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Cruise Ship Lifestyles: The Inside Story

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Louise offers these tips for a bon voyage:

Friends: "Aboard ship, you're a family. You're each there to make the passenger happy. There may be people aboard who you wouldn't choose as friends on land. Just as in any corporate office. Get along with everybody, and you'll have friends to go out with while you're in port."

Romance: "When you meet someone aboard ships, the dating process accelerates. It's so romantic, no everyday hassles of bills and money. It's a fairy tale romance. It can be very glamorous. But you must be careful in becoming involved. You'll be spending a lot of time with your shipmates."



Favorite Port: "I like some ports for beaches, others for culture. My favorite is Grenada, the island of spice. Stepping off the ship, the scent of cinnamon and cloves would welcome me. It was so beautiful and natural."

And the best part of cruising, the world and getting paid for it? "I learned so much, not only about other people, but about myself. Because you have a lot of time to understand your own goals, morals and expectations. I learned more in the cruise industry, than I could ever learn through college. You travel, meet different cultures, aboard ship, you may be working with as many as 32 different nationalities. There's been wars are going on between the countries of my shipmates-but we all worked together. I think politicians ought to come aboard and see how real cooperation works!"

Author's note: Louise is pursuing her entertainment career in Orlando, Florida and is happily married to John Castleman, a successful musician at Walt Disney World.

JOYCE GLEESON, ASSISTANT CRUISE DIRECTOR

"Don't be afraid of learning, step right into a new job."

In her crisp, white, cruise staff uniform and white heels, Joyce Gleeson is a woman in charge. Her gold necklaces and emerald rings tell of travels around the world, and the way she gives exclusive attention to each passenger tells of her sincere concern. Joyce is excited about her job and it shows.

Joyce started her travel career in San Diego, California as a travel agent.

"I met some people who asked me to travel to Greece and work. I wanted to learn their culture, and try to learn the language, so I moved to Athens, and worked in a travel agency."

Soon, Joyce was managing the agency but she wasn't enjoying it.

It wasn't challenging enough. That's when I decided to get into cruising. I completed an application at one of the cruise line companies in Piraeus, Greece, home to all the major Greek shipping lines, and told them what I could do. I was a little nervous when I applied. I was fortunate that an employee had just left the ship, so I was needed right away. I walked in on a Thursday and was on a ship that Saturday. That took guts!," she laughs.

Being a travel agent helped me understand what people are looking for in their vacation. Knowing what the passengers expect has helped me do a better job. Good timing is the key in this business; and who you know. You've got to have the right name or someone who knows somebody. You'll find that a lot of ship personnel know personnel in other companies. I worked with one chief purser years ago on a different line, and here we are together eight years later. People who work together on ships take care of each other."

Joyce assists the cruise director in creating the activities and atmosphere on the ship.

If the cruise director is an energetic person it is contagious. The assistant will be energetic and get people involved. I'm the liaison between the cruise director and the crew. I keep things running; make sure the staff is on schedule and activities are held on time. In other words, I can't sleep in. I have to be there. I oversee whatever the cruise director schedules. If you work closely with a cruise director you will intuitively know what he wants. You get it done and then you report. Staff and passengers come to you for help and advice, where and how to do something, and it's up to you to have the answers and to see it through.

You'll need a strong personality, but not overbearing. You must be able to survive in small quarters and get along well with people. Be energetic and always willing to learn, because it's a job where the type of passengers changes faster than the seasons change. You must be a very flexible and free spirited person.

I could set the schedule for the entire staff and something will happen at the last minute; someone higher up will call and say "I need this," and I have to rearrange the schedule to fit the new request. You need to be sure of yourself and confident that you can do the job well. Don't be afraid of learning, step right into a new job.

Involve passengers in a way they enjoy. You have to know which ones want to be part of the show. There are those who want to stay in the back ground and watch and you can really make them angry by bringing them into the spotlight."

What does Joyce like most about her job?

It sounds corny, but I love the people. One day, I tried to figure out how many passengers I'd met within eight months: almost thirty thousand people. We've had movie stars and celebrities and we keep in touch. You meet a variety of people, and you begin to learn personalities, cultures and nationalities. This just makes your character better because you can begin to relate to these people. You know that an Italian does this and a Greek does that and you can get along better. I really like that. You learn languages too. Before, I couldn't speak a word of Italian. Now I speak conversational Italian, and also conversational Greek. I can speak to passengers in their own language and let them know that I care. I'm not just somebody doing a job.

Get some kind of training; don't just walk in off the street. Cruise lines want people with certificates showing professional training. If you have skills, experience or special education, the cruise line will interview you first.

Fluency in languages in addition to English is valuable. It helps that I speak English, conversational Greek and conversational Italian. If you can speak English, French and Spanish, that's needed on all ships.

"I love my job. And all the staff members here enjoy their jobs. You have to love this business. If you don't, get out. If you really think that you can't stay on a moving hotel, be confined to a small cabin and deal with the constant stress of always having to be on the go, not phony but sincerely happy, then it's not worth getting into. Have Fun!"
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