Cruise conferences should increase

The conference facilities on board the Emerald Princess

Why don't conference organizers use cruise ships? When asked, one said it is too expensive. Yes it is, but remember you include transport, transfers and full accommodation with all the extras into one and every time I did the maths, the cost factor was not that important. And you do not have to pack and unpack each day.

We just returned from a trip to Alaska on board a huge passenger liner equipped with full and awesome conferencing facilities. The conferences are scheduled for sea days or early evenings just after leaving port for the next stop, which means that there is a good chance of having all delegates present in the conference.  Shore days are used to network with other delegates. Normally, delegates are handled as a group with nice extras, special offers and cabins near the conference facilities.

We as South Africans, often think that is only Africa that have issues with connectivity, expensive internet and lack of technology but this is not true. We were totally cut off from the rest of the world for days because of  a lack of mobile phone signals and very expensive internet that we could not afford. I planned to post blogs on Mondays while we were traveling, but this could not happen and I just have to give up.

Not that the lack of connectivity was a total negative experience. How awesome to have a meal without a single sms alert and enjoying a shore excursion without missing a photo opportunity because you were checking e mails. So nice not to be constantly reminded about the work piling up in the inbox and being able to focus on the people around you and the places you visit. And as for emergencies, the ship were still connected to shore and did relay important information to those who needed it. So we were able to really relax and enjoy time together.

Hopefully we will be able to enjoy cruise conferences more often in future, even along the South African coast.