As the job market gets tougher it is easy to lose sight of the importance of finding work that is not only right but also enjoyable. Debbie Raven was 22 when she applied to see the world and work in the Duty Free shops on board cruise ships.

She stayed for nearly 3 years and worked on Princess Lines, Celebrity, P&O and Azamara cruises. I spoke to her about her time on these ships.

What was your route to the job?

I had studied media make up at Barnet College and worked on the Harry Potter set and on “Down to Earth” as well as other projects, but knew that travelling the world was something that was important to me too. The time was right for an adventure!

What did you sell?

We sold everything from jewellery to drinks, cigarettes, clothes and gifts. On the smaller ships there were just 3 of us in the shop and in the really big ships as many as 10 or 12.

How did you benefit most?

First and foremost it was a really fun experience and I saw loads of places in the world that otherwise at my age, I would have never seen. It also made me much more independent. After all you are living, even sharing a cabin with people you never knew before, and it is important to get on well with colleagues. I am still in touch with a lot of them.

What were the working arrangements?

We usually had 6 months working on a ship and then 1-month off. I did it for 2 years and it was amazing. I had 2 contracts on P&O’s Aurora. Occasionally I had 3 days at sea so it was hard then with long hours, but every time we were in a port the Duty Free shop is not allowed to be open so we were really able to explore the places we visited.

Where did you like going to most of all?

I loved Antarctica, South Africa, Brazil and Chile and of course the Caribbean was wonderful too. Sometimes we started at Southampton and cruised around the Med.

Were the working conditions good?

Oh yes, we were really looked after. I remember particularly a wonderful big beach in the Caribbean, and a section of it was cordoned off for us staff and we played volleyball. It was good fun.

After each of your 6 months contracts did you know what would happen next?

In the beginning I was told where I would be but after that, at the end of the first six months, we could fill out a wish list of the 3 ships we most wanted to be on, taking into account where they were cruising. I must say they were really good and it was usually fulfilled. So yes, we did sort of know what was going to happen after our 4 weeks back home.

Any funny experiences?

We had a good time on board and there were many. I remember one lady asking me in all seriousness if I flew back to the UK at the end of each day.

To sum up?

Excellent fun, earning money and seeing the world, at the same time, yes, I would definitely recommend it to other people.

Lucy Daltroff

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Posted in Interviews, Ships Crew