Taking laptops on board.

[hinkley]

Is it worth taking my laptop with me or is the same cost to use trhe ships PCs?

[SingerEsq]

Depends on how you use your laptop ... I take mine all the time. You can write e-mails offline and then upload them, saving online time. Same with downloading. Plus, I use my laptop for other things (downloading pictures, writing, etc).

[Pam in CA]

Is it worth taking my laptop with me or is the same cost to use trhe ships PCs?

It's the same cost to use your laptop as to use the ship's Internet. The difference is whether you want to just do email or be able to download files; or, reduce your Internet charges by downloading your email, signing off, responding offline, then going back online to send. The ship's Internet is a significantly modified Internet Explorer that allows you to do email and surf the Internet, but you cannot do some things such as access your office computer remotely or do work online that requires Active-X or Java.

[fti]

Or if you have any programs on your laptop that you use like I do that are not on public computers, having your laptop helps.

 

You can also download and organize your digital photos if you have your laptop, burn photos to a CD, etc. with your laptop.

 

It boils down to personal preferences and what you plan to use the computer for.

[Spikesgirl]

We always take our laptop so that we can:

 

- download photos from the camera - that way if something happens to it, we haven't lost everything.

 

- work on the trip review while it's happening and still fresh in our minds.

 

- use our own programs and play our own games/dvds/etc.

 

- connect to the office when we want to, not when there's an opening in the cafe (we are wireless).

 

May not work for everyone, but it certainly has been great for us.

 

Charlie

[Cptnkirky]

We take ours as well, as there is school work to be written and doing that on the pool deck is certainly a change of pace.

 

Also, the other reasons as mentioned above are why we take it. The price for the time on the internet is the same, but getting the connection, getting a free computer and the features that are availible is what does it for us.

 

Also, if you have something like an Ipod...you can easily charge it with the laptop, other than carrying an extra wall charger unit :)

[DEERINH2O]

We too take it for the convience of games, ipods, downloading photos.... laptops aren't as big as they once were so they are easier to bring, also the kids can watch a movie on it if they want:)

 

Kathy

[deerby27]

I always take mine for many of the reasons mentioned before. I also have found that in many ports, you may be able to pick up a free wireless signal from shore while relaxing on your balcony.

[chasetf]

Is it worth taking my laptop with me or is the same cost to use trhe ships PCs?

I think it is worth taking a laptop. I mine (which is a cheapee) to download my photos for backup and to checkout how they are coming out. Any email / internet needs are satisified with the internet cafe facilities (which are free for me).

 

I picked up a second hand laptop as my "traveler" so I donot have to worry about losing it or the data on it. I have no need to maintain contact with the office because I am retired. So other than checking out how the stock market is doing and saying hi to the kids back home, my needs are minimal.

[sparkle]

We plan to bring our laptop with us on the IP 2/10/07. We have the Sprint Connection card wireless so we hope to be able to use it when in ports (we had Sprint cellphone service when we were there 2/05, in theory the card works wherever the phone does). Although we mostly are bringing it for pictures.

 

questions: should we bring the cable lock to secure it in our cabin, and is there somewhere stationery by the desk (6'cable) to loop the cable around?

 

Thanks for any advice!

Aloha!

[chasetf]

We plan to bring our laptop with us on the IP 2/10/07. .....questions: should we bring the cable lock to secure it in our cabin, and is there somewhere stationery by the desk (6'cable) to loop the cable around? Thanks for any advice! Aloha!

I have never worried leaving my laptop in our stateroom. I just put it in a desk drawer so it is out of sight. I worry more about losing in in transit.

 

But if you still want to lock it up, probably the best option will be to loop in around the desk leg.

[sparkle]

Thanks chasetf, I appreciate the reply. I see you have alot of cruises and respect your experience.

[rjack22]

Deerby27,

 

I was interested in your reply where you mentioned picking up free Wi-Fi in some ports from your balcony.

 

What ports did this work in? It's worth a shot.

[NorCal123]

We are cruising on the Sun in December. Will I get wireless connection (at the Princess fee) in the cabin? The Dawn is her sister ship, so the same question can be asked of the Dawn cruisers.

[rjack22]

No, you cannot get wireless in your cabin. You have to go to the atrium area or perhaps the internet cafe on some ships.

[NorCal123]

No, you cannot get wireless in your cabin. You have to go to the atrium area or perhaps the internet cafe on some ships.

Thanks for the response, Rjack. Should I bring an Ethernet cable for in-cabin or are they not that advanced either?

[rjack22]

There is no Internet in your cabin, maybe if you have a full suite (I don't know about that). But not in the cabins. No wireless in your cabin and no ethernet connection. You will have to use the Internet Cafe and the ships computers or you can use your own laptop in the atrium. Price is the same.

[splummer]

What is the cost of the internet or wireless access?

[tracyk]

We took our laptop on our 11/11 Crown Princess cruise and loved it. DH sat out on the balcony with his GPS and tracked our course.

 

We also used it to download pics from the camera and watch movies during our layover at the airport.

[GeneHunter]

Just off the Diamond Princess and the connection cost was .50 per minute from their computers or from the wireless connection. Be warned, on this cruise, the connection was slow -- I have seen faster molasses running uphill in January.

[Jacqueline]

Its so delightful that these have all been positive posts. I was waiting for someone to get judgemental. Times have changed in terms of acceptance of computers.

I would love to track the ships progress via gps ! How is it done ?

[deerby27]

Red Hook, NY

St. Thomas (Crown Bay), USVI

St. Kitts

San Juan (Pan Am pier)

[tracyk]

DH bought a microsoft version of street and trips that included a GPS system. He positioned the GPS receiver (smaller than a pack of cigarettes) on the balcony. The GPS receiver is connected via a wire to our laptop and we had the street and trips software open on the laptop. We turned on a tracking feature - it was cool being able to see exactly what islands were off in the distance.