by : Neil Maxwell Keys



There aren't too many jobs that pay you to travel the world, meet lots of different people from many nationalities and do things that you'd probably never do in 'normal' everyday existence!But every now and again I am reminded that working on a ship is not all fun and games. In fact sometimes it can be damn hard work and there are negatives to doing a job like this. So it's important that the cruise job seeker thinks carefully about the downside of life onboard, before making a big life-changing decision and heading off into the sunset.

Here are some of the most common 'negatives' of working onboard a cruise ship:

• Being away from family and friends for long periods at a time. Typically 6-9 months.
• Working long hours. Some days you may have to work long hours into the evening. Sometimes it might be an early morning start or an evening start.
• Getting close to people onboard. You will form friendships and relationships with colleagues onboard, but there will be times when you'll have to say goodbye to those people, knowing full well you probably won't ever see them again.
• Not having much privacy or time to yourself.
• Always feeling that you're "on duty" anytime you're in a public area of the ship. You'll have to wear your name badge at all times, which 'flags' you as a crewmember to the passengers - even if you're not on duty. Heck, you get recognized on the beach sometimes!
• Not knowing what's going on in the rest of world.
• Not establishing a firm base at home. If you make this a career and go away for long periods at a time you may not have a firm base to come back to as family and friends move on.

If any of these statements seem like too much for you, then perhaps you need to think very carefully before doing a job like this?The truth is, it can take time to adjust to this type of lifestyle and you may find it hard going and stressful at times. And occasionally you'll wish you were back at home in your nice warm, cozy environment!On the other hand, while it's important to fully understand the implications of living onboard a cruise ship. Many crewmembers tend to find that the positives of life onboard FAR outweigh the negatives. In fact just having the opportunity to get paid to visit some of the most amazing and exotic places on earth blows these negatives away.