FREE excursions that passengers pay hundreds of dollars to do!
Including; helicopter rides over Alaskan glaciers, Swimming with dolphins, whale watching, rain forest & island safaris, hovercraft rides over the Everglades, exploring ancient and modern cities, party & drinking cruises, free passes to top tourist attractions, elephant safari rides and much, much more!
Party life! Cabin parties, deck parties, beach parties, crew-bar parties often with free food and drink. This is where the REAL fun happens!
Cheap drinks for crew members (as low as $1 for a cocktail!)
Your own "crew bar". The best bar on the ship where you’ll meet and make many great friends.
Zero expenses. Food, cabin, drinks are all included...even toilet paper and soap! You’ll be able to save so much money or blow it all and life the life you’ve always wanted!
Free gym, pool, sauna, jacuzzi!
the superb sports facilities which can be available to crew (volleyball, basketball, racquetball, outdoor and indoor pools and jogging track!)
FREE / Discounted cruises for family and friends to come out and visit you.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Life as a waiter
As a waiter onboard you will probably work harder than anyone else and have less free time.
If that hasn’t put you off then maybe this will, you will likely work 12-14 hour days with no off days and only apx 6 hours sleep per night!
But, as a waiter you will interact with your guests much more than anyone else. You will see the same faces at your table each night and by the end of the cruise, if you have been a pleasant and smiley character, you will often get a rather large tip, especially from American guests.
Working as a waiter varies greatly depending on which cruise line you work for, some cruise lines, for example Cunard, will take on people with no experience and train them in the onboard academy. Here you will recieve only a minimum wage while you are being trained but the advantage is that you don not need any experience. Others such as Seabourn (usually the 5 star luxury yachts and ships) are looking only for waiters with a lot of experience, a good command of English and a friendly and proffessional disposition.
Since working as a waiter can vary greatly this blog entry will concentrate on working as a waiter for Seabourn. Anyone with experience of working on oher ships is more than welcome to write a blog entry, it doesn’t need to be a lot just the mimium information that wil help others.
WORKING AS A WAITER FOR SEABOURN
Because of the size of the Seabourn Ships (apx 200 guests) it is very unlikely to get any days off. If you are lucky and win some of the competitions (more info later) you may be lucky enough to recieve a lunch off in a port where many guests go ashore or have signed up for an all day tour. If you are unlucky then you are looking at working for 4 straight months, breakfast,lunch and dinner!
Breakfast is usually staggered, so a few waiters will start earlier than the others, with everyone working during the busiest time. Those that started early will finish first, the others will have to stay until it has gone fairly quiet and everything is packed away. Those that have been in trouble (maybe held a cabin party and got caught) will suffer and be made to stay right til the end of the breakfast hours, even if there are no guests. If there are no guests your time will be spent cleaning and polishing.
Lunch starts apx an 1.5 hours after breakfast has finished. Again the waiters on the early shift will start first but lunch is usually busy with many guests returning from being ashore to eat on the boat. Some eat int he Veranda cafe and some in the dining room. Although there are set hours, if the guest wishes to remain at the table you will have to stay and serve them, that is all part of the 5 star service!
Dinner starts at 7pm but as a waiter you will start at 5.30pm. This will involove a lengthy discussion about the food, you will have to know the menu by heart and then you will prepare for dinner, setting tables, refilling salt and pepper, folding napkins and much more.
Dinner on Seabourn is an open seating arrangement, Guests can sit where they like unless they have recieved and acceptedan invitation from the Captain or another high ranking officer, then of course a place will be reserved for them.
The dining room is divided into 4-5 sections, each section having 3 waiters ( a runner, second man and a frontman). The runner is the newest and has the least experience, the second man severs food and the front man is in charge of the section, helping the second man and sorting any out any problems.
Since guests can sit at a different table every night you may well have a new face in your section every night! Why is this a problem….because you need to know the guests name. You have to address them as ”Mr or Mrs …….(Smith)…” This means that you will need to learn all the names of the guests onboard just in case you have to wait on them. How do you do this? Well first o fal the guests are always amazed that they are addressed by name and they really like it. It never ceases to amaze new guests how you know their name, returning guest think you remember them (which only usually happens if they were a pain). During embarkation the photographer takes a photo of all the guests as they board the ship, these photos ae then put up on display and are for sale. It doesn’t really matter if they sell or not as the whole resaon for this is so that copies of the photos are distributed to staff so we can learn their names. Although everyone should learn the names it is usually only the wiaters who it is most impotant for as they are the ones with most contact with the guests. On the second night before dinner all waiters have to do a name test, they recieve a sheet with the photos and have to write the names next to the pics. The one with the most names right usually gets a lunch off.
Guests can also eat in the Veranda, an open air restaurant at the back of the ship. It often has specail themed nights and the atmosphere is much more relaxed here than the dining room. If you are lucky enough to get placed here your life will be much more easier and you will be able to enjoy the sights whilst sailing. The down side is that you wil need to bring food from the kitchen up 3 decks. There is a lift but sometimes it does not work!
Since dinner can finsih as late as 9.30, sometimes 10, it is unsual to be finished much before 12. The dining room has to be cleaned, tables set again, sometimes there is another meeting (usually only when there is a dickhead Maitre’D, but unfortunatley there are far to many of them). With breakfast starting as early as 6 am you may only be looking at 5-6 hours sleep.
Which means during the breaks between breakfast and lunch you will usually want to catch up on some sleep. If you can get ashore then it is likely to be for a few hours durig the afternoon, after 2pm.
Seabourn promotes itself as having a no tipping policy but many guest will still insist on giving a tip. The guest is always right and if they wish to tip you take it.
Although it is hard work the pay is very good, with a full ship you can easily earn apx 2500 USD per month, not including tips. Seabourn pay for flights and uniform and you get 6-8 weeks off every 4 -5 months.
As a waiter onboard you will probably work harder than anyone else and have less free time.
If that hasn’t put you off then maybe this will, you will likely work 12-14 hour days with no off days and only apx 6 hours sleep per night!
But, as a waiter you will interact with your guests much more than anyone else. You will see the same faces at your table each night and by the end of the cruise, if you have been a pleasant and smiley character, you will often get a rather large tip, especially from American guests.
Working as a waiter varies greatly depending on which cruise line you work for, some cruise lines, for example Cunard, will take on people with no experience and train them in the onboard academy. Here you will recieve only a minimum wage while you are being trained but the advantage is that you don not need any experience. Others such as Seabourn (usually the 5 star luxury yachts and ships) are looking only for waiters with a lot of experience, a good command of English and a friendly and proffessional disposition.
Since working as a waiter can vary greatly this blog entry will concentrate on working as a waiter for Seabourn. Anyone with experience of working on oher ships is more than welcome to write a blog entry, it doesn’t need to be a lot just the mimium information that wil help others.
WORKING AS A WAITER FOR SEABOURN
Because of the size of the Seabourn Ships (apx 200 guests) it is very unlikely to get any days off. If you are lucky and win some of the competitions (more info later) you may be lucky enough to recieve a lunch off in a port where many guests go ashore or have signed up for an all day tour. If you are unlucky then you are looking at working for 4 straight months, breakfast,lunch and dinner!
Breakfast is usually staggered, so a few waiters will start earlier than the others, with everyone working during the busiest time. Those that started early will finish first, the others will have to stay until it has gone fairly quiet and everything is packed away. Those that have been in trouble (maybe held a cabin party and got caught) will suffer and be made to stay right til the end of the breakfast hours, even if there are no guests. If there are no guests your time will be spent cleaning and polishing.
Lunch starts apx an 1.5 hours after breakfast has finished. Again the waiters on the early shift will start first but lunch is usually busy with many guests returning from being ashore to eat on the boat. Some eat int he Veranda cafe and some in the dining room. Although there are set hours, if the guest wishes to remain at the table you will have to stay and serve them, that is all part of the 5 star service!
Dinner starts at 7pm but as a waiter you will start at 5.30pm. This will involove a lengthy discussion about the food, you will have to know the menu by heart and then you will prepare for dinner, setting tables, refilling salt and pepper, folding napkins and much more.
Dinner on Seabourn is an open seating arrangement, Guests can sit where they like unless they have recieved and acceptedan invitation from the Captain or another high ranking officer, then of course a place will be reserved for them.
The dining room is divided into 4-5 sections, each section having 3 waiters ( a runner, second man and a frontman). The runner is the newest and has the least experience, the second man severs food and the front man is in charge of the section, helping the second man and sorting any out any problems.
Since guests can sit at a different table every night you may well have a new face in your section every night! Why is this a problem….because you need to know the guests name. You have to address them as ”Mr or Mrs …….(Smith)…” This means that you will need to learn all the names of the guests onboard just in case you have to wait on them. How do you do this? Well first o fal the guests are always amazed that they are addressed by name and they really like it. It never ceases to amaze new guests how you know their name, returning guest think you remember them (which only usually happens if they were a pain). During embarkation the photographer takes a photo of all the guests as they board the ship, these photos ae then put up on display and are for sale. It doesn’t really matter if they sell or not as the whole resaon for this is so that copies of the photos are distributed to staff so we can learn their names. Although everyone should learn the names it is usually only the wiaters who it is most impotant for as they are the ones with most contact with the guests. On the second night before dinner all waiters have to do a name test, they recieve a sheet with the photos and have to write the names next to the pics. The one with the most names right usually gets a lunch off.
Guests can also eat in the Veranda, an open air restaurant at the back of the ship. It often has specail themed nights and the atmosphere is much more relaxed here than the dining room. If you are lucky enough to get placed here your life will be much more easier and you will be able to enjoy the sights whilst sailing. The down side is that you wil need to bring food from the kitchen up 3 decks. There is a lift but sometimes it does not work!
Since dinner can finsih as late as 9.30, sometimes 10, it is unsual to be finished much before 12. The dining room has to be cleaned, tables set again, sometimes there is another meeting (usually only when there is a dickhead Maitre’D, but unfortunatley there are far to many of them). With breakfast starting as early as 6 am you may only be looking at 5-6 hours sleep.
Which means during the breaks between breakfast and lunch you will usually want to catch up on some sleep. If you can get ashore then it is likely to be for a few hours durig the afternoon, after 2pm.
Seabourn promotes itself as having a no tipping policy but many guest will still insist on giving a tip. The guest is always right and if they wish to tip you take it.
Although it is hard work the pay is very good, with a full ship you can easily earn apx 2500 USD per month, not including tips. Seabourn pay for flights and uniform and you get 6-8 weeks off every 4 -5 months.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Trapped in a Cabin
A woman phoned the reception desk. She was frantic. "I can't get out of my cabin." The receptionist was confused but concerned. He tried to calm the lady down and find out just exactly what the problem was.
"You can't get out of your cabin?" he asked. "Is the door jammed?" "No" she said, "there is no door!" The receptionist assured her that there was a door. "NO" she exclaimed. "There is the bathroom door, the closet door and one other door but it has a "Do Not Disturb" sign on it!"
Stories like these are common place in our industry, this story was taken from www.shipjobs.com
"You can't get out of your cabin?" he asked. "Is the door jammed?" "No" she said, "there is no door!" The receptionist assured her that there was a door. "NO" she exclaimed. "There is the bathroom door, the closet door and one other door but it has a "Do Not Disturb" sign on it!"
Stories like these are common place in our industry, this story was taken from www.shipjobs.com
Working in the Casino on a cruise ship.
Many will tell you that working in the Casino is the most glamorous of all cruise ship jobs. Expectations are high....”Think of all the rich people you’ll meet”, “ I bet you’ll get so many tips, “you must get to wear beautiful uniforms”, you don’t work during the day surely” and so on and on and on.........wake up!
Life in the casino is not like that at all. It’s another job that requires nearly working 24/7, 7 days a week. Often starting as early as 10am and working til 2am. Yes and that doesn’t include the cash count and slot drop count that comes after 2am. BUT, and this is a very big but, it’s still worth it.
I know, I did this for 5 years, on seven ships. I started on the lowest of the low and worked my way up to casino Manager on a 5 star luxury yacht, often voted best Cruise ship in the world.
Everything you read here is in regard to Carnival casinos who have 74 cruise ships across 10 fleets and it grows every year.
Casinos Austria is another company, smaller than Carnival,l but they also have several casinos on some very prestigious ships such as Seadream.
As with the hairdressing post below you will need to contact these two companies directly, not the Cruise Lines themselves. The details are below:
www.casinosaustria.com
www.oceancasinojobs.com
Whats the first step?
You will need to have at least a years experience of working in a casino (and usually that has to have been within the last year-so if you changed job and are a bit rusty you’ll need to get some experience again).
This means should at least be able to deal Roulette, Blackjack and Stud Poker competently. On a ship there will only be 1-2 inspectors or pit bosses looking after10-15 dealers, so you’ll need to be confident that you can deal without making mistakes, or to many mistake at least! Don’t worry about Craps (the dice game) as you will usually get trained up for that once onboard and have proved yourself competent with the other games.
You will also need to be a team player and be a friendly person. Make sure this is written into your references, it really counts.
Yes..yes. I can do all that. So whats next?
Use the above websites to apply for a position. Sometimes you will only have a telephone interview and a thorough check of all references (especially if they really need staff), at other times you may need to attend an open interview which are held in different countries at various dates. (check the websites for these).
If you are successful you’ll have to ensure that your passport is up to date (the office should help you with applying for the Visa’s you will need), you’ll need to have a medical (usually they will tell you where) and thats it. You will need to pay a 500USD deposit, the reason for this is that if you don’t like it, are no good at your job or you commit a sackable offence you will be paying for your flight home not the company!
Ideally you should take some nice tuxedo shirts with you and either black trousers (with no pockets) or a black skirt. If you do this it will save you having to wear the cheap uniforms they supply you with.
Take some money to get you through your first night before boarding the ship and to get you through the first few weeks before you get paid.
I’m joining the ship tomorrow what can I expect?
Well , that will totally depend on which ship you will be joining? Sometimes, especially on Carnival and Holland America you will be allowed to go in most passenger areas providing you are wearing your uniform., that includes the buffet, the theatre and the disco. Carnival have a pool especially for crew so if you chill out there you can where whatever you like as it is a crew area. Sometime the ships management try to tell you that you are not allowed in passenger areas, usually when the Casino is a concession, eg Seabourn and they only allow the manager to those areas. It’s easier not to argue and anyway who wants to hang out onboard when theres a beautiful beach nearby.
Many young people work onboard so there will definitely be someone you get on with. Also every night you can usually find a place to party and the crew bar...well just don’t ring the bell. On Carnival you can buy cocktails for 1USD, on other ships this is limited to beer and wine but when theres a will theres a way......vodka in water bottles no one knows the difference. Just don’t accidentally drink it first thing in the moring! Cigarettes are also dirt cheap.
You’ll be sleeping in bunk beds and sharing a cabin with 1-2 others but at least you won’t be lonely. Sometimes you can apply with your partner and if you are lucky you will get placed together but not always. They do like to split you up for the first contract as a trial, however I was lick yenough to join the ship with my boyfiend and share a cabin with him to every time so may be you will also be lucky.
Casino work
When the ship is docked the casino can’t be open sop you Will have the whole day free, unless you have IPM (more later).
The Casino opens apx 30 minutes after the ship has sailed and will be open until the last passenger leaves. On Seabourn this could mean as early as 12am or as late as 6am, when the ship came into dock again. With Carnival it will be more regular, apx 2-3 am finsihing. But don’t forget afterwards you will do the count. Everyone help with the first part of this and then 1-2 remain to do the count. Who stays depends on a rotating basis (or if you have been bad expect a extra count or two).
If te ship is at sea all day then the Casino is open from 10.30 am right though the whole day. Ther are normally two shifts, so you will get a break at some point but “Sea” days are a little crappy.
In the casino you will be allowed to accept tips so you are gonna have to smile a lot and laugh at jokes that aren’t even funny. You really need to be a people person to work on a ship whatever job you do. If you don’t make your fair share of the tips the others will start to dislike you and all te tips go into a pot and are shared. This used to be shared between the whole Casino but now all the tips in the fleet go into huge pot and are divided between everyone. This wa supposed to make it afirer for everyone but I dion’t realy like that part of it. I never knew who I was carrying.
Tips also vary a great deal. I once did a cruise and made 7500USD in six days. There were only two of us and we made that each! But also I’ve done cruises where I made only 100 USD in two weeks (beware of world cruises).
Extra info
As well as your casino work there will be lifeboat drills twice a week , which take up to 45 minutes to complete. Do not sleep through these.....or you will pay the price.
IPM is in port manning and it sucks. A certain number of people are required to stay onboard the ship when it is docked in case it start to sink or there is afire and the passengers need guiding off. Yeah, whatever, its crap but you have to do this at least once a week.
Cabin inspection is when the masters of the ship will come and check your cabin to see if you are behaving like good little girls and boys, usually once a week. On some ships this is just a quick glance and a tick against your name. On others, (this is true), you will have to strip down your bed to the mattress and have a spotless cabin. This happened to me twice, right after I paid my Philippine Cabin steward to make my bed!
I must not forget to tell you this...tipping and bribing is common place. You want some fresh bread go and see the baker with a few dollars and a smile and he’ll give you some, just don’t get caught. The cabins stewards will also take care of your bed, bathroom and laundry if ou tip them regularly, best to agree a price beforehand and it is so worth it.
Pay
As a dealer you can expect to make 15 USD a day. A Cashier 20 USD an Inspector /pit boss 30USD per day. It’s a pittance but as we talked about it beforehand it’s the tips that really make it worth while.
Is it worth it?
It is a great life. You will get to see so many places, especially since you can not work when the ship is in port, you will be free much more than the other professions. The down side is that when the rest of the ship are partying in crew bar after work you will still be working, but you didn come on a cruise ship to party ...did you?
Hairdressing on cruise ships.
How can you get an interview?
The most important thing I can tell you is NOT to part with any money. You do not need to pay agencies to get on their “books”, you do not need to require an illusive list of companies, no No, NO! This goes for all cruise ship jobs not just hairdressing.
If you are a hairdresser, beautician, fitness instructor, masseuse then you need to contact the companies who run the on board health spas directly. Steiner and Harding Bros are well known and operate on the majority of ships but also there is a South African company that was up and coming, but I’m not sure of the name.
It is pointless contacting the shipping companies direct as they have nothing to do with the hiring and firing of concessions (spa, casino, shop etc).
The information here is regarding Steiner, as that is where my friend worked (who supplied the information). She worked for 3-4 contracts (eight months in length) on the Seabourn Cruise Line.
How to take the first step.
Obvioulsy you need to be fully qualified in your field. But that alone is not enough. One of the most important factors for getting a job on a cruise ship is how much of a team player you are. That and a friendly disposition. If you are not a team player then you won’t last long on a cruise ship. Your references will need to be good and back up the facts that you are more than capable of doing your job and that you are indeed able to work well in a team. Your reference will also need to say what a lovely person you are. Anything negative from your bosses and you won’t even get to the first stage of interview!
So if you're confident that your boss (and your previous bosses) would give you good references (and yes; they will be asked...Steiner are very thorough), then it might be time to apply for the job.
What happens next?
After you have filled in your application form, you will be probably be invited to a seminar You will be shown a DVD about life on board, and the representative will give more information about working onboard. Working in the Spa Will not be your only duty...more of that later!
You will also have a "mini-interview" which if successful you will be invited to a second interview in London. To increase your chance of getting to the second stage try to wear long hair back, look smart and tidy, have natural make-up, don’t wear to much jewellery and if you are a man be clean shaven. Also make sure you smile a lot.
What happens in London?
Here you Will need to show your technical ability. You will be asked to do a minimum of a cut and blow dry and also a hair-up for which you will need models. When you create the hair up style use lots of hairspray and pins. Remember if you get the job you will be doing this on a ship so any styles you do will need to be able to withstand a sea breeze. Aim to do this in under 30 minutes.
When doing your cut and blow dry think glamour with a capital G. Aim to create a lot of body and make it smooth. The time frame for this is around 45 minutes, under that is even better.
Afterwards, you will be given a colour exam (written) so make sure you know your theory.
You may think that the “thank you for coming” after all of the above is the end, but in fact that is the last interview. Again make sure you seem friendly, smile a lot again (good practice anyway for the ship life). Be prepared to answer questions such as, "I don't think you're ready for this kind of position yet. How do you feel about that?" simply give a good answer, whilst smiling.
After London
If you don get the job you won’t be jumping onboard just yet. You’ll need to get your passport sorted out, buy uniforms, have medicals all at your own expense. You will also have to spend some time in the hostel preparing and training so take some money with you. You’ll also need money for when you're in the hotel abroad awaiting your first ship. Usually one night. Many people ask why do I need to go to the hostel, well in a way it prepares you for ship lie. There are certain rules to follow, you are away from home much like living on a ship, so this is a good practice to see if you can really be away from your friends and family.
It can be hard, because you will be staying at the YMCA, sharing a room, getting buses everywhere - but if that makes you think twice, have a serious re-think about going on the ships because you will be sharing a cabin much smaller than the room at the YMCA for the next 8 months!
Always take a pride in your appearance whilst training, buy new make up, handbags and shoes and use them. How you look whilst training Will decide which type of ship you will go to work on. If you look messy then for sure you will not be send to a 5 star luxury liner. You have to look good and take pride in yourself at all times other wise you will probably end up on a cheap cruise line with boring itineraries. But your appearance is jut the tip of the iceberg in deciding where you will go.
Quite a lot of the training will be spent learning about the products used in the Spa, from the hair products to the skin products, even to the slimming tablets. Of course, you will also have to learn about every service offered on the salon/spa menu inside out. You will be expected to be able to sell all of these products and services to the passengers once you on board, and you will be targeted to do so. If you don't sell products (and lots of them), well I guess that all I can say is that I hope you enjoy the Fort Lauderdale-Bahamas run, and don't mind being pictured on a tug boat rather than a cruise ship.
So make sure you can demonstrate while you are in London that you are not only good at doing hair, but than you can retail too.
They'll pick a ship for you based on what they see.
Onboard
Once you have been placed on a ship, you will fly out to meet it wherever it next docks. When you arrive on your ship, you will be told your working hours. These are likely to be 1 full day off each week, and 2 half days (i.e. you will be at work for 6 days per week). Your working hours will be this - start at 7.45AM, have one hour for lunch at around 1PM and then continue working until 8.15PM. That's correct, you will be working 11 hours each day. No-one said it was going to be easy!
When you have a half day off, one of those days will be in the middle of the week where you will start at either 7.45AM - 2PM or 2PM - 8.15PM. Your other half day off will always be in the same place, and that is the place where the passengers get off to go home (I know New York and Miami like the back of my own hand thanks to that).
Be warned though, the second half day off is preceded the night before with what's called "Port clean". Port clean is named because it is the deep clean you do before arriving in the home port. It's to make sure that the entire ship looks brand new for the next set of passengers. This is not a normal salon clean by any standards. When you have finished your working day at 8.15pm (this will have been a full working day where you started at 7.45AM), you will get something to eat, get changed into your jeans and t-shirt, return to the spa for around 9.30pm and begin cleaning EVERYTHING...every roller, every drawer, every chair foot, every top of every mirror, every floor tile...and try as we did over the 2 years I did the job, we never once finished as a team before 1AM.
Now the scary bit...for all this work, you will be paid the princely sum of around $45 per week (£25). That's not a typo. Fourty Five US DOLLARS or Twenty Five UK Pounds. Each week. There is no such thing as minimum wage at sea but on top of that, you will be paid 10% of everything you do or SELL! Thats why if you can sell you will If you do a blowdry for $30, you will get paid $3 in commission. But if you can find a problem that the client has, to which you can offer a solution e.g. a skin cream for $60, while you are styling her hair, the bill will now be $90 and you commission tripled to $9 for doing no extra work (just 2 minutes of conversation). With the average hair product commission at $1.50 and skin care product commission $5 you can see where you are going to make money. Many hairdresser fill their station with skin care items and let the clients ask ... "What's that?"
If you are good at selling you can easily be looking at earning $500 a week. You have no tax, bills or food to pay for so you can soon save quite a sum....or spend it!
Is it worth it?
Ship life is a very young life, full of parties but also full of rules. You have to eat what is given to you, there are usually 3-5 choices and it’s not always great food. But the atmosphere is usually very fun. There are a lot of chances to see amazing places and of course you can save a lot of money. Returning to reality can sometimes be a big bump down and most people that worked on ships have only good memories about it. Try it, if you don’tlike it you can always go home.
Some information taken from www.hairdressingworld.com
The most important thing I can tell you is NOT to part with any money. You do not need to pay agencies to get on their “books”, you do not need to require an illusive list of companies, no No, NO! This goes for all cruise ship jobs not just hairdressing.
If you are a hairdresser, beautician, fitness instructor, masseuse then you need to contact the companies who run the on board health spas directly. Steiner and Harding Bros are well known and operate on the majority of ships but also there is a South African company that was up and coming, but I’m not sure of the name.
It is pointless contacting the shipping companies direct as they have nothing to do with the hiring and firing of concessions (spa, casino, shop etc).
The information here is regarding Steiner, as that is where my friend worked (who supplied the information). She worked for 3-4 contracts (eight months in length) on the Seabourn Cruise Line.
How to take the first step.
Obvioulsy you need to be fully qualified in your field. But that alone is not enough. One of the most important factors for getting a job on a cruise ship is how much of a team player you are. That and a friendly disposition. If you are not a team player then you won’t last long on a cruise ship. Your references will need to be good and back up the facts that you are more than capable of doing your job and that you are indeed able to work well in a team. Your reference will also need to say what a lovely person you are. Anything negative from your bosses and you won’t even get to the first stage of interview!
So if you're confident that your boss (and your previous bosses) would give you good references (and yes; they will be asked...Steiner are very thorough), then it might be time to apply for the job.
What happens next?
After you have filled in your application form, you will be probably be invited to a seminar You will be shown a DVD about life on board, and the representative will give more information about working onboard. Working in the Spa Will not be your only duty...more of that later!
You will also have a "mini-interview" which if successful you will be invited to a second interview in London. To increase your chance of getting to the second stage try to wear long hair back, look smart and tidy, have natural make-up, don’t wear to much jewellery and if you are a man be clean shaven. Also make sure you smile a lot.
What happens in London?
Here you Will need to show your technical ability. You will be asked to do a minimum of a cut and blow dry and also a hair-up for which you will need models. When you create the hair up style use lots of hairspray and pins. Remember if you get the job you will be doing this on a ship so any styles you do will need to be able to withstand a sea breeze. Aim to do this in under 30 minutes.
When doing your cut and blow dry think glamour with a capital G. Aim to create a lot of body and make it smooth. The time frame for this is around 45 minutes, under that is even better.
Afterwards, you will be given a colour exam (written) so make sure you know your theory.
You may think that the “thank you for coming” after all of the above is the end, but in fact that is the last interview. Again make sure you seem friendly, smile a lot again (good practice anyway for the ship life). Be prepared to answer questions such as, "I don't think you're ready for this kind of position yet. How do you feel about that?" simply give a good answer, whilst smiling.
After London
If you don get the job you won’t be jumping onboard just yet. You’ll need to get your passport sorted out, buy uniforms, have medicals all at your own expense. You will also have to spend some time in the hostel preparing and training so take some money with you. You’ll also need money for when you're in the hotel abroad awaiting your first ship. Usually one night. Many people ask why do I need to go to the hostel, well in a way it prepares you for ship lie. There are certain rules to follow, you are away from home much like living on a ship, so this is a good practice to see if you can really be away from your friends and family.
It can be hard, because you will be staying at the YMCA, sharing a room, getting buses everywhere - but if that makes you think twice, have a serious re-think about going on the ships because you will be sharing a cabin much smaller than the room at the YMCA for the next 8 months!
Always take a pride in your appearance whilst training, buy new make up, handbags and shoes and use them. How you look whilst training Will decide which type of ship you will go to work on. If you look messy then for sure you will not be send to a 5 star luxury liner. You have to look good and take pride in yourself at all times other wise you will probably end up on a cheap cruise line with boring itineraries. But your appearance is jut the tip of the iceberg in deciding where you will go.
Quite a lot of the training will be spent learning about the products used in the Spa, from the hair products to the skin products, even to the slimming tablets. Of course, you will also have to learn about every service offered on the salon/spa menu inside out. You will be expected to be able to sell all of these products and services to the passengers once you on board, and you will be targeted to do so. If you don't sell products (and lots of them), well I guess that all I can say is that I hope you enjoy the Fort Lauderdale-Bahamas run, and don't mind being pictured on a tug boat rather than a cruise ship.
So make sure you can demonstrate while you are in London that you are not only good at doing hair, but than you can retail too.
They'll pick a ship for you based on what they see.
Onboard
Once you have been placed on a ship, you will fly out to meet it wherever it next docks. When you arrive on your ship, you will be told your working hours. These are likely to be 1 full day off each week, and 2 half days (i.e. you will be at work for 6 days per week). Your working hours will be this - start at 7.45AM, have one hour for lunch at around 1PM and then continue working until 8.15PM. That's correct, you will be working 11 hours each day. No-one said it was going to be easy!
When you have a half day off, one of those days will be in the middle of the week where you will start at either 7.45AM - 2PM or 2PM - 8.15PM. Your other half day off will always be in the same place, and that is the place where the passengers get off to go home (I know New York and Miami like the back of my own hand thanks to that).
Be warned though, the second half day off is preceded the night before with what's called "Port clean". Port clean is named because it is the deep clean you do before arriving in the home port. It's to make sure that the entire ship looks brand new for the next set of passengers. This is not a normal salon clean by any standards. When you have finished your working day at 8.15pm (this will have been a full working day where you started at 7.45AM), you will get something to eat, get changed into your jeans and t-shirt, return to the spa for around 9.30pm and begin cleaning EVERYTHING...every roller, every drawer, every chair foot, every top of every mirror, every floor tile...and try as we did over the 2 years I did the job, we never once finished as a team before 1AM.
Now the scary bit...for all this work, you will be paid the princely sum of around $45 per week (£25). That's not a typo. Fourty Five US DOLLARS or Twenty Five UK Pounds. Each week. There is no such thing as minimum wage at sea but on top of that, you will be paid 10% of everything you do or SELL! Thats why if you can sell you will If you do a blowdry for $30, you will get paid $3 in commission. But if you can find a problem that the client has, to which you can offer a solution e.g. a skin cream for $60, while you are styling her hair, the bill will now be $90 and you commission tripled to $9 for doing no extra work (just 2 minutes of conversation). With the average hair product commission at $1.50 and skin care product commission $5 you can see where you are going to make money. Many hairdresser fill their station with skin care items and let the clients ask ... "What's that?"
If you are good at selling you can easily be looking at earning $500 a week. You have no tax, bills or food to pay for so you can soon save quite a sum....or spend it!
Is it worth it?
Ship life is a very young life, full of parties but also full of rules. You have to eat what is given to you, there are usually 3-5 choices and it’s not always great food. But the atmosphere is usually very fun. There are a lot of chances to see amazing places and of course you can save a lot of money. Returning to reality can sometimes be a big bump down and most people that worked on ships have only good memories about it. Try it, if you don’tlike it you can always go home.
Some information taken from www.hairdressingworld.com
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
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