Using Navionics app on an Alaska cruise--will it perform well?

[Alaska0799]

We're looking to replace our old Garmin and Navionics has been recommended. Will primarily use it to track our location and show locations where we often see whales. Any input will be appreciated!

[Sea2skiFun]

I have not used Garmin, but I have navionics on my phone and it is fantastic. We use it as a backup on our boat. One time we lost battery power on an offshore tuna trip 112 miles out, and we used it to get us back to port without any issues. I have used it on our cruise in New Zealand to Tasmania and then Sydney Australia. I had no problems with it. You just have to download the map area you are interested in traveling before you go to it. Like all GPS apps, it eats up your battery, so plan accordingly.

 

If you are looking for a recommendation by someone who uses it regularly and in several parts of the world, it gets the highest one I can give you. I am planning on using it in AK as well but I have not done so. I am making the assumption that it will work fine since it works off GPS and lays your position on a map.

[Haboob]

We're looking to replace our old Garmin and Navionics has been recommended. Will primarily use it to track our location and show locations where we often see whales. Any input will be appreciated!

 

Navionics is software, right? "2+2" in the far north is the same as "2+2" at the equator.

 

More depends upon the GPS receiver in the smartphone or whatever you load it on

and --thinks "Skagway has a deep valley"-- how much sky is currently above the horizon.

[Alaska0799]

Great input! We loaded the app ($14.99) on our iPad and used it driving from Dallas to east Texas for Mother's Day weekend. We are VERY pleased! Love the feature that allows you to snap a still or video then automatically adds a marker. You can then get the coordinates of each marker! Will make marking the locations of whale and other wildlife sightings very quick as we're cruising.

 

Will be loading on our iPhones and second iPad, too! Can load up to 6 devices.

 

Thank you, CC members for taking the time to share your experiences!

[peety3]

Does GPS work when in airplane mode (which is essential to avoid huge roaming charges on the ship), or is there a different way to get the cellular features disabled that keeps GPS on? And for those who used an iPad, was it a cellular-enabled iPad? I was under the impression that the Wifi-only iPads didn't have GPS receivers inside.

[Alaska0799]

Does GPS work when in airplane mode (which is essential to avoid huge roaming charges on the ship), or is there a different way to get the cellular features disabled that keeps GPS on? And for those who used an iPad, was it a cellular-enabled iPad? I was under the impression that the Wifi-only iPads didn't have GPS receivers inside.

 

Not sure about the roaming and other concerns. What we do know is we had cellular data turned off on our 2018 GPS-enabled iPad and it worked beautifully.

About all we can suggest is just to research the device you want to use.

[Haboob]

Does GPS work when in airplane mode (which is essential to avoid huge roaming charges on the ship), or is there a different way to get the cellular features disabled that keeps GPS on? And for those who used an iPad, was it a cellular-enabled iPad? I was under the impression that the Wifi-only iPads didn't have GPS receivers inside.

 

Simple answer: Yes.

 

Smartphones, iPads, and tablets have multiple radios. Any GPS radio is receive-only, on a

different set of frequencies than any cellphone radio, never racks up any minutes, and is not

affected by Airplane Mode.

 

Now, a smartphone can take the location it figures out from GPS radio and send it off to the

world and it's dog via any of the other radios. That's even the usual default setting.

[thinfool]

My Ipad Air 2 is wifi only....no gps capability unless I am connected to wifi.

 

My Iphone SE has fully functioning GPS capability. Neither wifi nor cellular service is necessary for it to plot a location.

 

Flying home from Lima several months ago, holding my phone against a window I was able to see: Location, altitude and airspeed. (we were boogeying along about 550 kt)

[Haboob]

My Ipad Air 2 is wifi only....no gps capability unless I am connected to wifi.

⋮

 

GPS works by measuring how long radio signals take to get to your device from 4+ satellites,

and applying simple geometry (unless you are high enough or fast enough that it thinks

"I'm on a ballistic missle"). Wi-fi doesn't enter into it.

 

What does happen is other folks' devices with GPS and wi-fi send their location and the ID of

the wi-fi network they're connected with to Google, etc, and Google, etc, send you the location

of the wi-fi network to you as your location when you connect to that network.

 

They're also selling your location and the other folks' location in real-time. Creepy.

Edited May 16, 2018 by Haboob

[thinfool]

So if I am horseback riding somewhere in the Rockies, far from any cell tower or wifi signal, how is my handheld gps able to tell me where I am?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Haboob]

So if I am horseback riding somewhere in the Rockies, far from any cell tower or wifi signal, how is my handheld gps able to tell me where I am?

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

The same way a cruise ship's GPS does.

 

There is a constellation of... 24? satellites orbiting the Earth, each of which continuously sends

--gross simplification-- "At 12:34:56.789 GMT, I'm at x,y,z". Your GPS listens to 4* or more of

them, figures out how far you are from each using how long it takes the signal to get to you,

and then works geometry math to figure out where you are.

 

* In theory, 3 satellites would work, but in practice they want 4+.

[Greysandy]

Thanks for the info. I think I will probably download it for my phone and iPad.