पोष्ट गरिएको: 08/02/12 | अगस्त दोस्रो, 2012
म मेरो क्रूज गर्नु भन्दा पहिले, धेरै मानिसहरूले भने कि उनीहरूले आफ्नो गम्भीर श्रम अभ्यासका कारण राजप्रवाह गर्दैनन्। क्रूर शोषकहरूले शोषक कामदारहरू गरे, तिनीहरूले भने। मैले लामो घण्टा र कम भुक्तानको बारेमा सुनेको छु कि सबैभन्दा क्रूर श्रमिकहरू सहन्छन्, तर मैले मेरो पाल पंजारियन जहाजहरूमा ध्यान दिएर काम गरें। अर्ल र म क्रुज जहाजमा “क्लूवु” को एक सदस्य बन्न चाहान्छु भन्ने कुराको बारेमा मैले भने।
Nomadic Matt: तपाईं कसरी क्रुज जहाज मा काम गर्न को लागी?
भटकने काम: 2000 मा फिर्ता, मैले एक सहपारू यात्रीलाई भेटें जसले मलाई आफ्नो अनुभवको बारेमा बोलेका क्रूजर जहाजहरू काम गरिरहेको अनुभव गरे। जमैकामा एक बिहान, भोलिपत्रो बार्बाडोसमा अर्को बिहान उठ्ने उनका कथाहरू म उत्सुक थिए, र कोस्टा रिकामा। म पनि अधिक यात्रा र छुट्टीको समय को विचार मन पराउछु।
उनले विश्वका सयौं चालक दलका साथ काम गरिरहेका थिए।
थाइल्याण्डमा पढिसकेपछि मैले उनलाई सम्पर्क गरें र उनले मलाई कार्त्र क्रुज लाइनहरूमा थाहा पाएपछि मलाई सीधै सम्पर्क गर्न लगाए।
वर्षौंको अवधिमा तपाईको काम (हरू) को बारेमा हामीलाई बताउनुहोस्। तपाईं वास्तवमा के गर्नुहुन्छ?
मैले एक सहायक यात्रा प्रबन्धकको रूपमा शुरू गरें, तर मेरो पहिलो सम्झौताको समयमा मलाई टुर प्रबन्धक संस्था व्यवस्थापोषण गरियो, बाँकी 4.5 years बर्षमा मैले जहाजमा राखें। एक भ्रमण प्रबन्धकको रूपमा, म टुर कार्यालयको प्रभारी थिएँ, जुन विभाग हो जुन कलको सबै पोर्टहरूमा जग्गामा पुर्याउँछ।
मेरो लागि, मेरो तालिका बिहान शिविरमा पहिलो व्यक्ति भइरहेको छ, केहि घण्टाको लागि भ्रमण गर्ने, पोर्टमा केही खाली समय मजा लिदै, जहाँ म को लागी भ्रमण गर्न जारी राख्नेछु, पछि पोर्टहरू र आवश्यक दैनिक रिपोर्टहरू पूर्ण रूपमा पठाइन्छ।
दिनहरूमा जब जहाज पोर्टमा थिएन, मँ मेरो अफिसमा अहिलेसम्म टूर अपरेटरहरूसँग सञ्चार गर्दैछु, भविष्यका यात्राहरूको लागि भ्रमण गर्ने, र उठ्ने कुनै पनि अप्रत्याशित अवस्थाहरूसँग व्यवहार गर्दै।
समुद्री दिनहरूमा, म मुख्य थिएटरमा पनि प्रस्तुतीकरणहरू दिनेछु, जहाँ मैले बन्दुकको बारेमा कुरा गर्थें त्यहाँ जाँच गर्ने र कुन अभिप्रायहरू हामीले दिएका थिए। [सम्पादक नोट: मलाई यी कुनै पनि मेरो क्रूसमा याद छैन!]
धेरै मानिसहरू क्रुजी लाइनरहरूको आलोचनात्मक कार्य सर्तहरूको लागि आलोचना गर्छन्। के तपाईंले कहिल्यै दुर्व्यवहार गर्नुभयो?
हुदै हैन। चालक दलका सदस्यहरू लामो समय काम गर्छन् भने, कर्मचारीहरू राम्ररी व्यवहार गरिन्छ। अधिकांश जहाजहरू यी दिनहरूमा धेरै प्रीमियम आवास, धेरै खानाको बास, चालक दल पस, चालक दलजी, र पार्टी क्षेत्रहरू, विशेष रूपमा चालक दलका लागि सबै विशेष रूपमा।
त्यहाँ भाषा पाठ्यक्रमहरू छन् जुन तपाईं लिन सक्नुहुन्छ, र व्यापार कोर्सहरू र अन्य प्रमाणपत्रहरू सबै टोलीका लागि उपलब्ध छन्। त्यहाँ बारम्बार फिल्म रातहरू, थिमेरी पार्टीहरू (क्रूज लाइनहरू जहाजमा काम गर्ने प्रत्येक राष्ट्रियताका प्रमुख छुट्टिहरूको लागि पार्टीहरू मिल्छ) र अन्य क्रन्टवालका गतिविधिहरू।
हजारौंका सदस्यहरूमध्ये एक हजारौं सदस्यहरू बाहिर मैले यससँग कुराकानी गरेको छु, मैले कहिले पनि टोलीको सदस्यको कुनै ठूलो घटनाबारे सुनेन।
के अवधिमा काम गर्ने अवस्था सुधारिएको छ?
बिल्कुलै। त्यहाँ आजको कुनै तरिका छैन र उमेरमा जुन त्यस्तो क्रूज लाइनहरू बाँच्न सफल हुनेछन् यदि काम गर्ने अवस्था कमजोर हो भने। and with every new ship that is built, the crew areas are always improved in order to ensure that the quality of life is as high as possible, something that is important when you are working in such an enclosed environment.
There are always very specific rules in place as to how many hours every crew member can work, how much free time they must receive each week, and what their specific duties entail.
And the safety of every crew member really is a priority, at least with the three cruise lines I worked for. In my experience, the officers in command of every ship do whatever it takes to ensure that the crew members are as happy as possible.
Many people say most cruise liners hire people from developing nations because they are less likely to speak out, especially for lower-level positions. Thoughts?
In my opinion, the reason why many of the “lower” jobs are filled with people from developing nations is that the cruise lines can get away with paying them lower wages.
Most of the “lower” jobs receive very little money from the cruise lines (maybe $200–500 USD per month), with gratuities making up the rest of their salary. It would be a lot harder to convince people from the Western world to take a job for such a small base pay, but for those from developing countries, this amount is typically much more than they would earn back at home.
As for keeping crew members in control, every cruise ship I’ve worked on had a crew office that was serious about listening to crew member issues and complaints, regardless of the position they held. and crew members were encouraged to speak out about anything they felt needed to be changed, whether it pertained to work safety, improved crew facilities, salaries, or anything else.
As a result, changes were made on a regular basis, and crew members who suggested major changes that were indeed implemented were typically rewarded for voicing their concerns in the first place.
What are common misconceptions people have about life on a cruise ship?
Most of the people I meet either think that crew members work 24 hours per day for six months straight, without any time off, or they think that crew members just party all the time because such work is not really “work” at all.
But both of these are untrue.
Working on a cruise ship involves long hours for sure, but every crew member does have free time, and there are always crew activities organized to ensure that ship life involves much more than just work. Likewise, while there are crew parties organized every week or two, working on a cruise ship does involve real responsibilities, and anybody who doesn’t take their job seriously will find themselves out of a job before long.
Another misconception is that the pay onboard cruise ships is quite low. and while some positions earn a low base salary, when combined with tips, usually these crew members are earning much more than they would earn in their home countries.
Also, for other positions, such as those in the front office, tour office, or entertainment department, the salaries can be quite generous. and when you consider that crew members have very few expenses during their contracts (room and board, health insurance, flights to/from the ship, etc., are all taken care of), it is possible to save much more money during one contract than most people would save in a year or more working a job back on land.
Really? A guy in Haiti was telling me that after working eight months on a ship, his brother would bring home $5,000 USD. While that might be a lot for Haiti, it still seems like subhuman, sweatshop labor pay. how much did you make?
To bring home over $600 per month (which is more than the average salary in dozens upon dozens of countries) while having all of your expenses paid for is quite a good setup, and any crew member is always free to leave if they feel the pay isn’t worth it. That guy from Haiti can work for 5–10 years on a cruise ship, go home and live quite well, and in many cases, retire. I can’t tell you how many times fellow crew members from developing countries would show me photos of the brand new three-bedroom house, complete with a swimming pool and ocean views, that they just bought back home from their cruise ship salaries.
As for my salary, it varied depending on bonuses but was generally $3,000–4,500 per month.
What’s one of your “day from hell” stories?
This would be a tough call. maybe it was the day our ship arrived in Panama, and I found out that our tour operator had to cancel the “Panama Canal Tour” (which was the highlight of the cruise), a tour that 800 passengers had booked.
After explaining the situation to those 800 people from the stage of the ship’s theater, I then spent one hour being screamed at, being called nasty names, having fruit thrown at me, having one man spit on me, being threatened, and having one guy jump over some seats to try and attack me. and the abuse continued for the rest of the cruise.
The best day on the job was _____________.
The day I disembarked the ship in order to escort a multi-day overland tour to Jordan and Egypt.
During our 2.5-month world cruise on one particular ship, our department offered several of these extended excursions to our passengers, and each tour was to be escorted by a member of our team.
So, I enjoyed a five-star, eight-day trip through Egypt and Jordan, visiting Amman, Petra, Wadi Rum, Sharm el-Sheikh, the Sinai Desert, Cairo, and Luxor, all without having to spend a single dollar. It was definitely one of the best perks of my job.
For more about Earl, life on cruise ships, and how you can work on cruise ships, check out Earl’s phenomenal and detailed definitive book on getting a job on a cruise ship. It’s an excellent resource for anybody looking to get into the cruise industry, and it’s updated every year. Earl is the best expert I know on the subject!
Book Your Trip: Logistical tips and Tricks
तपाईंको उडान किताब
Find a low-cost flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.
तपाईंको आवास बुक गर्नुहोस्
तपाईं होस्टेलवर्ल्डको साथ तपाईंको होस्टल बुक गर्न सक्नुहुनेछ। If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.
Don’t forget travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never goयो बिना एक यात्रा मा मैले विगतमा धेरै पटक प्रयोग गर्नुपर्यो। मेरा मनपर्ने कम्पनीहरू जसले उत्तम सेवा र मान प्रस्ताव गर्छन्:
सेभेरेडिंग (सबैको लागि उत्तम)
मेरो यात्रा बीमा (ती of0 भन्दा बढीको लागि)
मेडजेट (अतिरिक्त निकासी कभरेजको लागि)
तपाईंको यात्रा बुक गर्न तयार हुनुहुन्छ?
तपाईं यात्रा गर्न को लागी सबै भन्दा राम्रो कम्पनीहरु को लागी मेरो स्रोत पृष्ठ जाँच गर्नुहोस्। जब म यात्रा गर्दछु म सबैलाई सूचीबद्ध गर्दछु। तिनीहरू कक्षामा सबै भन्दा राम्रो हुन् र तपाईं तिनीहरूलाई तपाईंको यात्रामा गलत गर्न सक्नुहुन्न।