Housekeeping staff are an essential part of any cruise ship. Providing guests with clean towels, a refreshing cabin, offering a friendly smile each morning and much more besides.
On a recent cruise I spent some time getting to know Lucia Cabel Palomino the housekeeping manager on Costa Classica.
How long have you worked for Costa Cruises?
I am from Peru and have been with Costa 14 years.
You must meet people from all over Europe. How do you cope with the different languages?
I learnt English at School and went to study French at University. It is important when working with Costa that you can speak at least one, preferably two of the main European languages used on board.
What are your responsibilities onboard?
My responsibility is all aspects of housekeeping from cleaning the pools to looking after the people in their cabins.
What hours do you work?
The two shifts that are normal on this ship, are from 7 am to 2 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. to 10.pm. I have three assistants working in the office with me and of course, we must always have contingency rotas for the times when people are not well.
Tell me a little about the recruitment process for working on a Costa Cruise ship?
My department recruits staff directly from the Philippines, India and Indonesia where we have schools that can train them in the relevant skills. They must also have the right attitude for a service industry and, even more important when together with their colleagues for such a long time on each voyage, they must be able to work well as a team.
What’s the oddest question a passenger has asked you?
Sometimes passengers have asked me where the crew live. Is it on the ship? I have to admit a couple of times I have been tempted to say no we helicopter them in every morning, but so far I have resisted, and told them, that yes they do live on board!
What is the most challenging aspect of working on a cruise ship?
It can be quite difficult leaving friends and family at home, for months at a time and so I usually only have staff aged 20 and over. I sometimes need a lot of psychology, looking after the staff and occasionally with the passengers, making sure they are happy. We usually try and get the crew to share a cabin with someone from his or her own country.
You must have some amusing stories to tell…
There are many fun aspects to this job. One of the jobs of the cabin steward is to take out the pyjamas and plump up the pillows and make the rooms look pretty every evening. Recently one staff member was so creative that he stuffed the pillows into the pyjamas and propped them up in the bathroom. The people returned to the cabin and laughed so much.
Would you recommend a career with Costa Cruises?
Working for Costa Cruises is a wonderful opportunity to earn money and see the world at the same time. I really enjoy my job and I have some really good friends and colleagues which make it a demanding, but overall, happy career.
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2 Comments
Jan 15 2009
16:34
I do love coming back to my cabin at night and finding it in prestine condition, everything neat and tidy, with those little towel animals sitting on the bed, and chocolates on the pillow. Makes me really feel special! :>
Jan 15 2009
16:36
Would also love to hear more ‘behind the scenes’ stuff. So much more going on that you don’t even realise or think about. A ‘behind the scenes’ of Virgin cruises would be very interesting too