Buying an IPad on a Cruise

[Desertbelle]

I will be on the Reflection in April and had considered buying an iPad while on board at the Apple store. I got to thinking that whenever I have bought a new Apple product it takes a couple of hours for it to completely sync using wifi/cell connection with my iCloud information, such as downloading apps, songs, photos, etc.

 

I'm thinking this can't happen on a cruise, especially out in the middle of the Atlantic. Am I right, or do they have a fix for that at the cruise Apple Store?

[GottaKnowWhen]

I will be on the Reflection in April and had considered buying an iPad while on board at the Apple store. I got to thinking that whenever I have bought a new Apple product it takes a couple of hours for it to completely sync using wifi/cell connection with my iCloud information, such as downloading apps, songs, photos, etc.

 

I'm thinking this can't happen on a cruise, especially out in the middle of the Atlantic. Am I right, or do they have a fix for that at the cruise Apple Store?

 

When you buy the iPad they will give you an hour free internet access. Which will probably not be enough time for the synch to happen. Explain, they may give you additional time. But they will have no way around the physical limitations of the onboard connection to the satellite connection to the web. If it were me, I would avoid synching photos and music, leave those for when you have a solid shore-based connection.

[Desertbelle]

When you buy the iPad they will give you an hour free internet access. Which will probably not be enough time for the synch to happen. Explain, they may give you additional time. But they will have no way around the physical limitations of the onboard connection to the satellite connection to the web. If it were me, I would avoid synching photos and music, leave those for when you have a solid shore-based connection.

 

 

Thank you so much for the quick reply. It's good to know that they at least try to get your new product synced up.

 

I am thinking that I will buy the new iPad now and not bother with it on the cruise. With 8 sea days I thought it would be a little bit of a thing to do but I would be sad if I couldn't get all my apps and information synced up because of slow and spotty internet connection.

[GottaKnowWhen]

I have another thought...

If you have your old iPad with you, then maybe the following would work. a. Sign on to one of the iMacs in the iLounge. b. Plug in your old iPad. c. Link it to the iMac, do a full encrypted backup. d. Plug in your new iPad. e. Chose the option of setting up the new iPad via a Restore from your backup.

 

All of the above is the way to go on your home computer. What I am not sure about is whether you can do this on a computer where you just have visitor privileges. Apple does have built-in roadblocks designed to keep people from sharing purchased music etc. and you could well run into such roadblocks.

 

Of course the above would work if you have your laptop with you as well...

 

Apart from the potential problems with synching your content, there are a few disadvantages to buying onboard. You may not get the exact model you wanted due to inventory limitations, you would be stuck with the packaging to throw away or carry home, and you would miss out on the free engraving that you can get when you order online direct from Apple.

Edited January 14, 2016 by GottaKnowWhen

[Tsi2quick]

Just curious as to why you'd wait till you were onboard to buy an iPad? I'm a first time cruiser in about a week, and see they have the Apple store, but was wondering why. Less taxes? Cheaper?

 

Thanks for the clarity! (maybe I need to plan on buying one too!) haha

[Desertbelle]

I have another thought...

If you have your old iPad with you, then maybe the following would work. a. Sign on to one of the iMacs in the iLounge. b. Plug in your old iPad. c. Link it to the iMac, do a full encrypted backup. d. Plug in your new iPad. e. Chose the option of setting up the new iPad via a Restore from your backup.

 

All of the above is the way to go on your home computer. What I am not sure about is whether you can do this on a computer where you just have visitor privileges. Apple does have built-in roadblocks designed to keep people from sharing purchased music etc. and you could well run into such roadblocks.

 

Of course the above would work if you have your laptop with you as well...

 

Apart from the potential problems with synching your content, there are a few disadvantages to buying onboard. You may not get the exact model you wanted due to inventory limitations, you would be stuck with the packaging to throw away or carry home, and you would miss out on the free engraving that you can get when you order online direct from Apple.

LOL, now it's sounding way too complicated for my 64 year old brain. :DThanks for the possible work around though.

[GottaKnowWhen]

Just curious as to why you'd wait till you were onboard to buy an iPad? I'm a first time cruiser in about a week, and see they have the Apple store, but was wondering why. Less taxes? Cheaper?

 

Thanks for the clarity! (maybe I need to plan on buying one too!) haha

 

Prices are the same as U.S. retail. Which can be quite a bit lower than the cost in other countries. Also, I know some people have "excess" on-board credit in their account and find an iPad or similar to be a good way to use that OBC.

[Desertbelle]

Just curious as to why you'd wait till you were onboard to buy an iPad? I'm a first time cruiser in about a week, and see they have the Apple store, but was wondering why. Less taxes? Cheaper?

 

Thanks for the clarity! (maybe I need to plan on buying one too!) haha

My first thought was it would be something fun to look forward to doing on our long cruise (16 days, 8 at sea) and the no sales tax was a bonus....our state is nearly 9%.

 

I have heard the prices are the same as all the other Apple stores, so an 8.75% discount sounded pretty good....$100 would pay for a couple of Specialty restaurants! :)

 

I hadn't really thought about things like them being out of stock or what to do with the packaging. I'm glad I asked.

[excitedofharpenden]

When you buy the iPad they will give you an hour free internet access.

 

They gave me six hours when I bought mine on Constellation in September, but I still waited until I got home to set it up. I did have my old iPad with me though.

 

Phil

[Nana57]

I recently bought one on the Eclipse. Saved on taxes. Richard on the Eclipse was amazing setting it all up for me. Some of the apps from my IPhone appeared right away. Waited until I got home for the others to load. Very satisfied with my purchase. Used my OBC to pay for it!

[north29]

and deal seeker LOL

 

Many times in the year you can get better deals./trade in offers, if you have a recent model of iPad. I did one from Target a couple of years ago.

Unless I had a bunch of non refundable OBC to spend I would not buy one on the ship. Every one is different so do what you like.

[Christine Frances]

I recently bought one on the Eclipse. Saved on taxes. Richard on the Eclipse was amazing setting it all up for me. Some of the apps from my IPhone appeared right away. Waited until I got home for the others to load. Very satisfied with my purchase. Used my OBC to pay for it!

 

Richard is amazing!!! Love his classes in the theatre and always learn something new even though I have been using my iPad/iPhone for years.

 

My friend bought an iPad Mini2 with some OBC and just about waited too long lol. By the time she made up her mind there was only one left. The iLounge guy set it all up for her, loaded a bunch of Apps and gave her some free internet. She was very happy:)

Edited January 14, 2016 by Christine Frances

[Desertbelle]

They gave me six hours when I bought mine on Constellation in September, but I still waited until I got home to set it up. I did have my old iPad with me though.

 

Phil

6 hours does make more sense, especially with less than stellar internet.

[chemmo]

Just curious as to why you'd wait till you were onboard to buy an iPad? I'm a first time cruiser in about a week, and see they have the Apple store, but was wondering why. Less taxes? Cheaper?

 

Thanks for the clarity! (maybe I need to plan on buying one too!) haha

 

They are similar priced to shore based even on our side of the Atlantic. The main reason why people often buy iPads, cameras....is to use OBC in a good way! With more and more people having drinks packages you can end up with significant amounts of cash to spend and if you are not going to use X's excursions what do you spend it on.? (Personally we never have a problem!).

 

Also totally agree with Gottaknowwhen....stock is varied and limited. One poor fellow we met in Michael's Club was in the dog house for the full cruise having insisted his wife waited until we were on board to buy her new iPad which was not available on our cruise.

 

We have bought cameras etc on board and have had deals we have been happy with I would only consider buying an iPad if I was happy using my present one for the cruise then if I can buy one fine...if not no problem!

 

Have a great cruise!

[Boo2]

Slighty off topic but, I think, relevant ... a few years ago, a fellow passenger broke my camera (a whole 'nother story, lol) so we bought a new one while on the cruise. The very DAY that we stepped off the ship, the brand new camera stopped working; when we got home, we enquired with the manufacturer about having it fixed/replaced. We found out that we had to pay to ship it back to Celebrity and then Celebrity had to ship it back to the manufacturer for repair/replacement.

 

It ended up taking forever to get the camera back and the whole process was a HUGE pain in the neck. We will never again buy electronics on a cruise. Just a heads up ...

[upwarduk]

Just curious as to why you'd wait till you were onboard to buy an iPad? I'm a first time cruiser in about a week, and see they have the Apple store, but was wondering why. Less taxes? Cheaper?

 

Thanks for the clarity! (maybe I need to plan on buying one too!) haha

 

If you live in the UK it is a no brainier as the purchase price is in US $ (duty free)

I bought a 128 GB mini- cost $599 ( UK price £599)

Conversion on the day =£385

Just be very careful that you do not exceed £390, which is your customs allowance, if you exceed it, you will be charged the full 20% VAT on entry into the UK.

[az_tchr]

If you want anything other than basic model the ship is not the place to buy Apple products for USA residents. Selection is limited to very limited. If you ask on all our cruises they gave one day internet service included, but understand the service is so slow do you really want to spend hours doing all that on board? Can buy on EBay for the same price. Agree if lots of OBCN then definitely buy.

[hulamoon]

Plus no tax. Nice heads up about the refund of cameras.

[Desertbelle]

Slighty off topic but, I think, relevant ... a few years ago, a fellow passenger broke my camera (a whole 'nother story, lol) so we bought a new one while on the cruise. The very DAY that we stepped off the ship, the brand new camera stopped working; when we got home, we enquired with the manufacturer about having it fixed/replaced. We found out that we had to pay to ship it back to Celebrity and then Celebrity had to ship it back to the manufacturer for repair/replacement.

 

It ended up taking forever to get the camera back and the whole process was a HUGE pain in the neck. We will never again buy electronics on a cruise. Just a heads up ...

My thought is that your local Apple store would take care of any issues you had with an Apple product. Though I can understand having a problem with a camera could be a big hassle. Good heads up!

[prim8keeper]

I just bought a new iPad on Reflection in late November. As others said, stock is limited so go early in the cruise. They had 3 in total for the amount of space I wanted. I waited until I got home to set it up. I can't imagine trying to do it on the ships Internet, free or not. They didn't actually have any Apple cases and they case they did have you can get for half the price on Amazon, just an FYI.

[Mr. Click]

I spent some time in the iLounge on the Solstice on our recent cruise because I needed to print something out from my laptop....while waiting to find out how to do it I heard a number of people complaining bitterly after they bought iPhones or iPads on board and could not get them properly provisioned on the ship because the internet is so bad. One guy got his started, it disabled his old phone and would not complete his new photo set up. Soooo, if you are thinking about, don't plan on using it until you get home...

[smtcan]

I spent some time in the iLounge on the Solstice on our recent cruise because I needed to print something out from my laptop....while waiting to find out how to do it I heard a number of people complaining bitterly after they bought iPhones or iPads on board and could not get them properly provisioned on the ship because the internet is so bad. One guy got his started, it disabled his old phone and would not complete his new photo set up. Soooo, if you are thinking about, don't plan on using it until you get home...

 

I understood that no iPhones were sold on board because of the requirements in different countries.

[Desertbelle]

I spent some time in the iLounge on the Solstice on our recent cruise because I needed to print something out from my laptop....while waiting to find out how to do it I heard a number of people complaining bitterly after they bought iPhones or iPads on board and could not get them properly provisioned on the ship because the internet is so bad. One guy got his started, it disabled his old phone and would not complete his new photo set up. Soooo, if you are thinking about, don't plan on using it until you get home...

This is exactly what I was concerned about. Yep, buying an iPad this week and it will be plenty synced up by my cruise in April!:)

[heath0423]

I just bought a new iPad on Reflection in late November. As others said, stock is limited so go early in the cruise. They had 3 in total for the amount of space I wanted. I waited until I got home to set it up. I can't imagine trying to do it on the ships Internet, free or not. They didn't actually have any Apple cases and they case they did have you can get for half the price on Amazon, just an FYI.

 

I wonder if they would have the new iPad Pro, on board?

[Iamcruzin]

Just curious as to why you'd wait till you were onboard to buy an iPad? I'm a first time cruiser in about a week, and see they have the Apple store, but was wondering why. Less taxes? Cheaper?

 

Thanks for the clarity! (maybe I need to plan on buying one too!) haha

 

I agree with you. I purchased a laptop for may son just to save the 8.75% tax only to find out my son could have received a 10% student discount at the apple store. With that said I have a $300 OBC with Celebrity and I was thinking of using that towards a purchase an iPad.