iPad on ship

[purplemusik]

I was thinking about bringing the iPad for some entertainment for my little ones during dinner or in the cabin at times and I wasn't sure if it was something that would work or if we'd have to pay to connect to their wireless. I just got the iPad so I'm not quite knowledgable with it yet but I'm assuming for them to do anything we would have to be connected with the ship's wifi, right? So it might not be a good idea at all?

[jamesr3939]

Download videos before you go and then you can watch whatever you want without connecting to the WiFi. The ship WiFi would be impossible to use to download anything like a movie as it's so slow and expensive. Before we travel I usually download the TV shows my DW won't let me watch at home because she wants to watch HGTV or something similar. I use the travel time to catch up on my favorites i.e. Sons of Anarchy, The Americans, and Breaking Bad.

[Herbaltees]

You will have access to the purchased items (cartoons, movies etc.) from Itunes. Apps like Netflix and things that stream data will require Wifi to play. There are some games that are local to the Ipad which the kids can play.

 

I found the ships WIFI network, very slow (like dial up) and not very reliable. I had to send 1 email with an attachment, and it cost me $20 and took over an hour to send. The network kept dropping.

[IronOxide]

If you choose to connect through Wi-FI, you pay by the minute and that can get real expensive for a slow internet connection. Consider loading your IPad before hand with media and games, then use it in offline mode once out at sea.

[kona_wahine]

I have a ton of games downloaded for 3 year old granddaughter, all which you can play offline. She can work the darn thing better than I can!

[dreamgirl1908]

I was thinking about bringing the iPad for some entertainment for my little ones during dinner or in the cabin at times and I wasn't sure if it was something that would work or if we'd have to pay to connect to their wireless. I just got the iPad so I'm not quite knowledgable with it yet but I'm assuming for them to do anything we would have to be connected with the ship's wifi, right? So it might not be a good idea at all?

 

What previous posts said! I learned the hard way when my 2yr old couldn't access her watch Disney junior app. I have two interactive games already downloaded, and I plan to add more before we leave in Dec.

 

 

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[dnag]

You will be able to play lots of games and watch shows with a little advance planning. You can always test before coming aboard by disabling your wireless and making sure your games and apps still work!!

 

I agree with others - you don't want to rely on the wireless on-board for downloads -- it is slow and expensive!!

[092306]

We just used it on the Splendor and our son watched episodes of his favorite shows that I bought beforehand from iTunes and games from the App Store. You don't want or need to connect to wifi on the ship to watch them. The shows will be stored in your "videos" icon and the games will have their own icons.

[tafische]

+1 on putting it in Airplane mode and testing - that will be what it is like onboard.

 

If you like to watch YouTube - there is a good App called PlayTube Pro that is only a few dollars and lets you download and watch them offline. You could load up a bunch of shows and take them with you.

 

Depending on how young they are, there are also some good real along books and interactive books that may keep them occupied as needed.

[dreamgirl1908]

+1 on putting it in Airplane mode and testing - that will be what it is like onboard.

 

If you like to watch YouTube - there is a good App called PlayTube Pro that is only a few dollars and lets you download and watch them offline. You could load up a bunch of shows and take them with you.

 

Depending on how young they are, there are also some good real along books and interactive books that may keep them occupied as needed.

 

Thanks for the info! I'm gonna checkout YouTube Pro. My daughter loves cartoons and nursery rhymes on YouTube.

 

 

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[tafische]

Thanks for the info! I'm gonna checkout YouTube Pro. My daughter loves cartoons and nursery rhymes on YouTube.

 

 

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It is PlayTube Pro (not from Youtube...)...I think it is 2 or 3 bucks...

[dreamgirl1908]

It is PlayTube Pro (not from Youtube...)...I think it is 2 or 3 bucks...

Oh....got it! Thanks!

 

 

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[CrimsonTideGal]

Download videos before you go and then you can watch whatever you want without connecting to the WiFi. The ship WiFi would be impossible to use to download anything like a movie as it's so slow and expensive. Before we travel I usually download the TV shows my DW won't let me watch at home because she wants to watch HGTV or something similar. I use the travel time to catch up on my favorites i.e. Sons of Anarchy, The Americans, and Breaking Bad.

 

Where do you download the shows from? I am getting one soon and the main purpose is to be able to watch tv shows and movies that I can download when I cant get internet.

[purplemusik]

Thanks everyone!! I never knew I could do that!

[INCHARGE]

My iPad has stored all of my shows and movies into icloud. I was not able to see any of them without wifi. I had to wait until I had wifi to tpull them out of the cloud. Has anyone else had that problem?

[MichFish]

You can download movies and shows from a few places. iTunes is the easiest - because it's Apples deal and fully integrated with the ipad. Amazon has an app now as well. Some cable or Satellite TV vendors have apps now that will let you down load items for view later. Some TV network apps as well.

[MichFish]

You should download whatever you want to watch to the iPad before you leave. Anything stored in the cloud requires an internet connection to get to.

[Dabaras]

Another thing you can do with your ipad is turn wireless on, but don't every input you folio/info. On the page that asks you for that information (just open the web browser and try to go anywhere) there is an icon in the lower right called fun hub. You can see the fun times and get news highlights on your ipad with paying anything.

[tafische]

You can also rip DVDs that you own. Now you will see varying opinions on the legality of this and it varies from county to county - but I have no issue with someone who has purchased a DVD ripping it for personal use. (That can be another discussion thread).

 

On the Mac - Handbrake is a great tool for this. On a PC I like DVD Shrink - both are free and easy to use. They will create a file that you can import into iTunes and then copy to your iPad or iPhone. Discs can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to rip each and will be between 1 and 4 gb in size generally. Hard disk space is cheap and they can easily be stored on an external drive.

 

Enjoy!