Cruise ship heading, speed, etc

[monkeydog]

I'm going to be going on a cruise in a few weeks and wondering if anyone has experience with any apps to see speed, heading, etc.
At the moment I plan on using GPS status to see this information unless anyone has recommendations otherwise
Since it is $20 or so per mb for data roaming on cruise ships my data will be off, so I know I won't be able to use maps to see where we are.

 

[Jim 777]

I don't remember the details but I know there's a thread here about someone getting an astronomical charge on their phone bill while on a cruise and evidently didn't even make a call.

Good luck, have fun!

 

[monkeydog]

I don't remember the details but I know there's a thread here about someone getting an astronomical charge on their phone bill while on a cruise and evidently didn't even make a call.

Good luck, have fun!

lol yeah... GPS still works while in airplane mode so my phone is going to be in airplane mode the entire trip to avoid that.

 

[takeshi]

lol yeah... GPS still works while in airplane mode so my phone is going to be in airplane mode the entire trip to avoid that.

Haven't tested this myself but I've heard that 3G needs to be on for the Droid to get its initial fix. Apparently, while it can fall back to standalone it needs 3G on (whether data is available or not) for the initial fix.

Been meaning to test this myself since it would be simple to do but just haven't had a chance yet.

At the moment I plan on using GPS status to see this information unless anyone has recommendations otherwise

I recall seeing a GPS speedometer app that might do what you're looking for if you're just looking for instantaneous information. If you want to track the ship, My Tracks should do the job.

 

[dakster]

As I found out in Japan, 3G does *NOT* have to be on to get an initial gps fix. The CDMA voice radio has to be on, not the data radio. Once you have that initial gps fix, you can flip airplane mode on.

Here's some info I posted on another forum to show how to disable the data, but leave the cdma voice radio active:
Motorola support says GPS won't work in airplane mode? - Android Forums

 

[Neupy]

Maybe use MapDroyd...and see if you can download sea charts instead of just state maps? I use it sometimes for offline maps and it works pretty good. The maps are on SD card too which is nice.

 

[dakster]

Maverick Pro is another one that works with offline maps, I've had good luck with it traveling. I make the offline maps using mobile atlas creator. Mapdroyd might be easier to make maps for, not sure.

Rmaps is another one I believe. Lots of options for offline maps.

 

[Neupy]

Yeah mapdroid just downloads maps...not sure if they have ocean maps...your way might work better

 

[Neupy]

Ok in the downloads it list's all the carribean islands and also under the Americas a "detailed shoreline" that one is a 120 meg download...not sure how far out it goes.

 

[FunN4Lo]

I can not help, but please post back if you find a solution. I would be interested

On my cruise last summer (pre-Droid) I took my car GPS. It gave me long/lat and speed with an obviously blank screen for maps. We left port at 4pm, first thing the next morning I got the fix with my GPS. I looked at the Nav chart that was on the wall outside of the fan tail dinning area just before breakfast. Finding the long/lat on the chart, I was telling my wife, we should be close enough to see Cuba shortly. From over my shoulder some guy told me I was full of BS and there is no way we made it that far over night, cruise ships are slow. As if on que we heard... this is your Captain speaking, if you look off the port side you will see the coast line of Cuba...

 

[mcsinfl]

you might want to look at navionics in the market

 

[Se7enLC]

Check out Backcountry Navigator. It's not in the market, but there's a beta apk on their website. Open it up when you have data and use it to download topo maps of the areas you're expecting to go. Then when you go on the cruise, put the droid in airplane mode and turn on the GPS. You should be able to see where you are on the map and track your progress without needing any data.

This thread is worth taking a look at:

http://androidforums.com/motorola-d...s-gps-wont-work-airplane-mode.html#post408901

Apparently if you have airplane mode activated, you can't get the initial GPS lock, but once you have a lock, you can keep it activated in airplane mode. Alternatively, you can disable JUST the data usage using the code mentioned.

 

[mcatdtDroid]

this has :dewmed: written all over it... but other than the 'cool factor' of doing this.... is there a point. I mean, I like the apps I have too, but considering how many boobies are going to be sunning while you are trying to see which direction the ship is going...


of course, if you take pics of said boobies on your droid....

 

[monkeydog]

Wow thanks for all the suggestions, I'll check them out. Thanks everyone. We have a car gps as well that we might take along to try out if we have nothing better to do while lounging around. But its a Dash Express... I don't even think it has canadian maps and since Dash was bought out awhile ago there has been absolutely no support or updates to the device; it might as well be trashed, but maybe it will still give us speed.

this has :dewmed: written all over it... but other than the 'cool factor' of doing this.... is there a point. I mean, I like the apps I have too, but considering how many boobies are going to be sunning while you are trying to see which direction the ship is going...


of course, if you take pics of said boobies on your droid....

This is a canadian cruise, from nyc couple stops in canada, so I'm not anticipating too much of this at least not as much as a caribbean cruise lol. It's not even going to reach 70 up there this week, maybe it will be different in a few weeks, we shall see but it would be a bit nipply for sunbathing on the sky deck out at sea if the temps don't get higher. Although the dance club has potential because of this!
It's going to mainly a relaxation and exploration cruise. Went to panama last year, a beach is a beach so trying something different this year can't wait to go whale watching in halifax!

 

[Devious]

I have downloaded Mobile Atlas Creator and created a TileStore/Mapnik folder with a bunch of .png files on my C:\ drive (I selected scale 12 for the whole of the US) Exactly where do I place these .png files on my Droid please?
I have tried several locations with no off line success.
Thanks for you help.
Regards.......david