Laptop or Internet Cafe?

[applequeen]

So I just found out that my boss would like me to check my work email at least once a day while I'm on my cruise. Will I be OK checking it at the ship's (Majesty) Internet Cafe or should I plan to take my laptop?

 

I have a blackberry but I doubt it'll work in the Bahamas.... will it?

[falken]

So I just found out that my boss would like me to check my work email at least once a day while I'm on my cruise. Will I be OK checking it at the ship's (Majesty) Internet Cafe or should I plan to take my laptop?

 

I have a blackberry but I doubt it'll work in the Bahamas.... will it?

 

As long as you can check your email via the web without VPN you can use the internet cafe for your mail. Make sure you let your boss know that you will be expensing your internet charges. :)

[applequeen]

I'll be checking it through a webmail system so I luckily won't need the VPN (slow, slow, slow :) )

 

As for expensing it... I'm on the fence on that one. Since it's not work related travel I'm not sure I can but it's a nice thought. To be honest I have a great job with a lot of unpaid perks so I'm OK with eating the cost of it.

[time2cruise1]

So I just found out that my boss would like me to check my work email at least once a day while I'm on my cruise. Will I be OK checking it at the ship's (Majesty) Internet Cafe or should I plan to take my laptop?

 

I have a blackberry but I doubt it'll work in the Bahamas.... will it?

 

 

Check with your carrier. AT&T Blackberry will work on the ship and in the Bahamas.

[Lyman713]

I typically use my laptop for email. I can download my email and get off-line to minimize the use of the internet minutes. This is especially useful if you have Outlook or Notes to do your email, as you can get your mail, read and reply off-line, and sign back in to send your mail.

 

Otherwise, if you have to reply, you will be typing your replies while using internet minutes.

 

Also, my blackberry typically works in several locations - including Bermuda earlier this year. I would suggest you check with your carrier for details.

 

Which date are you on the Majesty? We will be there on January 10th!!

 

Happy sails!

[applequeen]

Lyman713 you make an excellant point about going offline to type responses. If I take my laptop I will be using Outlook (if I use the Internet Cafe I'll use a webmail system).

 

I'm going to check with Alltel since both my personal cell and my blackberry (paid for by work) use them. I'll probably keep my personal cell in airplane mode but I'll leave my blackberry on (only really use it for email) just in case it works.

 

To be honest I think that at most I'll be getting 2-3 emails during the time I'm gone that really need a resonse before I get back. A lot of people are off during that time and it's usually very slow. That's based on what I remember from the past couple of years. I'll also have an Out of Office reply set up to explain that I'll respond ASAP... only critical issues will get a response until I return to the office on Jan. 5

 

We're sailing on Dec. 27th. (so with weekends and holidays I'm only missing 3 actual work days when I'd need to check anything).

[time2cruise1]

Alltel Blackberry will work on the ship. Most are CDMA like Verizon. GSM is the world standard so it may or may not work on the islands only Alltel can tell.

 

http://www.cellularatsea.com/roaming.htm

[applequeen]

Thanks,

 

I'm going to call Alltel and make sure I 100% understand everything but it looks like we'll be OK. We're not planning on using our personal phones but may want to check voicemail once or twice.

 

If there is a decent chance my blackberry will work (and it certainly will work on the day we're at Port Canaveral) then I think I'm going to leave the laptop at home. I don't really need it to work on the islands as long as I can use it on the ship.

[Pennhoo]

We were on a recent Med. cruise on the Jade... internet access is expensive and they have several different internet plans that you can sign up for... all are a certain number of minutes for varying prices...

 

I tried the internet cafe and the speed is extremely slow... with my laptop in my cabin, access was much quicker and thus, I did not waste as many minutes awaiting web pages to load, etc.

 

Another advantage of taking a laptop is the ability to move all your pictures from your camera's memory card to the laptop for safe storage.

 

Garth... :rolleyes:

[odblnt]

We were on a recent Med. cruise on the Jade... internet access is expensive and they have several different internet plans that you can sign up for... all are a certain number of minutes for varying prices...

 

I tried the internet cafe and the speed is extremely slow... with my laptop in my cabin, access was much quicker and thus, I did not waste as many minutes awaiting web pages to load, etc.

 

Another advantage of taking a laptop is the ability to move all your pictures from your camera's memory card to the laptop for safe storage.

 

Garth... :rolleyes:

 

Also, you can download your e-mail, log off, read your e-mail and compose replies, then log on to send your replies.

[mrose1120]

geez, I have a great job w/ lots of unpaid perks too, but its still my vacation...

[leoandhugh]

I much prefer to take my laptop for a couple of reasons 1) I never have to wait for a keyboard in the Internet Cafe and 2) even though that may not be a problem, I know that my keyboard has been touched by only me and I am very cautious about norovirus. I have never seen anyone wipe the keys or mouse on the Internet Cafe machines.

Having my own laptop gives me the ability to compose emails off-line and sign in only to send and receive, thus saving a lot of minutes:)

[applequeen]

Thanks everyone. I'm planning to take my laptop (better to have it just in case).

 

I'm hoping there won't be much that needs an immediate response but I'd like to keep the cost to a minimum just in case.

 

I don't mind spending the time to keep up to date with work but I'd rather not spend a lot of $