Crew Life

Hi, folks! How are you?

I have been working as a cruise ship photographer since two years ago. I received a lot of questions about my job and the crew life, so I decided to create this website to share about it.

The most asked question is of course about how to apply for this job, which I will write on my next post (stay tune for this ). Beside preparing budget for the documents, you also need to consider some of these things:

1. Being away from home for a quite long period

The cruise ship job is usually offered with a contract of 6-9 months onboard. That means, we are gonna leave for a place that is very far from our beloved home for that long ( if you guys are from Indonesia like me, it is literally on the other side of the world, haha ). You need to deal with homesickness.

2. Preparing physical and mental strength

Working onboard means working everyday during your contract. Hours off or a day off is sometimes available depends on your position or manager, but do not hope too much for that. Your body will be tired eventually. Plus the stress from the guests and your supervisor everyday.

3. Language barrier

For those who are not speaking English as their mother language will find it a little bit hard at the beginning. Different nationalities means different pronounciation and accents, you need to get used to them. Practice and confidence are the keys.

4. Cultural Shock

Time to open your mind to the cultural differences: the clothing style, the guests and crews personalities around the world, the relationship, and the having fun style. It can be very contradictive to your own culture.

5. Permission from your Family

Getting a permission to work in a far away place alone can be challenging, especially from the parents if you are a girl ( Indonesians can relate to this as our family are more protective and reserved to get this new idea). This is based on my own experience 

There are more things to consider about The Good and The Bad Sides of Working on A Cruise Ship, but those are the ones I think to be the most important. If you have no problem with that, then you are good to be a crew.

It’s harsh. It’s cruel. Be bold, most of the problems can be overcome as long as you have a will. Think about your purpose of working. Stay out of your comfort zone and you will be surprised of how far you can achieve. Are you ready guys?