Monday, June 22, 2009
Update
After hearing back from some of my forum posts, it looks like Technical Stage Staff are used on the radiance class of ships as well, bringing the potential ships to be hired on up from 8 to 12. Hopefully I hear something from them soon, I can't wait to get started.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Hired & Waiting
Why I created this blog:
I've had a look around the internet and it seems many people have created blogs to document their experience working on a cruise ship, especially when doing their first contracts. Since internet on board is so expensive, blogging is a fairly cheap way to keep everyone up to date because you can write a very detailed message in notepad or word, and then when it's ready it can be posted where everyone can read it. Much more convenient than individual e-mails. On that basis, I decided to start this blog to write about my experiences working at sea and maybe one day someone will find this info useful in their career search, just as I have found the information that others post online to be beneficial to mine.
In April I was offered a position with Royal Caribbean cruise lines as a Technical Stage Staff. I accepted it right away and I'm really excited about getting started working on a ship. I've cruised enough times to know that it definitely is the right place for me, so I don't have that unsure feeling that I would imagine many people get when they first start out working at sea.
Unfortunately right now I don't know when I'll be starting, where I'm going, or what ship I'll be on. What I do know is that the technical stage staff position only exists on the larger ships (voyager class and larger) so I'll certainly have plenty to do no matter which ship I end up on. Unfortunately, this also means that instead of 20 possible ships to be hired for, I am only eligible for 8 of them (9 when Oasis is ready). That will make it a bit of a longer wait but I think it's going to be worth the wait. Cruise lines install the best of the best equipment available in the theatres on their ships and working on the largest ships also means working on the newest ones. I can't wait to get started working with that stuff.
Another thing about working at sea that has me excited is that It'll be a completely new and different experience, not only in terms of the work I'll be doing but also the lifestyle and surroundings. I'll be meeting many new people from all over the world and gaining a ton of useful knowledge and experience.
Right now all I can do is sit back and wait (and take any freelance work that comes my way) until my day comes. By my estimates, that will probably happen about a month from now.
I've had a look around the internet and it seems many people have created blogs to document their experience working on a cruise ship, especially when doing their first contracts. Since internet on board is so expensive, blogging is a fairly cheap way to keep everyone up to date because you can write a very detailed message in notepad or word, and then when it's ready it can be posted where everyone can read it. Much more convenient than individual e-mails. On that basis, I decided to start this blog to write about my experiences working at sea and maybe one day someone will find this info useful in their career search, just as I have found the information that others post online to be beneficial to mine.
In April I was offered a position with Royal Caribbean cruise lines as a Technical Stage Staff. I accepted it right away and I'm really excited about getting started working on a ship. I've cruised enough times to know that it definitely is the right place for me, so I don't have that unsure feeling that I would imagine many people get when they first start out working at sea.
Unfortunately right now I don't know when I'll be starting, where I'm going, or what ship I'll be on. What I do know is that the technical stage staff position only exists on the larger ships (voyager class and larger) so I'll certainly have plenty to do no matter which ship I end up on. Unfortunately, this also means that instead of 20 possible ships to be hired for, I am only eligible for 8 of them (9 when Oasis is ready). That will make it a bit of a longer wait but I think it's going to be worth the wait. Cruise lines install the best of the best equipment available in the theatres on their ships and working on the largest ships also means working on the newest ones. I can't wait to get started working with that stuff.
Another thing about working at sea that has me excited is that It'll be a completely new and different experience, not only in terms of the work I'll be doing but also the lifestyle and surroundings. I'll be meeting many new people from all over the world and gaining a ton of useful knowledge and experience.
Right now all I can do is sit back and wait (and take any freelance work that comes my way) until my day comes. By my estimates, that will probably happen about a month from now.
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