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Working from ship question


Dmac

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Might be a simple question with simple answer but I’m looking at trying out working from the ship to save some PTO and take advantage of the Work from home laptop setup. I know surf and stream is needed to at least have a decent chance of teams working but my work also uses duo which is on my cell phone. Do I need to buy 2 device package? I’ve never tried it but can I connect to duo to get the code then log into laptop within a short time frame to input it? I’m sure there has to be others who use duo for work and encountered this. It’s going to be on brilliance in December so not a new ship and no hopes for the new internet connectivity so is the internet doable for teams and email? 

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You can switch between devices on the 1 device package.  It will log the 1st device out if you log a 2nd device in.

Internet can also be unreliable, especially on the older ships.  It works at times but slows way down or stops completely at others. This can also be influenced by the itinerary and ship position.  I don't think anyone would describe the ship's internet as good.

There will be times when it is usable, the concern would be if there is a time when you must have it available (for a teams meeting as an example) and it wasn't working well enough to support it.  In Ports, you can typically either pay for cell data, or find a place with reliable internet so you could try to schedule important meetings then.

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I did a little "WFH" trial on Harmony at Thanksgiving so the internet might be "newer/better" than some ships.

I logged my laptop into the ship Wi-Fi and connected, then hotspotted my laptop so that my phone could get Wi-Fi through the laptop.

That allowed the code to come through to the phone to do the VPN.

I generally found it ok, video on Teams was unreliable but audio was fine and email/data was ok if slow.

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Worked from the ship, with varying degrees of success.

With regards to the multiple devices question.  It is possible to switch devices pretty easily as mentioned before.  The issue might be timing.  If you are solo that might be an issue if the timeframe for the code entry is really short.  But if you are traveling with someone you can use their device access for a short switch.  Just make sure that “borrowed” code is not the one you plan on utilizing for the actual meeting, because when they log back in it will kick you off.  
 

As far as real success to do everything it might be a little tricky.  Slow speeds were felt at times.  I found it was easier to do as much as possible off-line and wait to sign in and then link and do everything that requires a connection.  You can connect and let the outbox work while you go get lunch or a drink, LOL.  On Teams if you can do without sharing your camera, that also helps.  I found that Teams on the phone (iPhone) actually did better compared to the laptop.  

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I do the remote work onboard all the time with secure laptop and secondary code authentication. The TOTP Authentication app we use can work without the internet and generates the codes on its own. Was not sure until I tried it but it works disconnected from the network. Not sure about DUO. The only issue I have is slow internet speeds but I am accessing my workstation at the office and my laptop is only serving as a remote terminal so it is not too bad but hopefully will be better when StarLink is installed on all the ships.

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14 minutes ago, dodgestang said:

Sign into ship wifi on phone, set phone to hot spot, log into phone with laptop?

 

With that said...I've tried working from the ship....it kinda sucks.

I’m going to log in tomorrow as if on the ship as a trial, so I will put phone into airplane mode and see if the offline code way works, if not I’ll leave in airplane and try laptop hotspot method….lots of good suggestions here. 
I too think the thought of working from the ship and the reality of it may not be worth it but I figure if there is anytime to try it would be on a short cruise with a ship without a ton of extra stuff to tempt me lol. 

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Wife decided to do remote work on the ship.  My understanding is that the wifi strength and consistency really depends on the ship and location.  Here are a couple of takeaways (we were in Alaska):

Switching from one device to another was a mild inconvenience.

The wifi (surf and stream) was just not good enough to support consistent Zoom meetings.  

Downloading was not half as bad as uploading.

Ultimately, she decided, as did I, that vacation is vacation and even a little bit of work took away from our overall experience.  Was not worth it.  And this is coming from two individuals with billing rates in the mid-100.  Really not worth working while on a cruise.

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12 hours ago, Dmac said:

Might be a simple question with simple answer but I’m looking at trying out working from the ship to save some PTO and take advantage of the Work from home laptop setup. I know surf and stream is needed to at least have a decent chance of teams working but my work also uses duo which is on my cell phone. Do I need to buy 2 device package? I’ve never tried it but can I connect to duo to get the code then log into laptop within a short time frame to input it? I’m sure there has to be others who use duo for work and encountered this. It’s going to be on brilliance in December so not a new ship and no hopes for the new internet connectivity so is the internet doable for teams and email? 

I just returned from a cruise on Mariner during which I had to work. My log-in for work requires duel authentication. I tried with only one device, but there simply wasn't enough time to get the code on one device and then login to the other device. Service on the ship can be very slow and the delay in the code being sent/received could be lengthy. I finally broke down and paid for the second device. It was irritating since I was the only one in our party using internet, but it is what it is and I did what I had to do in order to be able to work.

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I had a coworker that went on a RCL cruise and had to be available for a single meeting. He could not really use the video conferencing as we used Zoom for the meeting. However when everyone went to no video mode and voice only setting it became more stable and we were able to complete what we needed to do. I would say that that I think some work can be done on the surf and stream but larger video conferencing would be a little hard to do reliably. 

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44 minutes ago, Dmac said:

I’m going to log in tomorrow as if on the ship as a trial, so I will put phone into airplane mode and see if the offline code way works, if not I’ll leave in airplane and try laptop hotspot method….lots of good suggestions here. 
I too think the thought of working from the ship and the reality of it may not be worth it but I figure if there is anytime to try it would be on a short cruise with a ship without a ton of extra stuff to tempt me lol. 

Think it depends on what you are doing/trying to accomplish.

For me I got up each morning, grabbed breakfast and logged in for a half day of work.

Logged off at lunch, went and met up with my parents and spent the afternoon/evening doing things with them.

Saved me 2-3 days of PTO and didnt really feel like I missed anything on the cruise.

Now when i cruise with my GF/friends group I wouldnt try it because we are straight into "pool fun" etc by mid-morning.

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Working from a ship is better if you don't have specific timelines and scheduled events.  Murphy's law of the seas will apply - when you need the internet the most it will be slow or unavailable at that exact moment.  

If your work is the kind that can be done anytime of day as long as it gets done in a reasonable timeframe then working from a ship is possible.  

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We have both worked from cruise ships (unfortunately) a few times, when this happens we try and do the bulk before we set sail, since we were docked it was not an issue.  The major issue happened when I forgot to turn off the internet when we set sail, we were on the  the decks with plenty of time and then remembered a few hours later.  OUCH!!! The bill came a month later and other than a shock, we had a good cry and laugh.  Just remember if you are docked and using the internet DISCONNECT before you set sail.

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3 hours ago, not easy being green said:

We have both worked from cruise ships (unfortunately) a few times, when this happens we try and do the bulk before we set sail, since we were docked it was not an issue.  The major issue happened when I forgot to turn off the internet when we set sail, we were on the  the decks with plenty of time and then remembered a few hours later.  OUCH!!! The bill came a month later and other than a shock, we had a good cry and laugh.  Just remember if you are docked and using the internet DISCONNECT before you set sail.

Were you using cellular for internet?  With Royal, since about 2013 when Voom was introduced their plans are full voyage plans, no need to disconnect at anytime.  

Since your cell bill was nailed a month later I'm going to guess you were talking about internet through your cellular provider. 

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On 7/20/2022 at 2:29 PM, ellcee said:

100%. but sometimes you have something you can't miss. I have a once a year meeting on my first day of my cruise in Sept that no one else can cover - debating the pros and cons of missing it. 

I am so so sorry that you are in that type of position.

That being said.... and I really don't mean to be flippant, mean or rude, however, even the President can take time off.

I was in the military and there is a chain of command for a very good reason so that one single not replaceable.

I am currently in the medical field and I can take time off. There is always another doctor, nurse, staff to take over.

What happens if you were to get hit by a bus?? Would the universe collapse?

I have worked and still do with life of death situations and I can take time off. If you can't then there is a flaw in the business plan that should be addressed. 

If that entire company solely depends on you for one day of the year you have to be Santa Clause and you can miss a day in Sept. 

Please please find a way to enjoy your cruise!

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16 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

I am so so sorry that you are in that type of position.

That being said.... and I really don't mean to be flippant, mean or rude, however, even the President can take time off.

I was in the military and there is a chain of command for a very good reason so that one single not replaceable.

I am currently in the medical field and I can take time off. There is always another doctor, nurse, staff to take over.

What happens if you were to get hit by a bus?? Would the universe collapse?

I have worked and still do with life of death situations and I can take time off. If you can't then there is a flaw in the business plan that should be addressed. 

If that entire company solely depends on you for one day of the year you have to be Santa Clause and you can miss a day in Sept. 

Please please find a way to enjoy your cruise!

Facts to everything you've said. I'm slowly talking myself out of attending because at the end of the day my work isn't my life and no one remembers my work stuff and I don't want to miss out on life stuff. 

(it's a once a year board meeting that because of my position I can't have someone fill in but no one dies if I miss anything.)

I thank you for that, @Jolly Ogre. Sometimes we all need a little perspective. 

 

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On 7/20/2022 at 10:49 AM, twangster said:

Working from a ship is better if you don't have specific timelines and scheduled events.  Murphy's law of the seas will apply - when you need the internet the most it will be slow or unavailable at that exact moment.  

If your work is the kind that can be done anytime of day as long as it gets done in a reasonable timeframe then working from a ship is possible.  

This, 100%. I am a contractor (for the most part) and can set it up so any work I do on vacation is just pretty basic, self-sufficient work. I won't set up any meetings, Zooms, etc. But a lot of my work is reviewing paperwork, schematics, writing reports and approvals, and other things I can do with a simple Internet connection and it has worked fine for me most of the time. 

On 7/20/2022 at 11:18 AM, Jolly Ogre said:

I am so glad that I don't have to do this.

The major reason I go on a cruise is to get away from work. I don't want to even think about it. I do but I don't want to.

I don't have to do it. But I get an hourly rate for my work, and if I can do an hour each day of reviewing schematics, writing approval letters, etc. during a time when I would otherwise just be doing nothing (like when my wife is taking a nap or something)...why not? I love my job, and if I can work 5-10 hours during a vacation and not lose any of the experience (and pay for part of said vacation), I certainly will. 

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

It's no one's business to judge or advise anyone if they should work or not on a cruise.  If it makes your work life better after your return or ensures a longer career or its just something that is important to you in ways only you understand that's your decision.  

Yeah I was worried about posting that ... I did not want to come across as judgmental... sorry if I did.

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1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

I'm not allowed to log into any systems at work from outside the USA. Which I'm perfectly fine with. 

That’s a great callout I haven’t thought of, I’ll need to check on that. Thank you for mentioning that. 

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4 hours ago, Jolly Ogre said:

I am so so sorry that you are in that type of position.

That being said.... and I really don't mean to be flippant, mean or rude, however, even the President can take time off.

I was in the military and there is a chain of command for a very good reason so that one single not replaceable.

I am currently in the medical field and I can take time off. There is always another doctor, nurse, staff to take over.

What happens if you were to get hit by a bus?? Would the universe collapse?

I have worked and still do with life of death situations and I can take time off. If you can't then there is a flaw in the business plan that should be addressed. 

If that entire company solely depends on you for one day of the year you have to be Santa Clause and you can miss a day in Sept. 

Please please find a way to enjoy your cruise!

I’ve always said that if I died in the morning, my position would be posted before the end of the day. 
 

That being said, I still get caught up and (after 30+ years in the industry) work 12-13 hour days.  Thankfully, working remote isn’t possible.  I’d probably never stop. 
 

We go on cruises despite having an remote, off grid cabin because all we seem to do is work on the place when we’re there.  Cruising ensures we actually relax. 

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