GPS (Garmin) City maps

[photonanny]

Has anyone had any experience with Garmin GPS City maps ($10 each) for Barcelona, Rome, and Florence? It would be REAL nice to know where we are and how to get where we want to go!!;)

[orchidj5]

We bought the whole European map set for our Garmin before our trip in June-it was great-we spent a week in italy before boarding the ship and used it alot then-it was especially helpful in venice where the streets are small and narrow and you cant see into the next block. Used it in Florence-Rome-Barcelona-Nice-and tons on the ship because we could figure out where we were at night-its a great toy-lol. I definately think think it was worth the cost of the card with the maps on it. We would just set the pier or hotel as a favorite-then if we needed help getting back-presto.

[photonanny]

Thanks, OrchidJ5! I guess we'll spring for the city maps!!:D

[-Lew-]

We had mixed success using a Garmin Nüvi in Italy in 2007.

 

For driving, other than occasionally sending us the wrong way down one-way streets, it worked quite well. It took us from Piazzale Roma in Venice to Castellina in Chianti with no problems. Also, driving around Tuscany for two weeks without ever opening a map was a big plus.

 

Issues while attempting to use the Nüvi while on foot in Florence made it nearly unusable. I found it necessary to place myself in the middle of an open area in order to get a satellite fix. It doesn't work well at all in narrow lanes and passageways found in many European cities.

 

Lew

[BigGuy25]

We bought the whole European map set for our Garmin before our trip in June-it was great-we spent a week in italy before boarding the ship and used it alot then-it was especially helpful in venice where the streets are small and narrow and you cant see into the next block. Used it in Florence-Rome-Barcelona-Nice-and tons on the ship because we could figure out where we were at night-its a great toy-lol. I definately think think it was worth the cost of the card with the maps on it. We would just set the pier or hotel as a favorite-then if we needed help getting back-presto.

 

What type of Garmin device do you have?

[hubofhockey]

We had mixed success using a Garmin Nüvi in Italy in 2007.

 

For driving, other than occasionally sending us the wrong way down one-way streets, it worked quite well. It took us from Piazzale Roma in Venice to Castellina in Chianti with no problems. Also, driving around Tuscany for two weeks without ever opening a map was a big plus.

 

Issues while attempting to use the Nüvi while on foot in Florence made it nearly unusable. I found it necessary to place myself in the middle of an open area in order to get a satellite fix. It doesn't work well at all in narrow lanes and passageways found in many European cities.

 

Lew

 

That's interesting that you had problems even using it in walk mode. For our next cruise, I am thinking of using my old one and getting new maps or springing for a new Garmin (they all now seem to include live traffic) that includes it. I have used mine in the walk mode in US cities and beach towns where driving (I really mean parking) is next to impossible and have had good luck.

 

Maybe a walking map in Florence makes more sense.

[-Lew-]

 

That's interesting that you had problems even using it in walk mode.

My experience was in September 2007. The technology in close to three years has to be much better now. I'd give it another try.

 

I can tell you I had much success using just my iPhone on our last European cruise in September 2009...much better than with the Garmin. We visited 11 ports of call from Southampton to Rome plus a week in Sorrento post cruise and I don't recall any problems.

 

My wife became so exasperated with my trying to find directions to one of our favorite restaurants in Florence (Il Latini) using the Garmin that she just started asking people. She dragged me along to the restaurant...never did get the Garmin to show me the way. I thought it was quite funny...she didn't.

 

Hope you have more success than I...

 

Lew

[Hlitner]

Several years ago we bought a Garmin Nuvi 670 which, at the time, was a high-end unit that came loaded with both the North American and European map sets. We have since used that unit for driving thousands of miles in Europe (as well as the Canary Islands and Azores) including Italy, Spain, Ireland, France, Germany, and a few other countries. We have found the Garmin to be quite reliable and it even gives us warnings of speed cameras (primarily in France). Is it perfect? No. But it is almost as accurate as it is in the US. We have started strongly recommending folks use a GPS when renting a car in Europe whether it be a rental unit or you buy your own. For us it is a marriage saver since it minimizes fights between DW and myself that used to happen as she tried to read maps.

 

Hank

[-Lew-]

 

For us it is a marriage saver since it minimizes fights between DW and myself that used to happen as she tried to read maps.

Hank,

 

How were you when it came to asking for directions? :rolleyes:

 

I agree...very few problems driving with the Nüvi in Europe. Pronunciation of street names in Italy was quite a hoot though...

 

Lew

[hubofhockey]

I guess one of the problems with the newer Garmins these days is that they come with the alternate traffic routes. But they use MSN traffic and Microsoft is discontinuing that on 1/1/2012. They have a newer one that uses a different service and two years traffic is included. After that, it's $60 a year. I am not sure that the one I have right now is okay to download the maps for $9.95 per city. Well, maybe it's time for a new one anyway. They are the greatest thing to come along the last decade. Let's say they may be a bit behind HDTV but ahead of blu-ray. ;)

[photonanny]

As for right now, we'll not be driving anywhere. Walking or taking the train/bus. It's nice to know where one is, no?

 

Thank you all for your input. Our device is the 265WT from Garmin. Do you think our "Thatcher" (that's what we call the female, British voice) will speak Italian, French, and Spanish in the appropriate places, LOL.

 

I don't know if our model has "walk" mode. I hope so.:rolleyes:

 

Lee

[oldmedic]

not all garmin units "recognize" the walking maps... you can go to the garmin website and find a list of their gps units that will display the "walking" directions, or you can program it for "bike" or "car"...here is a link to the maps available for the 265wt https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134&pID=13430#onTheRoad

[mrmac]

My experience was in September 2007. The technology in close to three years has to be much better now. I'd give it another try.

 

I can tell you I had much success using just my iPhone on our last European cruise in September 2009...much better than with the Garmin. We visited 11 ports of call from Southampton to Rome plus a week in Sorrento post cruise and I don't recall any problems.

 

My wife became so exasperated with my trying to find directions to one of our favorite restaurants in Florence (Il Latini) using the Garmin that she just started asking people. She dragged me along to the restaurant...never did get the Garmin to show me the way. I thought it was quite funny...she didn't.

 

Hope you have more success than I...

 

 

Lew

 

Hey Lew, if you used your iPhone to check the map, weren't you paying $1.99/minute to do that? I just got a new iPhone 4 but I've heard some stories about huge bills when traveling abroad. I was going to get the Europe map for my Garmin, unless you have a cheap way to use the iPnone. Thanks.

[-Lew-]

 

Hey Lew, if you used your iPhone to check the map, weren't you paying $1.99/minute to do that? I just got a new iPhone 4 but I've heard some stories about huge bills when traveling abroad.

Hey mrmac,

 

Actually no... For GPS you're using data which is billed at a different rate than calls. If you want to use GPS internationally, you should add the data roaming feature to your iPhone account for the time you are away. You can purchase megabytes of data in various increments within your account on the AT&T web site.

 

If you plan to make calls with your phone, you can add a feature that reduces your international per minute cost substantially.

 

I strongly suggest you zero out your data usage totals once you're airborne and check them as you travel so you don't exceed your limit. Also, take a screen shot of the data totals page on your way home just in case you're billed incorrectly on your next bill. This way you'll have proof of how much data you actually used.

 

For calling home you may want to load Skype on your iPhone. There's a lot of free wifi in Europe and calls are free or next to nothing. We use Skype for calling home while at sea and, while there may be some delay due to a slow connection, it is useable.

 

Here's a link to the AT&T site you need to check out for international use.

 

Enjoy your cruise...

 

Lew

[orchidj5]

ours is a Garmin Nuvi 255w-we had no issues with it using walking maps-and some limited problems with loosing sattelites in very narrow streets-but as soon as you popped out into a piazza that resolved itself pretty quickly.. The only time it took a long time to find a sattelite was the first time we turned it on in Europe. Since i dont use it locally-the last time it had been turned on-except to verify it was reading the card with european maps-i was in Texas-it took about 10 minutes to "find" itself in Venice. After that we were good to go.

[oldmedic]

i have noticed that also, even in Texas, if i turn it on quite a ways from where I last used it, it takes a little bit longer to "search(ing) for satallites"...

[Hlitner]

Hank,

 

How were you when it came to asking for directions? :rolleyes:

 

I agree...very few problems driving with the Nüvi in Europe. Pronunciation of street names in Italy was quite a hoot though...

 

Lew

 

OMG Lew. I am a man! Everyone knows men never ask for directions! But seriously, we have never had a problem asking for directions from Europeans since many do speak some English and most are very helpful. Where there are pronunciation issues we will often write out the street and/or address. By the way, we do agree that the Nuvi pronunciations can be a hoot. That unit speaks Italian almost as good as me :)

 

Hank

[nonnie&dgd]

How do you carry yours if you are using it for walking directions? Don't want it snatched out of my hand by pick pockets.

[mrmac]

Hey mrmac,

 

Actually no... For GPS you're using data which is billed at a different rate than calls. If you want to use GPS internationally, you should add the data roaming feature to your iPhone account for the time you are away. You can purchase megabytes of data in various increments within your account on the AT&T web site.

 

If you plan to make calls with your phone, you can add a feature that reduces your international per minute cost substantially.

 

I strongly suggest you zero out your data usage totals once you're airborne and check them as you travel so you don't exceed your limit. Also, take a screen shot of the data totals page on your way home just in case you're billed incorrectly on your next bill. This way you'll have proof of how much data you actually used.

 

For calling home you may want to load Skype on your iPhone. There's a lot of free wifi in Europe and calls are free or next to nothing. We use Skype for calling home while at sea and, while there may be some delay due to a slow connection, it is useable.

 

Here's a link to the AT&T site you need to check out for international use.

 

Enjoy your cruise...

 

Lew

 

Thanks Lew. I read it all and it scares me because who knows how much data you'll use if you sign up for a plan. I'm an iPhone newbie and have only had a regular cell phone for calls before this. Maybe I'll look into Skype for Euro calls. I bought the Garmin Euro chip for my nuvi on Amazon last night for half the price Garmin sells it for so at least I won't get lost.

[orchidj5]

[/

How do you carry yours if you are using it for walking directions? Don't want it snatched out of my hand by pick pockets.

QUOTE]

I assure you we never felt like someone was going to snatch it out of our hands-when we were in areas where pick pocketing was really a concern- Las Rambles, the Trevi fountain and such-we usually were not using the GPS-at those times i put it in my pac safe cross body purse-im a rather well endowed girl and i wear it so the zipper-it addition to being snapped to the handle-rested where i would KNOW if someone was going for it-even a really talented pickpocket :cool:

[nonnie&dgd]

[/

How do you carry yours if you are using it for walking directions? Don't want it snatched out of my hand by pick pockets.

QUOTE]

I assure you we never felt like someone was going to snatch it out of our hands-when we were in areas where pick pocketing was really a concern- Las Rambles, the Trevi fountain and such-we usually were not using the GPS-at those times i put it in my pac safe cross body purse-im a rather well endowed girl and i wear it so the zipper-it addition to being snapped to the handle-rested where i would KNOW if someone was going for it-even a really talented pickpocket :cool:

 

Thanks. I feel a lot better now.

[-Lew-]

 

Thanks Lew. I read it all and it scares me because who knows how much data you'll use if you sign up for a plan. I'm an iPhone newbie and have only had a regular cell phone for calls before this. Maybe I'll look into Skype for Euro calls. I bought the Garmin Euro chip for my nuvi on Amazon last night for half the price Garmin sells it for so at least I won't get lost.

If you're not comfortable using your iPhone for navigation in Europe, you probably made a good move by purchasing the chip.

 

For future reference, check your data usage by going to Settings → General → Usage, check the numbers under Cellular Network Data. You can compute how much data you're using by combining the Sent and Received, divide that number by the number of days since you reset that number and multiply by 30 to get an estimate of monthly usage. Touch Reset Statistics to set numbers to zero if you wish.

 

Lew

[photonanny]

Garmin responded to me about the "enhanced pedestrian navigator". This a new product just released. This type of map enables train, bus, subway schedules for the city purchased. How cool is that?! So, since our 265WT will not handle the enhanced maps, we may spring for an upgrade model (1000 series). The 265WT will handle the city maps if downloaded to individual SD cards for each city. But, the train et al schedules will not be included. We could navigate to the station, but the schedules we'll look at will be on paper. This trip is costing way more than we expected, lol. ;)