I had a question come in about "Ship Life" for crew:

Larry asked, "Do you get days off and how many hrs. a day does the crew work?"

All positions for crew are different, but there is actually 3 different levels of workers on the ship. Crew, Staff, and Officers.

Crew are like cabin stewards, servers, cleaners, and most people you do not see on the ship.

Staff includes entertainment, sales and guest service positions, spa workers, and kids department.

Officers are always the italian looking guys in formal white outfits.

We all had different lifestyles in our little floating island... different places to eat, some places others couldn't go into, and hours/responsibilities aboard the ship.

The "crew" definately works the most hours throughout the day, and when you see a cabin steward always working it is important to know that they do work hard, but not as much as you think they do. Most Guests see a steward and think that they are the same person, and always see them through out the day, but the stewards work about 5 - 6 hours a day with no full day off. They have a 12 hour period of time that they work but take time off in-between when the guests are back in their room. They do get time to get off the ship and enjoy many of the ports.

Entertainment staff has it pretty easy only working about 5 hours but spread out throughout the day, and usually get a full day off a week. I would probably say some of the hardest workers on the ship are spa, guest services and shore excursions, and the kid watchers. They work about 8 - 10 hours a day everyday with very little breaks. So make sure your extra nice to these workers.

Officers, well what can I say, they have it pretty easy... Large cabins, and work about 4 hour shifts a day driving the boat (which is a HUGE task) They can pretty much do what ever they want on the ship and above security in some cases.

So as it looks like we are slaves on board ship, we are certainly not. Crew parties, night after night of crew bar until 2 am with $1.25 beer, and the rest of the night out on the front of the ship under the stars. Week after week of crew activities, games, and cheap excursions. Ship life is great in its moderation... working on board a ship for 9 months would be death, but 4 - 6 months is not so bad as long as you have a few months between the next contract.

Hope this answered your question. if you have any questions about working on a ship please let me know, and stay tuned to my next blog which tells some nail bitting stories about getting to the ship too late!!! YIKES, I have some good ones.... so until then follow me on facebook www.facebook.com/thedannyblackpage (like the page and send me a message telling me you read this and ill send you some free downloads)