What it's actually like to work remotely from a cruise ship
By Sarah Swain|
Working from home is still common for many Aussies post-pandemic, at least for part of the week.
But what about if you didn't have to actually be in your home to log on?
What if you could work from, say, a cruise ship?
READ MORE: Influencer finds out why you should keep your balcony door shut on a cruise ship?
I was headed on a Virgin Voyages sailing from Melbourne - but still had some bits of work to do.
So I decided to test it out for myself.
Getting connected?
Now, cruise ships these days all have WiFi internet.
Often you have to pay for it, though Virgin Voyages includes a basic package in the cruise price.
Or you can get 'premium' WiFi for an extra $33 a day or a set rate for the entire cruise depending on length, which is what I opted for.
READ MORE: What it was like aboard Virgin Voyages' maiden cruise in Australia?
READ MORE: 'Really rude': Bizarre start to cricket's most well-known romance?
Now, one very important thing you need to pack to work from sea is a power adapter as otherwise your working plans would sink pretty fast.
Virgin Voyages ships, for example, have US plug points.
But apparently the company is used to having people doing work on board. There's even one American guy who lives and works on board one of Virgin's ships for much of the year.?
?"That's one of the things we learned, people want to actually do that work-vacation mode, so there's lots of areas around the ship you can sit, there's power outlets, lots of USBs in the cabin," Virgin Voyages Senior Director of Brand, Billy Bohan Chinique told me.
"You don't necessarily have to disconnect from work, you can do a bit of both and still have a nice holiday."
Hammock, bar or bed?
The next thing I had to do was decide where to work from.
Our cabin had a nice little desk and stool which was good for a while.
Next I tried the hammock on the balcony, but it was so comfy it made me want to take a nap.
Working from bed was the next choice.
That was an excellent spot - especially as it had a cool little table which went over the top.
Things improved even more when I ordered a bunch of room service snacks on Virgin's ShipEats app.
An endless supply of Coke Zero and gummy bears ?was certainly better than WFH.
After a bit too much sugar, I decided to try out ?a spot in one of the ship's coffee shops.
With a steady stream of Aussies grabbing their caffeine fix it wasn't that different from working in a cafe on shore.?
Except for, of course, the view of the ocean through the massive windows.
I had been sure to do all my interviews ahead of time, but knew I could use WhatsApp on the WiFi if I did need to phone anybody.
I was actually surprised how easy it all was.? I mean, you'd definitely have to check with your boss first before just swanning off on an exotic voyage.
Changing your Zoom background is easy enough, but, there's not much you could do if you had to attend a meeting and you'd failed to tell them you were actually on a giant ship.
And I was a bit sad not to be enjoying Drag Bingo, '80s aerobics or, you know, eating as much food as possible like you get on the ship.?
But if you can get away with it, it's certainly possible to work from sea.
The writer travelled as a guest of Virgin Voyages?.
Virgin Voyages sails from Port Melbourne. ?Prices start at $1450.
