I am planning for my first cruise. Normally when I plan for anything I turn to the web or I turn to books 
to get the information I need but, I am beginning to see that with a cruise I will need to re work my strategy.
First thoughts are that I will be visiting several countries and I’ll need to get out and about and communicate in several languages. That means carrying multiple phrase books, at least one for each language.
My next thought is that I will be experiencing both historic sites and modern buildings. That means multiple tour books, at least one for each country. It’s getting “Heavy”, I’m already feeling the weight of things to come.
For sure, I will take tons of photographs at each port of call and with each building I see. Thank goodness for digital cameras, computers and memory card technology, they can make them really light but seriously, how will I deal with my temptation to share these photos with my family and friends online? I hear that accessing the web can be very costly while on a cruise, I’ve heard it said “almost limb amputating” and that most people just wait until their feet are firmly planted ashore and then they hike or race to the nearest internet cafe to access their email and communicate with friends and family.
This makes me think about using a Kindle e-reader. I know that I can use a Kindle to replace having to carry multiple books while out and about and on the boat. A Kindle is perfect for that. The Kindles with the audio feature means that I can practice phrases in different languages better, or maybe, I might even let the Kindle audio feature speak a few phrases for me and on my behalf with phrases I choose from the language book I’ve downloaded before my departure. On second thought that might scare the locals, ….or maybe it just might make me into a better tourist.
I recently spent some time on this idea and while researching Kindles on the web I recently found out some really great news. It is that some Kindles have internet! …and that’s the one for me!
I figure that I can take advantage of the wifi internet available now in many of the historic sites and modern buildings in each country that I will visit. If I use the wifi from each country’s historic sites and modern buildings I won’t be fighting with my fellow cruisers for a seat at the internet cafe. I would like to hear from both inexperienced and experienced cruisers. They are not as costly as they used to be, and maybe a really good investment for a cruise or otherwise.
Signing off for now,……Alabaster Whimsey, Toronto ON. Canada