Do you work while cruising? WiFi fast enough?

[vacationlover_mn]

I haven’t done work onboard (other than email via phone).  Though I will say- internet on Alaskan cruises are awful!  Don’t plan to work there 🙂. And, it depends- I think conf calls and highly transactional stuff would be sketch.  Emails, writing up stuff then saving, maybe Skyping would be ok.   If you need a constant highly transactional connection, it might be stressful?

[njkruzer]

I worked while on the Oasis last January (on noro cruise).  I don't know much about vpns but all I know is I logged on to company portal, found my work, did assigned work and logged off their site.  No real problems that I recall.  We were in the Caribbean so might have good connections to satellite. 

[FLACRUISER99]

1 hour ago, vacationlover_mn said:

I haven’t done work onboard (other than email via phone).  Though I will say- internet on Alaskan cruises are awful!  Don’t plan to work there 🙂. And, it depends- I think conf calls and highly transactional stuff would be sketch.  Emails, writing up stuff then saving, maybe Skyping would be ok.   If you need a constant highly transactional connection, it might be stressful?

Alaska is too far North for O3b.

Edited September 28, 2019 by FLACRUISER99

[vacationlover_mn]

1 minute ago, FLACRUISER99 said:

Alaska is too far North for O3b.

We just had regular Surf on Alaska, and it was so bad that I got a full refund 😞

[MoniMommy]

My job only let's us take 2 days off in a row. We are off for the entire month on July, but cruises are expensive in July. So I have to work at least one day on a week long cruise. I sailed on Anthem last year and had no problems. I was not using VPN. I did though use Google hangouts for a video call with several coworkers when a manager called am impromptu meeting. Other passenger were complaining about a particular time when it wasn't working but that was not a time I had to be logged on so I didn't notice the temporary outage.

[zanydoc]

20 hours ago, dswallow said:

I've learned to use Resilio Sync (torrents) to move files between land-based servers and my laptop on the ship; then I don't really have to oversee it; it makes it soon enough without any further intervention. The nonsense of transfers failing and having to start things over is gone. But you do need a land-side server you can reach remotely, VPN from the ship so as to permit connections to the various sites in the sync group, but once it's working, it's pretty seamless for transfers in both directions.

 

I, of course, have no idea what your talking about! Lol! But my husband has found everything you and others have said to be invaluable in learning how to work onboard. Not that he wants to, but it would be necessary if we are going to try for more than a 2wk cruise. Thank you all again for all of your truly helpful comments and solutions...and for keeping the true original spirit and purpose of cruisecritic alive. 

[vacationlover_mn]

20 hours ago, MoniMommy said:

My job only let's us take 2 days off in a row. We are off for the entire month on July, but cruises are expensive in July. So I have to work at least one day on a week long cruise. I sailed on Anthem last year and had no problems. I was not using VPN. I did though use Google hangouts for a video call with several coworkers when a manager called am impromptu meeting. Other passenger were complaining about a particular time when it wasn't working but that was not a time I had to be logged on so I didn't notice the temporary outage.

I wonder how stable a VPN connection would be in the Caribbean?  I assume it would be awful on an Alaskan cruise

[Vlgg731]

I'm a realtor and used the internet on Adventures of the Seas last fall to keep an eye on emails and business.  No problems at all and will use it in December on Allure again. I only check business for a few minutes a couple of times a day so not on it all the time.

[JessyCruises]

I worked on Empress and Liberty this summer Mon-Fri 8-4:30 without issue.  I was logged into VPN and used Webex and Cisco VOIP calling

 

Edited September 29, 2019 by Canadian Disney Mom

[maggieq]

1 hour ago, Canadian Disney Mom said:

I worked on Empress and Liberty this summer Mon-Fri 8-4:30 without issue.  I was logged into VPN and used Webex and Cisco VOIP calling

 

That’s encouraging as I tried to log into my vpn on the anthem and no good for me. That was just this past May.  However, I have two more cruises this year, one NCL and one on Celebrity and will need access even if it’s just through my phone email. 

[JessyCruises]

33 minutes ago, maggieq said:

That’s encouraging as I tried to log into my vpn on the anthem and no good for me. That was just this past May.  However, I have two more cruises this year, one NCL and one on Celebrity and will need access even if it’s just through my phone email. 

 

My VPN  is using Cisco AnyConnect

 

[DirtyDawg]

On 9/27/2019 at 3:20 PM, Esprit said:

Prior to a cruise I inform my clients of my vacation and when I'll return to my CPA practice. So definitely no work is done or even a check on emails.

I work to live; not live for work!

 

I take it you never cruise  at Tax time.😀

 

I was in the investment business for about 30 years. I worked on every vacation and every cruise I ever took in that business. 

 

I worked to live very, very well: working on vacation was a tiny bit of inconvenience to achieve my goals and my net worth. 😊

 

BTW, nobody cares if you never worked on a cruise or  I always did. 

[AlanF65]

1 hour ago, maggieq said:

That’s encouraging as I tried to log into my vpn on the anthem and no good for me. That was just this past May.  However, I have two more cruises this year, one NCL and one on Celebrity and will need access even if it’s just through my phone email. 

sophos ssl vpn worked for me.

[zanydoc]

5 hours ago, Canadian Disney Mom said:

I worked on Empress and Liberty this summer Mon-Fri 8-4:30 without issue.  I was logged into VPN and used Webex and Cisco VOIP calling

 

 

Super useful info-thank you, I appreciate it...

 

[sellwingri]

I just got off Harmony yesterday and it was horrible!  Couldn’t even use it the last 3 days.  However on Allure 6 weeks ago, it was much better; slow but useable.

[zanydoc]

2 hours ago, sellwingri said:

I just got off Harmony yesterday and it was horrible!  Couldn’t even use it the last 3 days.  However on Allure 6 weeks ago, it was much better; slow but useable.

 

I wonder if this is because Harmony has more people? Or because of the itinerary? Where did each one go? Thx-

[Clarea]

1 hour ago, zanydoc said:

 

I wonder if this is because Harmony has more people? ...

 

The difference in the passenger count between Oasis class ships is not significant enough to radically change internet performance.

[Sunshine3601]

I work every cruise.  10 cruises so far and I have found that internet works best while cruising or a little after ship is docked.  I use a vpn to access work emails etc and notice issues just about every cruise with wifi when the ship is pulling into port.   Maybe because they are shutting down some engines and changing over power systems.  Not really sure why but best to wait till docked before connecting to VPN again

[joysea]

Have not read all these posts, however, all I can say is....do not WORK on a cruise.....cruising is relaxing, non-stress and just "getting away from it all" .  If you cannot "not work" then a cruise is NOT A Relaxing vacation!   Rethink your priorities and "chill out" for a few days.. life is so...short enjoy while you still can!

[vacationlover_mn]

2 minutes ago, joysea said:

Have not read all these posts, however, all I can say is....do not WORK on a cruise.....cruising is relaxing, non-stress and just "getting away from it all" .  If you cannot "not work" then a cruise is NOT A Relaxing vacation!   Rethink your priorities and "chill out" for a few days.. life is so...short enjoy while you still can!

Note, I actually feel better if I can skim through work emails while on vacation... if I don’t, i get stressed 🙂  I do this on every type of vacation we do...

Edited October 2, 2019 by vacationlover_mn

[joysea]

Guess everyone "relaxes" differently😀 so enjoy!

[BNBR]

On 10/2/2019 at 6:44 PM, joysea said:

Have not read all these posts, however, all I can say is....do not WORK on a cruise.....cruising is relaxing, non-stress and just "getting away from it all" .  If you cannot "not work" then a cruise is NOT A Relaxing vacation!   Rethink your priorities and "chill out" for a few days.. life is so...short enjoy while you still can!

 

Been waiting for this post. Ding ding. We have a winner.   I thought we might actually have a sensible post on this topic without the judgmental folks and it looked good for almost 2 full pages! 

 

OP, enjoy your cruise!  Staying connected and doing a little bit of work allows us to relax and vacation way more. It's how we are semi retired at 35 years old.  The internet connection is fast enough (barely) to stream YouTube. It's unlimited and no caps, not by the hour. It's enough to work for most people. If you need to work with massive files, may be problematic.  But overall it's quite good, works almost 24/7, and should suffice just fine. 

[twangster]

I frequently work while cruising.  Doing so allows me to cruise more often and use my time off more efficiently.  Sea days are great work days and port days are time off days.  

 

Cruising in Alaska requires blocking off everyday - very hard to work over satellite internet that far North.  Cruising a transatlantic with lots of sea days makes for very efficient use of time off once we get there.  

 

Twenty one ships in the fleet so far and Cisco AnyConnect has always worked fine.  Often wifi in cabin can be weak due to location of access points in the hallways.  Libraries are often good work spots since they usually don't pipe in the elevator music in there.  Most other public venues have music playing all day long.    

 

Presenting on something like WebEx can be challenging due to limited upstream throughput.  Watching a WebEx generally works okay, sometimes with a brief lag.  

 

As an independent business owner I've often earned enough during a cruise to cover the cost of that cruise.  Hang up from a conference call, jump in a pool, grab a Kümmelweck or go see a show.  On a port day go explore, enjoy a scuba dive, back in time for a few hours of work to keep projects in motion.   Repeat the next day.  Happy clients equals happy cash flow.  

 

Many of us work to cruise, I just do it while cruising too.  It's the only way I can do ten or more cruises every year. 

 

A lot depends on your connectivity needs and ability to work around periods when internet might be less than ideal.  On some days that works better than others.  TMobile cell phone plan with included coverage for hundreds of countries helps the effort while in port.  A simple and quick email response while riding in an excursion bus can keep a project team back home in motion.  

 

Not everyone can time shift their work loads.  Some business use cases aren't suited for it.  If you can make it work it can make for a wonderful and efficient use of time if your travel party can cope with it.  

 

Princess is expanding MedalionNet on their ships, their implementation of O3b.  They've enabled enough ships now to draw me to them.  Royal refuses to upgrade Voyager, Radiance or Vision class to O3b so that's becoming a factor in my booking logic.     

 

I'll still book a couple of cruises with family every year and really minimize work to focus on family time.  Alaska for example.  Norway next year.  Other cruises work out great for keeping up and on top of work.

Edited October 6, 2019 by twangster

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, twangster said:

Royal refuses to upgrade Voyager, Radiance or Vision class to O3b so that's becoming a factor in my booking logic.     

Low earth orbit internet may change that.

[A&L_Ont]

On 9/27/2019 at 4:51 PM, FLACRUISER99 said:

This is what I got on Allure and the internet was great.

 

On 9/30/2019 at 1:41 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

The difference in the passenger count between Oasis class ships is not significant enough to radically change internet performance.

To further these two comments Harmony and Symphony had these downloads on a consistent basis.  The best upload I ever had while testing was shy of 3, and that included early in the morning and late night like 2am late. I have read that the ship can throttle the speeds, but who knows if it is true.

 

Last week I was responding to emails while in the flowrider line. Sometimes the “electronic leash” is needed to keep things at home in order.