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Spending 2024 At Sea


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Had the realization the other day that I am need of an adventure.  That quickly turned into a crazy idea on how to make that adventure epic.  I want to spend 2024 at sea for the entire year.  My employer seems to be good with the idea.  I can work remotely and just need internet access and possibly access to an airport if I need to get to a client site for a week before meeting back up with the ship. 

The problem?  I have literally never set foot on a cruise ship before.  Never taken a cruise.  But to be honest, that's part of the adventurous appeal. 

Can anyone recommend a travel agent that may have some experience in putting together an extended back to back (to back to back) series of cruises?  Or which ships/routes make sense logically to string together at different times of the year?

I know MEI Travel is a sponsor here but any recommendations on a specific agent that might have the knowledge and patience to help me out?

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Sounds like fun but just a word of caution the internet on board is far from perfect. 

If your workload can time shift it can work but if you have work activities that require that you be online and ready at very specific times murphy's law will become well known to you.  I used to arrange my more demanding work engagements while the ship would be in port so I had cellular as a backup or primary means of being connected.  

Besides your cabin there are very few quiet areas on board that don't have music piped in the background.  Sometimes a particular cabin has poor wifi.  Cabins are all metal so wifi signals can be spotty inside some cabins.  At times I've had to crack my cabin door open so that enough wifi signal would leak into my cabin so I could be connected.  

Sea days are great for working when the satellite internet is good.

Starlink will help once they finish building out their maritime service which will hopefully be further along in 2024 than it is in 2023.  

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Good info, Twangstser.  Thank you for that insight.  I'm a project manager for a software company so my work is kind of flexible but I have some standing meetings with my developers or my QA/Testing teams that are pretty fixed each day.  Maybe instead of biting off an entire year, I should take a month and test drive the concept.  Maybe spend a month in the Caribbean and see how that works.  If it is a fit, extend for another month.  If not, come home to reality.  Lots to think about.  That's why I'm looking for a good travel agent who can tell me stuff like this and give me some solid advice.

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If you’ve never cruised before, I think committing to even a month to start could be overwhelming.  I’m currently taking steps to be able to work from a cruise ship and am nearly ready to try it once to see if it’s really feasible. some Things I’ve done to prepare include:

getting a second usb-c travel monitor (ASUS ZenScreen, had it for a while and it works great)

building a “charge bag” with all the needed cables and chargers for my work and personal devices

extra full size keyboard and mouse kit (packs in suitcase when traveling)

“Test cruise” by working remotely in a hotel room using only the items above, used my works Verizon MiFI device for internet

it worked about well and I believe I can do my daily work from a cruise ship with the wildcard being the internet connection. I may not be able to do video calls, but maybe audio works well?  
 

I tagged along with the wife on her work trip and used that as my “test cruise”. I travel a bit for a volunteer position and this setup I now have will allow me to work remotely away from my home with great ease.

Since the OP has never been on a cruise before, I would recommend the following before spending money on a bunch of cruise.

1. take a couple of cruises on differing classes of ships where you don’t work.   This will allow you to see what each ship offers and find several spots to work from, since internet in your cabin may not work as well as other locations.

2. do a test cruise where you plan a “light” work period so you can test out your tools on the ships Wi-Fi connections.  Maybe take a short cruise where you only work one day as a test.

 

cruising is not for everyone, while those of us here on the board love it, I’ve met several people who were excited to cruise, but after taking a couple, it just wasn’t their “cup of tea”. No need in committing a bunch of money to a solution that you hate.  
 

there are several places that “recruit” remote workers that could be options or just move to a place for a month and work from there. If you travel to places “off season” you may be able to get some deals on the accommodations.

 

good luck!

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First,  I am a computer programmer and the new StarLink internet worked great for me working from the ship.  By the time you cruise it will be working on all ships.

Next:  Watch these videos of the most famous person living on RCL Ships.

(13) Living on a Cruise Ship Full Time, Royal Caribbean's "Super Mario" Part 1 - YouTube

(13) Living on a Cruise Ship Full Time, Royal Caribbean's "Super Mario" Part 2 - YouTube

(13) HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO LIVE FULL TIME ON A CRUISE SHIP WITH SUPER MARIO - YouTube

 

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Thanks for the feedback guys!  I really appreciate it.

Not having ever cruised doesn't scare me at all.  In fact, that kind of feeds my personality.   A few years ago I decided I wanted to take up running so I trained for, and ran a marathon in 26 weeks.  Just to see if my body would do what my brain told it to.  Took a position working in Mexico City for 3 years not speaking a word of Spanish.  I like testing and pushing myself in fun ways.  I think committing to a long term cruise and finding ways to adjust to the small space and solving internet connectivity challenges / time zone changes would be fun.

The StarLink possibility sounds like it would definitely help.  I'll have to check into which ships offer that.

And I've seen all those Super Mario videos before.  Love that guy!  A friend of mine actually met him on a couple of cruises that he was on and chatted him up quite a bit.  Gives me encouragement that I can do this if I plan it all out carefully and methodically. 

The biggest obstacle I'm finding is committing to the cost.  It's doable but the solo traveler supplements are pretty stiff.  Having a companion to split the cost would be ideal, but to be honest the nomadic challenge of doing this completely by myself for a year is a big draw. 

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1 hour ago, Work From Sea said:

The biggest obstacle I'm finding is committing to the cost.  It's doable but the solo traveler supplements are pretty stiff.  Having a companion to split the cost would be ideal, but to be honest the nomadic challenge of doing this completely by myself for a year is a big draw. 

I paid the solo 200% on all my solo cruises up to 340 points in the Crown and Anchor loyalty program.

Once you reach 340 points there is a reduced single supplement of 150% instead of 200%.  That helps a lot.

Chart your way to 340 points to gain benefit of the reduced single supplement offer.  

As a solo in a regular cabin other than "Studio" will earn you an extra point per night.  30 days at sea equates to 60 points if solo in a double occupancy cabin.   

If you have the budget a junior suite nets a solo cruiser 3 points per night.  30 days in a JS equates to 90 points.  

340 may seem like a long way off but it goes quickly if you sail a lot.  

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I’ll agree with the short trial concept.  I can work from the ship but agree that it can be challenging.  I also use some of the work arounds like scheduling meetings on port days.  One key difference I found from a friend.  He historically never works from the ship.  He tried this fall to work and found  that his VPN did not function with the ship’s internet.  Personally haven’t ran into that but for him it pretty much eliminated the ability work from the ship option.  
 

If you can test that all the systems you will need are going to function even by  doing a short cruise you should be able to start planning.

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25 minutes ago, twangster said:

Chart your way to 340 points to gain benefit of the reduced single supplement offer. 

Oh man.... this is the one, really good C&A benefit I've been waiting for.  Just broke past D+, and that 150% instead of 200% is actual money in the bank.  🙂  "Post COVID", I'm back to ~4 cruises a year, averaging 21 points each.  So... 1.5 - 2 years.

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2 hours ago, ScooterScott22 said:

I’ll agree with the short trial concept.  I can work from the ship but agree that it can be challenging.  I also use some of the work arounds like scheduling meetings on port days.  One key difference I found from a friend.  He historically never works from the ship.  He tried this fall to work and found  that his VPN did not function with the ship’s internet.  Personally haven’t ran into that but for him it pretty much eliminated the ability work from the ship option.  
 

If you can test that all the systems you will need are going to function even by  doing a short cruise you should be able to start planning.

Our VPN didn't work either.  We had to turn it off while on the ships internet so hubby tried to do more when we were in port.  There may be work-arounds for the VPN but we aren't that smart.

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56 minutes ago, whitsmom said:

Our VPN didn't work either.  We had to turn it off while on the ships internet so hubby tried to do more when we were in port.  There may be work-arounds for the VPN but we aren't that smart.

This is my fear as well.  My company just switched VPN providers, so I need to test out things before I commit to a work week 🙂

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[nerd warning]

Your company or personal VPN success is going to vary by protocol.  I've never had an issue using SSL.  Years ago, IPSEC or L2TP occasionally tripped me up onboard over WiFi.  Haven't run into that problem recently though.   Usually fully connected for work, including enough bandwidth for video conferencing like Webex & Zoom.   NB: that does vary with latitude.  If you get too far North or South (+-40 degrees either direction) I wouldn't count on solid internet.

Starlink is still being built out.  Ships are cutting over because it is less expensive than O3b.  Not impressed so far shipboard.  Very good, when it works.  I'm still team O3b until Starlink finishes their constellation.

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7 hours ago, whitsmom said:

Our VPN didn't work either.  We had to turn it off while on the ships internet so hubby tried to do more when we were in port.  There may be work-arounds for the VPN but we aren't that smart.

My work VPN access doesn't allow me work from an international IP so I'm at the mercy of whatever server the Starlink connection is using. Messed up my plans last week when it connected to a Mexico City server when we got closer to instead of the Atlanta one it was using in the Bahamas.  

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I'm just here to say I met Mario a few weeks ago, and saw him nightly sitting up in his little area on the smoking deck, working and enjoying his night. Man was I jealous, lol. So I'm here to say go for it! You sound like you're up for a change and an adventure and as much as I would love to do that, or travel the country in an RV... my job and life just wouldn't allow it, so I'd like to go ahead and live precariously through you and the other "career travelers" I follow on instagram!  Good luck.... the star link is the big selling point, I think- it worked great for us a few weeks ago for a few video chats, and got online with ease every day.  

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Well dang.  I was expecting a ton of conversation around linking different routes together based on the seasons, weather, or ship preferences.  I thought that would be the main challenge.  Trying to schedule everything and keep it all straight and flowing.  Turns out now I'm more stressed about staying connected to be able to do my work.  To hear all the internet and VPN woes makes me more than a bit concerned that I can pull this off.  My work is largely self contained and my employer is pretty patient, but I definitely need to have access to my project management / SharePoint web pages and to be able to pull of regular Zoom meetings with my team.  I may have to just do several 7-10 days sailings to test everything out before I pull the trigger on a longer stint.   Thanks for all the feedback everyone.  I'm enjoying learning for all your experiences.

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This past Jan on Mariner (Starlink), I got anywhere from 93Mbps down to just 2 or 3Mbps during the trip.  Uploads as high as 30Mbps, but as low as 3 or 4 Mbps.  The 93/30 was on day one while still in port, meaning most still had not connected.  A couple times in the room I had to drop down the resolution on streaming videos to get them to play through. 

 

It was reliable in that I was never without connection, but for video, not ideal all the time.  Perhaps it will improve over time.

Screenshot_20230123_191858_Speedtest.jpg

Screenshot_20230123_131510_Speedtest.jpg

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Aside from the technical issues, another consideration is the cost for your medical insurance for an entire year. Keep in mind that the ship, and almost all the ports will not accept your USA private health insurance. My 90 minute stay in the ship's ICU last year cost me $2400; a bill that needed to be paid before I was off loaded from the ship and sent to a shoreside hospital by ambulance. Thank goodness I had out of country health insurance. 

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Test, test, test every scenario you can think of before you make the commitment. 

-- What kind of cabin is sufficient for you?

-- Do you get seasick? How will you get your meds, if any?

-- Technical issues, as others have mentioned. 

-- What about the missus/friends/ social isolation?

-- Do you have a home? What about your possessions?

I strongly recommend doing some test cruises. One week to start, just to get your feet wet and work out the technical challenges. Then a back-to-back for two weeks, so you can work out other issues like laundry. Then you might be ready to go.

Good luck!

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3 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

I don't have any advice for you but I am EXCITED to follow along! I hope you remember us in 2024 and give us some check-ins. I'd love to hear what a first time cruiser thinks of LIVING on board!

Can you just see how long his/her LIVE blog could be if he/she were to start one? LOL!

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