Sunday, March 31, 2024

20 Facts You Should Know Before Working on a Cruise Ship American Way Cruise Vacations

what is it like to work on a cruise ship

If I had to work 100 hours a week, it wouldn’t have been as exciting so there are different perspectives. Some people, their experience is that they’re so tired they just want to sleep. And that’s what I felt like after a six and a half month contract. In my position, I was allowed out to the restaurant or the disco. You can talk to the passengers and go to island night on the deck, but you leave that there and go back to the crew. If you’re caught fraternizing with a guest you’re terminated, and then you have to pay your own way home.

Crew drills

Life on board a cruise ship is a dynamic and ever-changing experience. It is a microcosm of its own, with a diverse mix of crew members and guests from different cultures and backgrounds. The ship becomes your home, workplace, and community all rolled into one. Working on a cruise ship is often considered a dream job for many people. The idea of traveling the world, meeting new people, and enjoying the luxuries of a floating resort is undoubtedly enticing.

Working On A Cruise Ship: Real Employee Job Confessions - Refinery29

Working On A Cruise Ship: Real Employee Job Confessions.

Posted: Tue, 27 Aug 2019 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Royal Caribbean Blog is your ultimate source for Royal Caribbean coverage.

what is it like to work on a cruise ship

Cruise lines cover the cost of food and a place to stay for crew members working onboard. Officers, higher ranking crew members, and temporary crew may earn themselves a larger room, or even the opportunity to not share a cabin with someone else. As an example, a stateroom attendant will work the morning to go through all of his/her cabins, and then take a few hours off in the afternoon, before returning for work in the evening. Just like everything, people will search the internet for answers to these questions, and I have assembled the top questions about crew members on a cruise that people are searching for on the internet. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

Why work onboard a Princess Cruises ship?

Meet the cruise director of Carnival Venezia, the line's newest ship - USA TODAY

Meet the cruise director of Carnival Venezia, the line's newest ship.

Posted: Sun, 02 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

By taking advantage of the resources and programs offered by the cruise line, crew members can pave the way for growth and advancement within the industry. However, it’s important to strike a balance between work and social life on board. While it can be tempting to indulge in the social aspects, it’s crucial to maintain professionalism and fulfill work responsibilities diligently. Crew members must understand the boundaries between work and leisure time to ensure a harmonious and productive work environment.

Ex-Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line workers reveal what it's really like to live at sea

One of the highlights of working on a cruise ship is the multicultural environment. Crew members come from all corners of the globe, bringing with them their unique cultures, traditions, and perspectives. This diversity fosters an environment of cultural exchange and learning, allowing crew members to broaden their horizons and develop a global network of friends.

Do cruise ship employees pay room and board?

Resumes may be forwarded to the agency that is nearest the applicant’s residence. Once received, candidates will be processed based on current available positions. There's nothing like bringing people together to share unique experiences and see the world, making them feel special and becoming part of the stories they tell for years to come. Crew members work very hard onboard, and their schedule is different than the 9-to-5 schedule many Americans think of when it comes to a work day. Any crew member that is caught engaging in any kind of a personal relationship with a guest can be terminated immediately.

We practiced maneuvers, including climbing down the side of a ship in case of an emergency. There's also an indoor pool where we learned how to float, get inside a raft, and safely connect people in the event of a water evacuation. I performed two songs and a one-minute dance and returned two days later to sing two more songs. If I was going to answer what’s my favorite stop overall, it’s Santorini.

Train Travel

There are all sorts of regulations to how many hours crew members are actually allowed to work though – so even though the hours are sometimes weird they are regulated. Now, for everyone that works onboard that is in the “crew” category (not guest-entertainer status basically) there are times that even if you aren’t at work you might still not be able to go ashore. Some short-term jobs, like lecturers, may be contracted for only the free cruise itself, with no added pay. A subset of lecturing includes teaching leisure activities such as bridge, ballroom dancing, painting with watercolors, patchwork or scrapbooking.

Crew members in higher positions have better cabins

No wonder why so many employees quit before they finish their contracts! Despite this fact, there have been cruise ship employees who lasted 10 years or more aboard the boat. Intensive, aboard resident boot camps, are provided by the firms to incoming cruise ship employees as part of the company’s efforts to train such employees for careers at sea.

I can get off the ship basically any time that I want as Wife-On-Board. Check out this post to help understand which cruise ship officer ranks wear which stripes. As a well-known premium brand in the cruise industry, we receive a high volume of cruise employment inquiries each day.

Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines. We make sure cruisers are fully prepared for their cruise vacation with tips on ships and ports.Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world. To cope with all of the hard work, cruise ship employees usually form tightknit relationship and friendships with one another. Bruns shares that it’s easier than ever to make friends with other cruise ship employees from all over the globe.

However, the reality of working on a cruise ship is not always as glamorous as it may seem from the outside. Based on what I've seen, managers and officers typically have cabins with a porthole and full-size bed, plus an additional fold-down bed for guests. Even though talking about religion and politics is normally frowned upon, that’s usually what most cruise ship workers spend their time talking about. Some former cruise ship employees even disclose that they were given strange things to eat like rubbery chicken and stewed fish heads. Fun can be had on cruise ships—we’re talking a serious amount of fun here. However, there are those individuals who go a little too far with it.

In my three years onboard, I’ve been woken four times in the early morning hours between 2-5 a.m. To my emergency call, which I then had to run up 10 decks and the entire length of the ship to reach my response station. Even though most of the packaging of meals took place late at night after everyone had finished work, there was not one crew member complaining about the extra hours of work being put in. Also dependent on your job position, sometimes charters are better for you, but also sometimes they’re worse. If you’re smart, you can save the majority of your paycheck because there are no costs of living or large bills that need to be paid every month.

It’s not easy to work long hours for months at a time, isolated from land and friends and family. But if given the chance to return to just one of my past lives in my journey across all seven continents and seven seas, I would go back to working on cruise ships without batting an eye. There are always advantages and disadvantages to every job and working on cruise ships is no different.

This is because crew are often targeted by locals to smuggle drugs and security is checking to see if we’ve got any contraband on us. Every cruise, crew members need to take part in mandatory emergency drills where you have to respond to a simulated incident and answer questions about crisis response protocol. Depending on how many stripes you have, you may be allowed to be seen around the ship in the public areas such as the shops or eating at one of the restaurants. This can be extremely difficult for introverts such as myself especially if your job is a front of the house position. Unless you’re a higher ranked staff or officer, your room will be generally small.

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