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The realities of Ship Life

2/27/2017

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Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Pinterest...... These are just some of the media platforms we use to research subjects or just simply come across as we are scrolling. But what are we really seeing.. Is it reality or perceived reality? Well just like ship life, Its not all that it appears to be. (Before I continue, this is my opinion from my own experience so take your negative comments elsewhere.)

​It all started in my interview, when they show you this awe inspiring, elaborate video montage of 'life at sea'. It almost makes you want to be picked for that lifestyle so desperately that you feel so god damn priviledged to be chosen when you are. A lot of people have amazing experiences onboard and dont get me wrong, I am one of those people, but there are defnitely some hidden realities that you cant understand before you have fully immersed yourself there.

​Picture Perfect- All those amazing photos that you see, are in fact taken during the few hours you have off the ship when it is in port. Having travelled extensively for a long period of time before ships, this part frustrated me a lot. 'Travelling' for me does not involve visiting a resort for an hour or two, eating a meal so fast you hope you make it back on time before your ship sails away and your given a warning and need to make your own way to the next port of call.

The heartache of arriving to somewhere youve always dreamed of going only to realise you are either not off work that day or you are 'IPM' (In Port Manning, meaning you are restrcited from leaving the ship that day, on a rotation basis). If you arrive somewhere with a tender to the mainland and the weather turns out to be too bad so the port day turns into yet another  day at sea and not to mention to terrible seasickness you may have to endure (whilst working).

​Being restricted to crew areas only (from my experience on two 6* vessels) meaning you can sit on the small top deck, your cabin, crew bar or... well thats it... Both of my ships restricted crew to any of the guest areas which made you feel even more of a prisoner than usual.

​Being in a relationship onboard is extremely hard. It reminds me of the big brother house, lots of drama, heartbreaks, cheating, fights, walk of shames, awkwardness etc in such a small space. If you do however find the man of your dreams (like me), be prepared that spending quality time is almost unheard of. You either drink in the crew bar after work until the wee hours just to have a conversation, you whisper silently in each others cabins as to not wake the others cabin mate, or you try and catch 5 minutes here or 5 minutes there with your loved one inbetween guests or on a break. And when you work almost opposite schedules its even worse. My boyfriend and I have been together almost 6 months now and we have proven that if you can make it through ship life, man, you can make it through anything.

​Food- On my ship we coudnt eat in guest areas, so what you were given in the 'crew mess' was it. On my first ship the food was so bad that i would make food in my cabin or not eat. Luckily when i met my chef boyfriend things changed (just a coincidence lol). On my second ship the food was a lot better including lots of fresh foods, lots of variety and many vegetarian options, even delcious ice cream daily and lots of nice treats.

​Fitness- This can be done of course when you have the time but the trick is finding the time, and the energy when youve worked a 70 hour week. The guest gym could be used by certain crew and the crew gym for everyone else.

​Hours- Each department is different but our company that hired for the spa and fitness centre employed us to work 70 hours a week on a commission basis with a very low basic wage. Some people would cringe at this and say that has to be illegal, which i would have to agree, but if it was, would they still have thousands of people willing to chop an arm off to work for them.

​Time off- As a spa employee we got 1.5 days off in a 7 day week. Baring in mind a normal day for us was 7:30am-9:30pm. Depending on your manager you can sometimes have a full day off or three half days. I never knew a full day off until i joined my second ship. In my opinion to fully relax and destress, an employee NEEDS a full day off to rest.

​Bar- On both my ships we had one crew bar, extremely small for 300-400 crew. Cheap drinks and okay music but nothing to write home about. Once in a while you would have the best night ever though it was all about the company you kept. On my first ship our crew bar was like a smokey gentlemans club and the second ships bar was brand new more chic but way smaller for even more crew.

​TV- Our tvs went from being a set sequence of channels which played the same movies over and over, to a new interactive tv complete with the newest movies and tv shows. Not to mention wifi, we were lucky enough to have free wifi on our first ship but then went back to the crew wifi plans on my second ship which racked up your ship tab.

A collleague of mine once said to me on my first week at work- Life onboard cruise ships is really just a glorified prison. As we shuttled our way into the town we had stopped in, she said- Look at us being transported into town for our few hours on land before we are ushered back on time for the curfew, only to get back to work or go back to your cell.. I mean cabin...
​Ship life is not all bad, every ship has different rules but its still worth preparing yourself for.... And one thing I have to say is, i will never take freedom of choice, chilling with my boyfriend or working a 40hr week for granted again.

​Bon Voyage

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And so Ship Life continued...

2/27/2017

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Life onboard Seabourn Encore, the brand new ship in the fleet, instantly proved to be amazing compared to Silversea. Firstly I was shocked to have them cover my dental fees in Venice when i really needed treatment but apart from that the surprises continued during the contract including amazing personalized Christmas gifts, fancy Christmas and New Year parties, a crew appreciation party, delicous selection of food and overall a genuine happy crew that got a long well. The vibe here was different.

​The stress ran high for everyone from the beginning, but being in charge of setting up a brand new ship for its maiden voyage does that sometimes. Joining in the shipyard was a great experience despite the stress of it all. It was amazing to see the ship come together day by day and with a group of cool people on my team, we made the most fun out of it all. On my part, there was a lot of pressure on me to launch the brand new Mindful Living Program. For the first few weeks onboard I worked tirelessly to perfect hour long seminars, rehearsing at every given chance, even speaking over our ships alarm system being tested all day long. I was constantly going over scripts and yoga sequencing and there were media and big bosses from all the wellknown ship companies all of whom wanted to be immersed in the details of the program. The beginning of the cruise was the most stressful until it all died down and we finally set sail on our maiden voyage with a group of Seabourn guests. My role proved to be amazing, finally I got to travel the world and deliver inspirational messages to people along with guiding meditation and teaching yoga. It was a dream come true.. Wasn't it? 

Steiner- the company we were employed by, have always had mixed reviews when it comes to employment etc and they dont have the best reputation out there. Knowing this, I was wary at the beginning about taking on such a role to do with 'Mindfulness' which i take seriously, under a company that could not be more opposite to the concept. Looking back, I feel that they took great advantage of me starting out with this program that was brand new and continuing to urge me to be patient with the minor dysfunctions i began to notice from the beginning. I wont go into much detail about my issues with Steiner, because I cant be bothered really and ive wasted so much energy on them recently, but I will outline my experience overall.

​The impact I made on the guests, the amazing experience I got, the people i got to meet, the confidence i built withing myself, the knowledge I recieved, the media platforms ive been portrayed on- these are all some of the great benefits I recieved from taking a leap and going for this position. The immensely kind words of inspiration I recieved from guests were propbably the best memories of this part of my contract on Seabourn, but because of the ongoing problems I encountered with Steiner and lack of support with major issues, I guess the road ends there and with good timing, right at the end of my contract in New Zealand. I am super happy to have had this chance but even more than that, I am excited for the path it has led me down. I will be using every ounce of knowledge and skill I have under my belt working in the land downunder, as myself and my boyfriend Gerald make the big move to set up roots and explore the far side of the world.


Life moves in mysterious ways... Just go with the flow...
​
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    Jade is an experienced traveller with an upcoming Travel book and many years of travel writing under her belt.

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