Advice for DCL- Free unlimited wifi=more revenue.

[Cruising Engineer]

Ah, but you can work on WRITING the dissertation while on a cruise... I did that. Sitting on the deck and inside our cabana on Castaway Cay with my laptop writing part of the the dissertation. My sister babysat the laptop while took a break and went for a swim. Sitting on the deck 4 loungers working on it while she sat and worked on her quilting or read. Plugging away at it while watching Disney movies in the stateroom. I had downloaded everything I needed to the hard drive, so no internet was needed. Also, made a complete backup before leaving home, with an extra separate copy of all the dissertation work, just in case. That said, it will hopefully be the last time I need to take a laptop on a cruise ! ;-)

I worked on my dissertation on a laptop too while on a cruise and other vacations. About 1-2 a day to stay on track, but about twice (not DCL) I had to stop because the Wi-Fi just didn't work.
It would cost to much for them to have decent wifi for everyone so until technology catches up we are SOL. I remember when phone calls were $8 a minute on a cruise, we are spoiled now.

I am writing my proposal for the dissertation right now to be presented to the committee in November. If accepted and I am on track to defend the dissertation this time next year (Nov 2022), I will be (with laptop in hand) on our July S. Caribbean cruise following in your footsteps. Thank you for the information to enjoy and survive the cruise.

 

[Lillebelle]

I have zero desire to work from my cruise (I'm definitely in the 'I take a cruise to get away from work' camp) *but* I would definitely like to have a decent unlimited wifi option just so I don't have to stress about keeping my phone from going rogue and using what we do have on stupid stuff. I remember our first cruise my husband blew threw our room's allotment on the first day because he had some apps decide to update or something and hadn't thought to turn off stuff like that.

 

[Intr3pid]

Let's make the wifi reliable and cost effective for the vacation first please.

 

[wfjny]

Several years ago, on another cruise line, had quite a good talk with the cruise director.

It was either his second to last or last cruise on his current contract. His new contract would have him on one of that lines “Bigger, better, newer” ships. Effectively a promotion for him. As I work in IT, the conversation went to the new ship’s capabilities when it comes to their Internet Connectivity, compared to this older ship we were on.

He said that the Internet Connectivity was actually his biggest concern. What he started saying is that when we were on this cruise, we are effectively a captive audience. An audience that needs various entertainment. His concern was when he is up on stage (small on in the bar, out on deck, or the larger auditorium venue), his jokes and comments are somewhat based on the audience reaction. He is not sure how to react if so many people have their heads down in their phones, and are effectively not paying attention to the performers.

I know about the need to disconnect. The last cruise we went on, which was still a few years ago, I left my phone in the drawer in my room for the entire week. For someone that has had some sort of electronic device on their hip for over 32 years, it took a couple of days to get used to not having it. I have many stories of work contacting me while at Disney World. Some are quite funny. But I only have one story of being completely disconnected, and that was on that cruise.

 

[insureman]

Several years ago, on another cruise line, had quite a good talk with the cruise director.

It was either his second to last or last cruise on his current contract. His new contract would have him on one of that lines “Bigger, better, newer” ships. Effectively a promotion for him. As I work in IT, the conversation went to the new ship’s capabilities when it comes to their Internet Connectivity, compared to this older ship we were on.

He said that the Internet Connectivity was actually his biggest concern. What he started saying is that when we were on this cruise, we are effectively a captive audience. An audience that needs various entertainment. His concern was when he is up on stage (small on in the bar, out on deck, or the larger auditorium venue), his jokes and comments are somewhat based on the audience reaction. He is not sure how to react if so many people have their heads down in their phones, and are effectively not paying attention to the performers.

I know about the need to disconnect. The last cruise we went on, which was still a few years ago, I left my phone in the drawer in my room for the entire week. For someone that has had some sort of electronic device on their hip for over 32 years, it took a couple of days to get used to not having it. I have many stories of work contacting me while at Disney World. Some are quite funny. But I only have one story of being completely disconnected, and that was on that cruise.

Unfortunately the way DCL is going you need to have a smart phone to know what entertainment options there are, where to eat and what to eat. So it seems those days are long gone when we could lock our phones in the safe for the duration of the cruise.

 

[insureman]

Here is some info from SES networks. It's what RCCL has on their ships which they branded Voom Internet. PDF attached.

 

[Keyser]

So, on our most recent cruise I had some work that I didn't manage to finish before we left, and I had to do onboard. Fortunately, I could download and later upload everything needed, so wi-fi was not really an issue. So, most of one afternoon on a sea day I spent on the deck in a lounger, doing work while watchign the sea roll by. While it made for probably about the least enjoyable cruise day I've had, it was probably the best "work day" I've had! I'd love to be able to work each day while reclining, having food and soft drinks readily at hand, watching the ocean go by, etc. But, I don't think I'd pay Disney cruise prices if I'm still going to be mainly working on the trip!

Several years ago, I remember having to spend a day of a WDW trip also doing work. It turned out OK (it was one day in a weeklong trip, and my family used it as a hotel pool relaxation day), but it was much less "fun" working in a hotel room than that day working on the cruise...

 

[Cheburashka]

Nope. Not at all interested in working on a cruise. I'd rather stay home than have my vacation space invaded by my work life.

 

[FigmentSpark]

For all you people who sit on deck with their laptops, pads or even phones... I've got to ask: What do you do about the glare on your screen?

 

[tvguy]

So, on our most recent cruise I had some work that I didn't manage to finish before we left, and I had to do onboard. Fortunately, I could download and later upload everything needed, so wi-fi was not really an issue. So, most of one afternoon on a sea day I spent on the deck in a lounger, doing work while watchign the sea roll by. While it made for probably about the least enjoyable cruise day I've had, it was probably the best "work day" I've had! I'd love to be able to work each day while reclining, having food and soft drinks readily at hand, watching the ocean go by, etc. But, I don't think I'd pay Disney cruise prices if I'm still going to be mainly working on the trip!

Several years ago, I remember having to spend a day of a WDW trip also doing work. It turned out OK (it was one day in a weeklong trip, and my family used it as a hotel pool relaxation day), but it was much less "fun" working in a hotel room than that day working on the cruise...

I know people have different goals for vacations. When I am at Disney I am there for Disney just because it is costing me so much. If I want a pool day, I can do it for a lot less somewhere else. We are the hard core Disney folks at Disneyland. In the park at 630 am and not leaving until 1 am (back in the days when DL stayed open until 1 am).

 

[Keyser]

I know people have different goals for vacations. When I am at Disney I am there for Disney just because it is costing me so much. If I want a pool day, I can do it for a lot less somewhere else. We are the hard core Disney folks at Disneyland. In the park at 630 am and not leaving until 1 am (back in the days when DL stayed open until 1 am).

Yeah, but can you do that for 7 days straight with pre-teen kids? If so, more power to you! For us, we found a WDW trip worked much better if we built in a day in the middle to catch up on sleep and only do low-key stuff (like hotel pool, or mini-golf, or some other Orlando attraction; DisneyQuest used to be perfect). And, while we were at park opening and closing just about every other day of our trips (I mean, my family even got me a camo "vacation commando" shirt one year...), even those days we'd find we often did better with a planned break in the afternoon. One reason we've liked DCL so much is that even when it's "nonstop", it's still pretty relaxing: you can only walk so far on the ship, and the built-in timing for the events makes it hard to go-go-go like we do in the parks.

 

[Keyser]

For all you people who sit on deck with their laptops, pads or even phones... I've got to ask: What do you do about the glare on your screen?

For me, I usually actually sat in the shade (where there is the plexiglass looking out toward the sea - the pool and stuff was to my back). The glare was never too bad.

 

[tvguy]

Yeah, but can you do that for 7 days straight with pre-teen kids? If so, more power to you! For us, we found a WDW trip worked much better if we built in a day in the middle to catch up on sleep and only do low-key stuff (like hotel pool, or mini-golf, or some other Orlando attraction; DisneyQuest used to be perfect). And, while we were at park opening and closing just about every other day of our trips (I mean, my family even got me a camo "vacation commando" shirt one year...), even those days we'd find we often did better with a planned break in the afternoon. One reason we've liked DCL so much is that even when it's "nonstop", it's still pretty relaxing: you can only walk so far on the ship, and the built-in timing for the events makes it hard to go-go-go like we do in the parks.

Well, to be honest never been to Disney more than 5 days in a row with a pre-teen. I think they would have fought a pool day harder than my wife and I. We go to Disney to go to Disney. As for our 7 day cruise on the Magic, we never found time with our then 12 and 16 year olds to ever use the pool on the ship.

 

[Calantha]

DH & I always say we'd like to retire on a cruise ship or live on ships for much of the year. And if we lived closer to a cruise port, we'd be taking full advantage of it. So it probably wouldn't be on DCL all of the time, but I could absolutely work from a ship if I was able. However, I'd need to switch ships every so often (just for my own personal change of scenery) and I would need a heck of a "long term" deal.

DH and I still have some time (probably 15-20 years) but I'd like to move to Maine and then instead of being the snowbird who has a house in Florida, be the one who goes on cruises December-March. I would like to be able to do light work on board (even now -- I wouldn't mind a few hours per day if I was able to go on a W/EBPC - I don't think I'd do Transatlantic - creeps me out).

 

[Starwind]

For all you people who sit on deck with their laptops, pads or even phones... I've got to ask: What do you do about the glare on your screen?

I avoid the sun so sit in the shade. Glare usually isn't a problem.

When sitting on deck 4 with a laptop or tablet that we plan to be using, we sit on the "shady" side.

For tablets, I have a Hoodivision PadHat (https://www.hoodivision.com/products-new) that is several years old. To be honest, I haven't taken it on a cruise with me in some time as I can almost always find suitable shade or indoors. But it comes in handy at home or elsewhere.

SW

 

[shelbell77]

One of the reasons I cruise is so I can escape and not work. That said, if critical, I just use my hotspot when in port someplace. Much faster and much cheaper than DCL internet.