Kindle -- Usage Questions

[Italy52]

My husband would like to use his Kindle while on our cruise; we have quite a few sea days.  We will NOT have an internet package.  What does he have to do in order to read his books and not be charged internet fees?  Thanks in advance from two technically challenged seniors.

[Firefly74]

6 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

My husband would like to use his Kindle while on our cruise; we have quite a few sea days.  We will NOT have an internet package.  What does he have to do in order to read his books and not be charged internet fees?  Thanks in advance from two technically challenged seniors.

I never connected my Kindle to the internet while on the cruise. What you need to do is to have him download any books he buys or has to his kindle before the trip. (Make sure he actually downloads them and does not just buy them. He can check by making sure they show in the downloaded tab in his library.) The Kindle works just fine without the internet (and I use it on airplanes too.)

[yorkshirephil]

7 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

My husband would like to use his Kindle while on our cruise; we have quite a few sea days.  We will NOT have an internet package.  What does he have to do in order to read his books and not be charged internet fees?  Thanks in advance from two technically challenged seniors.

Download the books before he goes, or failing that download them while in port where wi-fi is free.

[Firefly74]

Just now, yorkshirephil said:

Download the books before he goes, or failing that download them while in port where wi-fi is free.

If he's not tech-savvy, he will do better to download them at home. Kindles are notoriously finicky about connecting to new wi-fi sometimes.

[Italy52]

@Firefly74, @yorkshirephil.  Thanks for your replies, I appreciate it.  My husband has already purchased his books and they have downloaded to his device; he even opened one of them up for assurance.  I am assuming that the next thing he should do is put his Kindle in "airplane mode" so he can read his books while on the ship and not worry about incurring any charges?

Edited January 12 by Italy52

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 minute ago, Italy52 said:

@Firefly74, @yorkshirephil.  Thanks for your replies, I appreciate it.  My husband has already purchased his books and they have downloaded to his device.  I am assuming that the next thing he should do is put his Kindle in "airplane mode" so he can read his books while on the ship and not worry about incurring any charges?

You're not going to have any charges. It will not "find" your home wifi so there's nothing to worry about. 

[Firefly74]

Just now, Italy52 said:

@Firefly74, @yorkshirephil.  Thanks for your replies, I appreciate it.  My husband has already purchased his books and they have downloaded to his device.  I am assuming that the next thing he should do is put his Kindle in "airplane mode" so he can read his books while on the ship and not worry about incurring any charges?

Probably will make his life easier, but it is not necessary. The Kindle will not connect unless he says it should, but putting it in airline mode will keep it from annoying him with those questions. Just warn him not to rely on the kindle for the time. It likely will be wrong.

[Italy52]

Just now, Rick&Jeannie said:

You're not going to have any charges. It will not "find" your home wifi so there's nothing to worry about. 

Good to know -- thanks much.

[t&atravel]

39 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

Good to know -- thanks much.

It’s best to have your kindle in airplane mode even at home when not needed to purchase or download as it saves battery life.  

Edited January 12 by t&atravel

[Italy52]

Just now, t&atravel said:

It’s best to have your kindle in airplane mode even at home when not needed to purchase or download as it saves battery life.  

Good to know, thank you.

[1412p0oi]

1 hour ago, Italy52 said:

My husband would like to use his Kindle while on our cruise; we have quite a few sea days.  We will NOT have an internet package.  What does he have to do in order to read his books and not be charged internet fees?  Thanks in advance from two technically challenged seniors.

As the other users said, download the books beforehand and they will be good to go offhand. My understanding is that in order to read a book on Kindle you have to download it anyways, so then it's just on your device and you'll have access to it offline. 

I've been using the kindle app on my phone to read many books over the years. You can also always choose the Send to my Kindle option after purchasing to make extra sure it shows up on the device.

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, Italy52 said:

@Firefly74, @yorkshirephil.  Thanks for your replies, I appreciate it.  My husband has already purchased his books and they have downloaded to his device; he even opened one of them up for assurance.  I am assuming that the next thing he should do is put his Kindle in "airplane mode" so he can read his books while on the ship and not worry about incurring any charges?

I take my Kindle on every cruise.  I always pre-download 4 or 5 books so that I will always have something to read, and I have *never* needed to put it in airplane mode.  I never get any type of notices...

[MJC]

3 hours ago, Italy52 said:

@Firefly74, @yorkshirephil..  My husband has already purchased his books and they have downloaded to his device; he even opened one of them up for assurance.  

I usually open them all when I get them to at least see the first page and  make sure they loaded correctly.

 

I have used port wifi to connect to my local library to download books if it's a longer cruise, since I'm only allowed 3 at a time. 

[phonejock]

Just a suggestion. Check out your local library. I have taken my Kindle on our last two cruises.

i was able to borrow books for free using the Libby app. (Your area may use a different one) Just look for the check mark in the corner of each book on your Home page to make sure they are fully downloaded . I am a fast reader so I always like to have several books loaded . 

[Italy52]

14 minutes ago, MJC said:

I usually open them all when I get them to at least see the first page and  make sure they loaded correctly.

 

I have used port wifi to connect to my local library to download books if it's a longer cruise, since I'm only allowed 3 at a time. 

I always have my husband open up his books to ensure they download.  Thanks for the library tip

[Italy52]

10 minutes ago, phonejock said:

Just a suggestion. Check out your local library. I have taken my Kindle on our last two cruises.

i was able to borrow books for free using the Libby app. (Your area may use a different one) Just look for the check mark in the corner of each book on your Home page to make sure they are fully downloaded . I am a fast reader so I always like to have several books loaded . 

My husband is a fast reader as well so he always orders his books in sets .

[Nodakboiler]

If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can pay for a month, read as many books as you can and the day before your month ends, download 20 new books and put it on Airplane mode. KU can't delete the books from your Kindle while in airplane mode so you get 2 months worth for the price of one! Do this for all my long cruises.

[marden1970]

You can also get free kindle books from Amazon.  Under the kindle section just type in free mystery or romance or whatever genre you like.  These are yours to keep, no need to return, just delete when finished if you don't want to keep it.   

[Italy52]

Many thanks to all for kindly sharing your Kindle tips, I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post. Have a wonderful weekend.

[Coral]

14 hours ago, Nodakboiler said:

If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can pay for a month, read as many books as you can and the day before your month ends, download 20 new books and put it on Airplane mode. KU can't delete the books from your Kindle while in airplane mode so you get 2 months worth for the price of one! Do this for all my long cruises.

I don't have Kindle Unlimited. Though I check out books through the library and then put it in airplane mode. They don't disappear in Airplane mode.

[BabySarge]

I realize this doesn't necessarily have to do with the OP's question but thought I would share that on our most recent cruise in November/December 2023 on the Enchanted Princess I WAS able to connect my Kindle e-reader (Paperwhite 11th Gen) to the internet and download with no problems.  This is not something I have been able to do in the past on Princess so I was quite chuffed about it!!

[Coral]

10 minutes ago, BabySarge said:

I realize this doesn't necessarily have to do with the OP's question but thought I would share that on our most recent cruise in November/December 2023 on the Enchanted Princess I WAS able to connect my Kindle e-reader (Paperwhite 11th Gen) to the internet and download with no problems.  This is not something I have been able to do in the past on Princess so I was quite chuffed about it!!

My Kindle is older (Voyage) so I don't think I would be able to. I probably need to buy a new one one of these days.

[ldubs]

20 hours ago, Italy52 said:

@Firefly74, @yorkshirephil.  Thanks for your replies, I appreciate it.  My husband has already purchased his books and they have downloaded to his device; he even opened one of them up for assurance.  I am assuming that the next thing he should do is put his Kindle in "airplane mode" so he can read his books while on the ship and not worry about incurring any charges?

 

I'm on a little thin ice here, but think this is correct.   When you click on an ebook purchase from the cloud library, it will download to the device.  That does not mean the other purchases in the cloud library are downloaded.  Best to download each ebook purchase to make sure it resides on your kindle.  

 

BTW, I always put my kindle in airplane mode when traveling.   

[jwattle]

Another great resource is freebooksy.com

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

And just because the WiFi may be on on your kindle doesn’t mean you will charged for internet use. You still would have to log on the ships internet. And if you don’t have an account there is nothing to charge you. 
 

But yes, put it on airplane mode. It helps save your battery too. I always have it in airplane mode unless I’m downloading another book. Even at home.  

Edited January 13 by Sox Fan Cruiser