Using GPS on Vista class???

[Suitegurl]

We have used a Garmin 276C on the Maasdam and Zaandam sucessfully, but are concerned that on the Vista class the overhang from the Lido might make picking up the satellites a little more difficult. Especially so if we are in a Suite on one of the upper decks.

 

Thanks for any input you might have on using GPS onboard in your room!!!!

[jhannah]

The receiver needs to "see" three satellites. The farther south you are, the more problematic an overhang will be. You may need to go topside to get a good signal.

[Kane]

I'm glad to see the the GPS geeks are coming out of the closet ... I use one on every voyage or land-based trip we take. It's a really invaluable tool.

 

As to the Vista ships ... might be dicey. We were on the 9th deck of the "X" Infinity and an overhang made reception zero from the balcony. Had to go topside to get reception.

 

I always use Google Earth, Google Maps, and Multimap to get waypoints fixed before departure. It has helped me find my way to hotels, towns, tourist sights, etc. many times. Even saved my butt a couple times. E.g., finding my way back out of the medina in Tunis ... would have been grim to be stuck there and miss the ship.

 

Interesting GPS note: We were on a trans-Pacific voyage E to W and I took daily fixes. I wanted to fix a waypoint at 180W and stood-by as we approached. Anyway, my GPS (Magellan) went nuts as we crossed and had no idea where it was. I took a fix a 0 E/W when we were in Greenwich on a prior trip, and it had no problem with that.

 

Next spring we will be on Statendam going W to E. I will see how Magellan deals with 180E to 180W.

 

Next month will be our first crossing of the equator on a ship (all others by air). We shall see how Magellan deals with 90N to 90S.

 

Enough geek-speak.:cool:

[kakalina]

This spring we went past Cuba and my GPS showed all major roads, but only worked from topside.

We mostly use it to find our way back to the ship after walking about the ports.

 

Virgil

[Suitegurl]

Thanks for the info. That's pretty much what we thought, but I was hoping someone else could confirm based on their experience. Since ours is not a hand-held, it would be problematic to go topside.

[Two if by Sea]

INext month will be our first crossing of the equator on a ship (all others by air). We shall see how Magellan deals with 90N to 90S.

 

That would be zero N to zero S. 90N and 90S are the poles.

[cp556]

Just back from Zuiderdam 17-night Panama Canal cruise.

 

We had an aft Cat SC suite on Deck 6 ... the decks stack like layers on a wedding cake so we had some balcony with an overhang but lots of balcony with nothing overhead.

 

DH's handheld Garmin was on 24-7. He tracked our route constantly (rain and sun ... he has a Marine model GPS which is weatherproof) and it worked perfectly.

 

It also worked fine inside the cabin as long as he kept it by the window.

[jrzebird]

I'm glad to see the the GPS geeks are coming out of the closet ... I use one on every voyage or land-based trip we take. It's a really invaluable tool.

 

As to the Vista ships ... might be dicey. We were on the 9th deck of the "X" Infinity and an overhang made reception zero from the balcony. Had to go topside to get reception.

 

I always use Google Earth, Google Maps, and Multimap to get waypoints fixed before departure. It has helped me find my way to hotels, towns, tourist sights, etc. many times. Even saved my butt a couple times. E.g., finding my way back out of the medina in Tunis ... would have been grim to be stuck there and miss the ship.

 

Interesting GPS note: We were on a trans-Pacific voyage E to W and I took daily fixes. I wanted to fix a waypoint at 180W and stood-by as we approached. Anyway, my GPS (Magellan) went nuts as we crossed and had no idea where it was. I took a fix a 0 E/W when we were in Greenwich on a prior trip, and it had no problem with that.

 

Next spring we will be on Statendam going W to E. I will see how Magellan deals with 180E to 180W.

 

Next month will be our first crossing of the equator on a ship (all others by air). We shall see how Magellan deals with 90N to 90S.

 

Enough geek-speak.:cool:

 

I think that you just made my ears bleed! :confused: :eek:

 

Maureen <~~not very techno savvy.

[prescottbob]

Ahoy!

 

I have the following queries for those in the 'know'. I ask this on a serious note regarding the use of a on-board, portable GPS.

 

My background : I use a GPS unit every day at work (a little Magellan). In my job as I travel to various building sites here in AZ for site location purposes. The coordinates are used for various agencies / forms for flood control, wastewater, and water resource agencies. I'm also familair with many cars that now use GPS for road directions, etc. (although I still use a basic road maps and road signs both here in the USA and abroad when traveling).

 

I guess my question is thus: why would one consider packing a portable GPS on a cruise ship? I can only speculate it would be somewhat of a 'hobby' of sorts, useful for hiking abroad or 'nice to have' in navigating foreign roadways. Otherwise, what other uses would be applicable?

 

Again, I ask this with the greatest of respect and is not one of my typical inane replies to a post. Thanks so much.

 

Bon Voyage and Good Health!

Bob:)

[Grumpy1]

Ahoy!

 

I have the following queries for those in the 'know'. I ask this on a serious note regarding the use of a on-board, portable GPS.

 

My background : I use a GPS unit every day at work (a little Magellan). In my job as I travel to various building sites here in AZ for site location purposes. The coordinates are used for various agencies / forms for flood control, wastewater, and water resource agencies. I'm also familair with many cars that now use GPS for road directions, etc. (although I still use a basic road maps and road signs both here in the USA and abroad when traveling).

 

I guess my question is thus: why would one consider packing a portable GPS on a cruise ship? I can only speculate it would be somewhat of a 'hobby' of sorts, useful for hiking abroad or 'nice to have' in navigating foreign roadways. Otherwise, what other uses would be applicable?

 

Again, I ask this with the greatest of respect and is not one of my typical inane replies to a post. Thanks so much.

 

Bon Voyage and Good Health!

Bob:)

Why? Because we CAN!!!:D

I've carried my Garmin V on all of our cruises. It's nice to be able to identify that island that you see off of the side of the ship and when wandering around town in a strange port having an idea of where the ship is in relation to where you are is good. I've also been able to verify that a major change in course was made that the captain wouldn't talk about.

 

I have an external antenna with a 20 ft cable for my GPS and have taped it to the balcony railing. Seldom have a problem using it in the cabin. The overhangs do cause reception problems as the only satellites you will pick up are the ones low on the horizon.

 

Jhannah, location on the globe doesn't affect reception. The satellites are on a polar orbit so reception is pretty much the same anywhere in the world.

 

The equator or 180 degree crossings never confused the Garmin V.

[grsnovi]

I took a Magellan Explorist 210 to Alaska this summer on Oosterdam. There were times when I could see satellites from my verandah on deck 8 but there were other times when I needed to be topside.

[Kane]

2if,

 

Right you are.

 

While marking my waypoints, I realized that the voyage is crossing both the equator (to FP) and the 180th meridian (between FP and NZ).

[cp556]

DH is a retired Army Infantry officer, and a map nut. His three GPS's are his electronic maps. He uses them in the car, on the ship ("look, honey, we are at 22.7mph and only 12.3 miles from Cuba...."), and even in airplanes when they don't catch him at it.

 

That's why he brings one on our cruises....

[Suitegurl]

Why? Because we CAN!!!:D

I've carried my Garmin V on all of our cruises. It's nice to be able to identify that island that you see off of the side of the ship and when wandering around town in a strange port having an idea of where the ship is in relation to where you are is good. I've also been able to verify that a major change in course was made that the captain wouldn't talk about.

 

I have an external antenna with a 20 ft cable for my GPS and have taped it to the balcony railing. Seldom have a problem using it in the cabin. The overhangs do cause reception problems as the only satellites you will pick up are the ones low on the horizon.

 

 

Grumpy1 - I hope we get to cruise on the same ship one day! We too take our GPS on all cruises and tape the antenna to our balcony railing. As you mentioned, many would be surprized to see the actual course. We too have done loops during the night that are never revealed.:rolleyes: That is except the one night we had to fish someone off a disabled boat off the coast of Cuba... Also, it is just plain fun to see how fast we are going and as you said exactly what island we are passing.

[prescottbob]

Ahoy!

 

Gee, sounds kind of neat. Seems like a useful little gadget to keep one away from the afternoon bingo sessions. Any advise as to an 'inexpensive' model & software for use aboard? I don't think my little orange Magellan (fairly basic model) would 'cut the mustard' on the high seas, as it were.

 

Thanks for the info. May everyone's next cruise be a GREAT ONE!

 

Bon Voyage and Good Health!

Bob:)

[grsnovi]

Bob - my handheld eXplorist 210 only cost $100. How old is your hand held?

[BILLP1]

Mine is packed and ready to go on Celebrity Canada cruise this week. Should be interesting as we sail near islands and the New England coastline and the river up to Qubec.

[prescottbob]

Ahoy!

 

Thanks for the timely reply. Ya know I'll have to look tommorrow. I keep the unit in my 'government truck' (I'm semi-retired now, no longer have a business and only need to work 40 hours or so a week). I think it's

about three years old with a fairly small screen (I need to put my 'cheaters' on to read it). Fairly basic unit with lat/long, directional arrows, compass, etc.

 

Needlessto say, I'll need to get a personnal one for our next cruise since my agency would 'frown' on borrowing it for an extended vacation such as a cruise.

 

Thanks again for the quick reply.

 

Bon Voyage and Good Health!

Bob:)

[DisneyJen]

Bob - my handheld eXplorist 210 only cost $100. How old is your hand held?

 

We call DH "Inspector Gadget" so this sounds like something he would love!

 

I took a look at the eXplorist and have a question ... are there certain maps I'd have to buy in addition to what is installed on the device for our Eastern Caribbean cruise?

 

Thanks so much!

[cp556]

"Inspector Gadget" is a great name ... I will start calling DH that, with his backpack full of electronics.

 

His GPS is a Garmin 76CS Plus, West Marine model. It can sit out in the rain and it floats if it falls in the water (not much use on the high seas, but useful on our lake....lol). It performed very well during our 17 day cruise....

 

I bought it on eBay to replace his other Garmin 76 that was stolen from our car:mad: . If I recall, it was a couple of hundred dollars.....

[RevNeal]

I didn't realize that the Vistas were so large that one needed GPS navigation to help one get around deck! :D :D :D ;) :p

[cp556]

I didn't realize that the Vistas were so large that one needed GPS navigation to help one get around deck! :D :D :D ;) :p

 

The totally sad thing was that after 17 days onboard, we realized we had never sat in at least two of the lounges, and never circumnavigated the complete Promenade Deck.

 

Maybe we'll need to go back to accomplish those goals ... lol ...

 

Seriously, for 17 Days the ship was a great size. For 7 days she might be a bit large for my taste. We had an aft suite so we did have a trek to most places (except the Lido Restaurant which was conveniently three decks above us....lol....)

[WARANEEB]

This is a timely post as I am in the process of shopping for a GPS, more for my upcoming cruise than getting around in the car. (I too am always interested in what islands we are passing or where we are in the night!) I was concerned that the models I have been looking at do not have detailed Caribbean maps (towns or water). Pardon my lack of technical knowledge in this regard, but does one download those types of maps or do I have to look for a model that comes pre-loaded?

[RevNeal]

The totally sad thing was that after 17 days onboard, we realized we had never sat in at least two of the lounges, and never circumnavigated the complete Promenade Deck.

 

Maybe we'll need to go back to accomplish those goals ... lol ...

 

Yeah, that sounds like a good reason to take another cruise!!!! :)

 

I make about 4 - 5 orbits of the promenade deck every day while aboard ship. Usually I make them in the morning, and then will do it again -- at least 2 or 3 orbits -- in the afternoon. And, I'll walk it again at night ... just for drill. :) It's one of the best ways to get exercise, and sure beats the gym!

[Kane]

Yeah, that sounds like a good reason to take another cruise!!!! :)

 

I make about 4 - 5 orbits of the promenade deck every day while aboard ship. Usually I make them in the morning, and then will do it again -- at least 2 or 3 orbits -- in the afternoon. And, I'll walk it again at night ... just for drill. :) It's one of the best ways to get exercise, and sure beats the gym!

 

If you want to have a sense of accomplishment, do your "orbits" with a GPS. They tell you how far you have walked/run ... of course, with the forward progress of the ship (added on), you can make some (apparent) good distance:)