Cruise Travel Gear

What does it mean Alfie?

For cruisers, packing the right gear to cruise means taking what you need and what adds to your experience.  You don’t want to lug something that proves utterly useless, nor even “mostly” useless.  So when considering a tablet for a cruise, or taking one you already own with you, think ahead.  Start with the most basic questions: do you have anything else you are taking which does the same thing, will you actually use the tablet, and will you be able to use it as you expect too.

Much of what tablets do, overlaps with smartphones, netbooks, and laptop computers.  The key here is not so much that of one device being better or worse than a tablet, than of which fits your cruise style.  If you just want to monitor email, check some news, a smartphone could be all you need.  If you also want to watch movies, read books, and entertain yourself during travel the tablet might be the better approach.  If you need to interact with the outside world, even do some work, write, or journal, then a netbook fits the bill.  For now, we’ll stay focused on how a tablet will work during a cruise experience.

If you are driving to your port of departure, or will have meaningful time flying to one, you likely will have many chances to make use of a tablet as it is intended to work.  Indeed, you may also have use of a tablet while waiting to get onto the ship itself.  Depending on how you use a tablet, what use it proves on the actual ship will vary however.

Most of the new tablets, including the new Kindle, will make extensive use of wireless connectivity.  While broadband can be found onboard many cruise ships, through either WiFi or many wireless phone carriers, it is typically not free, nor the same kind of robust connection you may normally enjoy.  As such, you should consider what kind of video, audio, or games you can store on a device, and not assume you will have normal access to all services.  If everything you enjoy about a tablet is going to be centered on always having high speed connections, then it may not find enough use on a cruise ship to bother taking.

If most of the apps, video, audio, books, are stored on the device itself, you shouldn’t encounter any unusual limitations.  If you don’t mind either paying a bit for internet access, and also don’t mind less than normal speeds, you will be able to access mail, news, and most light services a Kindle tablet may provide.  Knowing the possible limitations, buying or taking a tablet, be it an iPad, Kindle, or other brand, you an gain a better idea as to if you really would use it on your cruise.

Have an Android tablet, Kindle, or iPad?  Help others figure out what to buy, what to avoid, and what gets into their “Cruise Gear.”  Add a review today! 

Talk about it, in the Cruise Aficionados Forums! Join our community today, and get the Cruise Aficionados app for iPhone and Android!