Articles

When Johannes Voelkner founded Nomad Cruise in 2015, his mission was to remedy a condition that many digital nomads are familiar with: the creeping loneliness of a life lived in motion. Today, Nomad Cruise is the world’s first floating conference for remote workers, freelancers, founders, and freedom-seekers from all over the globe. Over 2,500 remote professionals (myself included) from over 80 countries have joined its voyages through Europe, South America, and the open blue in between. Whether you’re just beginning your remote work journey or have been flitting between time zones for years, there’s a very real chance that what happens at sea will impact how you live and work on land. Here are seven excellent reasons to book a ticket on this nomadic voyage.

1. The routes are iconic

Nomad Cruise takes you on genuinely breathtaking routes. Past cruises have docked in Panamanian Caribbean coves and Spanish ports, and the transatlantic sailings are particularly epic. Think Gran Canaria to Santo Domingo (Nomad Cruise 3), Cartagena to Lisbon (Nomad Cruise 4), or Barcelona to Recife in the northwest of Brazil (Nomad Cruise 9).

Anywhere between 200 and 400 nomads hop onboard for the sailings, but the most intimate expedition was to Antarctica, with around 50 remote workers coming along for the ride courtesy of Oceanwide Expeditions. With Nomad Cruise, you get to feed your wanderlust without lifting a finger to book trains, planes, or Airbnb check-ins, and with amazing people in tow.

2. You’ll be in exceptional company

This is not your average sea-faring crowd. Sure, you’ll meet developers and UX designers, but also SEO wizards, TikTokers, pharmacists, real estate experts, breathwork leaders, polyglot podcasters, filmmakers, and a business coach or two. Attendees range from 20-something wanderers to 60-something life redesigners. Some are seasoned nomads while others are still tethered to their corporate VPN. Most importantly, everyone there “gets” the lifestyle. Age, nationality, and niche melt away when you’re floating mid-sea with like-minded people asking big questions about work, purpose, and freedom. And if you lean more towards introverted, dedicated events and themed dinners help break the ice with fellow cruisers.

3. It’s a launchpad for projects and partnerships

Each cruise includes a full-blown conference at sea. Days are filled with TED Talk–style presentations and workshops covering topics from scaling businesses and affiliate marketing to passive income streams and healing money wounds. Many of the speakers are industry titans, but they’re your fellow passengers, so you can approach or bump into them any time during the sailing. The learning opportunities are world-class.

In addition to the talks and workshops in the afternoons, structured mastermind sessions provide ample opportunity to test ideas and gain feedback. After the official programming, there are also “unconference” slots where you can attend or host your own informal session on any topic under the sun, be it intentional communities or relationship attachment styles.

The cruise can absolutely be a creativity catalyst. There’s something about being surrounded by so many industrious people that makes the synapses fire. You’ll step off the ship feeling reinvigorated and inspired about smarter ways to run your businesses, and you’ll meet so many people who can directly and indirectly help your professional pursuits. Whether you’re stuck on a tagline, new product ideas, building your first online course, or thinking of pivoting entirely, there’s someone on board who’s been there, built that, and will gladly beta-test your idea over a beverage at the Aperol Spritz bar.

With so many enterprising minds onboard, collaborations are inevitable, and many businesses have been born at sea. One venture that developed on Nomad Cruise 11 was Nomad Gossip magazine, which was pitched during Piranha Tank, a nomad-friendly take on Shark Tank. Many attendees leave with clients,  accountability buddies, and partnerships.

4. It’s ridiculously fun

You may think of Nomad Cruise as part business retreat, part summer camp, and part floating festival. Daytimes may be packed with productivity, but when the sun sets, things are more playful. Attendees let their hair down during ecstatic dance and in the top-deck hot tub before dinner, which is at an assigned restaurant. After-dark programming includes karaoke (something I can never turn down), storytelling nights, talent shows, themed parties, and silent discos. With zero pressure and all the vibes, the evenings are about chilling out and finding your people.

5. Nomad Cruise is cost-effective

Compared to the cost of hopping between co-living spaces or flitting between Airbnbs, Nomad Cruise bundles travel, accommodation, professional development, and community into one surprisingly affordable fee. Tickets for a one-week Mediterranean cruise could start at around €900, including accommodation, all meals, and access to the conference schedule. For what you get, the cruise is astonishingly good value.

The price of your Nomad Cruise ticket varies according to the type of cabin you choose and your desired level of privacy. A shared inside cabin without a window is the least expensive. Private cabins with a balcony are the priciest. Some cruises have had Starlink Wi-Fi on board at no extra cost, while others required a paid upgrade to connect. Food and soft drinks are part of the all-inclusive plan. A drinks package can be purchased to have unlimited alcohol.

6. You can work on your head, heart and body

With workshops ranging from kundalini yoga to navigating burnout and emotional healing, there’s plenty of soul nourishing happening in parallel to professional growth. Every ship has a gym, spa, and pool, and there are typically morning yoga or breathwork sessions put on by nomads onboard and a scheduled deep connection workshop. Since many nomads choose to forgo the onboard Wi-Fi, Nomad Cruise can be a much-appreciated wellness reset to re-evaluate priorities and live in the moment.

7. The cruise is just the beginning

What happens at sea doesn’t stay at sea. When embarking on a Nomad Cruise sailing, you’ll keep hearing over and over that “the cruise is just the beginning.”  When the ship docks, the community doesn’t dissolve; it just disperses and then reconvenes in officially planned dreamy destinations, and also informally via Telegram threads and WhatsApp groups. If you find your people on the cruise, it’s not uncommon to find them again and again in different corners of the world.

In a lifestyle marked by impermanence, this community gives you roots you can carry with you.

MUSIC TO LISTEN TO ON NOMAD CRUISE

Cruise along to this curated playlist of songs.