DVD players and other toys of amusement

[anniebj90290]

Pardon if this topic has been covered to death here already (I only recently discovered this board) ... we are Californians taking our 2 kids (6, 9) on a 12-day Eastern Med cruise this summer that is preceded by a week in Europe.

This entails a long flight to the east coast, then another long flight to Europe. When we flew over winter break, the in-flight movies shown were all PG-13 or R rated. Crayons and books only work for so long. My son has a Gameboy that he'll bring, but we're thinking of investing in a lightweight DVD player so they can watch movies. I'm also contemplating an iPod (although I want the iPod Nano so I can take it to the gym with me). I don't really want to get the iPod video because it's heavier and the screen seems really too small for them to watch without fighting over it.

Anyway, all of which is to ask for advice: Which brands of DVD, how durable, how long does battery last, how heavy to carry, how big a screen for 2 kids to share while watching, etc....and of course, DVD player vs. iPod with video?

Thanks -- this board is great btw! Although I wish there was a search feature on the "when are you sailing" thread (or should I say, I wish I knew HOW to search it!)

Ann

[rebeccalouise]

I agree with you about the return flight home being long but usually you are on a nightflight going over.

 

I flew on Air France returning from Europe and it was fantastic. The plane I flew on had interactive screens infront of each seat. My son played videogames, listened to music and watched movies the entire way home- he was 4 at the time. It was a 9 hour flight and he was thoroughly entertained the entire ride home and did not sleep a wink!

 

So if, by chance, you can do Air France (find out what type of plane there will be on the return flight). Air France also offers free wine in coach!

 

US AIR has the best rates but broken movie screens both times I traveled home from Venice last year! We are doing them again this year for the TA flight over and returning on the QM2. I'd rather sail across the Atlantic for six days then endure another westbound flight on US AIR.

 

As for the devices- I took my DVD player- just buy a cheap one. It will last the trip. I have gone thru two (both cheap and different brands). I did use it while in Switzerland for a week and was glad to have it since there were no English channels to speak of. At night on the ship, it was good to have the DVD player because the kids can bring along their favorite movies and the adults could watch some regular tv. There are no plugs on the ship tvs to connect to the DVD player though. In Europe- you will need a converter plug of course to plug in the battery charger and DVD player. If you go to a travel store- don't let them tell you that Europe uses a universal plug- WRONG! You need a separate plug for each country.

Not familiar with the Ipod one but would think it too small.

[mpb43]

anniebj90290,

 

Okay, it’s a long answer, but here’s how we handle the transatlantic flights with our 3 kids. They are currently 11, 8 1/2 and 3 1/2, and this summer will be the 3 year old’s 3rd trip across the pond!

 

Portable DVD player:

As rebeccalouise stated, you may not need this if you are on a carrier that has good in-flight entertainment. Most times, however, our DVD player is invaluable. We have a Panasonic currently, after having a couple of other brands in the past. We like this one because of its 8 inch screen and long battery life. Our model comes with a 6-hour battery, and we were able to purchase a supplemental 10-hour battery from the manufacturer. We have both charged up before we go, and 16 hours of playtime.

 

Nintendo DS lite or Game Boy:

Enough said.

 

Ipod:

We just started using the Ipod Nano last year. The two older kids download a couple of audiobooks from I-Tunes before we travel, and they also listen to music.

 

Ipod Video:

We did not get one of these for the reasons you mentioned. You can purchase a portable DVD player that is just for Ipod video, and then you don’t have to deal with the small screen. However, this is an extra expense.

 

Then of course, there’s good old fashioned things like hangman, playing cards, sudoku, puzzles, a new book and the like. I’ve found that having a variety of diversions, some media-based and some not, help make the flight a breeze.

[abitaturbodog]

And never underestimate the power of Benedryl!

[maggipie]

Unless your kids have a paradoxical reaction and get hyped up on Benadryl like mine do!

 

My husband, the IT person in our family and currently asleep so I cannot ask him technical questions for this post, recently got this portable player called ZEN (can be googled) that he has been very diligently downloading favorite programs and movies (so many good movies off cartoon network and disney channel!) in anticipation of our trip from California to Amsterdan for 12 day Baltic cruise. The screen is smaller than a portable DVD, but both kids (3 and 7) have shared nicely without squabbling. The key to resolving the small screen situation is while one is on the Gameboy, the other can be watching a movie. And this device allows you to avoid having to bring over the many accompanying DVD's (which we did on previous international trips with the player).

 

Individual screens for inflight entertainment (we are most familiar with Singapore Airlines, having made the California to Singapore trip about every other year to visit family) are great, but I've found that there are a limited number of movies for kids, and most that are being played have probably already been seen by your kids.

 

Have a great trip!

[mjmalino]

Well, this is something that I do have some personal experience with. I live in CA with my family, although both my and my DH's families live on the East coast, so I travel back east at least once a year with the 2 DS (now 9 and 8) by myself usually.

 

They both have gameboys, which my 9yo especially loves (on a plane, etc. is the only time that they can play without using a timer).

 

Last year, as we also prepared for a Hawaiian vacation, we decided to purchase a portable DVD player. We bought a Sony with a 8 in screen. It was wonderful! We purchased an attache (looks like a laptop carrier) for it that allows you to split the headphone jack so that 2 can listen with headphones. The carrier also strapped to the backs of the front seat our rental car which was handy since we drove the entire perimeter of the Big Island on one day (and pretty late into the night). The other nice thing about our DVD player is that it also came with adaptors that you could plug it into the jacks on the tv in the hotel room and watch the movie on their instead of on the little screen--worked well at night when we were just trying to relax.

 

As for the video ipod. I actually have one. It's not that heavy, and in fact, I use it at the gym. But to be truthful, I have never watched a video on it. The screen is just too small when I am on a treadmill and I have just never downloaded videos into for when we traveled.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[crusinmama06]

My oldest (age 7) puts her face in her gameboy and never looks up the entire trip. You gotta love that age...lol. ;)

 

My 3 year old needed a little more entertainment so we did bring the backpack with portable DVD player...a doodlepad and lots of little snacks to keep her entertained.

 

Obviously just remember, keep that stuff with you ALWAYS. Do not give it to the porters at the port. You would not believe the number of poor families that come to CC and say that their child left their backpack filled with their electronic equipment with the porter and when it arrived at the cabin everything was gone. :(

[Avariel]

Okay. Am not too sure if I'm the right person to be answering this but here goes nothing.

 

I'm 20, turning 21 this year and still have a attention span of a child. LOL and yes, I travel quite a bit, studying in Australia fly back to Singapore to spend the holidays with the family.

 

Everytime I fly, I make sure that my iPod and Nintendo DS lite is fully charged. And I normally take a book along. Normally that lasts me the 5 hour flight.

 

Guess that would work for younger kids too.

[chelsita]

I hope I'm not too late with this answer. We have a portable DVD player that we bought 2 1/2 years ago for only about $70 at a Kohls Black Friday Sale. Still works great and we use it A LOT!! But our kids will sometimes argue over which way it is turned, so you can get one for a little more that has 2 separate screens (under $100 when we saw them at Wal-Mart). This really helps when one is getting a glare.

 

As for the ipods, I don't buy the namebrand, but I don't know if the generic will let you download "books". We get all of our music from our friend that is a DJ or from wal-mart's online music site. They are about 88 cents each. I think we only paid about $20-$30 for each of our 4 mp3 players. There are also still some free sites to download music. I won't mention any names, though. Not the most honest thing to do.

 

One last thing to do is to consider renting a laptop from a place like rent-a-center. Make sure it has a couple of games on it, maybe download them yourself. You don't have to keep an internet connection once you are gone, just make sure you have the games beforehand.

 

I really hope this helps. We have found that any kid gets bored after so long of the same thing, no matter what it is. Good luck.

[SelectSys]

Bring a game boy or some other kind of amusement for the kids not only on the plane but on some of the bus rides if you plan on going on the ship's tours. Some of rides can be on long if you are doing all day tours and it makes the time pass more quickly for the kids. Our son was 9 on his first med trip and having a game boy was a big plus for him.

[merela]

I think it's less than $200 with tax. It may come with 2 earphones. But seriously, no matter how big the screen is, the kids will fight over who gets more screen space (at least mine would). Then they will argue over which movies that they want to see. So you'll have to set the ground rules before the viewing begins.

 

Also, most portable DVD players have 2to3-hour battery life. So for your transatlantic flight, you may need to buy additional batteries if you want to see more than 1 movie. Are you sure your transatlantic flights do not offer children programming on board? On our transpacific flight (on Malaysian Airlines) the kids get to choose children's programming (movies and games) apart from the adult programming. Also, choose midnight flights outbound so at least the kids will be sleeping first half of the flight.

 

Maybe audio books for children is the way to go. I saw some in our local library (like Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket). Get their favorite magazines or comic books. Any way you look at it, you don't want to bring extra battery packs for your portable DVD player since you already are travelling with lots of luggage. For such long flights, you do need to find additional diversions for your kids if they can't sleep.

 

I suggest you buy a few hand-held games such as Sudoku for Kids and 20 Questions.