Spending ten years working on-board a cruise ship really does make you a bit of an expert on all things cruise.

And now, as Customer Services Manager for Virgin Holidays Cruises, I can really relate to people’s experiences on-board. I’m often asked what it was like, what kind of things I did and was it just like an extended holiday…?!

Truth is, it’s a pretty enviable lifestyle. Sailing from one fab destination to the next, enjoying sunshine, new cultures and meeting new people all the time. I’m definitely a people-person, so it was the ideal thing for me to do too.

I loved working with the people, sharing the experience with other like-minded individuals and making the passenger’s holidays unforgettable.

But there’s definitely a hard work element too, especially when it came to the initial training. All crew have to take part in a three-day life saving course, be a strong swimmer and pass tricky practical exams to demonstrate your capability.

And it’s not just water… crew have to train for any eventuality, no matter how remote the chances are. Fire fighting and First Aid training is mandatory, and the skills I learned aren’t just helpful to know on-board, they’re handy life skills too. So next time you’re on-board, remember how brilliantly trained each and every crew member is. You’re certainly in safe hands on a cruise ship!

Crew sign up for six months at a time, so you know you’ll be away from home for a while. It’s all good fun though, and the crew create plenty of fun for themselves. There are special crew facilities, and although they’re not as fancy as the ones the passengers get to use, we were pretty well looked after.

My cabin was definitely not a luxurious as the passengers. The crew cabins are all near the bottom of the ship and have bunk beds, and these rooms are much nearer the engines so it got a bit noisy! Something you get used to after a few days at sea though.

There are dedicated staff restaurants – again, not serving up some of the delicious treats as the customer restaurants, but our cheap bar was also appreciated!

The best thing about working on a cruise ship? Definitely the passengers. I met some really great people. And I’ll never forget some of the odd questions I got asked: “what time do the dolphins come out?” “how long is the electricity wire from the land to the ship?” and “have you seen my wife?” are some of my favourites that I’ll never forget!

Do I miss it now? Well, I love that I can do my own thing now, choosing when I do things rather than living by a timetable. But my ten years onboard gave me so many opportunities to travel, and I learnt two languages in the process! But I’m happy to have my feet firmly back on dry land. At least for now…

Sarah spent 10 years as a dancer on with Costa Cruises and has been the Customer Services Manager with Virgin Holidays Cruises for over 1 year. She now confines her dancing to the local disco on a Saturday night.

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Posted in Cruising, Ships Crew