A Good First Step

By Bill Panoff

If you’re a technology buff you’re probably up to date on the government’s antitrust hearings against Microsoft, the newest mansions the Silicon Valley zillionaires are building in California or squashing the latest viruses to plague the Internet. But did you know that there is also a technological revolution -- so to speak -- on cruise ships?

The newest and even the oldest vessels are being wired for the computer age that has revolutionized our lives. Pretty soon all cabins will have e-mail and Internet access for those who bring their laptops because they can’t get away from the office. Some cruise ships are now sailing with Internet capacity so passengers can surf the web, play computer games or send e-mail to family and friends back home or on other ships.

Has it taken cruise lines too long to join the wireless revolution? According to Glenn Farrington, chief executive officer and president of Digital Seas, Sunrise, FL, which is at the forefront of supplying cruise lines with Internet capacity, “No, that’s not the case at all. Cruise lines have been very smart in waiting to wire their ships for the Internet. They now have the choice to pick the right company for the job.”

Is surfing on the high seas good or bad? It depends. On one side of the argument, part of the allure of taking a cruise vacation is “getting away from it all.” The other side says that cruise lines need to offer their passengers the creature comforts of home, and that now includes modem capacity. Ships’ satellites keep CNN and ESPN piped into your cabin 24 hours a day and how long can you go without knowing the news or how your favorite team is doing on the baseball diamond?

Cruise ships need to adapt quickly to entice younger people to take a cruise. Wiring their ships for computer access is a good first step.

 SEA LANES: Premier Cruises will be debuting its new 7-Star Service in the fall on Mexican-based itineraries. … Celebrity Cruises announced that its passengers can take an audio art tour of its extensive collection of contemporary paintings on board the Century with other ships to follow. Miami Beach art gallery owner Barbara Gillman has scripted each tour. … Former White House Chef Henry Haller has joined Norwegian Cruise Line in the capacity of consulting chef. Passengers can sample his signature dishes on NCL ships in November. … The Seabourn Pride will sail a rare Lake Ontario-Toronto itinerary in October, visiting the Gulf of St. Lawrence, The Saguenay Fjord and Cape Vincent.

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