Gps

[bUU]

Has anyone brought a GPS along on a cruise? Does anyone have any exported tracks they can share for either the Bahamas or the Southern Caribbean? I've had a very hard time finding any detailed maps available for MapSource, relying on the WorldMap instead. Bleh.

 

I've plotted out straight-line routes for my upcoming cruise. I've got Cococay as N25 48.898 W77 56.980. Is that correct?

[Tmmull]

I used one on our Canada cruise. It was fun knowing our position an speed, but not that practical. We actually traveled farther east than the map hard loaded in the handheld and it wouldn't work until we moved back in it's range. Good luck finding the charts, maybe the gps manufacturer or one of the boating stores might be able to help.

Just found a link for Magellan Gps

http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/sdcard.asp?PRODID=623

[bUU]

Did you see that price! :eek: They really charge a lot for maps outside the continental US, for something that is, like you said, just "fun."

[jrm9999]

Bicker, I bring my Garmin on each trip. It can be a lot of fun. As for maps, I own the North America City select and the America BlueNav. Before leaving, I load all the BlueNav data for where the cruise goes, then add any land maps I might want. In general though all you need is BlueNav. It has enough detail to show you the exact dock your at. The only time you would need land maps is if you wanted to track your way while walking around on land.

 

Its pretty cool to watch when pulling in/out of ports or when late at night you see lights on the horizon. On thing though, to get best reception you need to go up on deck. We always have balcony rooms and I use the balcony for this, but can only get enough satellites once in awhile. The ship itself (and sometimes overhangs above) block reception so sometimes it works from the balcony, sometimes not. I even tried an external antenna that sticks to the side of the ships and did not do any better.

 

In general though going up top is not too bad. Ships don't move very fast compared to a car or a plane and they generally go in fairly straight lines so getting a waypoint 3-4 times a day is all you really need unless you tried to plot each and every minute.

[MGoBlue2]

bicker - those coordinates sound about right to me. If you can find a place that lists Little Stirrup Cay that was CocoCay's original name.

[MadCnty]

Also JFYI. On our "Serenade" cruise if you watched one of the "channels" on the tv it showed a map with the ships GPS position on it.

[jrm9999]

Bicker, I think you got it fairly close on Coco Cay. I entered your coordinates into the Map Source Blue Nav. Those coordinates are just offshore of a small island due West Southwest of Great Stirrup Cay. I believe it shows offshore due to it being a tender port. I can PDF the image and e-mail it if you want.

[TPKeller]

I always take a GPS receiver on a cruise! (ha ha all two of them...)

 

On the first cruise, we had a window and I was able to wedge my external antenna up against it just enough to get a signal most of the time. I left it on and plotted most of the trip. You can see the plot here:

 

http://members.aol.com/cruisetip/Century-09-28-02.JPG

 

Then for my second cruise we had a balcony on deck 9, and apparently just as jrm9999 noted, the reception was not nearly as good, even when I dropped the magnetic antenna over the side quite a way. So no plot for that cruise.

 

The first cruise was re-routed due to a hurricane, and I found having the GPS receiver invaluable. They didn't tell us anything about being re-routed until almost 24 hours after we were under way. After looking at the course we took, it was very easy to see where the Captain committed to the new itinerary, and it was about an hour after that final turn to the east that he made the announcement.

 

Theron

[bUU]

As for maps, I own the North America City select and the America BlueNav.

Any place one can get BlueNav for less than $100? I just can't see spending $200 for it.

 

On thing though, to get best reception you need to go up on deck. We always have balcony rooms and I use the balcony for this, but can only get enough satellites once in awhile.

Hmmm... that's strange. I'd figure that at least with my larger unit I should get great reception, given that there are no mountains or trees blocking. Of course, a whole half of the sky is blocked by the ship itself, eh?

 

I suppose though that I should just leave my etrex home. If you have problems with a regular unit, then the trekking GPS won't have a chance.

[bUU]

I can PDF the image and e-mail it if you want.

Thanks, but in the meantime I found a (diving) map online that actually shows the islands (with their names) and latitude and longitude.

[bUU]

That plot is exactly what I would want to get. Very cool. I've got a deck 9 balcony in January -- disappointing that that won't do the trick. Bummer.

[TPKeller]

I found a (diving) map online

 

Where is it? Curious minds need to know!

 

:)

 

Theron

[bUU]

I found this associated with these coordinates here: http://cs.cruisebase.com/LE5/Default.aspx?LocationID=8895#

[jrm9999]

Any place one can get BlueNav for less than $100? I just can't see spending $200 for it.

 

Hmmm... that's strange. I'd figure that at least with my larger unit I should get great reception, given that there are no mountains or trees blocking. Of course, a whole half of the sky is blocked by the ship itself, eh?

 

I suppose though that I should just leave my etrex home. If you have problems with a regular unit, then the trekking GPS won't have a chance.

 

I don't know of BlueNav being cheaper. I get more use out of it than just cruising though as it works well on the water here in FL.

 

The half shy being blocked is the problem. In fact when the ship turns you can watch reception fade in/out of some satellites. Overhangs don't help either.

 

As far as leaving it at home, it just depends on what your trying to do. To take periodic waypoints and plot your course it works fine. To try and run a continuous course tracking all the time would be very difficult.

[jrm9999]

I found this associated with these coordinates here: http://cs.cruisebase.com/LE5/Default.aspx?LocationID=8895#

 

The location shown on your first link corresponds with the island BlueNav came up with on your coordinates.

[D4]

I bought a Garmin Etrex Legend GPS before our July cruise. I had a blast with it even though I was a new user. It was very easy to learn the features.

 

I've never had so much fun a flight. We could see what cities we were near and see how far we were from our destination (San Diego).

 

We had an outside cabin and when I didn't have it on deck with me, I kept it in the window sill propped on some books. I had great reception almost the whole way. I just kept checking it and would orient it a little different whenever it wasn't receiving a signal.

 

We were in a tropical storm in the Pacific and I found it interesting to watch how the captain had us serpentining around the Sea of Cortez all day and night.

 

I only used the America basemap that came with it.

 

I do have a question: I saved the whole trip, but what software do I need to upload it to my computer? I'd love to see exactly where we were on a big map. We did the Mexican Riviera route out of San Deigo.

 

I drove my DH and teens crazy with my GPS and I can't wait to cruise with it again. I'm not an outdoors person, so I doubt that I'll use it much except for cruises.

[bUU]

I download my Tracks from my etrex into Garmin MapSource.

[SeaScout]

I brought my Garmin ETrex Vista with me on our last cruise to the eastern Carribean. I had a lot of fun just playing with it. It was interesting to be able to identify the various islands we passed on our travels. The unit didn't work too well on our balconey (because of overhangs), but worked great up on deck. I'm not a real advanced user so I just shot various waypoints a few times a day and when I got home I plotted them manually on a nautical chart I purchased in St. Thomas.

 

If you have a GPS, bring it with you. You can save waypoints for various places you visit on your travels and check them out when you get home. I'm involved in GeoCaching (http://www.geocaching.com). Check out your cruise stops and you may be able to use your GPS to find genuine treasure. I was going to hit some geocaches on our last cruise but time constraints didn't allow it.

 

I did think I was going to get in trouble on our flight home. I had my GPS on my lap and the stewardess saw it. She didn't know what it was and asked if she could look at it. I said "sure" and she took it up towards the flight deck. She didn't return it until the end of the flight. She admonished me that "there was a list of approved electronic devices in the onboard flight magazine". I wasn't about to argue about it not even being turned on and I didn't bother to check the list to see if it was approved or not. I just wanted to get off that fight from h&!!.

[princesstori]

I have the Garmin GPS 60CS and can't wait to take it on our cruise in December. We are actually driving down to Miami a couple of days early and plan on doing some Geocaching while we are there. Found a travel bug this past weekend that we are going to be leaving somewhere in Miami on our trek. Thought doing the Geocaching in Miami would be a good way to site see.

[ws293]

Were you able to pick up GPS satellites from the balcony of your cabin?

[SeaScout]

Were you able to pick up GPS satellites from the balcony of your cabin?

 

I was the Carnival Triumph on deck 8. Due to the overhang above our balcony I was not able to get reception. (Not sure on the configuration of the RRCL ships so your mileage may vary). Out on deck was another story. I was getting reception from 6 to 8 birds at any given time with an accuraccy of within 12 feet.

[D4]

SeaScout: One flight attendant saw me using my GPS and asked if it was a cellphone. I said it was a GPS and they're approved for flight use and she agreed.

[barbarajoy]

I am really glad you started this thread! I think geocaching sounds like a fun family activity, but I don't know anything about it. Now I at least know the website to look at!

 

What is the price range on those GPS thingys, though?

[D4]

You can buy the yellow Garmin Etrex for about $100. It marks waypoints, gives directions, and does the basics. But it doesn't have any mapping capabilities. (I don't do geocaching, but read a GPS book and that model sounds fine for geocaching.) Because I thought I might want to see a map, I went up one step up and got the Garmin Etrex Legend. It's about $200 at most places. I got a $30 rebate from Garmin.

 

I debated between those two models and was very glad I spent the extra to get the Legend because it is loaded with the North America and South America basemap. I could always tell how far we were from the next port, from home, what that piece of land was on the horizon, etc. You can buy other maps to load on it, but I doubt that I'll do that.

 

If you want one for navigating in a car, I wouldn't recommend the Legend because the screen is so small.

[jrm9999]

Then for my second cruise we had a balcony on deck 9, and apparently just as jrm9999 noted, the reception was not nearly as good, even when I dropped the magnetic antenna over the side quite a way. So no plot for that cruise.

 

Well thats makes sense then. We like balconies on deck 9.