Homeworking cruises

Still working in a garden office or a coffee shop? How last year of you. Don't you know you should be working on water? Christina Jonas at Canoe Travel writes about Celebrity Cruises' whopper of a cruise ship the Century (pictured) which not only has nice new sinks, but also wireless internet access in every room. "The cruise lines have noticed that, despite being on vacation, passengers still want to 'stay connected'," she writes. "Carnival, the largest cruise line in the world, is now offering wireless Internet access on all 21 ships and will have fleetwide cellphone service shortly. "

A more indepth look at cruiseworking is at Roger Dooley's Rogerd's Notebook. Dooley has had mixed experiences with what he insouciantly calls 'cruise ship connectivity'. "We found the small area to be quite busy with quite a few “regulars” who were clearly trying to stay connected to business at home," he writes, saying that the connection was good enough to email and do some business. And as he points out: "If Celebrity and other lines deliver decent broadband access in passenger cabins, that would allow a whole new kind of virtual commuting. Can you imagine doing business from your private balcony as the ship floats around the Mediterranean or Caribbean?" Indeed I can.

Dooley, an experienced direct marketer, concludes that while an onboard virtual office has some drawbacks, it does allow for lots of life/work flexibility, with workers connecting briefly every day while still enjoying a holiday.