Phone and Internet- Ability to work from cruise?

[DCLCrazy64622]

Disney has the worst internet at sea. Not to mention they no longer offer the unlimited package. They also go by MB and not minutes, which drives me crazy.

 

[MomOTwins]

Based on the strong internet request, it sounds like your DH needs to use VPN or Citrix or some other "remoting in" software. That is just not possible on DCL--their internet cannot handle that kind of connection.

My boss went on a Disney cruise and was convinced that there had to be an option for him to remote in. There wasn't, and we ended up working out a system for him. He would use his email on his phone to send the ship concierge a document, they would print it, he would edit in hard copy, and the ship would fax it to us. It was pretty cumbersome and he was not happy about it. I enjoyed the whimsical side of it since the fax showed up as "from Goofy"

 

[pixiedustedme]

I'm in the camp that a cruise is a poor vacation choice for someone who needs to stay well-connected 24/7. Connectivity is expensive and unreliable onboard. What a shame that he always has to be on-call. That's like not getting to take a real vacation at all.

 

[KashasMom]

A colleague and I had a work emergency that we had to handle while at sea and it was very, very difficult. Internet was S-L-O-W and kept dropping.

 

[hnthomps]

My husband was able to combine his at-sea package from his carrier (I think Verizon - his work cell is not on our home plan), which was only something like $40, and the Disney internet plan and his various secure hotspot set up things to make it so he could work 2-3 hours every day. He has to have a secure connection. It works fine for him when he's able to sit down and work for a bit. It was not, however, really possible for him to be immediately available the way he is on land. Which is great for me! Probably less good for his clients and partners. The largest package was fine for our needs - he worked every day, and I checked email 1-2x per day. We didn't run out (we weren't streaming video or uploading photos though). On the last night we had so much internet left we were able to post photos to fb and all that stuff to use it up.
So, basically I agree -- if he can work in discrete chunks that he chooses over the course of the vacation, it's totally fine. If he needs to be reactive and immediately on call, it will be harder.

 

[skfulkers]

So, basically I agree -- if he can work in discrete chunks that he chooses over the course of the vacation, it's totally fine. If he needs to be reactive and immediately on call, it will be harder.

I agree with this. I work in Sales with clients who are accustomed to having quick access to my team if needed. It would be impossible to have that level of connectivity at sea. I know the setup may not be possible with your DH, but as long as he understands the above statement, that should give him enough info to determine if he can make it work. I've always been able to have my boss as a back-up during cruises, but have also been able to work in those discrete chunks for an hour or two when needed. That's where Disney internet works well.

 

[MomOTwins]

I will say, my former job did often require that I work through vacation, so here is what I did:

1) I waited to book vacation until a few weeks ahead and only booked vacation for times I KNEW nothing was planned at work thay would need me. Yes that means I paid a LOT more, and sure sometimes there were still unexpected emergencies, but it was the only way I could have a real insight into what my work commitments would be

2) For disney cruises, I only ever booked the 3 day cruise, which is mostly over the weekend. I would work on Friday until sail away using land-based internet in Florida, buy a package to answer email every hour or so, and that would suffice because weekends were generally not as bad for needing to connect and work as weekdays.

I am sorry OP since I know you are not getting the answers you wanted to hear, but I know first hand that some jobs require you to make sacrifices on vacation. I have spent vacations working 18 hour days every day. That’s just the reality of some career paths, and cruising on weekdays with DCL is not compatible with that.

 

[Lilsia]

My boss wants us to answer our phone and emails on vacay as well. I tell him once I am off my cell battery dies... not sure why

I love it that France made a law that a person can not be bothered after hours. Americans work too much. Nobody is that important.

 

[MomOTwins]

I love it that France made a law that a person can not be bothered after hours. Americans work too much. Nobody is that important.

I’m sorry but I disagree. Doctors have to be reached if their patients have an emergency. Lawyers (I am one) can face emergency proceedings with no notice that can upend their clients’ lives. There are plenty of jobs where it is not an adequate solution for someone to cover for you given your unique knowledge of your clients and it IS that important.

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

I’m sorry but I disagree. Doctors have to be reached if their patients have an emergency. Lawyers (I am one) can face emergency proceedings with no notice that can upend their clients’ lives. There are plenty of jobs where it is not an adequate solution for someone to cover for you given your unique knowledge of your clients and it IS that important.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that is a valid argument. Nobody is irreplaceable. Doctors certainly have colleagues cover for them all the time. Legal proceeding get extensions and continuances. We have become a society where everyone feels that they are indispensable. There have been recent surveys about how many vacation days go unused and lost in the US. So many individuals feel that their company cannot do without them, they are the most important cog in the company. They work 100 hour weeks, leave work to go home and get online. That’s assuming they aren’t working on the way way home. They have all the knowledge, they have all the skills. And then one day it happens. They get the call. They are called into a meeting where nobody is smiling. And they are told I’m sorry but we are downsizing, going through a merger, outsourcing, taking on a new trajectory. And they are walked out. They were not as indispensable as they thought.

 

[DCSWO]

Personally, I would tell his company to take a hike. No one person is so indispensable in my opinion. As others have stated, you will not find what he is looking for on DCL. Unless you book a Royal suite with unlimited internet access included, you will spend a fortune paying for the limited service DCL has with that kind of use. He could ask his company to spring for an Iridium satellite phone (voice only) for about $1000

 

[Happy99]

My DH needs to be able to stay connected to work while on vacations. He has to be able to answer his phone, make calls, and connect to the internet. Is there anyway (even a cell plan or internet plan not through Disney) to get decent phone and internet service while on the cruise? Obviously, he would rather not work but if he can’t stay connected, we aren’t able to go on a cruise.

I know you are asking about Disney but I can say the wifi on Royal Caribbean is amazing. you pay per day, not per megabyte and it is unlimited, I have been able to make and receive calls while on a Baltic cruise. The call never dropped, can it happen yes but I haven't had any issues with it at all. Disney's doesn't hold a candle to RCCL where the wifi is concerned. I also have to check in periodically for work so understand.

If he can make due with just a quick check and then leave the rest for when you are in port, may not be ideal, but he can then have unlimited service based on his carrier. Some carriers do offer cruise packages now which he can look into. I know a co-worker uses the AT&T cruise package and says it works pretty well.
https://www.att.com/offers/international-plans/cruise-packages.html

 

[MomOTwins]

Unfortunately, I don’t think that is a valid argument. Nobody is irreplaceable. Doctors certainly have colleagues cover for them all the time. Legal proceeding get extensions and continuances. We have become a society where everyone feels that they are indispensable. There have been recent surveys about how many vacation days go unused and lost in the US. So many individuals feel that their company cannot do without them, they are the most important cog in the company. They work 100 hour weeks, leave work to go home and get online. That’s assuming they aren’t working on the way way home. They have all the knowledge, they have all the skills. And then one day it happens. They get the call. They are called into a meeting where nobody is smiling. And they are told I’m sorry but we are downsizing, going through a merger, outsourcing, taking on a new trajectory. And they are walked out. They were not as indispensable as they thought.

That sure is a grim narrative! I’d be surprised if it happened all that often. I tell you what, though, if a company is choosing between two people who to keep and who to go, and one who checked out on vacation and weekends while the other worked 24/7, they are going to keep the one who put in more hours.

I keep thinking about that government lawyer who refused to come in to a weekend emergency hearing on child separation cases (which I worked on, on the other side than the government) because she had “dog walking responsibilities.” She had an attitude that her personal life was more important than getting traumatized kids out of cells and back to their parents. and I hardly think that is something to be proud of.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Disney has the worst internet at sea. Not to mention they no longer offer the unlimited package. They also go by MB and not minutes, which drives me crazy.

Well, that change happened a few years ago. I like the MB packages over time packages. You can waste a lot of time just waiting for things to connect. Or disconnect.

 

[Lilsia]

That sure is a grim narrative! I’d be surprised if it happened all that often. I tell you what, though, if a company is choosing between two people who to keep and who to go, and one who checked out on vacation and weekends while the other worked 24/7, they are going to keep the one who put in more hours.

I keep thinking about that government lawyer who refused to come in to a weekend emergency hearing on child separation cases (which I worked on, on the other side than the government) because she had “dog walking responsibilities.” She had an attitude that her personal life was more important than getting traumatized kids out of cells and back to their parents. and I hardly think that is something to be proud of.

You are talking about a totally different thing. Most jobs have someone to cover you when you go on vacation. They don't shut the business down when 1 person is gone for a week. Do you not think that surgeons go on vacation and have others cover for them, or do you just think that they tell people, "sorry, you are going to die because the surgeon is on a cruise"? I know that people FEEL that the company will come to a halt if they are not available 24/7, but the fact is things work out just fine. People should not be guilted into feeling like they can't go on vacation. There are circumstances that make it impossible for someone to be on call, a vacation should be one of them. And emergencies are totally different then having to constantly be in contact. Not everything is an emergency.

 

[Lilsia]

I’m sorry but I disagree. Doctors have to be reached if their patients have an emergency. Lawyers (I am one) can face emergency proceedings with no notice that can upend their clients’ lives. There are plenty of jobs where it is not an adequate solution for someone to cover for you given your unique knowledge of your clients and it IS that important.

What happens when you can not be reached, or you are having a medical procedure, or you are at a funeral. Don't you have someone to cover for you? No one can be available all the time.

 

[DCSWO]

Americans are terrible at taking vacations when compared to most countries. Plenty of articles on the subject. When I was military, I mostly took time off only when changing jobs/moving. Not anymore. Work stays at work when I leave for the day and especially when I’m on vacation.

 

[DCSWO]

What happens when you can not be reached, or you are having a medical procedure, or you are at a funeral. Don't you have someone to cover for you? No one can be available all the time.

I always use the “hit by a bus” scenario when someone tells me so-and-so is indispensable. What if they get hit on the way home? Does the company fold? Recent prime example is the 30 yo Canadian bitcoin exec who died unexpectedly and was the only person with the passwords to access the bitcoins - $137M gone.

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

That sure is a grim narrative! I’d be surprised if it happened all that often. I tell you what, though, if a company is choosing between two people who to keep and who to go, and one who checked out on vacation and weekends while the other worked 24/7, they are going to keep the one who put in more hours.

I keep thinking about that government lawyer who refused to come in to a weekend emergency hearing on child separation cases (which I worked on, on the other side than the government) because she had “dog walking responsibilities.” She had an attitude that her personal life was more important than getting traumatized kids out of cells and back to their parents. and I hardly think that is something to be proud of.

We have taken this pretty far off topic. So I’ll end with this. I would not select either candidate. Having worked in the Tech Sector most of my life I would not select the candidate that checked out Every weekend. I would also not select the candidate that was available 24/7. They would be heading for a quick burn out. Also, what would I do if they demanded a 50 percent increase or quit with little or no notice. I would select the candidate who had flexibility to their schedule but also one who documented systems, setup redundancies, cross trained staff and setup diseaster recovery and business continuity plans. In that way I would not have to worry about them taking vacation or being incapacitated in any way.

 

[mmmears]

I don't know of any way to get fast, reliable internet access on DCL. I will say that I have AT&T for my cell phone and we were able to purchase a package for something like $100 for one hour of at-sea phone service and it worked really well and let me do what I needed to do. The only place I had real connection issues was in Iceland, but then my $10/day roaming on land didn't work there either.