Let me share with you my experience from my last Arctic cruise. It sounded amazing, National Geographic trip thru the ice, and back with polar bears and many other animals. There would be ice that eyes could see as well as snow and ice all around. Man-made tools were used to defeat the elements and move through the frozen landscape of the northern wilderness. It sounded incredible, like fighting a huge fight against the weather north and pole.
I was advised by my supervisor to bring every piece of technology I could. To make my work space larger I brought my laptop. As per their report, the power wasn't a problem. It was going to be a difficult task, but I didn't know what to anticipate. 2 days into the 14-day adventure, I was unaware of the fact that my Internet connection would stop working and I would be gone for the remainder of 10 days. It happened, and I was shocked. No travel, however long or challenging will result in a loss of connection from the internet. There was no doubt that there was unfinished business I had to deal with over the next week and I didn't prepare myself for the time off.
The majority of people don't mind if they need to shut off the internet. Internet is available wherever you happen to be. In case your internet connection is not working at home and you are unable to connect, there is always an McDonalds close by and avail of their free WiFi to access the information you need. You can also take your laptop to lounge in Starbucks throughout the day. In the north, there's no restaurant or cafe which can help you. You are a long way away from the closest electricity source. You won't find the internet for free everywhere. There are only two options in these situations: get a satellite connection or switch off.
I cannot afford a sat phone. It's just too expensive, and especially not to use for Internet access. I'll create an audio and video library to use for the next trip without Internet. Last time I had two tracks. They were downloaded accidentally back in the past, and I was limited my music choices to three songs from jazz and one with a name I didn’t recognize. That's all. 4 songs for two weeks of complete silence. I'd have planned ahead had I had known this was going to happen. I would have filled my laptop with TV shows, as well as music videos. I would have listened to my favourite podcasts for hours. It's easy to download them, convert them to MP3 and save to my computer. I then lay in my bed listening to the podcasts that I like, but don't always find the time to sit down and listen. This was meant to be my golden hour or two weeks of gold. download youtube mp3 It was actually two weeks of gazing at the ceiling and waiting for the passengers every time there is a sound within the hallways.
The trip was empty both literally and metaphorically. I've never been so bored. The ice was too thick. I was aware that this was likely to cause the issue. Therefore, the boat had to turn around and come back to civilization. Although this wasn't a surprise but there were other options. The hours and hours of idle time could be spent listening to podcasts or DIY videos for fixing issues at home, or simply listening music. The next time, I'll convert YouTube videos to MP4 and mp3 using my computer. There's no reason to feel down, music will always lift your spirits. Also remember Hulu and Netflix apps can download movies and shows for you to watch offline. They are also able to be downloaded for the long trip across the Arctic. You don't want to lose time in boredom. Best of luck!
