A Ship's Life

  It's so interesting to me the things you find out after the fact.  Ya know, like after living a portion of life, someone comes back and re-clarifies what really happened.  I've had a recent experience of this concerning the time I spent working on a cruise ship.

  While speaking with Greta yesterday, we (three cruise ship veterans), explained some of the goings-on that most passengers wouldn't know about while spending a few luxurious days aboard a beautiful vessel: the money, the mafias, the time spent working... she was blown away, and even I was surprised at some of the new-found information.  Here are some of the things we covered:

  Wages- Although my pay was decent (for living on a ship), it was about half of what many waiters were earning.  Apparently, making $4000/mo wasn't unheard of (of course this depended on where you were cruising- nearly all departments make the most money while cruising the Caribbean)
  Time spent working- Most departments will work 12-14hrs a day.  As a dancer -as long as no one was injured, ill or otherwise incapable of performing the shows up to par- can work as little as 5 or so hrs a day.  Keep in mind, we are still required to keep fit (ie Gym time), our work is pretty strenuous for those 5hrs, and there is almost always someone sick or injured...
  Living arrangements-  Most living quarters consist of 2 crew members sharing a cabin about the size of a large walk-in closet (many have 4 to a room though) and windows are reserved for officers (check channel 23 for a view of the outside world- ie a camera mounted off the front of the ship).   I was lucky to have a mini-fridge and clean roommates.
  Mafias- This seemed to be the most shocking to Greta.  On board, there are a series of "mafias": Filipino mafia, Italian mafia etc... These are groups of people who band together to trade goods and services with friends in other departments- the largest of these mafias is, of course, the Filipino mafia.  Although many do not hold the most desirable jobs, sheer numbers makes them such a powerful network.  Imagine the goods/services you could benefit from if you are part of -or friends with- the mafia: Laundry dept (you could be the proud owner of one of the prohibited guest-quality down duvets), food dept (everywhere from restaurants to pizza bar to culinary demonstrations to wine testings -I've seen beautiful birthday cakes specially arranged through this dept), Floral dept (arrangements for that special occasion or someone)... the list goes on...
  Women of the Night- Although tales of such can mostly be summed-up to rumors of hopeful men -approx 85% male crew who spend approx 10mos at a time on board- I was told that after I disembarked my second ship, 2 savvy Ukrainian girls joined with exactly this idea.  (They were sent home after being found out 3wks later... much the richer, might I add)