I Pad

[Swampduck]

I am thinking of buying my DH an I pad for our 25th wedding anniversary which is while we are on the ship on the 16 th March , does any one have any idea of the prices or if I would be better waiting and buying on land

Thanks

[grandgeezer]

They are the same prices as on land, except you don't pay any sales tax.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Last time we were on board they did not have any Airs

You really need a good internet connect to set it up

Buy one before the trip and give it to him so he can get maps etc for the trip

[canusa1]

You are right. They are the same price as they are in stores here in Canada and no tax I bought one last year on our Summit cruise. They do offer a class on iPads that I did not take but plan to on our upcoming cruise. The best people to go to for help are your children or grandchildren as in my case.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I am thinking of buying my DH an I pad for our 25th wedding anniversary which is while we are on the ship on the 16 th March , does any one have any idea of the prices or if I would be better waiting and buying on land

Thanks

 

Since you are in North Ireland , the charger they give you I believe are for NA plug

[Swampduck]

Since you are in North Ireland , the charger they give you I believe are for NA plug

 

does this mean that he won't be able to use it at home?

[justcrusn]

purchase before the cruise, to set everything up, add books to read etc.

 

FYI - they are ON SALE right now at best buy

[Athravan]

does this mean that he won't be able to use it at home?

 

I bought mine in the states and it did not come with an EU plug but you only need the small plug converter, it is £10 for the official UK Apple charger, probably cheaper if you buy an unbranded one.

[Aunt Tina]

I bought an IPad Mini just before my fall TA. I needed help with everything from fellow passengers until I got used to it! It takes the best pictures which I can then edit and send to family immediately! Hopefully you have more experience than I had with the technology.

 

If you buy it ahead you can also get the case and screen protectors much cheaper.

 

Be careful - they are hot items for being stolen.

[Phxazzcruisers]

As stated, all you salve is sales tax. You also stand the chance that they might not have what you want in stock. I would buy the gift at an Apple Store or Best Buy and get it all set up and ready before the cruise. If your husband likes to read you can also purchase books and load the on the iPad so he can read them on the cruise. Happy Anniversary

[Ex-Airbalancer]

IPads makes a bad ereader, if you want to read outside. We started with just an iPad then got ereaders to read books

[purduemom1]

For the OP; on our Celebrity cruise last November I went to all the iLife presentations and all seemed to be about the iPad and iPhone. If your husband already has his new iPad set up, he will get more out of the presentations and can get help if he needs it. One word of advice, the classes filled up way before the actual start time so if we didn't arrive 30 minutes early, we were out of luck. There was no charge for these classes.

 

There was quite a discussion about purchasing chargers other than Apple and the iLife tech explained that if you are using a charger other than Apple's brand and you allow your device to remain connected to it after it is fully charged, you will damage your device. This applies to the newer models of phones and iPads. A few in the class confirmed that this had happened to them. Now I'm sure there are those on this board who will disagree and perhaps they have not had a problem but others are not willing to take a chance and damage an expensive device...it's up to you, I'm just passing along what we were told.

[Suzy Smith]

We bought an iPad on our last cruise and are very happy with it. The prices may not be much cheaper for US and Canadian citizens, but we used the ship's internet to check the UK prices for the iPad and the cover that we were interested in and found we were getting a very good deal. It does come with a US plug, but Apple make a UK plug specifically for the iPad, which we bought at the airport (for less than £10) on our way home.

 

We bought our iPad half way through a two-week cruise. The guys on the ship set it up for us and it was great to have someone available for the next few days to give us advice while we were getting the hang of it. We also attended a couple of iPad classes during the cruise, which were fun and very informative.

 

The only advice I would give is not to let them pressure you to make a quick decision - they like to give you the impression that they have only one or two left, to encourage you to buy right away; but we took our time making our decision and checking prices and when we were ready to purchase they found they actually had one left after all!;)

Edited February 26, 2014 by Suzy Smith

[riclop]

Buy him one before and give it to him as youre unpacking.

[sandyss]

I bought an iPad Mini on board, around half-way through our last cruise - which was when the model that I wanted was delivered on board. The price was $30 more than the price on Amazon - but that was more than offset by the savings on sales tax.

 

The ONLY reason that I purchased it on board was to use up non-refundable OBC.

 

I waited until we returned home before learning how to use it, since we didn't want to spend our time on board learning to use it. It took me quite a bit of time to get comfortable with it, since the operating system is so different than that of the PCs that I have always used. I spent a lot of time talking with Apple customer support to get most of my questions answered.

 

Now that I have it set up, I plan to take the iPad with me on our next cruise instead of the netbook that I had been carrying.

 

My advice is to purchase the iPad ahead to allow time to set it up and get comfortable with it (unless you have non-refundable OBC to use up).

[Suzy Smith]

Lots of good advice on this thread for US residents, but the OP lives in Northern Ireland and if she bought the iPad before she left, she would be paying UK prices, which are usually higher than in the US. Also (unless she is using OBC) any purchase on the ship will be in foreign currency, so the exchange rate at the time she cruises will affect how good a deal it is for her.

 

I would suggest waiting until closer to the cruise, then checking what the US price (without tax) is for the model she is interested in and converting to pounds at the exchange rate operating at that time. The OP can then work out how the onboard price would compare with buying locally before they sail.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Suzy Smith

[Wiltonian]

Technically the OP could be charged VAT on re-entry to the UK, if total purchases exceeded the personal import duty-free allowance - £270.

 

Stuart

[XandraMic]

Last year, I bought an iPad on board, too.

 

The price is similar to what they charge in US. http://store.apple.com/us/buy-ipad/ipad-air

 

The US price on board is much cheaper than what they charge in Italy. I can't remember the exact price, but it's something like 499 US$ vs 499 EURO for the same model. Practically, I saved 30% from buying on board. It's much cheaper even though you have to buy an additional adapter.

 

I was concerned about being charged VAT by airport customs as well, so I threw the box away, and keep just the iPad with my laptop. If they asked about my iPad, I would have just told them that I got it as a gift long ago. Traveling with iPad is very common nowadays. I don't think they'll mind about you traveling with an iPad.

Edited February 26, 2014 by XandraMic

[nijh]

Technically the OP could be charged VAT on re-entry to the UK, if total purchases exceeded the personal import duty-free allowance - £270.

 

Stuart

 

 

The personal allowance is £390 for non-EU, which should be enough for a low level iPad.

 

£270 is if you are arrriving by private plane or boat. If the OP can afford to do that they should stop trying to save a few quid :D;)

[sandyss]

Technically the OP could be charged VAT on re-entry to the UK, if total purchases exceeded the personal import duty-free allowance - £270.

Stuart

 

I was told that the purchase of the iPad was Duty Free - since purchases could only be made while at sea.

[Algebralovr]

The prices on the iOS products on the Equinox 2/10/2014 cruise were slightly above US MSRP. The one that on the apple.com site is $499 cost $530 on board. I thought it was a bit strange. I didn't bother to ask why, I just took note. I knew the price it should be off the top of my head because of ordering them frequently at work for other people.

 

I second the idea of making a purchase in your home country, preferably at a store that will help you set it up and get started using it.

[BKFlowerMound]

The IPad power adapter is universal - meaning it's the same for the US, the UK, and Europe - except for the tiny part that plugs into the wall outlet. For all of you out there who have an iPad, notice that the part of the power adapter around the plug has a gap. This part is replaceable. You can easily slide it off and replace that part (just that part) with one that fits plugs in any country. You can purchase the replacement parts on eBay for a few dollars.

 

Moreover, the power adapter accepts inputs from 100-240v. In other words, you don't need a transformer. Plugging it in at home with a plug converter alone won't damage the iPad. Similarly, North Americans can plug an iPad into the wall in Europe using a plug converter and not damage the iPad.

 

So, if the price on board is cheaper than what you would pay in Ireland, the UK, or Europe, the power adapter that comes with it isn't useless at home.

[Lsimon]

I was told that the purchase of the iPad was Duty Free - since purchases could only be made while at sea.

 

A duty Free sale on board only means that the on board sales price does not include duty. It does not mean you can return with them to your home country without paying duty although this is a common misconception. In the USA anything purchased on a trip that you are bringing back must be declared and duty will be charged if it is over your exemption. In some cases they'll waive duty charges if the charge is small enough that it isn't worth doing the paperwork but that is up to the customs officer.

 

Ships returning to a USA port have to supply customs with a list of all of their sales over a certain amount including the name of the passenger making the purchase. I know this as we bought some jewelry on board once and when I went to customs to declare it they asked if it was bought on board and then checked our name on a list. I can only imagine what happens if you are on the list and do not self report.

 

My knowledge and experience applies only to a US citizen bringing back an item from the ship at a USA port. I don't know the rules for European countries but I image that they are similar.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Lsimon

[seastar2]

Bought an Ipad on the Infinity last year...was told the price was the same as home....guess what even with the tax saving I could have done better at the store with the "bullseye and the cute dog".....they have specials with gift cards with purchase...;);) discounts on cases, etc...

 

live and learn....

 

 

as mentioned the original poster is non US so the ship may be a good deal..

[Swampduck]

Thank you for all the replies and I took it all on board - so to speak :cool:

 

I ended up buying one here at home :cool: and have it all wrapped up (in a map of USA) ready to be handed over and I am going to give it to him the day before we travel, so he can get it set up.

 

I will have to see about getting the internet package on the ship - not sure how much that costs, he bought it the 1st year for our son, but I cant remember how much we paid.

 

We are now on the final countdown, I finished packing today and we leave Northern Ireland on Friday - excited.

 

Thanks again for all your comments it was appreciated.

Debbie x

:D