I work on a cruise ship! ask me anything!

Does everyone bang each other?

Yes, it's actually just one big bang-fest.

Do you believe Top Gun has gay overtones?

absolutely.

My girlfriend and I are about to go on our first cruise in January, do you have any beginners advice or tricks. Especially with alcohol and shtuff.(Carnival dream is the boat)

Ahhh good ship. * sneak alcohol on if you can. On the ship is very expensive. if you buy it on the ship try to buy packs of beer, bottles of wine, not individual drinks. (kind of a no-brainer) * unless the person is just absolutely horrible, you should be kind to the workers. they are working hard without a day off! * lastly, enjoy! You are going to some beautiful places and you are on vacation!

I was on the Dream last summer and Carnival has a drink plan that costs 300 bucks for the week! It's 15 drinks a day, and you can get pretty much every type of drink on the boat(long islands, johnnie walkers, margaritas, etc..) Most of these drinks cost 10+ bucks each, so the deal was definitely worth it!

That is a really good deal.

The PDF of the contract you posted isn't actually blacked out. Simply selecting the text underneath it then copy and pasting it reveals what's underneath the black. I'd highly recommend removing it and posting a blacked out image.

Thanks fixed it.

What's it like to work on a level from Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3?

Very good question. Probably what made me want to work on cruise ships.

How much crew partying goes on "behind the scenes"?... Is it the at-sea orgy we all secretly hope it is?

We party a lot...We have 2 different "crew bars" to go to. Because I work in the entertainment department I am also allowed to go to ANY bar on board. We usually prefer the crew bars though. (cheaper drinks, not actually "working.")

What's the biggest bullshit you had to deal with?

I'm going to copy and paste from a previous post:

There have been a number of crazy things to happen. probably the oddest was an adopted 11yr girl who had a few problems that we could tell. PDS, insecurity, ADHD, etc. One day a fellow employee ran into the room I was in with the girl and immediately used the phone to call someone. She ten came to me and said "you are not going to believe what happened." Apparently the little girl had taken a huge dump in the trashcan of the bathroom and tried to blame it on the person before her. We thought that was the end. Addressed it as professionally as possible with her parents. After that one day I was alone with her for "babysitting" because she was the only one there and we were watching a movie. The girl preceded to put her hand down her pants. I asked her to stop. she did it again. I told her once more to stop. She stopped. Then after a few minutes pass she goes and hides behind some toys and just starts going at it...and i mean going...AT IT. That was the most uncomfortable conversation I think I have ever had. Her mother told me, "oh, our doctor said it was a phase she was going through."

It's a phase as a toddler. Not as a preteen.

couldnt agree more

Have you yourself ever fallen overboard or experienced any "man overboard" situations?

Never fallen overboard. I think people forget when you are on the 9th floor you are close to 90 ft above the water. reallllly hard to fall over. never personally dealt with a 'man overboard' but we do training on the situation literally at least once a week.

Is it true the crew has massive parties or anything like that?

We have ridiculous parties. usually organized by us, sometimes organized by HR. (those parties are always free alcohol.) We work in an industry that requires us to be happy and have fun. why stop when the lights are out?

What is your favorite stop?

On average, what do you make hourly?

Do you have to pay for anything or ia your employment "all inclusive"?

• Really like Quebec City, New York, NY is beautiful to sail out of, Also Monaco is amazing. So many great places!
• depends on the day; we get paid daily wages and some days we work more than others.
• Only thing I pay for is drinks. everything else is on them

What's the craziest thing you've ever seen during a cruise?

craziest thing? All nude cruise. I didn't personally see it, but my friend had pictures of her working it. truly a sight to see.

How do you work around the language differences of the crew?

guests? we manage. adults we usually point, haha. kids? it is a challenge! but everyone understands Mario Kart! crew? we are required to speak english.

What are the best and worst aspects of the job? Are you employed throughout the year?

Best parts: cheap drinks, great parties, decent pay, easy way to save, wake up in a new city/country almost everyday, great way to network, become a more confident person, etc. worst: guest are always right....ALWAYS, you have a nametag on in public areas even when you are "off duty," always tired from lack of sleep, food taste dull after awhile.

• I work short contracts personally. 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months...Just whenever they need me and I'm free.

I have never been on a cruise. Since you work on one and see the behind the scenes, would you suggest I go on a cruise at some point in my life?

100% please do it. We work extremely hard to make sure you have a vacation of a lifetime.

When I wet on my first cruise I was blown away with how hard all the employees worked and how cool they were. It's been over a year and I still remember some of their names, they made the cruise even more fun than it already was.

We pride ourselves on comments like these.

What are the things of cruise ship that you think people hide from us or we won't know about them? Thanks for ama

Well if I told you it wouldn't be a secret anymore! haha jk I think the biggest thing is cost of things. not only for you as a guest but for the cruise industry. prime example is that it cost one of ships to go through the Panama Canal $300,000 each time. one ship goes through almost every 10 days. on average it cost $45 a minute for fuel.

how often do staff members sleep with patrons?

if the boss was asking: Never

What would you consider to be the best place to visit that you've been too?

Greenland was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Really beautiful place. he best place? I think Rome really has had the most to offer for the visit.

What's the most freakish accident you've seen happen on-board? (Maybe something requiring a helicopter to come in for medical emergency?)

nothing too crazy. people have heart attacks a lot and are medically disembarked by helicopter somewhat often. it's a cool thing to see, although unfortunate circumstances.

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Oh yea...it rocks.

have you ever considered pushing a passenger overboard?

many many times. I find that there is just far too much paperwork attached to a situation like that. Can't be bothered.

How much personal time do you get while working on board? Do you share the responsibility of you job with someone else and take different days of the cruise to work, or do you work the entirety of the voyage?

Not a ton of personal time a lot of days, but we love our jobs usually! I work as a camp counselor with the children so we have multiple people working at all times. We work everyday. Sometimes 10 hours, sometimes 2. :)

Then do you get paid hourly or a lump sum for the voyage?

we get paid monthly.

I am very interested in working on a cruise line and want to know what is the best way to go about getting a job on one?

have the right attitude, go for the right job, and go at the right time...like now. apply now. this is peak season! PM if you need better advice!

How do you make your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?

very carefully

i just took a cruise on RC in may, got the "stomach flu" while onboard. how does crew deal with getting THAT sick?

We work really hard to stay clean. I'm not saying that you are uncleanly, but it is emphasized to use to stay healthy and clean. With that said we DO get sick. When you are THAT sick we are isolated into our room and can not leave for usually 48 hours. Not a fun time.

How did you land the job? Is it as easy as just applying?

I have a bit of experience with resorts. I've heard it isn't an incredibly hard job to get, but they are definitely looking for a certain type of person

How much freedom do you have on your time off, particularly when the ship is docked at the exotic locations.

With my job I get a pretty good amount of time off! we also rotate to squeeze a little more time out of a day! great question

Would you ever want to live on one for awhile?

To work nonstop? no thanks. I have friends that do but I couldn't live on one? everything paid? I think I could do that.

when a passenger goes missing suspected of going over board has the ship ever made any attempt to stop or to investigate?

it is our obligation to. so the answer is yes. of course it is all determined by the circumstances. safety is greatly emphasized with my company.

What did you expect to happen on a cruise that still hasn't happend?

I feel most expectations have been met. truly. only thing i can think of is I expected more cow bell.

I go on my first cruise ever in a week.

Do cruise lines have places to do laundry? It looks like i'll be packing rather light!

Also, if there are any tips for a complete newbie, I welcome them. I really just want to relax as much as possible.

We do have a laundry service. again can't speak for every cruise line, but i'm sure of it. make sure to bring some fancy clothes for the nights required to dress up to be accepted to the dinning room. If relaxing is what you want to do then please do it! it's your vacation, do it the way you want. PS you are going during peak season though, so expect more "families" with their children.

How do you get paid? One lump sum? Is it a set contract and if so how long? How much are they for? How much do other positions make?

We get paid monthly. contracts vary depending on position. and pay greatly changes depending on job

Hi!

My Boss has been on a few cruises, he tells me the Americans don't leave the buffet the majority of the time.

Is it true cruise ships have the best buffets?

I cannot speak for every cruise line but i will say with mine, we pride ourselves on the food. You really can't beat it.

How did you get a job on a cruise ship? I read that there's literally all sorts of jobs from cooks to accountants true?

Very true. there are sooooo many jobs. my most recent ship has 950 employees. everything from dancer, candy crusher, cook, painter, to lightbulb changer.