Some people have an escape-from-the-world view of how they take a cruise. They put their phones away, don't buy an internet package, and leave the world behind.
That's, of course, not something everyone can do. Some people need to stay in touch with kids, parents or other family on land, while others simply don't want to fully leave the world behind.
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Others, and this is a more recent phenomenon as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and some other cruise lines have updated their internet service, work while on board.
That was very hard to do given the internet connection speeds before many cruise lines adopted Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet connections. It's certainly not the internet speed you get at home, or even at a local coffee shop, but it's generally functional enough for many passengers to get some work done.
This has been a polarizing topic for cruisers as some people — usually a subset of the ones that lock their phones away — believe that it's not a vacation if you have to work. Others understand that some people simply have to do a little work each day while others are happy to simply do their job from a ship, enjoying it during their nonworking hours.
Image source: Carnival
Carnival asks a key onboard question
Cruise ships used to have internet cafes where cruisers could stop in, pay for a connection by the minute or the hour, and use a computer. Those have mostly disappeared, with internet packages on offer and people being able to use their phones for so many things.
For those who do work while cruising, at least on Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) ships, there's no dedicated workspace. Cabins have desks, but the types of chairs offered are often not conducive to sitting in front of a laptop.
You can, of course, work in public spaces, but those can be noisy, and some people may frown at workers taking up spaces that were intended for other uses.
Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald recently reached out to his followers and posed the following question:
"Moving forward, do you believe that each ship should have a room set up with computers or places to plug in your laptop and a printer for those who wish to work while on the ship? Should we have an office space?" he asked.
Heald also posted a poll in which nearly 24,000 people voted.
Carnival passengers share thoughts about working on board
People who would not use a workspace on board carried the day with 74% of the vote. That seemed like an expected outcome because while plenty of people work while they cruise, it's certainly not a majority. Most people who commented seemed to support the idea but thought that printers did not need to be part of it.
"I don't think anyone working remotely wants or needs to print anything, ever. Scanning might be mildly helpful, but again that means someone has a physical thing that needs scanned, and thar also isn't likely to happen," Tom Pack wrote.
People who work on ships because it allows them to cruise more supported the idea of having dedicated workspaces onboard.
"Yeeeeeessssss. Please. I think you would get so much more business because so many would be able to take so many more trips if you had a small business center on board. I work remotely as long as I have access to reliable internet. I am also an entrepreneur so sometimes unexpected things come up that need attention before disembarkation. Not having a business center is a barrier that keeps some away," Cheri Smith posted.
That was similar to comments from a lot of other people.
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"As much as we want to both vacation and unplug, sometimes it’s just not possible . Definitely not each room but a dedicated office space on cruising with printer and computers would be helpful to those who do sometimes have to combine work and vacation," Destiny Chambers added.
