Bringing laptop on cruise?

[MiamiHeater]

Are we allowed to leave a NCL ship with 2 brand new laptops in box?

(They're for a charity org. in Roatan)

Edited November 27, 2019 by MiamiHeater

[don't-use-real-name]

47 minutes ago, MiamiHeater said:

Are we allowed to leave a NCL ship with 2 brand new laptops in box?

(They're for a charity org. in Roatan)

 

NCL will not have any problems with your using their ship as a shipping & handling agent for transporting

goods to a charity.org .

 

That noted the Honduras authorities may have some issues with import taxes fees regardless of the

items being brought into Honduras the destination being for a charity.

 

Go for it and God Bless you for your charity work ! 

[disneykins]

We're taking our laptop for the first time since we'll be away for 3 months and never thought about it fitting in the safe.  Half the time when we come back from dinner and DW wants to lock up her jewelry, we notice we forgot to lock the safe before going out, lol. All we have in there is cash and passports and no one has ever taken anything.

 

I remember reading posts a few years ago about how easy it is to open those safes anyway. Guess we'll hide it in the suitcase, don't plan on using it much anyway, just to check plans for the following week.

 

One question, though. How safe is the security on the ships wifi? Would like to be able to check my banking and bill payments online while we're away. Is it safe to do on the ships, or is it safer in port?

Thanks,

Tony

[RedwingHockeyFan]

On ‎6‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 11:47 PM, BS Racing said:

I also like to bring my laptop for photography, that way I can see if I actually took any good photos.

:')

 

I do the same, not only for that reason but so I can transfer the photos off my camera  in case I lose that.  Also, the laptop is nice to have for watching movies and whatnot if you have a bluray player on it.  I've always kept the laptop in my backpack and never had any issues leaving them in the room.

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, disneykins said:

One question, though. How safe is the security on the ships wifi? Would like to be able to check my banking and bill payments online while we're away. Is it safe to do on the ships, or is it safer in port?

In both instances, you are on a public WiFi network. 
 

And I just learned on another thread that NCL’s unlimited WiFi plan does not allow the use of a VPN, you have to be on their even more outrageously expensive premium plan. 

[DinaS]

We've left laptops (and cameras and cell phones) out, and never had an issue.  

[disneykins]

So public wifi means don't go anywhere you need a password? Or am I being too paranoid?

[Turtles06]

30 minutes ago, disneykins said:

So public wifi means don't go anywhere you need a password? Or am I being too paranoid?

 
You might want to look at some articles, like this one:

 

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3246984/why-you-should-never-ever-connect-to-public-wifi.html

 

If you absolutely have to access something while on your trip, I would do it on the ship rather than at some free WiFi spot in a port. 

Edited November 27, 2019 by Turtles06

[PTC DAWG]

I’ll just say this, having available internet access makes some people think they MUST work on a cruise..not sure if that is good or bad..

[yankees111]

I leave my laptop at home and my phone locked away in the safe. I go on a cruise to unwind and get away from everything!

[mking8288]

Any or all PC systems/ not just laptop or notebook PC are - by definition - prone to being hijacked - degree of risks & exposure varied, depending on the user's safeguard and use of security suites to protect what's store on it, and/or remotely accessible - starting with best practices on passwords & userid's/log-ins, etc.   Best practices & afraid - don't use it, lock it in a vault 24/7/365, LOL.  

 

As far as physical protection against theft or being stolen onboard a ship - it's minimal in being taken but (not absolutely safe) measures like encryption of the SSD/HDD can be used.  Keep it out of plain sight while out of the room, should suffice.  Older ships have a mini-safe that's large enough for the smaller/average laptop but *away/+ ships with the smaller safe is not roomy enough.  

 

Been traveling with a dedicated laptop (multiple ones over 2 decades) without incidents - for business & personal use - keeping it "sandboxed" against virus & malware, hacking and misuse/handling ... backing up data on a regular basis. 

 

A Chromebook is an option for some, but not to others - a question of intended use ... Bargain option: carry an USB stick loaded with a Linux Mint OS. to run on different hardware for emergency use, to access the internet & cloud storage (One Drive, Google Drive, Amazon Drive ... corporations & banking system use them, oh - wait.) 

 

Just bringing it along doesn't mean using it - but it is there if/when/need arise to get reconnected - that familiar piece of technolgy is there to use.  Of course, one can always pay $8.50+ a minute to call or be called ... it can add up very quickly over the same maritime satellite at sea - just my 2 cents, IMHO.