Want to work remote? Spoiler - you can't on Holland America!

[Yukiie]

So I am a frequent cruiser and lurker on the message boards but I wasn't compelled to start a thread until now.

 

My husband is a software developer and works 100% remote so we figured if he could work remotely from a cruise ship that would provide us the opportunity to take much longer cruises than his vacation time would currently allow. We have been on 10+ cruises in the past.

 

Test Cruise: We decided on Holland America Koningsdam for our test cruise. I pre booked the premium internet package at ~$117 for a week.

 

Once onboard he logged in and we discovered the fine print that was not revealed when I booked the package. Holland America officially black lists ALL VPNs, Github, etc. - literally any resource he would need to complete his work. Unless you work solely via email (that doesn't require VPN) it would be impossible to work from a Holland America ship.

 

The internet speed was decent - you could do some low quality video calls or stream stuff from youtube. The limiting factor was the black listed sites.

 

Our dream of taking 30+ day cruises with Holland America were dashed 😞

 

We plan to try a different cruise line in the future since other ships do not black list the same sites as Holland America (according to forums). I couldn't find any information specific to working remote from a Holland America ship so I figured I would make a post about our experience. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nghthawke]

We actually went on cruises to get away from work and computer screens.

 

If I wanted to do a work from anywhere vacation I would return to India. 

I was pleasantly surprised how every hotel, no matter how remote, had excellent Internet access. 

[Nghthawke]

I should add even outdoors. Was funny going for walks around the grounds at the hotels and spotting the outdoor Internet hubs (I think that's what they are called) discretely hidden in the trees and vegetation. So yeah, a nice outdoor table on the hotel grounds in India would be my perfect work from anywhere spot. 

[Florida_gal_50]

Thank you op.  It's clear people are retired and don't need internet.  Others do, or wish to have it.  The koningsdam had the surf package for $99 in November, now it's $169 for 7 days. Good idea the purchase the premium ahead of time as its much cheaper.

[canadianbear]

OP:  any way you can write an email to HAL about this?  I’m sure there are lots that would like to work remotely while on a cruise and require what you do.  Perhaps it is something they could look into?  
 

We are retired but I do enjoy keeping in touch with family but have very limited knowledge of the requirements for internet on a ship.  If we get it as a promo we use it but if we don’t, we don’t usually purchase it.  
 

Your post I’m sure will be valuable to some others that would need the same requirements as your husband.   

[Yukiie]

(Sorry I made a duplicate post by accident!)

Edited March 8, 2022 by Yukiie

[Yukiie]

49 minutes ago, Nghthawke said:

We actually went on cruises to get away from work and computer screens. 

 

I agree that often the best aspect of cruising is getting away from computer screens. The problem becomes how people manage 30-45 day cruises without working (unless they are retired)? My husband figured that he would work on sea days and enjoy the ports - but that plan isn't going to happen with Holland America.

 

29 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The koningsdam had the surf package for $99 in November, now it's $169 for 7 days. Good idea the purchase the premium ahead of time as its much cheaper.

 

I was happy with the pre-paid Internet package price ($117 for 7 days premium). But unless my husband is working and needs the Internet I really enjoy disconnecting.

 

5 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

OP:  any way you can write an email to HAL about this?  I’m sure there are lots that would like to work remotely while on a cruise and require what you do.  Perhaps it is something they could look into?  

 

I spoke with guest services about the issue and included more technical feedback in the guest survey but you are right I should probably email them directly about it.

 

I am guessing very few Holland America cruisers care since many seem to be retired but hey maybe one or two people may want to work remote and would find this thread useful. It was just such a shame because I genuinely love cruising with Holland America (BB Kings'!! Tamarind restaurant! Lincoln Center Stage!).

[Florida_gal_50]

2 minutes ago, Yukiie said:

 

I agree that often the best aspect of cruising is getting away from computer screens. The problem becomes how people manage 30-45 day cruises without working (unless they are retired)? My husband figured that he would work on sea days and enjoy the ports - but that plan isn't going to happen with Holland America.

 

 

I was happy with the pre-paid Internet package price ($117 for 7 days premium). But unless my husband is working and needs the Internet I really enjoy disconnecting.

I'm not a love to disconnect person.  Whatever you like or don't that's everyone's choice.  I would just love not to hear the I love to disconnect comment in these threads.  Hal could sell a 30 day cruise or a 10.  Being a shareholder it makes sense to sell the 30 day.  If hal doesn't want to sell internet that works for those that need to work I'm sure their competitors will be happy to do so.

[RynoWally]

1 hour ago, Yukiie said:

So I am a frequent cruiser and lurker on the message boards but I wasn't compelled to start a thread until now.

 

My husband is a software developer and works 100% remote so we figured if he could work remotely from a cruise ship that would provide us the opportunity to take much longer cruises than his vacation time would currently allow. We have been on 10+ cruises in the past.

 

Test Cruise: We decided on Holland America Koningsdam for our test cruise. I pre booked the premium internet package at ~$117 for a week.

 

Once onboard he logged in and we discovered the fine print that was not revealed when I booked the package. Holland America officially black lists ALL VPNs, Github, etc. - literally any resource he would need to complete his work. Unless you work solely via email (that doesn't require VPN) it would be impossible to work from a Holland America ship.

 

The internet speed was decent - you could do some low quality video calls or stream stuff from youtube. The limiting factor was the black listed sites.

 

Our dream of taking 30+ day cruises with Holland America were dashed 😞

 

We plan to try a different cruise line in the future since other ships do not black list the same sites as Holland America (according to forums). I couldn't find any information specific to working remote from a Holland America ship so I figured I would make a post about our experience. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have mixed feelings about this, or I should say my wife does. I'm not sure if it is location or ship or regulatory problems with HAL itself on usage. On a 7 day trip coastal California last October it was horrible, it was capped off and we were given all sorts of excuses. On a 3 week Caribbean cruise in December, she had no problems what so ever, whether it was doing zoom calls for her work, which she does for about 3-4 hours straight as a therapist. Or while doing schoolwork for her doctorate, we came across absolutely no problems during the 3 weeks. So I wouldn't say you "can't" work remote. But I would say it's a crapshoot..... We will be gone for a month in northern Europe May-June, I'm praying my opinion doesn't change about this, or I will have to put up with some complaining for sure, but she knows going into it, that something may occur which disrupts it.

[CruiserBruce]

My question would be is it reasonable to expect HAL to support EVERY business need of every passenger? Keeping in mind this is satellite based internet access...not hardwired broadband, and is definitely not unlimited bandwidth. 

[Yukiie]

Just now, CruiserBruce said:

My question would be is it reasonable to expect HAL to support EVERY business need of every passenger? Keeping in mind this is satellite based internet access...not hardwired broadband.

 

The quality of the Internet is not really in question - it was genuinely good. I have no complaints about the speed, uptime, etc. The issue is black listing sites that are required for many people to complete work (VPN being a super common thing). 

 

Apparently HAL is among the minority that black list those sites, hence our surprise. We couldn't find any threads specifically about HAL before sailing ourselves but we did see threads about Royal Caribbean and Princess. Both of those cruise lines apparently do not black list required sites but we have not tried ourselves yet.

 

With so many people working remote now I'm guessing more and more people will try to work remote from cruise ships. Some jobs will find it easy and others, like my husband, impossible. It was an experiment and we had a nice cruise even though he couldn't work.

 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, Yukiie said:

 

The quality of the Internet is not really in question - it was genuinely good. I have no complaints about the speed, uptime, etc. The issue is black listing sites that are required for many people to complete work (VPN being a super common thing). 

 

Apparently HAL is among the minority that black list those sites, hence our surprise. We couldn't find any threads specifically about HAL before sailing ourselves but we did see threads about Royal Caribbean and Princess. Both of those cruise lines apparently do not black list required sites but we have not tried ourselves yet.

 

With so many people working remote now I'm guessing more and more people will try to work remote from cruise ships. Some jobs will find it easy and others, like my husband, impossible. It was an experiment and we had a nice cruise even though he couldn't work.

 

 

No need to explain yourself or your husband to anyone.  It's not like you are asking for something outlandish. This is a very reasonable request.

[Yukiie]

19 minutes ago, RynoWally said:

On a 7 day trip coastal California last October it was horrible, it was capped off and we were given all sorts of excuses. On a 3 week Caribbean cruise in December, she had no problems what so ever, whether it was doing zoom calls for her work, which she does for about 3-4 hours straight as a therapist. 

Thanks for sharing your experience! 

[CruiserBruce]

19 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

No need to explain yourself or your husband to anyone.  It's not like you are asking for something outlandish. This is a very reasonable request.

Is it? Do we know that VPNs don't affect the available bandwidth or other connection abilities?

[Florida_gal_50]

Back a few months ago @Yukiiethere was a thread that someone linked to the Canadian board.  It was really about covid but one people or maybe both worked from the ship.  It wasn’t hal it was Royal.  She had zero problems doing so.  It can be done clearly.  I would assume it would be a very small percentage doing this.  It is 2022 after all, not 1922 😛.

[Ready2go11]

For years I was able to work remotely and log into my company VPN, no problem. However all that changed in 2018 without warning. No one on that cruise (Neptune concierge not guest services) could tell me anything about a policy change.  When it happened a second and third time I knew what to expect. 
 

Sadly, lack of access does impact my cruise schedule as I am unable to get my work email for data privacy reasons. Mail has to go through the secure VPN which is blocked even on my phone and iPad  🤨

[canadianbear]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

My question would be is it reasonable to expect HAL to support EVERY business need of every passenger? Keeping in mind this is satellite based internet access...not hardwired broadband, and is definitely not unlimited bandwidth. 

Good point 

[Yukiie]

31 minutes ago, Ready2go11 said:

For years I was able to work remotely and log into my company VPN, no problem. However all that changed in 2018 without warning. No one on that cruise (Neptune concierge not guest services) could tell me anything about a policy change.  When it happened a second and third time I knew what to expect. 
 

Sadly, lack of access does impact my cruise schedule as I am unable to get my work email for data privacy reasons. Mail has to go through the secure VPN which is blocked even on my phone and iPad  🤨

 

That is really interesting! And I feel like most workplaces require VPN for security reasons, even if you just check your email. 

[Kay S]

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Oh well...

Agreed.  Oh well...  I can't say I quite get the tragedy of it all.  

[Mary229]

My sister and brother in law work on ships. They have not sailed Holland but have sailed Oceania and Princess. I do know there are some tasks where they find a business class hotel onshore to complete certain tasks. 

[cowmilker]

My internet at home is pretty sketchy.  I say that because when I have tried using a VPN, it slows to a CRAWL.

I assume from that little unofficial test that VPNs suck up bandwidth.  

So I looked it up.  🙂  And the answer is yes, a VPN encodes data and that sucks bandwidth.  It uses between 5 and 15% more data.

That's why they banned it, I would guess.  Satellite internet is terrible at its best.  We had it here for several years and I did such a wonderful happy dance when we finally got regular internet (even as slow as it is) and could get rid of that awful dish in the yard that I swore at regularly.  But I did everything possible to limit my usage when I had satellite internet.  I feel for the tech people on cruise ships having to deal with it all the time.

[cruising sister]

 Think it is on RC that Super Mario works from the ship for months at a time. They must allow VPN. 

[Navybikermom]

29 minutes ago, cowmilker said:

My internet at home is pretty sketchy.  I say that because when I have tried using a VPN, it slows to a CRAWL.

I assume from that little unofficial test that VPNs suck up bandwidth.  

So I looked it up.  🙂  And the answer is yes, a VPN encodes data and that sucks bandwidth.  It uses between 5 and 15% more data.

That's why they banned it, I would guess.  Satellite internet is terrible at its best.  We had it here for several years and I did such a wonderful happy dance when we finally got regular internet (even as slow as it is) and could get rid of that awful dish in the yard that I swore at regularly.  But I did everything possible to limit my usage when I had satellite internet.  I feel for the tech people on cruise ships having to deal with it all the time.

I had satellite internet for awhile before a fixed wireless company set up shop in our area. I HATED it. I had a much better option by hot-spotting my phone and using my tablet that way. You’d think high-speed internet and decent cell phone coverage would be nationwide by this century - but nope. 

[richwmn]

For a few years before the shut down I used some relatively common text based remote software to access my computer at home. It worked on many ships with no problem. When I joined Rotterdam for my Christmas / New Year cruise I found that it didn't work. When I asked about it I was told that I could only talk to Guest Relations, but they would forward my concern. This went on for most of the cruise including intervention by some of the higher Officers on the ship. About 2 days before the end of the cruise I was told that my request to use the service had been approved, but it still didn't work. I planned to ask about it again prior to my next cruise, but I don't really have any hope that it will work.

 

[REM2]

Thanks for this info! We love HAL and would enjoy taking longer cruises if my husband could work remote, but it's good to know about VPNs being blacklisted because that would be a definite no go.  Too bad!

 

I'm not sure why you're getting antagonism for sharing this info because it is relevant to a lot of folks who do remote work while traveling. I realize that a lot of HAL guests are retired, but not all are. This info will help those of us it's applicable to make informed decisions.