Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

zioxide

macrumors 603
Dec 11, 2006
5,737
3,726
I don't think that bringing your OS X discs with you is that "over board". If you bring your laptop with you I'm sure you intend to use it. If for some reason you have a crash or something and need to do a clean install to get back up and running then the disc's sure will come in handy.

o_O.. you're on a cruise. You can wait the couple of days until you go home to reinstall the OS. Reinstalling an operating system while on a cruise is definitely overboard (pun lol)
 

Scorpius

macrumors newbie
Mar 5, 2007
26
0
My last cruise I brought my laptop with me, but only used it for loading up pictures from the memory card and watching DVDs on the flights to/from port. I'm taking another cruise in the Fall and this time I'll probably just leave the whole thing at home. There's nothing I need to use it for that bad while I'm on a cruise with the gf and daughter. I'll just use a portable DVD player for traveling to/from the port.

Taking the OS X discs does seem to be a bit much. This isn't a 30-day cruise or anything, is it? Absolute worst case scenario, you're without the computer for a week or less (unless it really IS a long cruise). Using the internet isn't something you'll do much since it's terribly slow and expensive. If you're writing the great American novel and are on a roll, take it. Otherwise, leave it at home and save yourself the trouble.
 

BigPrince

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2006
2,053
111
When I carried my labtop around, I always had the builder CD's with me...this is something one should always have on themselves...its not like they weigh you down and take up alot of room....
 

wongulous

macrumors 6502a
Dec 7, 2002
952
2
I've been on several cruises, and maybe yours is boring, but I never had time for laptopping. I did wish I had an iPod at the time (along with that iPod to camera connector to download pictures so I wouldn't have had to swap memory cards in my digital camera all of the time). But I see no need for a laptop, really, unless it's just for the flight to and from port. Just rip a couple of movies onto your iPod...
 

aaron.lee2006

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 23, 2006
1,215
0
Ontario, Canada
I've been on several cruises, and maybe yours is boring, but I never had time for laptopping. I did wish I had an iPod at the time (along with that iPod to camera connector to download pictures so I wouldn't have had to swap memory cards in my digital camera all of the time). But I see no need for a laptop, really, unless it's just for the flight to and from port. Just rip a couple of movies onto your iPod...

I'm only bringing my MBP because I am going to use it to store pictures when I fill the memory card. And a couple night I want to buy the wireless internet access so I can talk to some people back home.

You know cause I can use my built in iSight, it's actually kind of cool. lol I love those commercials.
 

BigPrince

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2006
2,053
111
I brought my PowerBook along on our cruise to Alaska, and was glad I did. I downloaded pictures from the digital camera nearly every day so we could sit and watch a slideshow most evenings.

Internet access on board cruise ships is expensive and frustratingly slow, to the point of being completely ineffective.


Almost all cameras nowadays you can hook directly to the TV....
 

danny_w

macrumors 601
Mar 8, 2005
4,471
301
Cumming, GA
If you are bringing your laptop to load or look at pictures that is one thing. But the cruise I went on last fall did not have wireless access in the rooms, but only in the computer lounge (where they had computers, so a laptop would not be needed anyway). If you are looking for wireless internet, check with your cruise company and your specific ship. Personally, if you only want it for downloading pictures from your camera, I would think that large memory cards would be a better investment.
 

IJ Reilly

macrumors P6
Jul 16, 2002
17,909
1,496
Palookaville
Almost all cameras nowadays you can hook directly to the TV....

Been on a cruise ship? The staterooms I've been in have a tiny TV stuck up in the corner of the cabin. And don't count on them having any composite video inputs.

The point being, the OP wasn't asking us to decide for him whether it was worthwhile to bring the laptop. I think he can decide that for himself, don't you?
 

Legolamb

macrumors 6502a
Nov 27, 2006
627
0
North of where I'd like to be
Been on a cruise ship? The staterooms I've been in have a tiny TV stuck up in the corner of the cabin. And don't count on them having any composite video inputs.

The point being, the OP wasn't asking us to decide for him whether it was worthwhile to bring the laptop. I think he can decide that for himself, don't you?

I'm with you on this. Also, the last cruise went on, to the Caribbean, duplicated many of the same touristy sites we've previously hit. So we stayed on board, rented "Pirates of the Caribbean, I, II; Deep Blue Sea, Jurassic" (you get the idea), and watched them on my 17"MBP. (The DVD player in the room was dicey, and tiny TV screen was painful). Unless you are in a $$$$ suite with a large flat panel T.V., a laptop is great for watching.
 

deadpixels

macrumors 6502a
Oct 30, 2006
913
0
i'm sure the OP will go on cruise, come back and people will still be arguing in this thread :D :D
 

BigPrince

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2006
2,053
111
Been on a cruise ship? The staterooms I've been in have a tiny TV stuck up in the corner of the cabin. And don't count on them having any composite video inputs.

The point being, the OP wasn't asking us to decide for him whether it was worthwhile to bring the laptop. I think he can decide that for himself, don't you?

I have been and I was lucky that my TV worked great for connecting to the camera. I forgot to take into account that there are different levels of staterooms.
 

BigPrince

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2006
2,053
111
I'm with you on this. Also, the last cruise went on, to the Caribbean, duplicated many of the same touristy sites we've previously hit. So we stayed on board, rented "Pirates of the Caribbean, I, II; Deep Blue Sea, Jurassic" (you get the idea), and watched them on my 17"MBP. (The DVD player in the room was dicey, and tiny TV screen was painful). Unless you are in a $$$$ suite with a large flat panel T.V., a laptop is great for watching.

I don't have time for movies on a cruise...
 

Chile Mac

macrumors newbie
Mar 4, 2007
29
0
Santiago, Chile
Well... if I will take a cruise for holidays, I likely would leave my MB in my house to avoid take care with things like where it is, or if continues in the same place that I leave it or worries like that.
Like some people said before, the best idea maybe is to bring a digital camera with a memory card with good capacity, my iPod (when I had it, still without iPod :() and maybe a good sun lotion if I'll go to places like the caribbean.. ;)
 

wongulous

macrumors 6502a
Dec 7, 2002
952
2
What the heck kind of boring {cruises|people} are you [going on] that you have time to watch FIVE long films during the course of the cruise where you really cannot find another thing to do?! (There's breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, walk around, art galleries, activities, classes, drinks, meet new people, live shows, swim, hot tub, look out on deck, tan, go on excursions, go out on port, etc etc.)

I seriously didn't have a free moment to do the "repeat" part after lather and rinse because my cruises had so much to do on them!!! Hence why I never needed a laptop, though somewhere to store photos (cards or iPod camera attachment) and musical accompaniment (iPod, noise-cancelling earphones) would've been nice.
 

dougnewman

macrumors 6502
Aug 9, 2006
270
0
Long Island, NY, USA
You are all overlooking something about Internet access on cruises: it is often much, much cheaper to use your laptop and wireless Internet on a cruise than it is to use their computers!

This is because they charge per minute that you are connected to the Internet. The per-minute charge itself is usually the same whether you're on the laptop or on their computers. But with the cruise line's computers, you are always connected, even when you are composing e-mail. On your computer, you can compose offline, go online, click "send", and then go offline again! If you need to write a lot of e-mail from your cruise ship then this could save you a lot of money.

Now, not all ships have wireless access - most major ones do, but there are still some that don't. Most of the time it's only available in a number of "hot spots", though a few ships have ship-wide access (including in cabins). This article (a previous incarnation of which I wrote, but I see it's been updated since then) offers a nice overview of what the major cruise lines offer.

As a freelance cruise writer I obviously cruise quite regularly and I always bring my laptop with me. For me it is absolutely essential as I am not going to carry around 20GB of camera memory cards (though they are getting cheap enough now that I could!), not to mention that I'm cheap so it's important to me to save money by composing my e-mails off-line. Internet access from cruise ships is expensive - and since it's charged by the minute, the slower it is, the more you use! (It's satellite, remember, so depending on where you are, it can be very fast, or it can be very slow or even nonexistent.)

Now, of course, not everyone needs a laptop on a cruise. Many people don't. Many other people, like me, do. It really depends on what you want to do. To say, "you don't need a laptop on a cruise" is just silly, just as to say, "you couldn't possibly cruise without one" is also pretty silly! It really depends on what you want to do.

As for watching movies in-cabin, this I rarely ever do. But a lot of other people do! I am not a "cabin person" - I don't spend much time in there. But some people book huge suites (there's a reason they have them ;) !) and spend loads of time in their cabin. It's all down to personal taste - and budget. I will admit that I have never looked too closely to see what kind of jacks are on in-cabin televisions, but the TVs have certainly gotten bigger and nicer lately. Many major cruise lines are upgrading theirs and even adding DVD players and other goodies, not only in suites where they have been de rigeur for years but even in standard cabins too.
 

jmre5150

macrumors member
Jan 4, 2007
79
0
Levittown, PA
Ditch the MBP, just bring the iPod (for drowning out the wife at the swim-up bar) and camera (for taking pictures with your girlfriend while your wife is still blabbing away at the swim-up bar). Enjoy the trip.

BTW, I love my wife (just in case she reads this).
 

mikelong622

macrumors 6502
Sep 29, 2006
435
3
St. Paul, Minnesota
If you're gonna be lugging all that stuff with you on your cruise, why not bring along a nice 1993 typewriter, you're entire DVD collection, and the home stereo system (for hooking up your iPod of course!!)

Nah I'm just kiddin I brought all that junk (minus the backup discs, have a little more faith in your mac my friend) to Florida a few months back.
 

BigPrince

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2006
2,053
111
I dont get all this fuss about the OS X discs. These are things that should be in every laptop bag...
 

BigPrince

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2006
2,053
111
whats the big deal in carrying them?

whats the point if you need them and don't have them. I thought carrying those disks was standard procedure.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.