A Day in the Life of a Crew Member

[partybarbie]

One of my friends, that was a singer for Princess, shared a really cool short video with me. It's worth checking out and shows some "behind the scenes" crew areas.

 

http://www.princess.com/careers/videos/crewmember.html#.Vnsravk4HIU

[srpilo]

Cool :)

 

Thanks for the link

Srpilo

[Colo Cruiser]

Excellent video!

[ar1950]

Thanks for posting. Enjoyed seeing it.

[chamima]

Our waitress on our last cruise didn't have a lot of other tables (we eat late) and we ended up talking to her a lot.

She said she had worked for two other cruise lines and that Princess treated their employees a lot better than the other two!

[riclop]

Thanks for the video.

[oskidunker]

Video not found or working

[Colo Cruiser]

Video not found or working

 

Just tried it again, works fine.

[crzy4cruises]

Nice video.

[partybarbie]

Glad everyone liked it.:)

[maui07]

Not trying to be a total downer but that was basically an infomercial for princess. That in NO way reflects the day to day life of a crew member. Sorry just saying...

ps. I worked on ships (NCL and Celebrity from 1999-2003)

[dorisis]

Not trying to be a total downer but that was basically an infomercial for princess. That in NO way reflects the day to day life of a crew member. Sorry just saying...

ps. I worked on ships (NCL and Celebrity from 1999-2003)

 

agree.

[Hlitner]

A very slick self-serving video which seems to be more of a PR item them reality. But this thread jolted my memory about the best cruise ship documentary we have seen which is called "Extreme Cruise Ship- Oasis of the Seas" which aired a few years ago on the National Geographic Channel. This was an hour long documentary which profiled a single turn around day (at Port Everglades) of the Oasis. Watching this true to life documentary gave even this old time cruiser a new respect for what the crew must accomplish in only a few hours on those horrid (for the crew) turn around days.

 

Hank

[venicecruiser]

Well, I enjoyed it and thanks for sharing it!

 

Claudia

[Keith1010]

Thanks for sharing.

Keith

[partybarbie]

Obviously it is Princess "PR" to recruit employees, but since my friend, who had worked on Princess ships for 14 years shared it on her Facebook page with me, I think it is somewhat factual.

[davekathy]

OP...thanks for sharing the video. We became friends with Olena in 2013 while cruising on the Emerald Princess.

Edited December 24, 2015 by davekathy

[maui07]

Yes, somewhat factual as in all those people work for the cruise line. Im sure your friend had a lovely career as a singer, that also meant she was considered "passenger status" which means she could have possibly sailed in passenger cabins (if any were available) eaten and drank in passenger areas, used the pools etc. Hardly, the everyday life of a crew member working 14 hour days, 9 months of the year. Im not one of those people that are like oh that poor crew member, because in my opinion they know what they are signing up for when they do it and the pay is good compared to what they *could be making in their own country. Honestly though, if you want a day in the life video, do it on people who aren't in these cushy positions onboard.

[keithm]

Yes, somewhat factual as in all those people work for the cruise line. Im sure your friend had a lovely career as a singer, that also meant she was considered "passenger status" which means she could have possibly sailed in passenger cabins (if any were available) eaten and drank in passenger areas, used the pools etc. Hardly, the everyday life of a crew member working 14 hour days, 9 months of the year. Im not one of those people that are like oh that poor crew member, because in my opinion they know what they are signing up for when they do it and the pay is good compared to what they *could be making in their own country. Honestly though, if you want a day in the life video, do it on people who aren't in these cushy positions onboard.

I agree. On Cunard we met one the harpists. She dined at a table along side of us in the Princess Grill. I doubt a cabin steward would have such cushy accommodations.

[pablo222]

Obviously it is Princess "PR" to recruit employees, but since my friend, who had worked on Princess ships for 14 years shared it on her Facebook page with me, I think it is somewhat factual.

 

I don't think your friend, a singer, has anywhere near a comparable

job experience to ... say ... a cabin steward.

 

One of the biggest differences -- deck privledges -- a singer can be

in passenger space, many other positions can not.

[partybarbie]

I don't think your friend, a singer, has anywhere near a comparable

job experience to ... say ... a cabin steward.

 

One of the biggest differences -- deck privledges -- a singer can be

in passenger space, many other positions can not.

 

I hope you are not implying that just because my friend had passenger status (which I am well aware of) that she did not have a challenging and difficult job, because she did.

 

Just like I am not implying that the servers and room stewards are not hard workers, especially since it is stressed in the video that those jobs are challenging and require a lot of stamina too.

[floridalover5623]

All the entertainers have the cushiest jobs on the ships compared any of the working crew. They have much better hours, able to mingle with passengers and can pick up extra money volunteering for fill in jobs around the ship during their time off during the day + they can tour most ports/beaches that they wish to when not in rehearsals.

[Murphey]

I enjoyed seeing a bit below decks, would be fun to see more. There are a few on YouTube that are interesting too. I don't think the OP(or any of us for that matter) are naïve enough to think that her friend's job is the same as a crew member, she was just pointing out this video to us. And, for that I thank her!

Edited December 24, 2015 by Murphey

[Bimmer09]

All the entertainers have the cushiest jobs on the ships compared any of the working crew. They have much better hours, able to mingle with passengers and can pick up extra money volunteering for fill in jobs around the ship during their time off during the day + they can tour most ports/beaches that they wish to when not in rehearsals.

 

The only issue I have with the well-edited video is the title- it doesn't show a day in the life of any crew member. It's a compendium of happy relaxed smiling crew faces.

 

Speaking from experience, having been a musician on a Royal Caribbean ship for 44 cruises (30 years ago so no wi-fi rooms and Crew disco) my work week was

6 days averaging 3.5 hours a day (mostly after midnight in the Disco)-so a 21 hr workweek with every Tuesday off (Ocho Rios). The guys who came to my crew cabin (2 bunk beds) serviced by a room steward each day, for drinks when I wasn't on stage were waiters and room stewards among others. They worked 12 hour days 7 days a week- 4 times more than I. They ate only in the crew mess where the food was "interesting". I ate there too if there was something that appealed but the majority of my meals were in the MDR eating what the passengers were eating. My breakfasts were by the pool buffet-open to passengers,musicians, visiting entertainers and casino crew only.

 

I could socialize with passengers, drink in any of the bars. Service crew members couldn't. Their socializing was restricted to the crew mess. There was no bar there but the ship did sell cases of beer at rockbottom pricing ($7 for a case of 24).Liquor was sold too but I didn't indulge much. The crew could smoke there and in their cabins.

 

I liked to smoke leaning over the railing on Promenade Deck but I would only be joined by Casino staff or Musicians or Photographers. No service staff. Engine room staff might come up for some air and a smoke. There are crew members who seldom glimpse the sea when the ship is moving. (Laundry staff I feel your pain)

 

So a privileged life on board. Ashore at every port. There would be some service crew on the beach as they had a few hours off between shifts. I'd have as long as the passengers.

 

Norris

 

[partybarbie]

I enjoyed seeing a bit below decks, would be fun to see more. There are a few on YouTube that are interesting too. I don't think the OP(or any of us for that matter) are naïve enough to think that her friend's job is the same as a crew member, she was just pointing out this video to us. And, for that I thank her!

 

 

You're welcome. :D And thank-you for viewing the video in the spirit with which it was intended. It's not a competition to see who has the hardest job.