At some point in the next three to five years I will need* to take a cruise/liner to Europe, and then back again. I won't be able to take four weeks off of work, so I'll need to be able to take my work laptop and use some sort of Internet. Has anyone tried to do IT style work on a laptop on a cruise? How well does the on board internet work? Has anyone tried to bring on board a starlink terminal? I would feel far better about having control over my own personal connection to the internet, hooking it up to the balcony, rather than deal with onboard IT. Obviously, that comes with additional problems.


-Long boring, explanatory background
*Yes, need to take a cruise. Here is the story: My wife was born in Europe, and still has family there. We live in the center of the US, and my wife over the decades has developed some serious health issues. About seven years ago, she developed an allergy to perfume. The allergy has affected most parts of our lives. If she can avoid the perfume, (like if we are at the store) then she is fine. Masks usually don't work well. One time, someone at church gave her a hug. It shut her vocal chords, and two hours later, she stopped breathing in the Emergency Room for about 15 seconds. Probably the most terrifying moment of my life. So getting in a metal tube with nowhere to escape to, with perfume and having a breathing attack 40,000 feet over the North Atlantic could be fatal. So no more trips to visit her family in Western Europe, although my Mother-in-law has begged.

Her mother is almost 80, and visited to help after my wife had surgery. Towards the end of the trip, my Mother-in-law began to genuinely weep because she said "I'll never see my daughter again in this life." The three connection intercontinental flight was too hard on my Mother-in-law, and she told me that she really can't do that again. Apparently, she was in bed for a week after she got back home. I've tried to find solutions, and it seems like the most logical one is to get a balcony cabin on a transatlantic cruise ship. Having instant access to fresh air is really important to her condition.

I wouldn't feel good about leaving her alone on the cruise, as she can have various problems and periodically needs my help for whatever. Plus I love her, and like to have her presence.

For the trip, we'll have to drive to New York or Miami, be on the boat for a week eastward, and make our way to my wife's home country or where her sister now lives. Also, we've considered having my Mother-in-law do the cruise as she doesn't have to worry about time as much as I do. Being on the boat and the time change has to be far more gentle than the plane.