Watching the sunrise over open laptops, answering emails at the spa, and taking lunch breaks by the pool are just a few of the bonuses of the new trend of working remotely from a cruise ship while traveling the world.
But all is not well; Struggling with a weak signal, high Wi-Fi bills, and searching for a power outlet can also be its drawbacks.
Walter Biscardi, a 58-year-old travel agent from Florida, is one business owner who prefers to have an office offshore; He spent seven weeks of the winter working online from six ships.
He says: “When you sit in the same place for eight hours with a laptop open, you get a lot of funny looks from people. ‘You’re on holiday, what are you doing?’ they say.
“When I tell them that every trip is mostly work for me now, they are often surprised at how much I can accomplish on a ship. Everyone knows you can post on social media, sometimes publish videos, and use a browser, but are you running a full company? “This is always a great conversation starter.”
When asked why he prefers a floating office over a fixed one, Mr. Biscardi answers: “Why wouldn’t you rather work at sea? Breakfast, lunch and dinner are just a short walk away in almost every direction.
“There is a pool and cafes, and shows and other entertainment await me at the end of the working day. The team takes care of my every need 24/7. A cruise ship is the ultimate ‘remote workspace’.”
But he admits there are also disadvantages. “Connectivity is always an issue when you’re on a piece of steel floating in the middle of a large body of water, dependent on satellites. Heavy cloud cover or rain may disrupt the signal until the weather improves. There’s nothing we can do about this.
“I always look for Wi-Fi repeaters on the ceiling, walls or anywhere else and park myself as close to one of them as possible.”
Working remotely at sea has become much easier since cruise ships started installing Starlink technology pioneered by Elon Musk; This means the ships are directly connected to a network of high-powered satellites.
On the back, a line called Virgin Voyages offered packages that encouraged executives to book back-to-back month-long cruises in the Mediterranean so they could combine business and pleasure.
The first tranche on the first ship, Scarlet Lady, sold out so quickly, even at a cost of just under $10,000 for a two-person cabin, that the offer was expanded to include another in the fleet, Resilient Lady.
Cruise founder Sir Richard Branson, who came up with the idea, says: “When I founded the Virgin empire in the 1970s, I was actually working on a houseboat. I never thought of work and play as two different things; It’s all just living.”
Tom Henry, an accountant for a limousine company in Richmond, Virginia, has taken 33 trips since 2012, but still thinks it’s best to start his work day early on the ship.
He says: “I wake up at 5am, when most passengers are asleep and the internet is better; It’s amazing to look up and see the sunrise. Later in the day, I started taking a tablet-sized laptop to the thermal spa where I worked by the pool.”
Mr. Henry, 64, travels frequently with his wife, Cyndi. “My flexible work schedule has allowed us to take a lot of cruises over the last two years to fill many itineraries off the bucket list. Luckily, I’ve had no issues with Wi-Fi on our main cruise line, Norwegian. Last August, we launched Norwegian Pearl, where Starlink is based. “I was in ‘and I couldn’t believe how good the internet was.”
Hospitality consultant Paul Mooney, from Southampton, likes sailing on Viking or Celebrity Cruises, which offer free Wi-Fi, but found the best connection on the new Sun Princess.
He says: “I work in my cubicle or lounge; It’s not ideal, but you adapt to every situation and being online all the time can be expensive. If I need to send larger files, I wait until a port day when most guests have disembarked and more bandwidth is available.
“Working remotely on a cruise ship allows me to achieve work-life balance while enriching myself with exposure to different countries and ports.”
Steve Jones, fundraising director for whale charity Orca, spends up to eight weeks a year on ships; Some of that is teaching and speaking to guests, but he also does a lot of remote office work or training.
“A cruise ship is a great space to work independently and without distractions,” says the 38-year-old from Portsmouth. “Being surrounded by the ocean is such a peaceful and serene environment that I work more efficiently.”
The ‘working offshore’ trend is driving demand for residential ships where passengers actually live on board. The original, The World, has been carrying millionaires since 2002, and the Storylines company plans to launch a ship called Narrative in 2027, although construction has not yet started.
The two people who signed up are private equity firm partner Misty Frost and software engineer Dean Brederson from Arizona. The couple, in their 50s, chose a one-bedroom residence on the ship that will feature 20 dining and bar venues, a microbrewery, marina, three pools and a business center.
Ms Frost says of working arrangements: “Of course the first challenge will be the different time zones, but I like the idea of getting off the ship and seeing some of the sights of Tuscany, for example, and then coming back and having a nice job interview.”