Do you bring a laptop cruising with you?

[emjsea]

I took mine and it was a lot of fun to have and download and organize pictures each evening. I also blogged about each day (I did get an internet package from them which wasn't too bad: $60 lasted me all week). It was also nice to shoot my mom emails saying how we were doing. She's a worrier! Oh, and the credits from the package applied in their Internet Lounge (I was on Celebrity Solstice) so that came in handy the last night when I printed the boarding pass for my flight the next day. Also, I was surprised at how fast the connection was. It wasn't a T1 fast on the wireless, but darn near close to cable modem speeds most of the time. There were only a few times it was a bit slow, but nothing frustrating.

 

Going through airport security wasn't a big deal as I have a combo backpack/laptop case which works great. It only takes a few seconds to pull it out for the machine and put it back in afterwards.

 

I also enjoyed having it to keep myself occupied in the airport and on the plane. I like to play puzzle games and such so that was fun. I had some movies loaded on as well if we felt like watching a movie.

 

Oh and as far security. We left the laptop on the desk plugged in and running the entire time. No problems. I don't think a cabin steward would risk stealing something as easily identifiable as that. I just locked the account whenever I left. I also have my name and phone number engraved on the bottom of the laptop *and* I have the laptop lo-jack service. So if it had gotten stolen, I suspect it would have gotten back to me rather quickly.

[RetireeWannabee]

The security issue is a good point that I had not thought of.......any ideas? Can you leave it with the service desk or concierge?

I don't think they would want to watch it for you.

[Roadtripster]

Guess what? I am now going to have one with me!! LOL

 

I was talking to my daughter and she said... "Oh, I have a netbook, you can use".

I never knew she had one. LOL

 

So, I am going to take hers since it is so small and portable.

 

Question though.....

 

How does the internet work on the ship? I mean, I see people say they paid for an internet package or paid some other way. Do you have to go to the internet cafe and use it there and put the charge on your S&S card? Prepay some how?

 

Not sure how it works and the cost of it. Can anyone explain? Thanks!

[emjsea]

Guess what? I am now going to have one with me!! LOL

 

I was talking to my daughter and she said... "Oh, I have a netbook, you can use".

I never knew she had one. LOL

 

So, I am going to take hers since it is so small and portable.

 

Question though.....

 

How does the internet work on the ship? I mean, I see people say they paid for an internet package or paid some other way. Do you have to go to the internet cafe and use it there and put the charge on your S&S card? Prepay some how?

 

Not sure how it works and the cost of it. Can anyone explain? Thanks!

You can use your S&S card, but the how varies from cruiseline to cruiseline. On the Solstice it was 45 cents a minute if you didn't buy a package. I bought the $60 package which was something like 35 cents a minute and that lasted me the whole cruise with checking email, emailing friends, uploading some photos to Facebook, and making daily blog entries.

[nparmelee]

We always take one too. Between the occasional work issue and using it for downloading photos and writing our travel journal, its worth the hassle to us. In a hotel room we put it away in a suite case, in the cabin on board we've always left it out or put it away somewhere. If we want to send email, we'll get everything composed and then login to the ship system to send the email. The new netbooks are so small they will likely fit in the safe.

 

For the people who have a camera that isn't compatible with Vista, you can pick up a card reader for your size data card for not too much money. We have two cameras that use 2 different size cards so we use a card reader anyway.

[Treven]

I always do.

 

During the evening I'll unload that days pix from my camera & do some light Photoshopping on that day's photos. In addition, I take it along to watch a movie during the evening if the entertainment doesn't interest me. Plus I have the opportunity to watch a movie on the plane as well.

[K&P Luv2Cruise]

I am debating if I want to bring my laptop or not. Not necessarily for the internet (which I doubt I would use - too expensive) but for offline.

 

I think it would be great to blog for the day and for downloading my pictures and getting them all organized before I come home.

 

Biggest thing stopping me, is the airport. Such a pain to get a laptop through security and that would be one of my carryon's that I need for clothes. LOL

 

Anyone bring one on board for offline reasons and do you really use it once on board? Or are you having too much fun?:D

 

We took ours along with us on our Dec. '08 cruise, and found it useful for the items you mentioned above, along with the advantage of connecting wirelessly and opening our email when we wanted (not just according to PC availability-Library was very busy for this due to the holiday season).

 

We had our pictures downloaded (also kept them on the SD card just in case), organized and deleted ones that didn't turn out OK, we had a daily journal running that allowed us to set our thoughts to 'pen & paper' while they were still fresh, so that the uniqueness of each port didn't blend together.

 

We are going again in May, and plan on taking our laptop, however in each instance we did not fly, we drove so there was no issue with customs etc.

 

Not sure if we would take it along if we were flying though, it takes up valuable space, but I think the convenience outways the disadvantages.

 

Kathryn

[Roadtripster]

You can use your S&S card, but the how varies from cruiseline to cruiseline. On the Solstice it was 45 cents a minute if you didn't buy a package. I bought the $60 package which was something like 35 cents a minute and that lasted me the whole cruise with checking email, emailing friends, uploading some photos to Facebook, and making daily blog entries.

 

Thanks for the info. How do you get the package price?

[vjmatty]

I have a little Acer netbook that I use for traveling or taking to court. It only cost $350 so if it gets lost or broken it is cheap to replace. I sometimes even put it in checked luggage so I don't have to worry about security line hassles.

[RetireeWannabee]

I have a little Acer netbook that I use for traveling or taking to court. It only cost $350 so if it gets lost or broken it is cheap to replace. I sometimes even put it in checked luggage so I don't have to worry about security line hassles.

 

Wow, how do you pack it to protect from breakage with the way luggage gets tossed around?

 

I would never put expensive electronics in luggage due to fear of theft.

[Treven]

Not sure if we would take it along if we were flying though, it takes up valuable space, but I think the convenience outways the disadvantages.

Kathryn

Even though my laptop has a 17" screen, I don't have any difficulty slipping it (in it's bag, under the airplane seat in front of me. In addition, I've never felt there was a problem getting through security because of my laptop. I simply take it out of the bag along with my extra battery and transformer, and place them in one of the bins to send it through their x-ray machine.

 

With my camera bag, I simply unsnap the cover and send it through the machine in it's own bin. If the security wants to examine part of what's in my bag, they can easily just take it out of the bag; it's just no big deal.

 

I've never been called out of line to explain something that was found in one of my bags, either checked or my carry-ons.

[vjmatty]

Wow, how do you pack it to protect from breakage with the way luggage gets tossed around?

 

I would never put expensive electronics in luggage due to fear of theft.

 

That is my point, it's not expensive and isn't my main laptop. It is also made with a hard durable plastic.

 

Usually I pack it the middle of the suitcase between rubber soled shoes with soft items surrounding them.

 

I also wear ballet slippers in the security line so I can step in and out of them easily without having to sit down and put my shoes back on. The fluids bag goes in an outside pocket on the carryon so it can be pulled out easily. While waiting in line we throw all the cell phones, headsets and all other pocket contents into a Del Sol or a Cunard tote bag that acts as my purse for flight day.

 

We kind of have all the airport nonsense down to a science.

[RetireeWannabee]

That is my point, it's not expensive and isn't my main laptop. It is also made with a hard durable plastic.

 

Usually I pack it the middle of the suitcase between rubber soled shoes with soft items surrounding them.

 

While I agree it's not expensive for a laptop, $350 isn't trivial if you have to replace it frequently. Well, would not be trivial For Me.

 

May I guess that you've never had items stolen from your locked luggage?

[NorbertsNiece]

I've purchased a Netbook; much more convenient for taking on board a flight and using on board. It DID fit in the safe if tilted! Mostly we left it locked in a suitcase under the bed with the camera. Never had a concern that there would be an issue doing that.

Used it for storing images and for blogging.

[vjmatty]

While I agree it's not expensive for a laptop, $350 isn't trivial if you have to replace it frequently. Well, would not be trivial For Me.

 

I don't think the law of large numbers would support it being stolen frequently.... perhaps once in a lifetime but not on a regular basis.

 

The clothes in your suitcases are probably worth much more than $350, where do you put those?

 

May I guess that you've never had items stolen from your locked luggage?

 

I once noticed a bracelet missing when getting home from vacation, but have no way of knowing if it disappeared on the plane, on either of the ships or in the little Paris hotel where we stayed for four days. I will probably never know so I don't think about it.

 

I suppose I could set up an alarm system that would set off a loud noise when an unauthorized person opened my suitcase, but since I wouldn't be around to witness the embarrassing moment, what fun would that be?

[RetireeWannabee]

I don't think the law of large numbers would support it being stolen frequently.... perhaps once in a lifetime but not on a regular basis.

 

The clothes in your suitcases are probably worth much more than $350, where do you put those?

 

 

 

I once noticed a bracelet missing when getting home from vacation, but have no way of knowing if it disappeared on the plane, on either of the ships or in the little Paris hotel where we stayed for four days. I will probably never know so I don't think about it.

 

I suppose I could set up an alarm system that would set off a loud noise when an unauthorized person opened my suitcase, but since I wouldn't be around to witness the embarrassing moment, what fun would that be?

 

 

LOL!!!! Yeah, that would defeat the purpose!!!

 

No way my clothes are worth $350, but point taken about odds of the theft.

[candiesx2]

:confused:This is gonna be a stupid question...... what is a "Netbook"

[Roadtripster]

:confused:This is gonna be a stupid question...... what is a "Netbook"

 

Mainly just a small version of a laptop, that most people use just to connect to the internet for surfing, blogging, pictures, etc... You don't download a lot of programs on it.

[cruisinbuddy]

Mines to big, but if I had one of those new mini ones, I would.

[Toucan Dee]

We always take our laptop on any vacation. Dh downloads pictures daily. We've gone on a week long vacation and had over 6000 pictures. We like to relive our day through the pictures each night. :D

 

The kids also watch dvd's on the laptop on the plane and in our room. Only once in a dozen vacations have we ever used it for internet purposes.

[anniecat]

somehow a laptop at the beach makes me laugh, considering the crevices I get sand into;)

but, we have a cable lock for ours, I keep it cabled to something nonmovable and keep it out of sight for the casual looky-loo. I don't worry about the cabin staff. It's more of a concern in a hotel...but again securely cabled and not left out in the open.

We use it for photos (I take tons!!!!), I have photoshop elements to start organizing and fixing, also I journal daily and have all our travel plans saved to word files. Plus contact info, etc I'd use the ship internet if I had to only, but will pre and post cruise in our hotels.

just a few days more of packing and getting ready:D

[Ron_L]

Several folks, including the OP have commented on the difficulty of getting a laptop through airport security. I don't understand. I took mine through security 5 times just last week. I have it in a computer bag that opens across the top and the laptop is in a padded sleeve that is also open at the top. I unzip the bag, open the flap on the sleeve, pull out the laptop and put it in a bin. 30 seconds tops. No hassle or difficulty. Just have it in a bag that you can open easily and in a place where it will be safe, but you can grab it quickly. If you really are concerned there are new security friendly bags available for as low as $40 that allow you to open the bag, lay it flat on the belt and go through the x-ray machine without removing it from the bag.

[mactrio]

I am debating if I want to bring my laptop or not. Not necessarily for the internet (which I doubt I would use - too expensive) but for offline.

 

I think it would be great to blog for the day and for downloading my pictures and getting them all organized before I come home.

 

Biggest thing stopping me, is the airport. Such a pain to get a laptop through security and that would be one of my carryon's that I need for clothes. LOL

 

Anyone bring one on board for offline reasons and do you really use it once on board? Or are you having too much fun?:D

 

I brought my laptop so that I could upload pictures and do my journal, my laptop stayed in the case on the top shelf of the closet and I never touched it.

IMO leave it home.

[shelby_36]

Everyone I would want to tell goes with me. Thats why we love cruises. No computers, phones. video games, etc. Paradise.

[candiesx2]

As mush as i would love to bring my computer... its too expensive to travel all this distance and chance it getting broken or damaged or stollen.

Plus there is sooooo much to do on or off the ship.:D