle of the Atlantic and can't do anything maybe not. In any case, I'd be reasonably confident that regular satellite communications today would get a regular emergency message through assuming someone knows what ship you're on.

I tell people that they can’t reach and do an OOF mail. Works like a charm. The only person who I say can reach me is my dad and all other numbers are blocked.

Set up your voice mail greeting and email appropriately.

Tell them you're going on vacation and won't have phone coverage. Then switch your phone off.