laptops on a cruise?

[kev]

how many of you have brought your own lap top on a cruise with you? how much of a pain is it going through security on ship and airport? is it even worth it? i was thinking about bringing it on my upcoming cruise in march to work on school work or work while on vacation. how easy is it trying to find a free wifi connection. i know they have there own computers on ship but it gets expensive and then all my work and pictures and stuff is not on my computer. i have to e mail it or something? thank you

 

[Calgon1]

Ahoy There Kev -

how many of you have brought your own lap top on a cruise with you?

I have taken my laptop with me on two past cruises. I have seen others take theirs.

how much of a pain is it going through security on ship and airport?

Actually, it's not a pain at all. You might have to turn it on to prove it is what it is.

it even worth it?

Ah, there's the rub. I said I took mine on two cruises. The reason I took it twice, was because it took me that many cruises to realize that:
A ) It was not worth the effort of dragging the extra weight.
B ) I really didn't use it enough to make it worthwhile. Actually, I used it more on the flight (as a DVD player) than as a computer.
C ) The couple/few times that I actually did use it for computer stuff, I was at a wi-fi hot spot in the atrium. There I was, working, while all around me, there were people enjoying a cruise, having fun, doing stuff. Then I realized how stupid it was to work while on vacation. If my 'work' was that vital, then I should have just stayed home and worked while the family enjoyed the cruise.

how easy is it trying to find a free wifi connection.

Very easy. There are hot spots all over the place. Additionally, every cabin is wi-fi and/or has a hard connection. If you're planning on hanging out in your cabin while everyone else is enjoying their cruise.

i know they have there own computers on ship but it gets expensive

You really dont realize how expensive. You can figure on anywhere between 50 and 75 cents PER MINUTE. And it doesn't matter whether you use your laptop or their desk-top PCs. The cost is the same. And, connection speed is non-existant. Forget Broadband. Forget DSL. Think 1200 baud dial-up. It will take a couple minutes to down load the average e-mail. Even more if there are graphics. So, I guess it boils down to - how much are you willing to pay to read your spam (while everyone else is on vacation)?

My recommendation? Leave the lap-top at home. Leave the work at work. Take extra cards for your camera and download your photos when you get home. Concentrate on enjoying your cruise.

 

[reggae]

kev, I take my laptop. I especially like it to download my pictures as we go.

As for Wi-Fi, depends on the ship...Princess was not very user friendly for us. The speeds were very slow and at times you couldn't connect at all. Also, on the Diamond Princess, you could only get a signal in their internet lounge. I do believe Princess charges more per minute than any of the other cruise lines.

But RCI seems to have faster connections and we were able to use it in the cabin. They had a lot of hot spots too, even by the pool.

I had no problems going through security at the airport or the ship.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[kev]

yeah your right i really dont wont to even bother with a computer while on vacation. heck i dont really like bothering with them much at home. but i figurerd id ask anyway. in case i HAD!! to do work but most likely ill leave it at home. thanks

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

I took mine on a couple of cruises -- not worth it.

HAL's internet -- also slow.

FREE WiFi on a ship -- doesn't exist on HAL. You pay the same fees whether you use their laptops or your own.

Going through security at the airports -- a pain.

 

[iluvcruzin]

I have and it's fairly easy to do. Going through the airport is a simple as putting your shoes in the bucket - just take it out of the case and put it in one to scan. I've had fairly good luck picking up a signal on different ships and seems faster than the connection in the internet cafe. There is a charge for WI-FI and it's the same as if you use their PC's.

 

[kev]

-- moved topic --

 

[Christoffer]

I'll bring my laptop with me.
I don't need to get online during the cruise but as you know I take lots of photos.
I'll upload all the photos from the camera in the end of the day to the laptop. This gives me the chance to take much photos I wish.
However it is nice to have the laptop with wi-fi connection in the hotel during the pre/ post cruise stay.
Most hotels offers free wi-fi service, atleast those I've stayed on.
I do not think it's pain at the airport, it takes just few more seconds.

 

[BSeabob]

I took mine ONCE and we did not have to fly.... connections were always a problem and I have not taken it since. I used it mainly for downloading pictures which I now take carre of by using a larger card and taking a small spare one just in case.

It will not go with me again.

 

[bOB]

connections were always a problem and I have not taken it since

Ya Bob but you have Mac's............................. <img src=http://addictscay.com/bob.php?image=laughblue.gif>

 

[BSeabob]

Where there are connections that work my Mac works also... It can steal things with the best of them

<img src=http://addictscay.com/bob.php?image=laughblue.gif> <img src=http://addictscay.com/bob.php?image=laughblue.gif> <img src=http://addictscay.com/bob.php?image=laughblue.gif>

 

[Priscilla]

I take mine, and going through security is no problem, just another thing to put in the tray. I use mine mostly to write a journal of my trip and download pictures from my camera. Connections are easy to find- free in many ports, and convienent but pricey and slow on the ship. As for other people around me having fun, they are often writing in paper journals or on postcards, and that is in essence what I am doing. I carry mine into the lounge when I am waiting for a show or lecture to start, mostly, and that is downtime on the fun, anyway. With my e-mails all pre-composed through my journal, even if I have to pay for connection time it isn't that much. I wouldn't waste vaction time doing work, however. Vaction is vacation.

 

[tango55]

Hi there. We took ours on our Med cruise in October mainly to download pictures. We took over 8000 pics on our 2 week trip! We are Elite on Princess so had free internet on ship so didn't use it for that.

Now, however, Princess has just announced free wifi on their ships for Elite members - so may use it for that now too! Mostly just for pics though, and the airport hassle wasn't too bad.

Terry

 

[BP]

We always take ours. No big deal at the airport and we have free Internet on Regent with our silver status. Last cruise we used it to download and print our airline boarding passes the last day at sea .

 

[GloBug]

DH has to take his laptop for work. Even on vacation, he's never quite off the hook. He has a Sprint card (I think it is) so if there is a cell phone signal, he has access. It's amazing how far from a port you can get a hookup.

 

[halld6479]

I have a broadband with a verizon card I use on the road to connect will it work at sea? does our cell phones work at sea?

 

[beach1]

Question, do I need to get a wireless card for my laptop in the states to use their connection?
Unfortunately, I have to have it for my work. Will be on RCL Med Cruise

Thanks

 

[nieciez]

I've taken it a few times to review my pics at the end of the day. You get a much better idea on how well the pics turned out on the laptop vs the small screen on the camer. And Leatherneck would use it to watch DVDs that we would bring. BUT we have left it home the last few cruises. I just deleted the bad pics once I got home and Leatherneck watched whatever movie was available on the ship.

 

[Cruizer]

[quote kev]how many of you have brought your own lap top on a cruise with you? how much of a pain is it going through security on ship and airport? is it even worth it? i was thinking about bringing it on my upcoming cruise in march to work on school work or work while on vacation. how easy is it trying to find a free wifi connection. i know they have there own computers on ship but it gets expensive and then all my work and pictures and stuff is not on my computer. i have to e mail it or something? thank you[/quote]

I have taken my laptop on the my last ten cruises. It is no problem at all. At the airport you have to pull the laptop out of whatever you are carrying it in. The ships don't make the same request.

Finding a free wi-fi connection on the ship is easy - there aren't any. The connection speed is about the same as dial up. If you are planning to e-mail photos, make sure you have some photo editing software so you can downsize the photo before you e-mail it.

In the ports you might find some free wi-fi. I know I had to walk around several people in Grand Cayman who were all typing away on their computers. Since there were more comfortable places to sit, I can only assume that they were taking advantage of a free hot spot that they found.

I take my laptop to store and view photos, work on my review (I type my review while still on the ship) and to play games when necessary (like last Saturday for four hours in JFK). I have only used the Internet once while on a ship, and that was only because it was a special occasion. If you are going to access the Internet while on the ship, download what you need and log off. Do what you need to do, then log back on and upload what you need.