Monday, November 26, 2018
“One more contract and I’m done”
www.thesharonicles.com: We’ve all heard it before: “I swear this is my last contract” or “One more contract and I’m done.” These phrases are used a lot, mostly by people on their first contracts as cruise ship employees. They’re very serious about it as if they really believe what they are saying. The rest of us cruise ship veterans just smile at each other and shake our heads. We remember when we were young, naive, and new to ships, and we told ourselves the same lies. Being a crew member on a cruise ship is incredibly addictive. Well, some people hate it and never do a second contract. For the rest of us, quitting ships is like trying to kick a drug habit.
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4 comments:
I had a friend who worked on a cruise line. I met him during his three month vacation between nine month on board contracts during which he was working overhire because he just could not stop. He took his break for about a week, then immediately looked for work. It’s part of the fun, he had said, doing the work you couldn’t do on the ship. From this chronicle I realize it might have been more of cramming in the land life he was craving before he went back to the sea life he loved...or was addicted to? I remember him saying one last contract, but he did stick with it and quit after those nine months. I’ve wondered what it’s like on a cruise ship, but I don’t think I could stand being locked into it for that long. How repetitive is life on a cruise ship? Does the rotation of guests shake things up enough?
This was a very interesting article about the life behind working as a crew member on a cruise ship. The idea of working on a cruise ship is one that has fascinated me for many years, and this article really gave me some clear insight on it: it’s terrible, exhausting, and insane, yet amazing, rewarding, and life altering. I think for the kind of people that love to work and constantly have something to do, working on a cruise could be great (still terrible) but they would find the wonderful part too. For people like me, however, who can barely make it through the week on run crew – counting down the minutes until my Sunday break— and are very close to their families back home, it would just be terrible. I think I might find the joy after a few weeks like the author did, but then the homesickness would sink in and I think I’d miss home more than I’d miss ship life after my contract.
I think this article gives a really great perspective on what it is like to work on a cruise. It starts off with comparing drug addiction to working on a cruise and I think that is so clever. A lot of the stage and production managers that graduated last year are on cruises right now and they seem to be having the time of their lives. Just how the article said, they also post pics of themselves are amazing locations. For me personally, I do not think I would work on a cruise. While I love the idea of getting to see new places, I think I would hate always being on a boat. While a lot of people enjoy all the perks of being on a cruise like not having to pay rent and earning a good wage I think the cons of never leaving, having no time off and not being able to see your family and friends is something that I value a lot.
Similar to Miranda working on a cruise ship has always fascinated me. I have a suspicion if I start I would fall into the addiction the author talks about. I like routine and cruise ships seem like the ultimate routine. I have also heard those enticing tropes: “travel the world and get paid” and “they make so much because they have nowhere to spend it” and I see truth in those statements but I also see the fault. The work-life balance on a cruise ship seems totally screwed. You can’t truly see the world if your trapped on a ship. I’m curious to know what being on a ship working nonstop does to your health after a long time. The author seems to contradict herself in her bio, I’m curious to know why the passion in her article doesn’t transfer to her happy go lucky bio that makes me think she loves cruise ships more than anything in the world. Although personally I don’t think I will ever join in on the ship it seems like a opportunity, with unique benefits, but also with many faults.
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