Should I bring my netbook on Equinox?

[Rhodes727]

Hi Everyone,

 

Saiing on Oct 23 Equinox and wondering if I should bother bringing my netbook. Is there an ethernet connection in the cabin or wifi? The computer is not the fastest (Acer) though we love its size for traveling. I know the ship's satellite sometimes causes computer issues - just curious if anyone has Solstice or Equinox in-cabin computer experiences they might share.

Thanks for your reply to Rhodes727@aol.com

Richard

[cb at sea]

For 1 week, I'm sure you could forgo the internet....the connections ARE slow, and at $.55 per min., that can get expensive! There are packages of mins. you can buy that will bring the "per minute" cost down a few cents.

Hardly seems worth the effort!

[jwattle]

We had no problem with the in-room wifi with our laptop in March; great way to e-mail the folks and tell them what fun we were having, and staying in touch with the people of leg 2 of our B2B:)

[Wine-O]

We took our laptop for a 15-day transatlantic on Solstice and had no problems using it in the stateroom, or anywhere on the ship. If you're Elite Status, you get 90 free minutes. If you have MS Outlook, you can compose your e-mails ahead of time and connect to send/receive without using hardly any minutes. You'll find it useful your 12 days on the ship.

[Denny01]

I bought an ASUS mini-book that is about 7" and very handy. Use for cruising - emails, journaling (it has OpenOffice which is a Word/Excel like docs) and managing my digital photos. Has an SD port so I transfer my camera memory card photos and erase them from the camera card and continue to use it.

 

Haven't cruised Solstice - yet! But as stated earlier and on other threads, Solstice internet is accessible in SR's and is pretty good.

 

Love my mini computer, and for major typing, I take a cheap rollup keyboard. Lots of ways to handle computers easily on crusies so they don't interfere - small computer, use Only for cruise-stuff - have my office rep send me only major issue emails.

 

So, yes, I take a computer. Find it handy since I like to 'journal' but find it hard to write - and the computer is so much nicer.

 

I use a cruise-specific email address I get for that cruise and give to family and friends (and One office person!) to communicate with so I don't end up with all the extraneous you get on your servers you use any length of time.

 

Enjoy!

 

Denny

[fleckle]

Reasons to bring the netbook:

 

Convenience and cost savings - Compose and read e-mail offline at any time of night or day, in your cabin, out on balcony or up on deck using your own favorite, familiar software. (Don't need MS Outlook, unless that happens to be the product you prefer.)

Can download news of the day to read offline from whichever sources you choose, or info about any other subject of interest.

 

Easy way to journal your trip, entering your thoughts each day.

 

Easy way to bring along games - keep kids or roommate entertained while you are doing something else.

 

Uploading your photos, viewing and editing them as you wish, giving copies to shipboard friends. Tagging them while info is fresh in your mind to avoid later wondering: Was this photo taken at X or Y?

 

Cutting down paper bulk and weight by bringing along files for reference without needing to print them out (e.g., info about ports, hotels, excursions, travel arrangements, your address book, cruise documents).

 

Using your own favorite browser and bookmarks.

 

Peace of mind - no worry about the clock running while you are sitting there reading or composing.

 

 

Reason not to bring the netbook:

 

One less thing to pack in your carry-on.

 

[pete_coach]

I brought my netbook and used it in the cabin. It was useful to me. Speed was OK, not great but good enough.

If emailing and sending photos, I suggest you do the text in another word processor off line and then just copy and paste to the email when you log in. Also, if sending photos, reduce the size of them before attaching them to your email. Doing both of these reduces the amount of time you are online and reducing your cost.

[Rhodes727]

Thanks to all who responded to my query about my netbook.

We will be on the Equinox for 27 days (10/23/09 - 11/19/09) so the computer will definitely come with us.

Richard

[Hamburg Avon Lady]

:) I would strongly suggest finding an internet cafe when in port. The ship's

internet is very pricey and the connection speed can be VERY SLOW (depending on the ship's location) -- thus you are spending $$ before you are truly connected. :( As others have

suggested --- write all your messages "offline" first and then connect just

long enough to send and receive. Dowloading photos from memory cards

is a great plus.

[Prefdavid]

I've taken my Acer One Netbook on the last couple of cruises we've been on and it's always been a lot faster than using the ship's computers plus I can use it for storing pictures, videos etc.

 

I've recently upgraded Firefox on it to the latest version and now it's a lot faster. It's not simple, as for some reason Acer have "locked in" to Firefox 2 but well worth the trouble to get the benefits.

 

BTW - This only applies if you have a Linux based Acer One.

[Denny01]

Personally, I stay out of In Port internet cafes. Realize shipboard internet isn't cheap, my philosophy is to enjoy the port and see the place, not sit in some bar/cafe and bang away on the computer. Good chance I'll never see this port again so why waste the experience - that's one of the reasons I spend the $100's is to see new places. And most internet cafes are the same, and everyone has their head in their computer so little interaction.

 

Recommend spend the extra few bucks - not really that expensive especially if you have you own, you edit your outgoing and read your incoming offline - and keep it all in perspective.

 

Package Price Minutes

Occasional $29.95 49

Standard $49.95 90

Social $79.95 150

Power $99.95 237

Please Note: $0.65 cents per minute with no package.

 

I think I used the Standard for a 14-day cruise. Added 20% more minutes by signing up first day.

 

My opinion. Denny

[Duane T]

Hi Everyone,

 

Saiing on Oct 23 Equinox and wondering if I should bother bringing my netbook. Is there an ethernet connection in the cabin or wifi? The computer is not the fastest (Acer) though we love its size for traveling. I know the ship's satellite sometimes causes computer issues - just curious if anyone has Solstice or Equinox in-cabin computer experiences they might share.

Thanks for your reply to Rhodes727@aol.com

Richard

I was on the Equinox last month and I brought my Verizon Wirless HP Netbook. I've used it on trips to France, Germany and on the 13-Day Equinox Eastern Med Cruise.

 

While at sea, I found the Verizon Wireless CDMA data connection (roaming) to be adequate, but it was just as slow on the shipboard internet service since both are probably using the same satellite uplink/downlink to connect to world.

 

I also had Verizon Wireless equip my Netbook to work on the local GSM Networks in Europe (the shipboard CDMA/GSM networks are off the air in a port) and again it worked adequately.

 

As a precaution, I carry my Netbook around as I'm waiting in lines at the airport or at the airport gate and it allows me to re-book, make hotel/car reservations, etc....or just surf the web to keep busy).

 

It's also pricey so I'd do a simple check of comparative costs. For me, the Netbook worked fine.

[Scottish Cruiser]

Always take my notebook - now netbook - with me. Yes the Internet is expensive, but, in my opinion, worth it. We blog our trip for friends and family and upload photos. We do reduce the resolution and write everything offline. Even downloading your photos each evening and labeling them on the day they are taken makes sorting them out and remembering where they were taken so much easier.

 

I would not travel without mine, and the netbook is so much smaller and lighter than my notebook.

[SoCalIrish]

I was bouncing the idea around of buying one. When I tested them out, I felt there was too much scrolling on a 10" screen. They do have older 11.6" screen models. Slower processor, but maybe not much difference from 1.3GHz to 1.6GHz. The screen size may make it worth the speed. On some models, you can bump the RAM up to 2Gbs. I think I would take the 160GB hard drive to the 16 GB SSD.