Hello, Readers, and thank you for tuning in to trumptettravels - the true accounts of my 11 year career on cruise ships as a crew member aboard Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, P&O Cruises, Premier Cruises and the Holland America Line.
On inspection of my last post: Jobs on a Ship: Staff, I realized I did not really write much about staff but merely droned on about the environment on a ship. If you are a potential crew member all that stuff is important, but here's a few of the jobs you can do as a staff member on the ship.
Musician: You usually need to be pretty good to be a musician on a ship. Jokes aside, you are required to read and improvise at a fairly high level. Most everyone I met out there as a musician myself was either a recent college grad paying off bills or a forty-something divorced musician trying to pay spousal support and escaping the small community they worked in. If your life's goal is to be a musician I don't think there is a better way to travel with a lot of practice time and pay off some loans than working on a cruise. I would recommend it only if you are not happy living where you went to school. Once you step on the ship you lose ALL contacts with your land based work. I know it sounds dramatic, but it IS TRUE. If you went to school in Manhattan working on the ship will do you more harm than good. In my case, I went to school in Rochester, NY, a place I knew 100% I did NOT want to live! The best candidates for musos: recent college grads, or those who have fallen on hard times and don't have a place to live.
Beauty Salon: The Salon is run by Steiner normally. It is a good job if you are South African and want ot escape your country and make some money. More and more there are less people from England and North America and more from developing nations. This is a sign of increased education in these areas as well as the parent company less willing to pay a fair working wage for anyone who doesn't live in a rice paddie. Most people who get into hair, massage, or whatever salon people do, do it to help people. You will learn to lose that attitude on the ship fast. The spa has a regimen of drilling their "sales people" (therapists) to create retail, retail, retail. Mark-ups on their retail are huge with enough to give a cut to the cruise line, pay wages, and feed up to STEINER which is a public company. If you work in the salon you cannot thrive without puching people to buy stuff they don't want in the middle of a relaxing treatment.
Youth Staff: The youth staff position on the ship is nice. Not high paying, but the staff members are always nice. The job isn't too bad.
Photog (see my last blog entry)
Cruise Director's Staff: If you want to be a cruise director (a very good job) you have to slave away for years as a "cruise staff." The glory days of making the big bucks are now gone. I know someone who was making $500/week in BINGO commissions, but the company got smart and realized it is better to funnel all the money up to corporate instead of giving alot back to staff members and the winne rof BINGO. My friends jackpots were 10k/week. Now the big jackpot on Princess is 1K-2K tops a week. I wonder - who is in charge of regulating this anyway? A gaming commission? Anyway, WAY back in the day, a few of the crew members I met on a different ship went ashore to a party store and bought boxes of BINGO cards. They sold those BINGO cards for cash and pocketed the cash. No cards or money were missing from inventory! For horse racing, the cruise director would have a friend cruise and buy a bunch of tickets for one number. Then as he was shaking the dice and calling the numbers, at the last moment his friend's horse would have a tremendous lucky streak and beat all the other horses! Who checks the dice in that horse racing? Only one guy on every ship in the world? SUCKERS!
Dancers: For those of you too short to dance in Vegas or on Broadway the cruises are a great way to do what you love and travel. Also, it is perfect for those who do not like to work very much. My advice: Set a time limit when you start so you're not 32 years old and unmarried and dancing on a cruise ship (and ready to get injured).
Did I forget a job? Why not leave me a question if you have one? Many more posts about the crew and travels to come...
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Jobs on the Ship - What is the Staff like? (Photog, Salon, Musos, Dancers)
Here we are again, my loyal fan club of 2 viewers so far. I noticed a lot of pings from Croatia. I LOVE it there! We went to Dubrovnik and Split. Really amazing places. Oh, and when I say alot of pings, I mean two. I've never blogged before so I don't know what is good and what is bad for pings or readers, but I think common sense would dictate that 2 people out of 6 billion is less than I imagined. I guess there is alot of info out there. Also, I tried googling my own blog and couldn't find it. Hey, if you are a blogger and you enjoy reading this, why don't you link to it so more people can find me?
Anyway the staff are the face of the ship. Well, not entirely true. The waiters and housekeepers probably have more face time and they are crew. You know it is a funny thing. What exactly determines staff from crew on a ship? Officers have to go to nautical school and they are highly skilled. Both staff and crew interact with passengers but staff have higher priveleges than crew. I guess staff have more education? Well, that's not entirely true. I've known sommeliers who've had a much better education than some dancers or salon workers. It is weird, but in general, 90% of the staff are white (with of course many different ethnicities from developed countries) whereas 90% of crew are Asian or Eastern European. Let's call them "ex-Communists" - Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, etc... Most of these people insist they are European like they were born on the Champs Elysees or something! Anyway, the asians are all from Indonesia (Holland America) or Phillipines (Princess) or India (most lines). The funny thing on Carnival was that there was a great amount of sophisticated Indian low-stripe officers. They were always the nicest people on Carnival. Other lines I've found alot of Indian dishwashers and the lowest paid jobs.
So 90% of the staff lets say are from developed countries. Those countries would be USA, Canada, real Europe and the UK, and now South Africa (from rich families only). If you are from a poor family in South Africa you work in the dining room. I'm not trying to burst anyone's bubble or anything, but I've never been proven wrong in 10 years. Don't worry, once you get on the ship the chances for advancement are great.
Staff members have higher paying jobs than most crewmembers. There are exceptions. Some housekeeprs or cabin stewards work on $50 a month salary, yet they can earn big money on tips. Of course when the ship goes to the UK everybody is in tears because Brits suck at tipping. They will spend $100 at lunch on beers but can't tip the guy that cleans up their vomited-on bathroom three nights in a row! Your typical staff member is probably making $1000 - $3000 a month. Specialists like singers could make more.
Photographers have a tough life on the ship, I think. They have to herd all of these cows (passengers or 'pax' as they are called.) Nobobdy wants their picture taken because everyone wants to relax and be on vacation. The photographers job is to force people to smile and pose and then when they are coming out of dinner (with a few drinks in them ) the photos are on display and you can buy them. Or buy two and get a free chotsky. They typically buy their own equipment and work hard hours. They are on the gangway at port, then might take a tour, then they do formal night set ups, shoot all night, then they are selling photos and printing photos and somehow they are always in the crew bar drinking, too. The funny thing is they work really hard but they have a lot of fun. I personally couldn't do the job but I think many of them appreciate the travel opportunities and some are really passionate about photography. Those ones don't last long since you are mostly making snapshots of fat people.
When I started ships I was a single guy with no worries. I wanted to write much more about different staff jobs, but I think that is going to have to wait. You see, I am in the 1 in a billion category of crewmembers who met someone on the ship, got together, and we actually stayed together. I started ships when I was 21. Now I am 33 and my son, who is 27months just woke us up with a cough. It's 11pm and the day starts early. Stay tuned about more stories from the ships and if you know a crew member, why not email them a link? Crew members will tell you all the stories I'm telling you are true!
Anyway the staff are the face of the ship. Well, not entirely true. The waiters and housekeepers probably have more face time and they are crew. You know it is a funny thing. What exactly determines staff from crew on a ship? Officers have to go to nautical school and they are highly skilled. Both staff and crew interact with passengers but staff have higher priveleges than crew. I guess staff have more education? Well, that's not entirely true. I've known sommeliers who've had a much better education than some dancers or salon workers. It is weird, but in general, 90% of the staff are white (with of course many different ethnicities from developed countries) whereas 90% of crew are Asian or Eastern European. Let's call them "ex-Communists" - Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, etc... Most of these people insist they are European like they were born on the Champs Elysees or something! Anyway, the asians are all from Indonesia (Holland America) or Phillipines (Princess) or India (most lines). The funny thing on Carnival was that there was a great amount of sophisticated Indian low-stripe officers. They were always the nicest people on Carnival. Other lines I've found alot of Indian dishwashers and the lowest paid jobs.
So 90% of the staff lets say are from developed countries. Those countries would be USA, Canada, real Europe and the UK, and now South Africa (from rich families only). If you are from a poor family in South Africa you work in the dining room. I'm not trying to burst anyone's bubble or anything, but I've never been proven wrong in 10 years. Don't worry, once you get on the ship the chances for advancement are great.
Staff members have higher paying jobs than most crewmembers. There are exceptions. Some housekeeprs or cabin stewards work on $50 a month salary, yet they can earn big money on tips. Of course when the ship goes to the UK everybody is in tears because Brits suck at tipping. They will spend $100 at lunch on beers but can't tip the guy that cleans up their vomited-on bathroom three nights in a row! Your typical staff member is probably making $1000 - $3000 a month. Specialists like singers could make more.
Photographers have a tough life on the ship, I think. They have to herd all of these cows (passengers or 'pax' as they are called.) Nobobdy wants their picture taken because everyone wants to relax and be on vacation. The photographers job is to force people to smile and pose and then when they are coming out of dinner (with a few drinks in them ) the photos are on display and you can buy them. Or buy two and get a free chotsky. They typically buy their own equipment and work hard hours. They are on the gangway at port, then might take a tour, then they do formal night set ups, shoot all night, then they are selling photos and printing photos and somehow they are always in the crew bar drinking, too. The funny thing is they work really hard but they have a lot of fun. I personally couldn't do the job but I think many of them appreciate the travel opportunities and some are really passionate about photography. Those ones don't last long since you are mostly making snapshots of fat people.
When I started ships I was a single guy with no worries. I wanted to write much more about different staff jobs, but I think that is going to have to wait. You see, I am in the 1 in a billion category of crewmembers who met someone on the ship, got together, and we actually stayed together. I started ships when I was 21. Now I am 33 and my son, who is 27months just woke us up with a cough. It's 11pm and the day starts early. Stay tuned about more stories from the ships and if you know a crew member, why not email them a link? Crew members will tell you all the stories I'm telling you are true!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Vado a bordo Cazzo- What are the Officers Like?
Have you been on a cruise? Then you probably know that today's ships haveofficers and crew that can number over 1,000! Let's go over the basics.
Officers - Most ships are set up in a military fashion. That it, the Captain is the highest ranking officer. Everyone else bows to him, with one exception: the Senior Doctor. That's right, if Doc says the ship must go ashore but the Captain doesn't wish to, Doc prevails and takes the wheel. Officers are usually from developed, seafaring countries such as Italy, Greece, Netherlands, of the UK. Of course, nationalities vary. If you have a choice, you do NOT want to end up on any ship with Greek officers. They are legendary isolationist pricks who do more damage to the companies they work for than the service they pretend to provide. Even as they are reading this (while wearing aviator sunglasses and a disgusting gray mustache full of pita crumbs) they are furious, yet smirking and nodding slightly in agreement. One legendary example of how Greeks are pricks stems from Celebrity Cruise Line, owned by RCCL. The Greek Officers ran the ship. They controlled the personel logs. They paid the ship's crew. Well they set up a systemt o invent crew members and filled cabins with these people. They made the pay envelopes and processed them to all department heads, who were Greek. Then they all through these fictional crew members' pay in a kitty and split up the money. No one shore-side realized this because they could all hide behind the Greek language for decades. They milked the company of millions of dollars.
Another thing rampant on the ships is sexual harassment. If you have Greeks on the ship and you are a woman - forget it. They are all married with kids and they will not stop from trying to get into your cabin and calling you at all hours of the night. Even if the company has a strict policy against harassment, it still goes on. The "Three Stripes and Above" club always circles the wagons and protects each other. I have an example. Signing off the Royal Princess in 2007 or 8 there was a Portuguese waitress. Princess cruises has mostly Italian officers. The girl was so sweet and it was her first ship. She watched a video about how the company was against harassment. She shows up for work and her married boss starts putting the moves on her. She's about 25 and he's Italian and over 50. She tells him to stop. It keeps continuing till almost the day she leaves. She tells the Maitre D, who is Italian. Then she has to go to the PSD (Hotel Manager) because she is unhappy every day. The PSD, Arturo, a short Italian with a famous loud mouth, tells her that's how ships work and she needs to toughen up if she wants a career at sea. Seeing that the staff captain and captain were both Italian, the waitress did the only thing she could: sign off the ship in tears going back to her family without any money. The company had her buy her own ticket to Portugal because she broke her contract. I was in the cab with her to the airport in Venice, Italy. My wife and I were shocked that this still went on after all the lawsuits within the Carnival Corporation (sexual harassment) and all the videos we watched in Princess Cruises about the "Zero Tolerance" for that behaviour.
Most officers go through an extensive hazing ritual when they are deck cadets. These practices are frowned upon at "corporate" nowadays but have been rampant on every ship I've been on from 2000-2010. "Corporate" policy makers have MBAs and wear really nice pants in Miami or LA and most of them have never stepped on a ship. They don't know how the Marine department should interact with the Hotel department. Marine drives the ship and is responsible for safety, while hotel, well, you probably can guess.
Safety drills are THE WORST. This is the one chance that stupid dolt of a third officer has to YELL at the top of his lungs at some Phillipino who hardly speaks English. They threaten to send people home and when I was on Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas they did a boat drill in Cozumel, Mexico. As all the passengers were getting off the gangway, we were huddled together wearing our REQUIRED warm clothing and hat and lifejacket in the 95 degree sun (yes in the sun) They forced us so closely together that FIVE crew members that day passed out from the heat. This was done to make us safe. Even the officers waited in the shade while crew members "in charge" did the roll call. Sometimes you are forced to stand at attention for over an hour. No Leaning, no hands in the pocket, no talking. Officers give you warnings if the "catch you." There is no purpose to this one hour of time, other than the officers are getting their shit together and drinking cappucinos up on the bridge. After one hour, you are "dismissed and shore leave is granted."
On the Premier Ocean Breeze, now defunct, the row boats were very old. They didn't have engines! This is in 1999! You had a stick between your legs and crew members rocked it forward and back, engaging the gear for the propeller. Tragically, in lowering these lifeboats a crew member died while the seas rocked and a metal boat from three stories up crashed down on him. The company went bankrupt in 2001 with their last ship mysteriously sinking in the ocean with no passengers and a skeleton crew. What kind of life insurance or workers comp do you think the Phillipino's family received?
Due to an arcane law called the Jones Act, passenger ships travelling within the United States must be American flagged with a high percentage of American Crew (coastguard certified.) The ship fell under American Law and American labor practices. This was enacted to protect American ferry owners and ocean liners from underpriced foreign competition. Today no ship can afford to fall under American Labor laws because the cruise line pays far under minimum wage and does not honor overtime and holidays. As a loophole, every cruise you've ever been on has a flag of convenience. The sketchier the flag, the sketchier the ship. Ever been on a ship registered in Monrovia, Liberia? Panama? Bahamas? These are notorious for not enforcing any laws. If you think you can sue a cruise line, think again. You aren't on US soil - you are on Liberian soil. Alot of people are shocked by this revelation. For more info, check out:
In all fairness, 99% of all officers I've met were ultra professional. Well, maybe less but really most of them. The Greeks are the worst, the Italians pretty bad (vado a bordo cazzo!), the Brits all think they are still ruling the world and the Dutch quite lovely, actually. It's pretty much like the real world, strangely enough. To be an officer you have to join a dedicated navigational school and you are pretty much looking for a seafaring career. It sounds fun when you are 18, but picture yourself 45 years old and having a wife and children at home while you are away for 4 months with some beauty salon girlfriend. It happens.
Those are the officers, stay tuned for comments about the ship's staff....
Officers - Most ships are set up in a military fashion. That it, the Captain is the highest ranking officer. Everyone else bows to him, with one exception: the Senior Doctor. That's right, if Doc says the ship must go ashore but the Captain doesn't wish to, Doc prevails and takes the wheel. Officers are usually from developed, seafaring countries such as Italy, Greece, Netherlands, of the UK. Of course, nationalities vary. If you have a choice, you do NOT want to end up on any ship with Greek officers. They are legendary isolationist pricks who do more damage to the companies they work for than the service they pretend to provide. Even as they are reading this (while wearing aviator sunglasses and a disgusting gray mustache full of pita crumbs) they are furious, yet smirking and nodding slightly in agreement. One legendary example of how Greeks are pricks stems from Celebrity Cruise Line, owned by RCCL. The Greek Officers ran the ship. They controlled the personel logs. They paid the ship's crew. Well they set up a systemt o invent crew members and filled cabins with these people. They made the pay envelopes and processed them to all department heads, who were Greek. Then they all through these fictional crew members' pay in a kitty and split up the money. No one shore-side realized this because they could all hide behind the Greek language for decades. They milked the company of millions of dollars.
Another thing rampant on the ships is sexual harassment. If you have Greeks on the ship and you are a woman - forget it. They are all married with kids and they will not stop from trying to get into your cabin and calling you at all hours of the night. Even if the company has a strict policy against harassment, it still goes on. The "Three Stripes and Above" club always circles the wagons and protects each other. I have an example. Signing off the Royal Princess in 2007 or 8 there was a Portuguese waitress. Princess cruises has mostly Italian officers. The girl was so sweet and it was her first ship. She watched a video about how the company was against harassment. She shows up for work and her married boss starts putting the moves on her. She's about 25 and he's Italian and over 50. She tells him to stop. It keeps continuing till almost the day she leaves. She tells the Maitre D, who is Italian. Then she has to go to the PSD (Hotel Manager) because she is unhappy every day. The PSD, Arturo, a short Italian with a famous loud mouth, tells her that's how ships work and she needs to toughen up if she wants a career at sea. Seeing that the staff captain and captain were both Italian, the waitress did the only thing she could: sign off the ship in tears going back to her family without any money. The company had her buy her own ticket to Portugal because she broke her contract. I was in the cab with her to the airport in Venice, Italy. My wife and I were shocked that this still went on after all the lawsuits within the Carnival Corporation (sexual harassment) and all the videos we watched in Princess Cruises about the "Zero Tolerance" for that behaviour.
Most officers go through an extensive hazing ritual when they are deck cadets. These practices are frowned upon at "corporate" nowadays but have been rampant on every ship I've been on from 2000-2010. "Corporate" policy makers have MBAs and wear really nice pants in Miami or LA and most of them have never stepped on a ship. They don't know how the Marine department should interact with the Hotel department. Marine drives the ship and is responsible for safety, while hotel, well, you probably can guess.
Safety drills are THE WORST. This is the one chance that stupid dolt of a third officer has to YELL at the top of his lungs at some Phillipino who hardly speaks English. They threaten to send people home and when I was on Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas they did a boat drill in Cozumel, Mexico. As all the passengers were getting off the gangway, we were huddled together wearing our REQUIRED warm clothing and hat and lifejacket in the 95 degree sun (yes in the sun) They forced us so closely together that FIVE crew members that day passed out from the heat. This was done to make us safe. Even the officers waited in the shade while crew members "in charge" did the roll call. Sometimes you are forced to stand at attention for over an hour. No Leaning, no hands in the pocket, no talking. Officers give you warnings if the "catch you." There is no purpose to this one hour of time, other than the officers are getting their shit together and drinking cappucinos up on the bridge. After one hour, you are "dismissed and shore leave is granted."
On the Premier Ocean Breeze, now defunct, the row boats were very old. They didn't have engines! This is in 1999! You had a stick between your legs and crew members rocked it forward and back, engaging the gear for the propeller. Tragically, in lowering these lifeboats a crew member died while the seas rocked and a metal boat from three stories up crashed down on him. The company went bankrupt in 2001 with their last ship mysteriously sinking in the ocean with no passengers and a skeleton crew. What kind of life insurance or workers comp do you think the Phillipino's family received?
Due to an arcane law called the Jones Act, passenger ships travelling within the United States must be American flagged with a high percentage of American Crew (coastguard certified.) The ship fell under American Law and American labor practices. This was enacted to protect American ferry owners and ocean liners from underpriced foreign competition. Today no ship can afford to fall under American Labor laws because the cruise line pays far under minimum wage and does not honor overtime and holidays. As a loophole, every cruise you've ever been on has a flag of convenience. The sketchier the flag, the sketchier the ship. Ever been on a ship registered in Monrovia, Liberia? Panama? Bahamas? These are notorious for not enforcing any laws. If you think you can sue a cruise line, think again. You aren't on US soil - you are on Liberian soil. Alot of people are shocked by this revelation. For more info, check out:
In all fairness, 99% of all officers I've met were ultra professional. Well, maybe less but really most of them. The Greeks are the worst, the Italians pretty bad (vado a bordo cazzo!), the Brits all think they are still ruling the world and the Dutch quite lovely, actually. It's pretty much like the real world, strangely enough. To be an officer you have to join a dedicated navigational school and you are pretty much looking for a seafaring career. It sounds fun when you are 18, but picture yourself 45 years old and having a wife and children at home while you are away for 4 months with some beauty salon girlfriend. It happens.
Those are the officers, stay tuned for comments about the ship's staff....
Sunday, December 12, 2010
How I Started Sailing the World and Getting Paid For It!
Hello, Readers, and thank you for tuning in to trumptettravels - the true accounts of my 11 year career on cruise ships as a crew member aboard Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, P&O Cruises, Premier Cruises and the Holland America Line.
Do you love to cruise? Ever wonder what goes on in the crew quarters? Ever wonder what it is like to be on the same ship for 6 months? This blog is for you! If you've even been on a cruise on a megaliner like Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess, Holland America, P&O, Cunard or others - you've only seen HALF what goes down on a ship.
I've never blogged before and I laugh every time I hear Barney from "How I Met Your Mother" talk about how cool his blog is (while everyone snickers.) Recently a friend of mine shared how much he enjoyed blogging and that people halfway around the world seemed fascinated with his life. There are many reasons why blogging could be a good idea, but really the 2 main reasons for me right now is that it isn't bedtime yet and HBO's Boardwalk Empire just had its season finale, and I got knocked out of my poker tournaments I was playing online. That means my Sunday nights have just opened up!
Haha - I held you hostage with boring information. If you are reading this you are probably interested yourself on sailing the seven seas with the wind in your hair, your arms in the air, and a well-to-do redhead with a diamond the size of a doorknob gazing into your eyes. You basically want to be King of the World. OK - here comes your chance. Before I give your the magic secret on how to do it, though, I wanted to encourage you to add my blog to your favorites or "follow me" or whatever. Guess what - I've never read one blog in my life and don't even know how RSS works. I know, I truly am lame. One could also argue that I'm pretty darn cool if blogs are dorky, at least that's how I sleep at night. No please follow these stories becasue if you want to get a job on a ship, you will and there will be many stories in here which will prepare you for that world.
Anyway, my blog is actually the only blog in the world that is NOT dorky, so thanks for tuning in. And if you are my Mom reading this, none of this really happened and I really did just graduate with my PhD from the very prestigious University of Phoenix where I've been living on campus for the last 12 years. I have NOT been goofing around, playing music, partying like a rock star, getting lost in European cities and kite surfing in Venezuela.
So - "How did I get a job on the cruise ship?" There's a few things you need to know. First of all, the cruise industry was growing when I was hired in 1999. It is still growing. There are bigger and bigger ships and more and more people taking cruises. Imagine the new ships that come out that have 2600 passengers. The Oasis I think has 5000! I worked on a ship, the Voyager of the Seas that had a CREW of 1250! WIth such growth there is one thing that is inevitable - they need workers. So I have surprising news for you - ANYONE can get a job on cruise ship. It is not hard and not difficult. If you have a pulse and the will to travel I promise it is possible.
When I was in college my friend wanted to look to do something for the summer. He was a piano player and I was a trumpet player. He bought a book and I think it was called: How to get a job on a Cruise Ship. I don't know if this title is the exact one we used, but I found one on Amazon if you are looking (see link below paragraph).
The one feature that made the book he used amazing: if you bought the book and did NOT get a job on a ship withing 6 months, they would refund your money! Look online to see if that deal still exists. I remember he paid $50.00 for the book in 99. You should also get a recent one as contacts and hirers have changed.
Well, he bought the book. Within weeks he was hired and did not need the book anymore, so he gave it to me. Now I was a pretty lousy trumpet player and still I got hired. "Musos" out there: there is a story of a sax player who calls up a cruise ship company to get a gig.
Sax Player: Hello, are you looking for sax players?
Agent: Well, we have a hiring process. Normally we interview over the phone and audition at a later date.
Sax Player: I just graduated from college and I'm looking for work.
Agent: Do you own a saxophone?
Sax Player: Yes
Agent: What color is it?
Sax Player: Gold
Agent: What are you doing Thursday?
Sooner or later, if you are trying to get a job on a cruise ship this situation will happen to you. I owe my career to the fact that most trumpet players on the ship would get really, really drunk. My first gig the trumpet player (was his name Lee?) fell down in the shower and broke his arm. After that short stint I had another gig because the trumpet player was carry a case on Heineken down the stairs and the ship listed, or rolled. Instead of grabbing the railing at the peril or smashing his precious suds he fell, cushioning the case with his collar bone, which broke. The story goes that he downed a few before going to the medical center. I tell these stories to let the reader know in any vocation, there will be accidents, incidents, and more importantly EMERGENCIES that require the staffing of a position fast. So how do you take advantage of this?
It's simple: be a pest. Cruise lines will never tell you to bug off. They will never deny your application for employment. It's not like a real job where you are hired or not. Of course, the exact day you call they will not need someone the first time. That's why you hound them. Find your hiring agent in your book and when you call, make sure they are the correct hiring agent that works for the cruise line. Never go with an agent or contracter - they take 8%-12% of your pay and you won't be making much. PLUS, they tie you into a contract that says after you finish your job you have to pay them if you work for any other cruise line. Why do you think they do that? Because once you get on the ship you realize how darn easy it would be to get a job anywhere else and cut them out of your earnings! Always work directly for the line.
So, basically you just find your contacts at 5-6 different cruise lines. Call them once a week and politely ask if they have any openings. At first they will tell you "no" or in "6 months" to get you off the phone. After a few weeks they realize you are serious and if something comes up - they WON'T call you! You have to hound them. This way, when that job opens and you call, you are a familiar voice.
To make a long story long, I used the book and was hired by a very small company: Premier Cruise Line (now out of business). I passed the book onto another "muso" (musician) who, in turn, also got a job. I would see my piano player friend who gave me the book in port a few times. I was amazed at the style of life out there. The crew bar was such an interesting experience - you HAVE to hear about it! The passenger were all drunken nut jobs. And some of the things that happened on that rust-bucket (built in 19-forty-something) were very bizarre. Stayed tuned if you want to find out!
Do you love to cruise? Ever wonder what goes on in the crew quarters? Ever wonder what it is like to be on the same ship for 6 months? This blog is for you! If you've even been on a cruise on a megaliner like Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess, Holland America, P&O, Cunard or others - you've only seen HALF what goes down on a ship.
I've never blogged before and I laugh every time I hear Barney from "How I Met Your Mother" talk about how cool his blog is (while everyone snickers.) Recently a friend of mine shared how much he enjoyed blogging and that people halfway around the world seemed fascinated with his life. There are many reasons why blogging could be a good idea, but really the 2 main reasons for me right now is that it isn't bedtime yet and HBO's Boardwalk Empire just had its season finale, and I got knocked out of my poker tournaments I was playing online. That means my Sunday nights have just opened up!
Haha - I held you hostage with boring information. If you are reading this you are probably interested yourself on sailing the seven seas with the wind in your hair, your arms in the air, and a well-to-do redhead with a diamond the size of a doorknob gazing into your eyes. You basically want to be King of the World. OK - here comes your chance. Before I give your the magic secret on how to do it, though, I wanted to encourage you to add my blog to your favorites or "follow me" or whatever. Guess what - I've never read one blog in my life and don't even know how RSS works. I know, I truly am lame. One could also argue that I'm pretty darn cool if blogs are dorky, at least that's how I sleep at night. No please follow these stories becasue if you want to get a job on a ship, you will and there will be many stories in here which will prepare you for that world.
Anyway, my blog is actually the only blog in the world that is NOT dorky, so thanks for tuning in. And if you are my Mom reading this, none of this really happened and I really did just graduate with my PhD from the very prestigious University of Phoenix where I've been living on campus for the last 12 years. I have NOT been goofing around, playing music, partying like a rock star, getting lost in European cities and kite surfing in Venezuela.
So - "How did I get a job on the cruise ship?" There's a few things you need to know. First of all, the cruise industry was growing when I was hired in 1999. It is still growing. There are bigger and bigger ships and more and more people taking cruises. Imagine the new ships that come out that have 2600 passengers. The Oasis I think has 5000! I worked on a ship, the Voyager of the Seas that had a CREW of 1250! WIth such growth there is one thing that is inevitable - they need workers. So I have surprising news for you - ANYONE can get a job on cruise ship. It is not hard and not difficult. If you have a pulse and the will to travel I promise it is possible.
When I was in college my friend wanted to look to do something for the summer. He was a piano player and I was a trumpet player. He bought a book and I think it was called: How to get a job on a Cruise Ship. I don't know if this title is the exact one we used, but I found one on Amazon if you are looking (see link below paragraph).
The one feature that made the book he used amazing: if you bought the book and did NOT get a job on a ship withing 6 months, they would refund your money! Look online to see if that deal still exists. I remember he paid $50.00 for the book in 99. You should also get a recent one as contacts and hirers have changed.Well, he bought the book. Within weeks he was hired and did not need the book anymore, so he gave it to me. Now I was a pretty lousy trumpet player and still I got hired. "Musos" out there: there is a story of a sax player who calls up a cruise ship company to get a gig.
Sax Player: Hello, are you looking for sax players?
Agent: Well, we have a hiring process. Normally we interview over the phone and audition at a later date.
Sax Player: I just graduated from college and I'm looking for work.
Agent: Do you own a saxophone?
Sax Player: Yes
Agent: What color is it?
Sax Player: Gold
Agent: What are you doing Thursday?
Sooner or later, if you are trying to get a job on a cruise ship this situation will happen to you. I owe my career to the fact that most trumpet players on the ship would get really, really drunk. My first gig the trumpet player (was his name Lee?) fell down in the shower and broke his arm. After that short stint I had another gig because the trumpet player was carry a case on Heineken down the stairs and the ship listed, or rolled. Instead of grabbing the railing at the peril or smashing his precious suds he fell, cushioning the case with his collar bone, which broke. The story goes that he downed a few before going to the medical center. I tell these stories to let the reader know in any vocation, there will be accidents, incidents, and more importantly EMERGENCIES that require the staffing of a position fast. So how do you take advantage of this?
It's simple: be a pest. Cruise lines will never tell you to bug off. They will never deny your application for employment. It's not like a real job where you are hired or not. Of course, the exact day you call they will not need someone the first time. That's why you hound them. Find your hiring agent in your book and when you call, make sure they are the correct hiring agent that works for the cruise line. Never go with an agent or contracter - they take 8%-12% of your pay and you won't be making much. PLUS, they tie you into a contract that says after you finish your job you have to pay them if you work for any other cruise line. Why do you think they do that? Because once you get on the ship you realize how darn easy it would be to get a job anywhere else and cut them out of your earnings! Always work directly for the line.
So, basically you just find your contacts at 5-6 different cruise lines. Call them once a week and politely ask if they have any openings. At first they will tell you "no" or in "6 months" to get you off the phone. After a few weeks they realize you are serious and if something comes up - they WON'T call you! You have to hound them. This way, when that job opens and you call, you are a familiar voice.
To make a long story long, I used the book and was hired by a very small company: Premier Cruise Line (now out of business). I passed the book onto another "muso" (musician) who, in turn, also got a job. I would see my piano player friend who gave me the book in port a few times. I was amazed at the style of life out there. The crew bar was such an interesting experience - you HAVE to hear about it! The passenger were all drunken nut jobs. And some of the things that happened on that rust-bucket (built in 19-forty-something) were very bizarre. Stayed tuned if you want to find out!
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