As part of my work I often have to go on cruises, which is rather nice. What though is it like to work on a cruise ship? Well almost 20 years ago I did just that, and while I might not have stayed there it sure gave me an education.
What though is it like to work on one and how do you even go about getting a job on a ship? Heres The Street Food Guy guide.
How do you get a job on cruise ships in 2024?
When I got my job in the Cayman Islands, teaching in China, or cruise ships people always asked amazed how I got all these cushy jobs!!!
I replied that I would get one good job, do really well at it then apply for a better job. In this instance it meant working in a bar in the Cayman Islands and then applying for a job on cruise ships.
Mainly job 1 got me job 2, but in actuality one of the main points people miss is that of you do not apply you cannot get a job. I personally applied and got a job with P&O Cruises.
What is it like working on a cruise ship?
I personally git a job as a bartender on the Oceania a ship with 2000 crew and 1000 passengers. My job was as a bartender, which meant 20 years ago I was pulling in $5k a month. I also worked for 7 days a week for 6 moths without a day off.
So, I must have saved a lot of money right? Alas when you young dumb and full of cum it is easy not to save any money at all, which I did not.
What is the food like when you work on a cruise ship?
I was crew, not an officer, which meant what I ate was very different to what officers and customers ate. It was not quite slop, but it was greasy and fatty.
This largely led me to become a vegetarian at sea. So, when people say “oh you must have eaten great food”? My answer is only when I was in port….
Do you get to see the world when you liv on Cruise Ships?
You get no day off for 6 months, but you do get the odd afternoon off, unless your boss is an asshole, I had an asshole boss and I did not get a day off for 2 months. It was supposed to build my character……
You do though get to visit a lot of ports, such as Civitavechhia, to this day one of the most boring places I have ever been. Gibraltar on the other hand had bottles of vodka for $2, which was nice.
What did you learn from working on cruise ships?
To be honest working on cruise ships should really be a way to travel and earn lots of money, with the truly smart using the money and the 2 months break to live it large.
With hindsight I was too young to do this job, so I mostly learnt how not to behave. Still it gave me experiences that have helped me gate Paid to travel, as well as run a travel agency and my paid blogs.
And of course more than the odd story as well…..