bring ipad or leave home?

I am going on my first cruise in a couple of weeks. Should me and my kids bring our ipads or leave them at home? I'm not the type to sit around and read, and I guess with no wifi there's nothing I really want to do on my ipad. I will have my iphone. Is there really a need for my ipad? Is it possible to get bored on the ship and therfore I might need my ipad to read (which I don't do anyway)? We took our ipads to disney and they stayed in the safe the whole time. Not sure how different a cruise is. Thanks!!

I use mine as a camera .i take awesome pics of ship,sunrises sunsets,and landscapes .i never take my phone because of roaming charges even if its turned off ...something risky about that ...not sure how but some people had tremendous fees on theirs without using it

I never leave my Ipad behind

I always bring mine!! I don't always use it, but I like having it. Last time I found a few places in port that offered free wifi and was able to FaceTime with people back home and use iMessage. It was nice to be able to do that to check in with the people I felt like I needed to check in with, without feeling like I needed to turn my phone on. I have a wifi only iPad, so I know I won't incur any charges. Whereas if I turned on my iPhone you never know...

I bring my Kindle and in the morning (I am always first up) I go up to the buffet and sip coffee while I type up notes for the previous day for my review. I also do some reading from time to time.

I brought mine on my last 2 cruises and after the flight down I never touched it again. It sat in my safe the entire time. It is to big for me to want to carry it around for a camera or lug it other places. I am usually to busy to read (although I always tell myself im going to) so next time im leaving it at home.

I would bring the Ipad. Better to have and not use than to wish you had it. Some ports have wifi which is much cheaper and more reliable than the wifi on the ships. I know Roatan just installed high speed wifi at both their ports. I used it at the Mahongany Bay Carnival Port and it was great! I think they only charged like $10 for all day. Gave me a chance to check in with friends at home and post pics.

I am going on my first cruise in a couple of weeks. Should me and my kids bring our ipads or leave them at home?

Wow, how many will that be in total? I ask because ship safes are notoriously small. One can barely fit and then you have to sort of shove it in sideways and at an angle... not sure several could fit. Something to consider.

I think you are basically trying to talk yourself out of it, aren't you? :p That's the impression I got from your post. If you are not planning to buy the ship's WiFi package and you say you won't read, then doubtful you would use it. However, there is free WiFi in ports - you just have to find it. Having said that, would you want to bring them into port? Would the kids (and I don't know how old they are) really miss them?

Are you flying to and from your cruise? Maybe you could take one iPad and share it for the airport and plane. Just a thought.

Have fun. :)

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Unless you have stuff to do without wifi, leave them home. There's so much to do on the ship, you really won't have time to sit around and mess with the pad. Assuming you have an iPhone, you can do pretty much the same thing on the phone, if needed. It's just smaller!

I wouldn't travel without my ipad, and I think it's far more useful than my iPhone on a cruise.

On the journey to the port or when I'm waiting to board I'll be using my ipad - playing a game, watching a video, taking photos or listening to music. When we're getting ready fro dinner we usually listen to music on the ipad too and in good weather if we're on deck I'll listen to an audiobook / music or play a game. I tweet on it as well but only once a day so I find It so useful even with other entertainments on board.

I didn't bring my tablet but I did bring my phone and my Kindle. I used the phone at every port, where I found fast, effective wifi. I read on my Kindle every day.

If you or your kids are game players, I'd think you'd want your iPad on the ship.

We went on a family cruise on Disney Wonder a few years ago and we all brought our iPads including the kids. The made friends on board who played Word with Friends and also they used it to take photos. On Disney there are a lot of things for the kids to do, but they still wanted the ipads. Also the kids were able to do some of their school reading assignments on it so that was great.

Didn't bring my iPad and never missed it. Brought my first edition nook, put it in the safe, and never looked at it again until it came time to pack at the end of the cruise.

So much to do on the ship, plus sunning, relaxing, people watching and staring at the ocean was enough!

Whatever you choose, have fun!

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Wow, how many will that be in total? I ask because ship safes are notoriously small. One can barely fit and then you have to sort of shove it in sideways and at an angle... not sure several could fit. Something to consider.

 

 

 

Have fun. :)

 

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Why do you feel that the OP has to keep the IPads in the safe. Lots of us keep electronic and photography equipment worth lots more than the IPad outside in the room w/o any problems. I probably travel w $3000 - $4000 worth of equipment and I never put any of the stuff in the safe.

DON

I use mine as a camera .i take awesome pics of ship,sunrises sunsets,and landscapes .i never take my phone because of roaming charges even if its turned off ...something risky about that ...not sure how but some people had tremendous fees on theirs without using it

I never leave my Ipad behind

I do not know how it is with Apple equipment but with Android equipment, if you put it in airplane mode and leave it there, you can not get any roaming charges. I use my phone all the time as an alarm clock. It is on all the time during the cruise and I have never been charged.

DON

Why do you feel that the OP has to keep the IPads in the safe. Lots of us keep electronic and photography equipment worth lots more than the IPad outside in the room w/o any problems. I probably travel w $3000 - $4000 worth of equipment and I never put any of the stuff in the safe.

That's fine for you. It's obviously a personal decision.

IMO movies on board suck and I need my TV. I use my IPAD every nite to watch movies or pre recorded TV shows I've transfered there via Dish tv

Wow, how many will that be in total? I ask because ship safes are notoriously small. One can barely fit and then you have to sort of shove it in sideways and at an angle... not sure several could fit. Something to consider.

 

I think you are basically trying to talk yourself out of it, aren't you? :p That's the impression I got from your post. If you are not planning to buy the ship's WiFi package and you say you won't read, then doubtful you would use it. However, there is free WiFi in ports - you just have to find it. Having said that, would you want to bring them into port? Would the kids (and I don't know how old they are) really miss them?

 

Are you flying to and from your cruise? Maybe you could take one iPad and share it for the airport and plane. Just a thought.

 

Have fun. :)

 

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I put my 13" macbook in my safe on NCL and there was still room for everything else I wanted to put in there. (wallet, passport, extra camera lenses etc etc) and an iPad is smaller than a laptop. ;)

If you do bring it, please don't be inconsiderate by using it as a camera on an excursion vehicle. iPads really ruin the view for others trying to see the sites.

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I put my 13" macbook in my safe on NCL and there was still room for everything else I wanted to put in there. (wallet, passport, extra camera lenses etc etc) and an iPad is smaller than a laptop. ;)

Cool. That's why I asked how many there would be. I see from another post that OP has 3 kids, so 4 iPads plus other valuables most likely will not fit in a safe.

My wife had hers on last few cruises , nice to catch up with e-mails and take some pictures (there are always places with free internet in the Caribbean)

I take my iPad along so I can back photos off the camera SD card each night. The next day , should I loose my camera I would have a copy off all taken so far. And if I should find a place with free or cheap wifi, I will then mail off photos. You know you will get 1 or 2 REALLY good photos and by mailing that even to myself, I have a copy now off the ship.

My iPad goes on every trip with me. Having said that, I do read on my iPad. :)

There is really no right or wrong answer. If you don't use your IPad a lot at home, then don't bring it. It really depends on what you use it for.

I personally love my IPad and never leave home without it. In fact, I bring my 1st gen IPad to download pics to everyday from my SD cards, just like EdmPair.

I have my mini for everything else. But I like to play my games that don't need wifi, read, listen to my music, and watch movies or shows that I had previously downloaded. I travel solo, so a lot of times this is my entertainment when there is nothing else going on that I am interested in.

Just got back from our cruise and I wish I would have brought mine! I had my iPhone but would have loved to take pics with my iPad.

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If you are going on a DCL cruise.... the 24Mbps wifi is $89 for one gigabyte.

Love it... just make sure you disable updates.

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