Experience in using a Kindle on a cruise.

[askmyforum]

I am traveling on board Insignia from Valparaiso to Rio and the question came up about using the Kindle during the trip. I could no get a definitive answer and so I thought that I would ask if anyone has any experience in this. Thanks

[willmschen]

My husband and I both used our Kindles on our Istanbul to Miami cruise last fall. What kind of questions do you have about using Kindle on a cruise?

[askmyforum]

Thanks for the reply. Basically, just wanted to know if it downloads and are there any side affects using it on board Oceania's Insignia. Again, thanks for the reply.

[willmschen]

When we wanted to download something, we went to an internet cafe in port and downloaded stuff to a flash drive, then put it on the Kindle back on the ship using our laptop computer. You could probably take the Kindle ashore and connect it to a computer and download directly to the Kindle. (Internet speeds on the ship are very slow.)

[Toranut97]

My Kindle saved my sanity a few years ago when we were river cruising on the Rhine, Main and Danube with Vantage. (This is a 1st gen. Kindle.) My husband took ill and ended up for 8 days in the hospital in Mainz. I had preloaded it with plenty of books and it keep me occupied during many long hours at his bedside!! (he is fine btw)

 

Kindle 2nd gen (the latest Kindle) is supposed to be able to download materials in something like 100 countries. Which Kindle do you have? Perhaps you will not need to be at a cafe to obtain things.

 

Of coruse you will want to keep the wireless turned off to conserve your charge, and be sure to take your charger along.

 

I have had my Kindle since December of 2007 and adore it. It has traveled to Europe, Mexico and Hawaii with no problems. Enjoy the fun it brings to your voyage!

[WesW]

Love my Kindle, used it for 16 nights on our TA in January. Kindle works in 84 countries, Amazon is working to expand the license to other countries. Just love that you can

download half dozen+ books on you kindle prior to your cruise and save that book space

for (more shoes for my wife :() . You will be able to check the countries on your itinerary with the countries that Amazon has a license agreement with on the Amazon site. When we stopped in Portugal, Canary Islands, and France, I was able to download

daily the International Herald Tribune (besides the $11.99 month subscription) when overseas you pay $4.99 a week to download periodicals or books. Thus, download your

books prior to your cruise.

 

Pls see this thread for more detail:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1088601&highlight=kindle&page=2

[Cruise Junky]

Don't you need the new international Kindle to be able to download in these countries? the old US only version wouldn't do it before. I'd download all my books that I wanted to read before leaving the US.

[editor@cruisecritic]

As a cruise journalist who sails on ships some 12 weeks a year, my husband bought me a Kindle cause I traveled with way too many books. Ironically, I'd pack all these books, in all these heavy suitcases, and then I'd find more interesting stuff to read in ships' libraries.

 

So he got fed up.

 

Bottom line: Kindle's a great replacement for books on a long trip (was on a Crystal cruise and have to say that every time I read it in a restaurant waiters and other crew members were fascinated, great bonding moments).

 

All things being equal, I'd rather read a real book. But if you're on a cruise, especially a long cruise, Kindle is a great solution. Try to bulk up on books before you leave because once you're in international waters (which is most of the time on a cruise) it's more complicated and potentially expensive to download books.

 

I did find, because I traveled with a laptop, that you can buy books and transfer them to Kindle via the Internet (so if you do have a sudden yen to buy a new book, you can)....

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

[Fressia]

My husband gave me the international Kindle for Xmas and I took it on our Valparaiso to Rio cruise. Be sure to download many books on it. I tried to download in Buenos Aires and was unable to go wireless even though the wireless map shows BA as a place to download. I love it and was very happy not to have the books in my luggage. I now use it all the time here at home.:)

[elpam]

can anyone recommend a good cover for the Kindle (it will be arriving on Monday), and let me know if it is essential to use a cover, thanks!

[WesW]

Love my Oberon leather cover, pls see link below..but it is expensive ($75)

compared to the leather cover ($34.99) Amazon offers (2nd link below)

 

http://oberondesign.com/Kindle.php

 

http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Kindle-Leather-Display-Generation/dp/B002Y27P6O/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

 

Firmly believe a good cover is a necessity, helps prevent breakage when you accidentally drop your kindle (and I have a few times, but cover makes it a non issue)

 

Also, normally I do not get service contracts for electronic gadgets, in this case, recommend you getting an extra year's protection (besides Amazon warranty) only

costs about $35 per year and covers you if you accidentally break u'r kindle.

[raffeer]

After over two years of owning a Kindle (now a Kindle2) I've used several different covers. My favorite for looks, protection and lack of weight/bulk are the Javoedge products-

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=javoedge&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4379807385&ref=pd_sl_827e9yvn6b_b

 

 

On my first cruise with the Kindle (Feb '08), reading in the library quickly became a problem with people coming up and asking about it. Now days it seems that they are everywhere.

[Toranut97]

Don't you need the new international Kindle to be able to download in these countries? the old US only version wouldn't do it before. I'd download all my books that I wanted to read before leaving the US.

 

Yes, you need the newer 2nd gen Kindle to download overseas.

 

For covers, I am a big fan of M-Edge. Their site has a great selection, including waterproof sleeves.

[bbwex]

I simply bought the standard cover for my Kindle II because that was the only one out there when I bought my Kindle -- right at release time. Frankly I have been very satisfied with it, and don't see the need for one of the much-more-expensive ones. I did just look at the one posted earlier (Janoedge), and though I like the "stand-up" feature, I don't think I would use that very much, and during normal use, I would prefer one that opens like a book rather than having the cover up in the air.

 

The only thing to make sure of is that it has the locking device for the Kindle II which is markedly different than the way the Kindle I just was in the cover using a couple of pieces of elastic at the corners.

 

As has been said, they are great to take on a trip. One little "book" that has 100 books in it (you can have more, but that's about my current count).

[Sunbubble]

I have the newer version of the Kindle. You really need to have a cover -- the first one I got fell and it broke the screen. I like the one that Amazon sells. I think it's 29.95 -- comes in lots of colors. BTW, I love my Kindle -- the only problem is that it's way too easy to buy new books. LOL

[WaterView2]

To summarize then, for US customers traveling abroad you need the latest generation Kindle, or the latest Kindle DX model that work overseas. The downloads overseas are not free; Amazon charges $1.99 per download, whether a book or periodical.

 

Downloading before you leave or from a computer/flash drive would work with any model and not incur any extra charges.

 

We always bring ours along, load it up before we depart.

[WesW]

not quite correct, for books downloading internationally the charge is $1.99 for

periodicals OTOH, the charge is $4.99 for a week of downloading a magazine,

periodical, or blog (in addition to monthly subscription charge).

 

Pls see this Amazon link for good traveling tips w/u'r kindle (including the whispher net

coverage map (important to check to see if u can download at your respective

port):

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200375590

[GrammieK]

Thank you for your recommendation for the Oberon Kindle cover. Wow! I am impressed. Beautiful designs and beautiful workmanship.Can't wait to use my Kindle on my upcoming cruises -

Thanks again!

K

[szdiver]

I have had my sony reader for over a year now and have had a lot of enjoyment from it. I download before I leave and have never run out of books on a cruise. My sony reader has a cover and internal light, plus two drives to put photos and music on as well as periodicals or newspapers. While it isn't wireless, it is still my favorite "book".

[shedevil]

As a cruise journalist who sails on ships some 12 weeks a year, my husband bought me a Kindle cause I traveled with way too many books. Ironically, I'd pack all these books, in all these heavy suitcases, and then I'd find more interesting stuff to read in ships' libraries.

 

So he got fed up.

 

Bottom line: Kindle's a great replacement for books on a long trip (was on a Crystal cruise and have to say that every time I read it in a restaurant waiters and other crew members were fascinated, great bonding moments).

 

All things being equal, I'd rather read a real book. But if you're on a cruise, especially a long cruise, Kindle is a great solution. Try to bulk up on books before you leave because once you're in international waters (which is most of the time on a cruise) it's more complicated and potentially expensive to download books.

 

I did find, because I traveled with a laptop, that you can buy books and transfer them to Kindle via the Internet (so if you do have a sudden yen to buy a new book, you can)....

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

Have you found any good travel guides for the Kindle?

 

I got my husband a Kindle 2 for Christmas and we plan to take it with us on our Italy cruise in June on Insignia. I want to take some guidebooks but they are so heavy. The Kindle would be a great solution but I have heard the travel guides suffer in translation, especially the maps and illustrations.

[srlafleur]

Rick Steves guides are available for Kindle.

[Lucy Jane]

I love my Kindle - I downloaded a book in December in a hotel lobby waiting for transfer to ship in Italy. They charge $1.99 for international downloading but you can avoid the fee by plugging it into a laptop and connecting that way. By the way, wireless EDGE is fast - I had my book in about 60 seconds!

You are right, it is a great way to spend lots of money (I have mine hooked up to a debit card so I don't have to be home to pay bill) however, they do have lots of books for free!

[BillC]

You'll have to access Amazon.com via computer in order to download books and periodicals and blogs that you subscribe to. We generally bring a netbook with us rather than use the internet center.

[raffeer]

No law against downloading a bunch of books BEFORE you leave home. Nice to have the choice of reading material with you.

[smokeyglass]

I downloaded a lot of books prior to traveling, however it is fun to see what ports you have whispernet access in and download EVEN MORE. It does vary from the map, I think it just changes daily sometimes. I have the Oberon cover - am on Kindle 2 and loved it so much on Kindle 1 that I bought one for Kindle 2. I also take along a Kwik Tek waterproof cover for cruising for those times when I think I might be around water hazards - reading by the pool or taking along on an excursion to the beach, etc. You can access all the control buttons through it and read yet keep it protected.

 

I honestly didn't think I would be so addicted to the Kindle but find it perfect for travellng and not hauling around a million books in the suitcase.