Net Results:Let me start by setting the record straight: I am not, and never have been, a sun holidays kind of gal, writes Karlin Lillington.

Nothing strikes fear into my heart like the thought of booking a week or (worse!) two on the Costa del Sol or Corfu, jostling for beach or poolside tanning real estate, drinking from odd-shaped glasses with umbrellas and fruit hanging off the side, and hitting the nightclubs in the evening.

Even worse is the idea of going abroad to shop. Shop! I'd rather read the collected speeches of George W Bush.

I like holidays where you can do things, see things and learn things. Museums, scenery, good restaurants or outdoor activities will do me fine, with whatever time remains set aside for reading.

I know, that's a holiday that sounds more like work to many, as you are expected to actually do something - but that's what I prefer.

So you can imagine that right at the very bottom of my holiday must-try-that list comes "the cruise". The two-hour visits to historic cities that need two days, or better yet, two weeks. The endless cycle of food, sitting by the pool, food, evening parties, food, hanging out, hanging out and hanging out. And food. Throw me overboard and put me out of such tedious misery.

But then I came across Geek Cruises: www.geekcruises.com. This little Palo Alto, California-based company specialises in cruises for geeks. I cannot even remember when or why I first found Neil Bauman's website but once I did, I knew this was a man I had to interview.

About seven years ago, that's what I did (the story is available in the Ireland.comarchive). A barefooted "Cap'n Neil" (as he signs his e-mails) invited me into his house and, while a cat paced the back of the sofa, we talked about why his typical cruise attendee, a person (usually from Europe) who already works long, hard hours in the tech industry, would want to spend a week discussing the intricacies of Linux, PERL programming, or secret tips for the Macintosh.

Cap'n Neil confessed - nay, proudly stated - that prior to launching Geek Cruises, he routinely brought PERL manuals along for his holiday reading, and he knew he was not alone.

While on an Alaskan cruise for Star Trek fans - yep, you read that right - the idea for Geek Cruises was born. He told me he thought a geek cruise was the perfect reward for corporates to offer their hard-working techies.

"The geek should be recognised as not just some grunt who sits in a cubicle. I think in some way, this elevates the stature of a geek! This," - he said with emphasis, gesturing at a row of Geekcruises.com brochures fanned on a sofa - "is clearly worthy of a geek."

I started thinking of those cruises recently. I began idly wondering if the company was still around and thinking about how, if I were ever to go on a cruise, this would be the type for me. And sure enough, up came the website, offering "Linux Lunacy VI" (clearly the open-source crowd likes its sea voyages), "Photoshop Fling" and two "Mac Mania" cruises, among others.

The repertoire has branched out to include arts and history, as well as chess, which is one of Cap'n Neil's special interests (in 1971 he was the first person to defeat the mainframe computer at RCA's David Sarnoff Research Center in New York).

There are some great options on offer. Imagine cruising the Baltic, spending a day at the Hermitage then returning shipward for talks on opera, co-produced by New York City's Metropolitan Opera Guild? Sailing up the Panama Canal to Shakespearean lectures and performances? Or best of all, indulging in the "Bright Horizons" western Caribbean cruise co-produced with Scientific American magazine, with talks on everything from Mayan archaeology to physics to computers to "Sacred Ball Games of Mesoamerica" - oh, man, I'd love to be there.

So I take it back. Yes, I would go on a cruise. I'd love to go on a cruise! All I need to do now is convince someone with deeper pockets than mine that I am indeed a geek worthy of a geek cruise.

• Blog: www.techno-culture.com