You are working hard with very little time off, and on very little sleep.  Some jobs do not even allow a day off in your entire contract.  I worked in the casino, which allowed me one day off out of every eleven days, and that only included my actual shift.  If there was a boat drill scheduled on my shift off, I needed to attend.  It was mandatory.

 

My sleeping patterns were typically three hours here and there.  I worked approximately five hours, then another five hours.  I slept whenever possible only because I didn't know when I'd get to sleep again and for how long.  Sometimes my continuous napping cost me, physically, as I was actually sleeping too much.  It would have been best to get five hours each night.  But consider that the ships have many people socializing, drinking, and having corridor parties--getting some sleep when others don't need it was a problem.

 

Your first few weeks will consist of meetings, meetings, and more meetings.  Introductions, orientations, job overview, ethics, zero-tolerance, immigration, safety training, crowd control, cultural diversity, working with people who have special needs, and a few others that have left my memory banks for the moment!  They are all crammed in to your first couple of weeks to three weeks of work, and your supervisor is not very forgiving of how much time you will get off for rest.  You will still need to perform your job, however many hours it will take.  Conflicting schedules will get ironed out, but you must attend these meetings to stay employed.  Remember to keep any certificates you will receive.  They may excuse you from future meetings on your next contract.

 

The ships promote good pay, and unfortunately, that pay is often all up to you.  The ship may give you a small monthly wage if you're new, but some positions are "tips only" wages.  You will be paid in US dollars, and only in cash.  That money is your responsibility once it's in your hands.  I was not prepared to only make a small wage plus tips.  I heard that casinos employees made close to $20,000 US in a contract.  This is true when you work your way and earn yourself a "money ship".  Four ships out of the entire RCCL/Celebrity fleet are money ships.  This means $1000 a week for some casino employees.  My first ship was a 'training ship' as it's called fleetwide, and there are several.  The least amount I made was my small wage and $187 a week.  My second ship was worse.  My wage, plus the lowest was $150.  The most I made in any one week aside from wage was $778.  Casino employees cannot promote tipping.  It is unethical, and since the company pays you monthly, you are in their eyes, guaranteed income.  You must not solicit tips, it could mean your job.  It is common for cabin-attendants to make much, much more.  On my first ship, a friend of mine from Ukraine made about $3000 US per month cleaning.  She remained on the ship for a nine month contract and even extended it, to save from returning and re-doing her mandatory meetings.  She had hardly any time off, and worked very long hours.  In the end, she was able to look at retirement if she kept this up for only a few years.  Lucky her.

 

Boat drills and immigration meetings are very taxing.  The first day of each cruise has a mandatory passenger boat drill before the ship leaves port.  It lasts about twenty minutes, and even if guests have done these drills several times before, they have trouble following our guidelines and keeping a lifejacket on.  It takes a lot of patience, and majority of these guests are American--very impatient people.  They want to do things their way, and hate being told what to do.  I've had many guests during many drills question me, or refuse my request for them to follow a procedure due to being too proud.  It's taxing, trust me.

 

Immigration meetings are almost always extremely early in the morning for new crew members signing on, in the port that enters the next country because they want the crew to have their I-95's so everyone is free to get off the ship with one in hand.  An I-95 is a piece of credit-card sized paper that is stamped by customs to prove you are working on board and you do not plan on remaining in the country.  It states you are to be back on your ship, and if not, you are deemed an illegal alien.  *Meetings scheduled on ships are almost always late starting.  I am faithfully on time for these meetings, and all but one meeting ever, commenced on time. 

 

Your cabin space is extremely small.  Think jail cell.  It truly is smaller than I thought it would be.  My boyfriend could reach out and touch one wall, and the other wall and have his arms bent.  There are bunk beds, a small desk, bar fridge that can hold two cases of pop or beer at the most, a small closet that can hold about twenty garments that includes your uniform, and a bathroom with a standup shower and very little room for toiletries.  It's best to pack light, as light as possible, and buy things as you need them.  New crew members always pack too much, and they pay for it when they are leaving the ship because we all end up buying goodies!  Keep things in small containers, for the bathroom.  Don't ignore things that mean much to you!  DO pack your own blanket, pillow, or your favourite stuffed animal.  Bring magnets because there is no where to push pins in the walls.  It's all steel, so don't bother packing a shortwave radio. 

 

Cabin inspections can either be frequently (every week), or few and far between (once during your contract).  Either way, they are demanding of their expectations.  Your bed must be made, floor cleaned, and garbage emptied.  Your fridge cannot contain ANY food.  Chips in sealed bags or chocolate bars are fine, but to be safe, I hid them in a drawer.  Your cabin attendant should have had your room cleaned for you beforehand, but do yourself a favour and keep it in tip top shape before inspection.  This includes fire hazards, such as too much paper on the walls hung on by magnets.  NO extra plug ins or extension cords.  The ship is strict about fire hazards and will reprimand you for violating any safety measures.

 

Keep photos in your cabin of loved ones.  You are very far from home, even if you are close by in proximity.  You do have a phone in your cabin that can call anywhere on board, however, a line out means a free signal on satellite.  Phone cards can be purchased usually for $10-$20 from the Crew Pursor's office during office hours, or phone card machines in crew areas.  Use exact change, and good notes.  Email is slow and expensive, and at port is faster, but still expensive, and frustrating when no one sends you mail.  To them, you are out there, and their lives remain the same til you get back.  This means they have other people to socialize with or talk on the phone, and in a way, you may feel forgotten and lonely.  Buy a phone card as soon as you can and invest in a call whenever you are feeling this way to get you through.  Sometimes, all it takes is a five minute call to talk about nothing new that made me feel better.