Click Cruise for the Hacker Con at Sea

Security at Sea

Come sail with us in February 2027 from Tampa, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico. 

We're cruising aboard the Royal Caribbean Jewel Of The Seas [ship tour and review]

Reserve your cabin as part of the group through our travel agent at VacationsToGo.  Try to book early to lock in the best pricing, which is currently starting at only $380 per person.

Your booking includes four nights of accommodations, food, entertainment, and more.

On both sea days, we will have access to the Conference Center on Deck 5 (photos)

A Call for Presenters (CFP) will be published here by early November 2026 to schedule an interesting lineup of presentations for us to enjoy on the two conference days.  If you're interested in proposing a presentation, please keep an eye out for that CFP.  

Is a funtastic voyage for 68 hackers who gathered on a train (Hobocon) an inspiration for a bunch of hackers to gather on a cruise ship?  Definitely... UNITE!  But hold on... Are you guys really Hackers?  Not in the "bad actors" sense that many associate with the moniker "hacker" - that word is just fun holdover from the days of yore.  As cybersecurity professionals, we have titles like security researcher, pentester, product developer, security consultant, network engineer, cyber warfare specialist, student, and teacher.   See:  Hacker Summer Camp and Heroes of the Computer Revolution.

Security at Sea is both a conference and social gathering.  It will include various onboard meetups and activities specific to our group. In addition to the conference center, we can expect to gather in:

Ship-wide activities and amenities include:

Schedule (still developing live - keep checking back for more details)

  • February 17, 2027 (Wednesday) 
    • It's generally advised to fly in the day before any cruise.
    • Tampa International Airport is very close to the cruise port. 
    • Before or after cruise in Tampa Area (Busch Gardens, Dali Museum, MOSI)
  • February 18, 2027 (Thursday)
    • Morning: Arrive at Tampa Cruise Port
    • Morning: Board The Jewel of the Seas (do your safety muster)
    • Around Lunch Time: Gather as a group near the Windjammer Buffet
      • Enjoy Lunch and Make Introductions
      • Collect your Badge, T-Shirt, and Schedule 
      • Establish Group Chat on the free Royal Caribbean App
    • Afternoon: Explore ship or chill in a public space
    • 4:00 PM: Sail Away Party (sail under the Sunshine Skyway)
    • 6:00 PM: Dinner
    • Evening: Shows, Music, Casino, Pools, Relaxing, etc.
  • February 19, 2027 (Friday)
  • February 20, 2027 (Sábado)
    • Port Day: Enjoy Cozumel, Mexico
  • February 21, 2027 (Sunday)
  • February 22, 2027 (Monday)
    • Return to Tampa Cruise Port

Booking

For more information about the ship, cabin booking, or itineraries, follow this VacationsToGo link to contact our Travel Agent, Denae Moldovan.  Her number and email address are also shown below.

Sponsorship, Organization, and Planning

HackerBoxes is the organizing sponsor for the Security at Sea Group Cruise. They are providing the custom conference badges and lanyard.  Contact joe@hackerboxes.com with any questions about the conference, sponsorship, group activities, etc.

Communications

Before the sailing, install the Royal Caribbean App on your phone.  It is useful for check in, making reservations, viewing your account, and it has a free chat feature.

Before the ships leaves the port, switch your phone into airplane mode.  You do not want your phone to roam into/onto a "cellular at sea" cell.  Such roaming can be extremely expensive (apx: $3 per minute voice, $2 per text message, and $2-6 per MB data).

Turn on Wi-Fi and connect to the ship's network.  This is free and allows the aforementioned app to operate over the entire trip.  We will set up a group chat using that free chat feature within the Royal Caribbean App.

VOOM Surf (powered by Starlink) is an option that allows you to pay an additional fee for Internet access.  VOOM generally costs $18-33 per day, depending upon the ship, how much BW you need, bundling, and when you buy it.

At port (in Cozumel), any international cellular coverage bundled onto your mobile contract may be useful, but be sure to go back into airplane mode when you return to the ship.  You can also jump on "public" Wi-Fi while in port, but take all the usual precautions - VPN, cellular tethering, you know the drill.

Prohibited Items

Boarding any international cruise ship, including when we board the Jewel in Tampa (and reboard in Cozumel), everyone goes through a TSA-style security checkpoint.  Just as one cannot bring a bottle of water through airport security, there are things that are not allowed on cruise ships.  Here is Royal Caribbean's Prohibited Items List.  Please review the list and take it seriously.  Generally, if ship securty confiscates something from you at boarding, it will be bagged and tagged for you to pickup upon return, but the best option is to simply leave prohibited items at home.

Electronics and Cybersecurity Hardware

Broadly speaking, Royal Caribbean's prohibited list (linked above) includes "baby monitors, clothing irons, garment steamers, extension cords, power strips, multi‑plug outlets, HAM radios, cybersecurity devices, and electronic‑crime equipment" Also the use of smart glasses is prohibited in a number of listed locations onboard.  Since clothing irons and hot water kettles are excluded, we can presume that soldering irons are a no go.  We did get some specific guidance on "cybersecurity devices" which we were specifically asked to avoid bringing onto the ship: Raspberry Pis, similar single board computers, Wi-Fi Pineapples, Rubber Duckies, Bash Bunnies, other keystroke injectors, LAN Turtles, Proxmarks, other RFID/NFC reader-cloners, Flipper Zeros, HackRF One, Software-Defined Radio (SDR) dongles, covert network implants (in everyday objects like power strips, cables, chargers), laptops with external Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antennas, keyloggers, and generally any radio device with an external, detachable antenna.  The prohibited items list does call out a specific exception: two‑way radios (walkie‑talkies) limited to a maximum range of 10 miles, a power output of 5 watts, internal voice communication only, and no external antenna.  That prohibited items list is quite detailed and we are expected to fully comply with it.  Regardless, we will be focused on learning, socializing, and enjoying the voyage.  We will obviously not be engaging in any sort of destructive or invasive HACKING on the ship.  Certainly, nobody wants to hear about embarrassing situations like this.