Digital Photo backup to CD/DVD onboard?

[Keishaw]

Hi Cruisers,

 

I hope someone can help with this question, cuz I'm not having any luck finding the answer on my own!

 

We will be on Mariner of the Seas in 4 weeks (yay!!), and I'm trying to find out if I can download my MANY hi-res digital photos onboard and burn them to cd/dvd.

 

I'd rather not buy more memory to bring with us (I expect no matter how much memory I buy, I'll run out...!)

 

Is there a service provided, and if so, how much is it? Can I do it myself? If so, do the computers have card-readers or do I need to bring a USB cable and my own blank cds?

 

I imagine tons of other folks need to do this, so I'm hoping it's an easy answer, specific to the Mariner.

 

Many thanks,

Karen

[EBFURR]

We have cruised Mariner twice and this past summer I had the same concern as you. The Photo dept will burn your photos for you, but the price is pretty steep, around $20.00 I think. Someone else may have a more accurate figure. I wound up taking a laptop in my carry on bag. It was an older one and did not have a CD burner, so all I could do was transfer to the hard drive. The internet cafe has several computers, but you are not able to use them for transferring files.

 

Bottom line: They will do it for you, but at a cost.

[mymk4u]

I had the same issue when we went on our cruise in Oct. Didn't want to have to buy more sticks and don't own a laptop. I thought about one of those portable mini drives but ended up buying a Sony Photo Vault. I have a Sony camera and pc so I wasn't worried about them being compatable. The guy at Ritz camera said it can be a problem with some computers though. It ran about $130 and a pack of 50 pocket cd's was $20 but I love it. I burned the photos to the cd, viewed them on the tv to make sure they transfered ok then cleared the stick. When we got home I just downloaded them to the pc then took the disc to Ritz and had prints made. I took about 250 digital photos and close to 50 film pictures.

 

Good luck with your search and have fun on your cruise.

[Keishaw]

Thanks for your answers. I'm glad to hear they can do it, but you're right, that is a bit steep. I don't really want to go buy a laptop before we go (nor can I really afford it, or even want to pack it around!) Maybe what I should do is just buy enough more memory to add up to around 600Meg, which is I assume the size of cd's they are burning... get the most bang for my $20.

I was also considering a mini drive or viewer/burner, but if I'm going to spend close to $350 or $400 (I wasn't finding anything cheaper - that's also in Canadian $), I figure I may as well double that price and get an entry-level laptop.

Decisions, decisions.

 

Thanks again,

Karen

 

ps: mymk4u, the inputs on the tv in the cabin allowed you to view? We have a portable dvd player, and I have not yet found a hotel tv that has the inputs to allow transfer. They want you to only watch their in-house movies, I guess!

[Aprille]

Maybe what I should do is just buy enough more memory to add up to around 600Meg, which is I assume the size of cd's they are burning... get the most bang for my $20.

I believe the charge is per memory card no matter the size. I don't think you can transfer multiple cards until it fills up the CD. I've never used the service myself but this is my understanding. Maybe someone who has used the service can clarify.

[Oma24boys]

Hi Cruisers,

 

I hope someone can help with this question, cuz I'm not having any luck finding the answer on my own!

 

We will be on Mariner of the Seas in 4 weeks (yay!!), and I'm trying to find out if I can download my MANY hi-res digital photos onboard and burn them to cd/dvd.

 

I'd rather not buy more memory to bring with us (I expect no matter how much memory I buy, I'll run out...!)

 

Is there a service provided, and if so, how much is it? Can I do it myself? If so, do the computers have card-readers or do I need to bring a USB cable and my own blank cds?

 

I imagine tons of other folks need to do this, so I'm hoping it's an easy answer, specific to the Mariner.

 

Many thanks,

Karen

 

Try Ebay...Roadstor $50 - $60 has been the going bids...I got mine for about $50. There is a thread that a number of people have bought the Roadstor. I am getting to use mine this week.

[fmax]

I had the same dilemma on my recent Med Cruise. Because I commute by train to work I decided to get an IPOD Photo. I can listen to music on my commute and, when on holiday, I was able to download my pictures every night to my ipod. I took over 600 photos and barely made a dent in it's memory.

 

 

Frances