Staying connected while on vacation might not sound like an ideal thing to some, but for those who own their own businesses, it is essential. For years, we selected beach rentals based on the houses that provided WiFi.  Thankfully, houses with WiFi are more common than they were about 8–9 years ago, when there were only a few choices. About this same time, cruise lines got with the plan and started providing better Internet connections. I recently traveled on Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship Navigator of the Seas, and although they make the initial sign-up cumbersome (you can’t sign up from your room, you have to go to a computer area and swipe your “sea pass”), it was very user-friendly once it was activated. My big complaint with cruise WiFi is the per-minute charge versus the daily charge at hotels. Maybe cruise lines will get with the times as the service progresses.

I also picked up a MiFi personal mobile hotspot device, which I use at those silly hotels that still charge for WiFi, but this device is not practical overseas. I plan to enable my iPhone to see how the speed compares to the MIFI device. The Ritz London charges $41 a day for WiFi, other hotels charge less, and many are forced to charge nothing. Any hotel that charges for this service should be aware their clients think they are ripping them off. For now, many us will pay for the service in hotels, on ships and on planes. But not every CEO allows employees to pass this cost on to the company. Most are prepared to accept the WiFi charge at hotels but do not want employees paying for every other hot spot they encounter.