
Admittedly, before writing this piece I envisioned working on a cruise ship being like the television show, The Love Boat.
It turns out, probably not so surprisingly, this is in fact a misconception.
Mamamia spoke with past and present cruise ship workers about the reality of working on the high seas.
1. There is NO privacy.
Amelia, a singer and dancer who worked on cruise ships on and off for three years, said that there is a severe lack of privacy on cruise ships. Everyone knows everything about everyone. It’s like being on Big Brother!
“Often we have to share cabins with others so you get to know people pretty well,” says Rachel*, who currently works as a waitress on a cruise ship.
Side note – there are two types of people when it comes to packing a holiday suitcase. Post continues after video.
2. Workplace politics and issues are also found on board cruise ships.
“You do get really sucked into the politics of ship life. I found that people in high up positions were on power trips a lot of the time so you have to learn how to deal with all sorts of people,” Amelia tells Mamamia.