How I Turn a Cruise Cabin Into My Home Office

For many people, a cruise is a chance to completely switch off from work. For me, it's a little different.

Before anyone panics, no—I don't spend my entire cruise behind a laptop.

Being self-employed, I don't have the luxury of switching off completely. Some deadlines don't move just because I'm sailing across the Pacific or exploring Alaska. Rather than putting travel on hold, I've learnt how to take my office with me.

Over the past few years, I've worked from cruise ships on everything from short weekend getaways to transpacific voyages. Along the way I've discovered what works, what definitely doesn't, and a few lessons the hard way.

If you're thinking about working remotely from a cruise ship, here's how I turn an ordinary cruise cabin into a surprisingly functional home office.

Choosing the Right Workspace

The cabin desk becomes mission control.

It might not look like much when you first walk into the room, but with a little planning it can become a comfortable workspace for several hours each day.

I always position my equipment as close to the power outlets as possible to minimise cable clutter. Cruise cabins aren't particularly large, so every centimetre of desk space counts.

To keep everything tidy, I use a few simple cable organisers. They stop cables from getting tangled, make packing up much quicker and, importantly, leave the desk easy for the cabin steward to wipe down during their daily service.

It's a small thing, but keeping the workspace neat also makes the cabin feel far less cramped.

Making the Cabin More Comfortable

Cruise cabins weren't designed to be offices, so ergonomics can take a little creativity.

One of the biggest challenges is the seating. Depending on the ship, you'll usually have either a desk chair or a small stool, and they're often a little too low for comfortable typing over long periods.

My solution is surprisingly simple—a spare pillow.

Adding a pillow to the chair raises my seating position just enough to improve posture without needing to pack any specialist equipment.

It's certainly not a perfect ergonomic workstation, but for a few hours each day it's a surprisingly comfortable setup.

Cruise Ship Internet – Better Than You Might Expect

One of the questions I'm asked most often is whether cruise ship internet is actually good enough to work from.

The answer is: usually, yes.

Most major cruise lines now use Starlink, and compared to just a few years ago the improvement has been remarkable. Email, cloud-based accounting software, SharePoint, remote desktop connections and general browsing are all perfectly achievable most of the time.

That said, internet performance isn't always consistent.

I've found certain times of day are noticeably slower as more passengers come online, so I always aim to complete any deadline-driven work as early as possible.

For anyone planning to work remotely, I'd strongly recommend purchasing the highest internet package available. While it costs more, the increased reliability is well worth it if you're working with cloud-based systems.

I also never travel without a backup internet option.

A GigSky eSIM is always installed on my phone before I leave home. It's expensive if you're using it constantly, but it's invaluable if you suddenly lose the onboard connection and need to submit something urgently.

A Real-World Test of My Backup Plan

One thing I've learnt from working remotely while travelling is that backup plans aren't just nice to have—they're essential.

A couple of days into my 28-day transpacific cruise on Carnival Luminosa from Brisbane to Seattle in April 2025, the ship's Wi-Fi started behaving strangely around lunchtime.

Some passengers could connect, while others couldn't. The cruise Facebook group quickly filled with posts from people comparing notes and trying to work out what was happening. As the afternoon went on, the problem became more widespread, and by dinner time most guests couldn't connect at all. Even the Carnival Hub app wasn't functioning properly.

It happened to be Elegant Night, which added another layer of chaos. Guests with Any Time Dining couldn't book a table through the app, so the dining room staff suddenly found themselves making manual bookings while trying to manage an ever-growing queue of understandably frustrated passengers.

Everyone was dressed to the nines and looking forward to their lobster... and suddenly no one knew when they were going to be seated! It was one of those moments where you could really appreciate how much modern cruising relies on a stable internet connection.

Thankfully, I didn't have any critical work deadlines that day, so instead of stressing, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to test the backup plan I'd packed "just in case"—a GigSky eSIM.

It worked.

It certainly wasn't as fast or as responsive as the ship's Wi-Fi, especially when using remote desktop software like AnyDesk, but it proved that I could still access the internet if I absolutely needed to. Had I been facing an urgent deadline, it would have been more than enough to get me through.

That experience cemented my view that a backup connection is well worth having if you're planning to work from a cruise ship.

Is GigSky a Replacement for Ship Wi-Fi?

For me, no.

GigSky is exactly what I want it to be—a backup.

If you only need to check emails, send messages, access online banking or complete other low-data tasks, many cruisers find it works perfectly well as an alternative to purchasing the ship's internet package.

One feature I particularly like is that, depending on your destination and cruise line, you can often purchase plans that cover both your cruise and your time ashore, rather than juggling separate services.

However, if you're planning to spend hours working online, attending meetings or using cloud-based software, I'd still recommend purchasing the ship's Wi-Fi package. The cost per gigabyte with GigSky is relatively high, so it becomes expensive for heavier users.

One final thing worth keeping in mind is that cruise ships don't activate their Cellular at Sea (maritime cellular) network until they're in international waters—generally around 12 nautical miles from shore.

That means if you're relying solely on GigSky, or you're on a domestic cruise that remains close to the coast for extended periods, you may experience times when you have no mobile connectivity at all.

For me, the ideal setup is simple: ship Wi-Fi for everyday work, with GigSky sitting quietly in the background as insurance. Hopefully I'll never need it—but after seeing firsthand how quickly onboard internet can disappear, I'm very glad it's there.

Affiliate note: If you'd like to try GigSky yourself, you can receive 25% off your first plan using my referral code KATE397.

My Typical Workday at Sea

One of my favourite parts of working on a cruise ship is that my daily routine is actually more relaxed than it is at home.

If the weather is kind, I'll head up to the top deck early each morning for a walk while watching the sun rise over the ocean. It's easily one of my favourite moments of the day.

Before heading back to the cabin, I'll collect breakfast for the kids—usually pastries, muffins and fruit—which I pop into my collapsible storage containers so it's easy to carry back without juggling multiple plates.

Affiliate link: collapsible storage containers.

While the kids are slowly waking up and enjoying breakfast, I log in and tackle the day's priority tasks. Anything with a firm deadline gets done first while the ship's internet is generally quieter.

By around 10am, we'll all head up to the Lido Deck for a proper breakfast.

Rather than returning to the cabin straight afterwards, I usually take my laptop with me. This gives our room steward plenty of uninterrupted time to service the cabin while I enjoy working somewhere with an ocean view.

If I only need to answer emails, prepare basic reports, data entry or write articles, working from a quiet table overlooking the water is hard to beat.

Later in the afternoon, if I have more intensive work to complete, I'll head back to the cabin where my portable monitor setup makes longer sessions much more efficient.

It's a balance between getting work done and making the most of being on holiday—and after a few cruises, I've found a routine that works well for both.

Video Meetings at Sea

Teams and Zoom meetings are certainly possible onboard, but there are a few things worth knowing.

Video calls demand considerably more bandwidth than audio-only meetings, and cruise ship Wi-Fi can occasionally struggle with that.

Whenever possible, I switch my camera off and join using audio only.

The call quality is generally much more reliable, everyone can still hear each other clearly, and you avoid the frustration of frozen video halfway through an important discussion.

Before You Sail – Test Everything

This is probably my biggest piece of advice.

Don't wait until you're halfway across the Pacific to discover your VPN doesn't work.

If you're planning to work from a longer cruise, consider taking a short weekend cruise first to test your entire setup.

Things to check include:

• VPN compatibility
• Cloud software access
• Remote desktop connections
• Multifactor authentication
• Microsoft Teams or Zoom
• Email access
• Any specialised business software

Many organisations also use geoblocking to prevent overseas logins.

If that's the case, let your IT department know where you'll be travelling. They may need to whitelist your destination or the ship's internet connection before you leave.

For example, some cruise lines use internet gateways based in the United States even when sailing from Australia. Without prior approval, your organisation may interpret the login as suspicious activity and automatically block access.

Testing beforehand removes a lot of unnecessary stress.

Multifactor Authentication Can Catch You Out

Multifactor authentication is fantastic for security—but it can create challenges at sea.

If you rely on SMS verification codes, you'll generally only receive them while you're in port with international roaming enabled.

Whenever possible, I recommend using an authentication app instead.

Most authenticator apps generate security codes without needing a mobile phone signal or internet connection.

One notable exception I've encountered is the Australian Government myID system, which requires both my phone and laptop to have an internet connection at the same time.

On Carnival ships, there are a couple of ways around this.

Some Android phones allow you to connect to the ship's Wi-Fi before sharing that connection via hotspot to your laptop.

For iPhone users, the opposite usually works better—sharing your laptop's internet connection back to your phone.

If neither option suits your setup, purchasing a multi-device internet package may be the easiest solution.

It's also worth noting that Carnival allows you to move your internet plan between devices simply by logging in and out, making it easy to temporarily borrow a travelling companion's connection if needed.

MSC Cruises operate differently, with each internet package locked to a specific device, so you'll generally need to purchase a multi-device plan if both your laptop and phone need simultaneous internet access.

One Mistake I'll Never Make Again

Even experienced travellers make mistakes.

One cruise taught me a lesson I'll never forget...

The Laptop Charger I Left at Home

For all the planning that goes into working remotely from a cruise ship, sometimes it's the simplest things that catch you out.

On one family cruise, my Mum, the kids, my ex-husband and I all travelled together. We're fortunate to have a great co-parenting relationship, which means we still enjoy travelling together as a family.

As soon as we boarded, I unpacked everything and started setting up my workstation... only to discover that something was missing.

My laptop charger.

It normally lives in my backpack, so I was convinced I'd simply packed it somewhere else. I searched every bag, unpacked everything I'd just neatly organised, even checked the boys' cabin in case it had somehow ended up in one of their bags.

Nothing.

Then it hit me.

The week before we'd left, I'd plugged my laptop in at home to run a Windows update.

The charger was still sitting on my desk.

Cue the facepalm.

At the time I was still using the original Lenovo charger, so once the battery eventually went flat, that was it. My cruise office was officially closed.

Thankfully, it was only a four-day cruise and I only had a couple of deadlines to meet.

My workaround was using my iPad with a Logitech Pebble keyboard and mouse to remotely access my desktop computer at home through AnyDesk. It certainly wasn't the most efficient setup—working through a remote desktop from an iPad isn't something I'd recommend if you can avoid it—but it got me through the few tasks I absolutely needed to complete.

That experience completely changed the way I pack for working cruises.

These days I carry a compact 455W multi-port charger that powers my laptop, phone and iPad from a single charger.

Not only does it save a surprising amount of luggage space, but it also means I only need to remember one charger instead of several. It's become one of those items that never leaves my travel bag.

Affiliate links: 455W multi-port charger, Lenovo ThinkPad E14, Logitech Pebble keyboard and mouse.)

Final Thoughts

Working from a cruise ship isn't quite the same as working from home—but that's part of the appeal.

There are certainly challenges. Internet speeds fluctuate, technology occasionally misbehaves, and cruise cabins aren't exactly executive offices.

But there are also mornings watching the sunrise over an endless ocean before starting work, afternoons answering emails with a sea view, and the freedom to explore a new destination once the laptop is closed.

With a little planning—and a few lessons learnt the hard way—it's entirely possible to balance work commitments with an incredible holiday.

And honestly?

I'm not sure there's a better office view anywhere in the world.