Nomad Cruise

For several years now I wanted to go on a cruise. Whenever I would bring the topic up with my friends, their response was always the same - “it’s for old people, do it when you retire". I almost gave up, but one day, following a random rabbit hole on the Internet, I stumbled upon nomadcruise.com. A conference? Digital nomads and entrepreneurs? On a ship? Yes!

There was one small problem. There were two cruises per year and each time it would happen at (almost) the same time as DrupalCon. So for two years I would occasionally open their website, check out what is going on, and think that maybe someday I’ll get to do it.

Another reason that was stopping me for a while was that cruises were always across the Atlantic Ocean. Too many days away. Flights to/from South America to figure out. Long stretches of time at sea, and I've never been on a ship. In other words.. excuses.

And then early last December I got an email. The first ever Nomad Cruise in the Mediterranean sea. 10 days, a lot of stops and sightseeing. Early bird price. I thought for the whole.. 5 minutes, and applied. Sorry, DrupalCon. Hello, Nomad Cruise 6.

The cabin

For an introvert, being stuck on a ship with a bunch of people you have never met does not sound fun. When buying a ticket, there was a choice of cabins available. Normally I would book a single cabin and hide in there whenever possible. However, following my recent inclination to do things one would not normally do, I did the exact opposite and booked a shared cabin. That meant that the org team would select a person from the attendees to share the cabin with me.

And it worked out perfectly. I had a great roommate, we had a nice time, and we are still in touch.

The ship

Considering "I just wanted to be on the ship" was basically my default answer whenever people asked why I decided to attend this event, I should say a few words about it. In short: it was massive.

12 floors. 7 elevators. Capacity for up to 1800 passengers. 2 pools and Jacuzzi. Gym, spa and sauna. Theatre, disco, a couple of restaurants, cafe, bar, shops, library (!). Basically it was a huge hotel that has anything you might need, and it also happens to move around.

It was April, and the weather was not brilliant. The water in both pools was quite cold. But at least there was Jacuzzi. And all inclusive food and drinks. I’ve discovered that trying not to eat too much is a really hard work.

I didn't go to the gym, but I did regularly go for a run on Deck 8. Running on the open deck of a moving ship is quite an experience. I now definitely know that I do not have motion sickness.

The journey

The trip lasted 10 days. Some days the only thing you could see everywhere you looked was the sea. Some days you go to sleep, wake up in the morning and see a completely different view from the window.

We set off from Malaga in Spain and travelled to Athens in Greece. We stopped in Menorca (Spain), Valletta (Malta), Katakolon (Greece), Crete (Greece), Nauplion (Greece), spending almost a day in each. And there were 3 days fully at sea.

Crete was my favourite stop. It was beautiful, the food was amazing. I absolutely loved it and want to go back.

The conference

One of the big rooms one the ship was set aside just for Nomad Cruise attendees. It had a small stage and was used as a kind of night club in the evening. But during the day it was our conference venue. On those days when we were at sea, there was a full program of pre-arranged talks, workshops, as well as unconference style time in the afternoon, where anyone could suggest and run a session.

The topics were quite varied but centred around digital nomad lifestyle. Anything from how to run a business remotely, how to manage taxes as a nomad, to best self-care routines on the go.

It was an interesting mixture of people, of all walks of life, all ages, different experiences. I felt a bit odd as I am not technically a nomad, though I do work remotely. But I wasn’t the only one. It was interesting to hear about different experiences and learn from people.

I did also run a session during the unconference afternoon. The first meet-up I scheduled.. nobody showed up (woohoo!). Which is almost not surprising, as the topic was for and about introverts, and they all probably decided to stay in their cabins instead. Fair enough.

I then scheduled another one, this time about online security for digital nomads. Quite a few people came and were interested to listen, ask questions, etc. It was such a strange experience for me. This is one of my favourite topics and I can talk about it for hours, but I have never considered myself to be an expert on it. It felt good to be able to share things I consider very important with people who were interested.

The free time

The schedule was quite flexible with enough free time. And one could always step out of the conference to sit by the pool if desired.

At the time of the cruise I was somewhat obsessed with Brene Brown books. So I spent quite some time sitting on a deck somewhere, reading a book and vigorously shaking my head in agreement.

There were various social events for the Nomad Cruise attendees. There was yoga in the mornings (too early for me), disco on some of the evenings, and even a talent show one of the nights.

Table 45

At dinners we had tables set aside for Nomad Cruise. Everyone had pre-arranged seat. Every day they would mix up the attendees at each table, so you get to meet more people. Most dinners the conversations were the same, “where are you from?”, “what do you do?”.. those questions quickly get old. If I am honest, I don’t remember any of those dinners at all, apart from one.

That evening I was on table 45, and one of the attendees came with prepared questions for everyone. They were unusual, interesting, and went much deeper than the small talk. He would ask a question, and then everyone would get to reply. And everyone listened while everyone else spoke. It created such a nice environment of really getting to know people and really being heard. It was a brilliant evening. I still remember it vividly, and the people who were there, and what was said.

Tips

Finally, if you are considering going on a Nomad Cruise (or any cruise for that matter), here are some small tips I wish I had known before I went:

• As Oprah learnt at the Royal Wedding the other day - don't show up too early, nothing is gonna be happening for a while. While check in started at 10am, the cabins weren’t ready and nothing was happening. I sat in the hallway for a good hour, waiting.
• Don’t forget to drink water!
• Hairdryer in the cabin is.. not very good.
• (I know nobody cares about this one, but..) There is no iron on board so your clothes will look however they come out of your suitcase.
• Laundry on board is super expensive.
• There is too much going on every day. FOMO is going to happen whatever you do.
• Enjoy the journey, not the destination!