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Traveling to Bulgaria, Sunny Beach – Things to do

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:22:00 +0000

I recently traveled to Bulgaria, Sunny Beach resort, for my honeymoon and as I always like to do, I made notes about my experience there so I can share it with all of you and maybe be of help to the ones planning to see this beautiful country. This will be a series of articles about my experiences in Bulgaria, Sunny Beach, some good, some not so good, but as always, I will try and keep it objective and to the point. For all of you complainers out there, please keep in mind that I am not advertising this as an absolute truth, I am merely putting my personal experiences and opinions on virtual paper. I would also like to note that although most of the things I will write about in these articles are related to the Sunny Beach resort, a lot of the information is general and can be applied to other Bulgarian seaside resorts. So, here we go....

Traveling to Bulgaria, Sunny Beach – Things to do

This is a list of things you must do while you are vacationing in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. Take advantage of all this beautiful country has to offer and don't spend all your time there drinking and sleeping, once you got back home you might regret you haven't done it. So here it goes, in no particular order:

Aqua Park

If you're vacationing with your kids, this is the perfect place to take them and spend the whole day.

visit the old town of Nesebar

Pay 1 leva and take the bus to the old town of Nesebar where you can visit the old ruins, walk on the narrow streets and shop for beautiful souvenirs.

have your portrait done

Bulgaria has amazing artists and for a small fee they will do your and your family portrait. You don't even have to be there, just leave a picture of you and other family members you want in the picture and the artist will put them together and make a family portrait. It's amazing. A portrait will cost you betwee 30 and 200 levas depending of how many people you want in the picture.

live shows

You must go and see a Bulgarian fire dancer shows. There are lots of live concerts and shows around, but this one is a must see. Take a walk through the resort during the day to find out where it plays or, if you feel lazy, just as at the hotel reception.

water sports

And least but not last, if you're by the sea side you must try the water sports. Bulgaria is affordable enough for you to try them all, don't miss the opportunity.

As always, I hope this was helpful to you all.

Traveling in Bulgaria, Sunny Beach – 10 tips on eating and drinking on a budget

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:25:00 +0000

Traveling in Bulgaria, Sunny Beach – 10 tips on eating and drinking on a budget

I love food and everywhere in the world I went i liked experiencing the local cuisine. I've met people in my travels who couldn't go outside their food habits and I've always felt sorry for them, they had no idea what they missed. Don't make the same mistake, if you're in a foreign country try and taste their local cuisine, you might be surprised how good it is, even if it's different that what you are used to.

Traveling to Bulgaria was no difference to me when it came to food and drink habits. I always go for the local restaurants, for the local food (working in hospitality i am kinda sick and tired of the restaurant food, turist food as we call it). I also have all sorts of tips on how you can make the most of your money and enjoy everything that Bulgarian resorts have to offer you, even on a small budgets.

So here they are, from 1 to 10:

The most important rule of all, always ask the locals

I can emphasize more how helpful will be for you to just ask the locals for the best places to eat or drink. The locals know best where you should or shouldn't go for a meal or drinks.

Local restaurants are always cheap and fresh

Since you're in a foreign country you should try their food. The local restaurants are always the best option for fresh and cheap food. You can distinguish local restaurants by the lack of flashy neon signs and annoying greeters.

Go away from the main street bars and restaurant

There are a lot of good restaurants outside the main streets, you just have to explore your area during the day and locate them. The only difference between them and the main street ones are the price, mainly due to the lower rental fees and location. The service is great everywhere you go in Bulgarian sea side.

Street food is always ready available and fresh

Nothing compares with a hot sandwich or kebab after a long night of drinking and dancing. The street food is always ready available, open 24 hours and the food is always fresh and inexpensive. Try it.

Beachfront is the most expensive place of the Bulgarian resorts

Needless to say that you will get the same level of service and quality outside the beachfront area so don't waste your money thinking that if it's expensive it's the best. It's not really...

Make use of the kitchenette and the 24 hours mini markets

If you stay in an apartment complex like we did you will have a small kitchenette and a 24 hours mini market next to your building so make good use of it. Food in markets in Bulgaria is extremely inexpensive (even for me as a Romanian) and it's always great to have breakfast in bed or just a snack without having to get all dressed up and go in a restaurant.

ask bartenders for the daily happy hour

Almost every bar in Bulgarian resorts have a happy hours, it's just a matter of asking the bartenders or the servers when it is and which drinks are included. Few will be proactive and recommend you those, instead they will try to take as much of your money as they can so it's better to ask.

There is happy hour for food as well in Bulgaria

I haven't seen this much in my travels, but I've seen it often in Bulgaria. A lot of the restaurants, trying to bring in more customers, will post happy hours for their food menu. Check them out in your morning walk and choose what you would like to eat.

Daily offers

The restaurant business is very competitive and every restaurant tries to attract turists with their daily offers on food and drinks. The all have the menus posted outside so take a look around, I am sure you will find something that you like, I did.

Bring water and snacks with you at the beach

There is one thing that is never missing from my purse wherever I go (besides my phone :-D ) and that's always a bottle of water. Bring your own water when you go to the beach, don't pay a fortune at the beack bars for a glass of water. The same works with the snacks.

This said I would like to remind you that your budget related decisions should enhance your vacation experience not ruin it and sometimes choosing cheap is not always smart. Sometimes is good to just take your significant other out to a fancy restaurant and make her or him feel special and don't worry about the check. We did exactly that with the money we saved eating and drinking the smart way.

I hope this was helpful to you all.

Travelling in Bulgaria, Sunny Beach - 6 tips on cutting back your expenses Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:19:00 +0000

I recently travelled to Bulgaria, Sunny Beach resort, for my honeymoon and as I always like to do, I made notes about my experience there so I can share it with all of you and maybe be of help to the ones planning to see this beautiful country. This will be a series of articles about my experiences in Bulgaria, Sunny Beach, some good, some not so good, but as always, I will try and keep it objective and to the point. For all of you complainers out there, please keep in mind that I am not advertising this as an absolute truth, I am merely putting my personal experiences and opinions on virtual paper. I would also like to note that although most of the things I will write about in these articles are related to the Sunny Beach resort, a lot of the information is general and can be applied to other Bulgarian seaside resorts.

So, here we go....

Travelling cheap in Bulgaria - Part II

This is the second part of a series of advices on how to have a great time in Bulgaria, particularly in Sunny Beach, without emptying your bank accounts. As I said on the part I, this is experience gathered from years of travelling around the world when I experienced both 5* way of living (while in Europe) and the backpacker's way of life (when I was in Thailand) adapted to the Bulgarian resorts.

So here we go, the last 6 tips:

1. How to use the 5* hotels beach facilities without staying there

I personally haven't tried this, but a lot of tourists told me that if you go to any 4 or 5* hotel, sit by the bar and have a drink you can then use their lounge chairs, pools and other facilities. I was pretty happy with the pool and bar I had at my apartment complex and didn't feel the need to go there, but if you are like my sister and like the glamour life, then that's a cheap way of getting it.

2. Lounge chairs versus beach towels

And again, want a sun lounge? Get a drink at any 4 or 5* hotel and you'll get it for free. Don't use the sun lounges on the beach they are extremely expensive, not worth it. Another option would be to just bring a large beach towel and sit on it, that's if you really really want to feel the sand under your feet and swim in the sea water.

3. The closer you are to the beach the more expensive it gets

I used to joke with my husband that there must be an equation that calculates how much more expensive things get the more you get closer to the beach front. It's true, drinks, food,everything gets so much more expensive when you reach the beach front. Go just 50 meters away and you'll pay half for your beer and food and get the same good service and quality.

4. Street food is always fresh, tasty and cheap

Nothing beats street food. Everywhere in the world I've been, street food is tasty, fresh and cheap. Choose the places where you see the locals eat or ask any locals for their favorite places. Bulgaria is no exception and you can have the most delicious pastry, pizza or kebabs at the local street food stalls. Mmmm, i am getting hungry now :-)

5. How to read your emails for free

If you are addicted to the virtual world of Internet like I am you will need to read your emails a few times per day, work or just check the latest news from your country. Instead of being stuck in a little room called Internet center or pay a fortune on roaming services, combine work with pleasure and choose to go to bars and restaurants who have free wi-fi. I used to bring my Ipad to the local corner bar, have a beer and check the news. Perfect!

6. Public transport

Yes, even in beach resorts exists a public transportation system. In Bulgaria it's well organized and clean and the prices are 3-4 sometimes 10 times cheaper. Taxis in Bulgaria are not one of my recommendation, the drivers charge you extra just because you're not a local.

All that said, would like to emphasize that choosing the cheaper option should not ruin your holiday experience so sometimes choosing the expensive option would be a better wiser choice. The above is how I chose to spend my holiday and be left with more money to buy gifts for my family and souvenirs for me.

As always, I hope this was helpful to you.

Travelling in Bulgaria, Sunny Beach - 6 tips on cutting back your expenses PART I

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:53:00 +0000

Traveling cheap in Bulgaria - Part I

I was lucky enough to have a comfortable life and never really be short of money, well, except during college when i would spend all of it partying :-). But even as it is, I never liked to throw money out of the window sort of speak and value for money was always important to me and now even more because I am married and with big plans for the future.

If you are planning to holiday in Bulgaria but your budget isn't unlimited, then read below my way of having a great time and not empty the bank accounts. This is experience gathered from years of travelling around the world when I experienced both 5* way of living (while in Europe) and the backpacker's way of life (when I was in Thailand) adapted to the Bulgarian resorts.

So lets get on with it:

Take a walk during the day to locate the best places to go at night

Most of the bars and clubs advertise their night programs and sales starting from the morning so take a walk after breakfast and chose the best options for the night.

Don't be shy to ask

The best advice I can give you is to ask the locals. I use to stay by the bar and chat to the bartenders asking them for the best places to visit, eat or even where is it better to go if I should need a doctor. Do the same.

Back street shopping

For every main shopping street out there, there are a few back shopping streets adjacent to them. You'll be surprised how the same items, just because they are sold on a smaller street, are much cheaper.

Choose an apartment complex instead of a hotel

Bulgarian seaside is a mix of hotels, all-inclusive compounds and apartment complexes. The best place where you can stay in my opinion are the apartment complexes, they are so much cheaper, you get to have a kitchenette, a pool, most of the times a restaurant and a bar at the first floor and they all have a 24 hours mini market near by.

24 Hours mini markets

And since I mentioned the 24 hours mini markets earlier, those are the best money savers. I didn't want to wake up and go out for breakfast anyways, not after a night of drinking and dancing, so I always made sure I buy my water, drinks and food when I came back from downtown and save on eating out. Besides, how nice is to have coffee on the balcony and admire the sunrise?

Meet for drinks at your place before going to clubs or bars

We call it the warm-up and it's been going on in our circle of friends since college. We used to meet at someone's place, have a few drinks, get in a good mood, then go to clubs or pubs, get a drink and continue to have fun without having to pay too much money on overpriced drinks. Same goes for Bulgaria, in some clubs, drinks can be as expensive as the entire bottle in the supermarket.

All that said, would like to emphasize that choosing the cheaper option should not ruin your holiday experience so sometimes choosing the expensive option would be a better wiser choice. The above is how I chose to spend my holiday and be left with more money to buy gifts for my family and souvenirs for me. You can read more ideas and advices in the second part.

As always, I hope this will be useful to you.

Travelling in Bulgaria, Sunny Beach - 5 tips on exchanging currency

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:21:00 +0000

Exchanging currency in Bulgaria, Sunny Beach

Most of the people nowadays use credit cards in their travels, but now and then you will find yourself with some cash you would like to exchange to the local currency. It happened the same to us and we had to learn the hard way what to do and what not to do when exchanging money in Bulgarian resorts.

So here are a few guidelines that will help you safely exchange your currency and avoid scammers:

Ideally, you should exchange enough currency while still home

That's the best practice in my opinion although even I forgot about it and then I just procrastinated and left it for when I reach Bulgaria. Needles to say that until we got at the hotel we had no money to pay for drinks or food or even taxi and we ended up paying in euros at double the price ( the taxi driver didn't want to take euros so we had to negotiate). Learn from my mistakes.

Use the local banks

The safest way to exchange currency in Bulgaria is to go to a local bank. If you can't find one, just ask at the reception clerks, they will guide you to the closest bank agency. Another plus is that the banks have the best exchange rate, well, they did in Sunny Beach anyways.

Use your hotel exchange office

Sometimes you just find out you need more money in the evening before going out and the banks are closed. So what can you do? Easy, use your hotel's exchange desk, it's just as safe as the banks are and the rates are not bad at all. If your hotel doesn't have one you can go to other hotels, we found out that all 4 & 5 stars hotels have an exchange office.

Never exchange currency at the people in the street

Not so often you will see people, mostly men, waiting at the corner street advertising currency exchange. This is a BIG no no, no matter in which country you are, 99.9% of the time you will find you were scammed and there is nothing you can do about it. You've been warned...

Avoid the yellow exchange cabins found at every corner

Almost at every crossroad you will see these yellow cabins with an exchange panel outside stating the currency rate, not two like you're used to at the bank, one for selling and one for buying, just one, written in big print. You'll also see that the rates are way more than what you will get at the bank. But wait! Look closer...can you see that written in very small print it says that they are buying the currency at those rates and not selling it? Well not everybody sees that and falls for the big exchange rate and when you get the money and notice that it's less than you thought you will get there is nothing you can do. The won't give you the money back and one tourist told me that they even ask the police nearby to intervene and got no reaction. My advise to you is to just pass by and ignore the yellow exchange cabins.

Only the major currencies are exchanged and sometimes the neighborhood countries' currency

Like in any country, the exchange offices will only exchange the major currencies. I would have expected for them to exchange the neighboring countries' currency as well, like Romanian currency, but i was surprised to find out not all of them did, well most of them didn't actually. Luckily we had some euros left we could exchange.

I hope this was helpful to you, safe travels.

10 Things you should know when you travel by train to Romania

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:11:00 +0000

Although Romania is a beautiful country, it somewhat lacking in service and now, with my new British husband, these missing little things are more and more obvious. I grew up here and some things might go unnoticed to me, but for a new person to the country these things are obvious and sometimes shocking.

Well today we will talk about taking the InterCity train from Bucharest to one of the most beautiful mountain cities in Romania, Brasov. I want to mention that I am writing about my experiences and some things might not be dated by the time you are reading these. That said, I want you to know that I will try and be as accurate and objective as I can be.

So lets go on with it. When traveling by train in Romania (the InterCity in this case, which is one of the best you get here) you should keep count of the following:

To start with, you need to know that the best way to get from Bucharest to Brasov by train is to take the InterCity train. It's the closest to a decent train you can get and the price difference compared to others is not that big.
Make sure to check the hours and ticket price before arriving at the train station, schedules change depending on the season and so the prices sometimes.
The best part about traveling in Romania is that you hardly need a translator. Most of the young people know English at some level and will be happy to help you, don't be afraid to ask.
You should buy your drinks and food before boarding the train. We don't have speed trains in Romania, not the way you're used to anyways, the rides are long and most of the trains have no service, there is nowhere you can buy something to drink r eat. Some might have a restaurant wagon, but that happens rarely.
Except the InterCity train, I don't know any other one that has charging outlets by the seats so make sure your phones are charged at the hotel.
Do I have to mention there is no internet connection? No internet hub? I guess not....
There is no entertainment in Romanian trains, no music, no tv's, so if you don't want to get bored, bring your own music/movies/books etc.
the difference between first class and second class wagons is almost non-existant so don't bother. The InterCity train has good seats though and it's clean even in the second class wagons.
I don't recommend traveling with big pieces of luggage as there is little space for storage above the seats. You're better off if you divide your luggage in 2 pieces, a backpack and a carry-on for example.
Traveling from Bucharest to Brasov is a beautiful journey through the mountains despite the long 5 hour ride, make sure you have your camera out, the scenery is amazing.

I hope this will be helpful to you in your travels to this beautiful country, farewell!

It's been a long time

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 16:33:00 +0000

It's been such a long time since I updated this blog it seemed only fair to let everybody know what happened.

But first I want to say that this blog will NOT close, it is jut temporarily put on hold as I also took a longer break from working on ships. Might wonder why is that...well....I AM GETTING MARRIED :-) Yes, it finally happened and I found a wonderful man who puts up with me so we're getting married at the beginning of June.

Of course, after the wedding and the honeymoon we will be going back to working on ships, hence why this blog is not closing. Meanwhile, being home for over a year now, I had to keep myself busy so I started to learn graphic design, my new hobby and one day probably my new carrier.

I started creating graphic products for social game platforms, for now it's Second Life only, but since my SL Marketplace shop is doing so well, I am planing to expand to other platforms like Avination and also to stock photo websites like Shutterstock and alike.

I've also created a new blog where my customers can keep up to date with the latest releases called ..::RO!ACT::..DESIGNS, which is the name of the company i am creating under.

The best part of this all is that I can continue creating even when I will working on ships again, all I will be needing is an internet connection once a week. So check out my new blog, ..::RO!ACT::..DESIGNS and let me know what you think, I am sure you will find it interesting. And also, check out Second Life, it's a wonderful place to meet people and create, and the best part is that it's free.

So yes, this is what I was up to all this time and I promise, once I set foot back on the ship, I will start posting again and inform everybody interested of the real life that goes on there.

See you all really soon i hope :-)

What happens when you’re a workaholic

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:18:00 +0000

Why am I doing this to myself? Do I get pleasure from inflicting pain to myself? These two questions are haunting me for a while and I still can’t get a reasonable answer to them. But more important that what am I asking myself, is why…why am I asking myself this…

First contract I had a good reason. I was assistant waitress for 6 months and in the last day of my contract they offered me the Yeoman position. I had to extend my contract 4 months, but it was well worth the bother. It was what I wanted from the beginning, to get an officer position, and of course I would sacrifice myself and do a 10 months contract. I would have done more than 10 if it wasn’t for me getting a replacement. The scheduler in Miami didn’t send anybody and I was onboard for over 9 months when I decided to choose somebody and train to replace me while I was in vacation. After begging all division heads to give me one of their crew, a good friend of mine, the Inventory Manager, gave me one of his storekeepers to train. I completed his training in 3 weeks and finally left home.

I got a good reason for the second contract too. I was just starting to get used to the position when, after 3 months of being a Yeoman, the Hotel Director asked me if I want to fill in for his admin for a week, until the replacement will arrive. He had problems with his visa and he was delayed for a week. So here I was, doing two jobs, working 12-14 hours a day and trying to please everybody. I guess I was doing well since the replacement never came and I did both jobs for almost 2 months. I was so burned up I finally said “That’s it!!!” I had to recruit another crewmember to be a temporary Yeoman until I finish replacing the Hotel Administrative Assistant and have my vacation. Nobody helped me; I had to beg again the division heads to give me someone to train. This time was the Dining Room Manager, and here I was again, training this assistant waitress to replace me. This time I was lucky enough to go home after almost 7 months.

This time, my third contract, I have absolutely no reason for why I’m doing it all over again except that it looks good in my CV (sort of anyways). I came back from vacation in mid May just to find out that the position has changed from Yeoman, which was something like a secretary, to Food & Beverage Administrative Assistant, which is not just a secretary, but more like and F&B Assistant. What they did was to merge the Food & Beverage Manager Junior with the Yeoman position and create the F&B Administrative Assistant which has the job description of both positions. It would have been ok if the salary and the living conditions would have been on the same level. But guess what? I have to share the cabin, even though I am a two stripes officer, and the salary is under $2000.

Anyways, like most of the managers onboard say it, this is it and this is what we have to work with. So I stopped complaining and just did my job. And then was when I start asking my self those questions: “Why am I doing this to myself? Why do I work 10-11 hours a day? Why can’t I just take the afternoon off and go out just like the others do? What makes me so obsessed with this job?”

Then, when I was on my third month onboard, I got asked if I would like to replace the Hotel Administrative Assistant while she is on vacation. My heart was telling me to say no, to relax, that it’s not worth the bother, but my mind started to calculate the pro’s and con’s and , just like in a dream, I saw myself saying yes. I got out of the office wondering what the hell is wrong with me. It wasn’t something that I wanted or planned to do… Besides, I was suppose to go in vacation in November and sped the holidays with my friends and family. I have no idea why I say yes. So here I am now, doing again a 10 months contract, just because I am a helpless workaholic.

PS: The pictures you see on this post are from when my sister was onboard with her boyfriend. As you might notice, I was wearing the uniform all the time for the simple reason that I was always working. I didn’t even go out with them once…Something has to change! And fast!

Food & Beverage Department - Restaurant Division

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:35:00 +0000

Out of the three divisions that the Food & Beverage Department holds, the Restaurant Division is the most popular when it comes to money. Its structure has changed recently, but it’s fairly simple and everyone knows who to report to. Described in a simple way, the structure goes like this:

1. Restaurant Operations Manager

He or she is a three stripe officer and is in charge with the entire restaurant operation. The Windjammer Manager, Portofino Manager and Assistant Dining Room Manager report directly to him or her and, of course, the position is got its own admin now.

The contract length is 4 months with 2 months off and, aside the thousands of dollars salary, he or she is got monthly bonuses from china and linen savings, wine gratuity and the big, fat bonus at the end of the fiscal year.

2. Windjammer Manager

The Windjammer Manager is a two and a half stripes officer and is in charge with Windjammer Buffet, Johnny Rockets (fast food outlet) and Café Promenade (coffee shop with snacks). Directly to him reports the following positions: Johnny Rockets Supervisor and Windjammer Supervisor.

Just like the Restaurant Operations Manager, the contract length is also 4 months on with 2 months off, and a big, fat bonus included.

3. Portofino Manager

Portofino Manager is in charge with the Italian specialty restaurant. Is a two stripes officer with a 6 months contract and sharing cabin. From 2 stripes below, no officer is entitled to the yearly bonus, but they got part of the cover charge. The Portofino waiters report directly to him.

4. Assistant Dining Room Manager

This position was introduced recently. It’s a 2 stripe position with a contract length of 6 months and sharing cabin. Their salary is based on tips, but don’t be fooled by it, they make a lot of money. There are 3 Assistant Dining Room Managers, each in charge with one Dining Room deck (our Dining Room has 3 decks/levels). They are responsible with the booking on their respective decks and the Headwaiters working in that deck report directly to them.

5. Restaurant Operation Admin

The admin reports directly to the Restaurant Operations Manager and basically does everything. He has 2 office boys/girls helping in the morning with paperwork. Is a one stripe officer with 6 months contract and sharing cabin.

6. Head Waiter

These guys are making more money than a 3 stripe officer because their salary is based on tips. They are one stripe officers, with 6 months contract length and a sharing cabin. Each of them has a station assigned (there are 3 stations on each Dining Room deck) and the waiters and assistant waiters working there report to him/her.

7. Johnny Rockets Supervisor

He or she is in charge with Café Promenade and Johnny Rockets and reports to the Windjammer Manager. This is a one stripe officer with a 6 months contract and sharing cabin. They get a fix salary with no gratuities. The Café Attendants and Johnny Rockets Attendants report to him/her.

8. Windjammer Supervisor

There are 2 Windjammer Supervisors onboard, both reporting to the Windjammer Manager. They are in charge with supervising the Windjammer operation and the Assistant Waiters working there are reporting to them. It’s a one stripe position, with fix salary, 6 months contract and sharing cabin.

9. Room Service Supervisor

The Room Service Supervisor reports directly to the Restaurant Operations Manager and is in charge with Room Service operation and Attendants working there. Is a one stripe position, with 6 months contract, fix salary and sharing cabin.

10. Room Service Operator

The position is pretty much self-explanatory. They are part of the crew with a 6 months contract, fix salary and sharing cabin. The Room Service Operator reports to Room Service Supervisor.

11. Mess Supervisor

The Mess Supervisor is in charge with both officer and crew messes and directly to him/her are reporting the Mess Attendants. Mess Supervisor is a one stripe position with a 6 months contract, fix salary and sharing cabin. He or she reports to Restaurant Operations Manager.

12. Mess Attendant
13. Dining Room Cleaner
14. Café Attendant
15. Johnny Rockets Attendant
16. Room Service Attendant

The above 5 positions are similar; the only difference is the place they work in. Except for the Johnny Rockets who get gratuities from the cover charges in the fast food outlet they work in, the rest have a fix salary and they also get gratuities from the beverages they sell (not too much though). They all have an eight months contract and sharing cabin.

17. Assistant Waiter

This is a much better position that the ones above because they have a salary based on tips. An average assistant waiter salary can be around $2000 or more a month. Also, the contract length is 6 months and they only work in the Dining Room or Windjammer during the dinner time and in Windjammer (during the day time).

During the diner time, they work 4 weeks in the Dining Room and one week in Windjammer. They get gratuities in the Dining Room, but in Windjammer they get only the gratuities from the beverages they sell. Might not make sense, but this is how the system is set up.

18. Waiter

Waiter position is a good position as well due to the amount of money they make and the 6 months contract length. An average waiter makes around $3000 and, during the diner time, works only in Dining Room (no free week in Windjammer).

As a first-timer, this structure might look confusing. Indeed there are a lot of positions in the Restaurant Division, but this is what makes it easier because everyone knows exactly what they are suppose to do.

Food & Beverage Department - The easy way in

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:06:00 +0000

When I decided I want to go back to working on cruise ships, first thing I had to decide is how to do that. I wanted an officer position and I was qualified for it, but unfortunately, most of the agencies are recruiting for entry level positions such as cooks, assistant waiters or bar servers. Few people are lucky enough to get an officer position from the first contract and that’s happening mostly because they come from a fist world country such as US, UK etc. or because they have connections either on the ship or at the agency. If you’re just a normal person, from a normal country, like I was, that’s very hard, and if you get it, you have to wait many months.

So I took the easy way in and I applied for a restaurant entry-level position, knowing that once I get there I will make my way up to a higher position. Well, lucky me, it took me one contract to accomplish that and only because the company requires that anyone who wants to apply for a different job within the company has to finish at least one contract in the current position. I did my 6 months and one day before going home in vacation the Food & Beverage Manager called me in the HR’s Office and gave me the good news. I got the job I applied for a couple of weeks before! Next day I unpacked my luggage, called my family and let them know I am not going home anymore and start working as a Yeoman.

Yeoman - strange name for an F&B Manager Assistant, don’t you think? To me it made no sense until one friend explained to me that long time ago, in England, they called yeoman the one who was in charge with the finances of the ships. That was me alright!

So, if it worked for me, it must work for you too! The cruise industry will always be in need of educated people that know more than just entry level English. Guys, you should be here to believe it! We get new hires that have no clue how to carry a basic conversation in English, not to say about writing it! We have old timers who made their way up because they have 5, 7 or even 10 years on ships, but when it comes to using computers or write a report, they are useless.

If you know how to use a computer for more than just playing games or sending emails, if you have a medium to high knowledge of spoken and written English and a hotel management or accounting degree, then you are most likely to get a higher than the entry level position. Three things you need to do to accomplish that:

1. Get on the ship

It doesn’t matter how you get there as long as you do. Food & Beverage Division is the easiest way to get onboard a cruise ship and once you’re there you can pursuit your goals.

You have to do a full contract and have a clean record before you can apply for a higher position. Many people here onboard started as a bar server or assistant waiter, just like me, and moved to Guest Relations Department, Crew Office or being the Food & Beverage Director’s Assistant.

In fact, I am currently looking for a reliever for when I am going in vacation and so far I could not find anyone qualified for this job. Every week I am looking at the list with sign ons hoping that “the one” will sign on. No luck so far!

2. Ask for what you want and prove that you can do it

Sometimes I go on the Back Deck for a smoke and sit with my old colleagues from the restaurant. Once, there was this assistant waiter, on his 4^th contract, complaining that there are no promotion chances onboard for him. I asked him a simple question: “ Did you ever went to the Maitre D` and told him you want to be a waiter?” He looked at me with a dumb expression on his face and said nothing. His lack of words said everything!

Hey guys! Wake up! A ship has in average over 1000 crew, half of it being in the Food & Beverage Division. How do you think you’re boss will notice you if you’re not doing anything about it? Just go to your supervisor, or anyone you know in the office, and ask them what can you do or what you need to know to get the promotion/position. Is that easy!

Don’t assume that everyone knows what you know. Tell them your qualification, your education, your experience and what you want. Might not work with the first supervisor, but eventually you’ll find someone willing to help you.

3. Have patience and don’t loose your hope

The most important thing is not to lose faith in yourself. Hang in there, what ever is meant for you will come sooner or later. Sometimes there are no available positions and even though your manager wants to help you, there is nothing he or she can do for the moment.

Just make sure they have your CV and when a position will be made available, they will offer it to you if you’re qualified for it.

Good Luck!

A clean ship is a safe ship!

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:14:00 +0000

While Housekeeping Department’s responsibility to clean is in the inside of the cabins, cleaning the outside areas is Facilities Department’s job. That includes all the public areas the toilets, corridors, hallways, staircases, pools and jacuzzis. They are also in charge with the maintenance, from fixing a non-flushing toilet to upholstering furniture and refurbishing entire areas, guest and crew ones.

You won’t see many Europeans working in the Facilities Department unless they are part of the management because this department has the lowest salary level onboard. But that being said, the pay is still ok for some of the countries considering there’s no rent or food to pay.

So…who’s part of the Facilities Department? Let’s take the most important positions one by one.

1. Facilities Manager

The Facility Manager has the best contract deal out of the entire Hotel Department. He has 10 weeks on with 10 weeks off contract, fully paid vacation. Basically, while he or she is home, enjoying the vacation still gets paid full salary. The bad part is that the position doesn’t get a yearly bonus like the others, but I guess it compensates with the contract length and the salary, which is many thousands of dollars.

2. Cleaner

The cleaner maintains public and crew areas in a clean condition, including the public toilets. Also, he or she transports guests’ luggage to assigned areas during embarkation and disembarkation, and assists with specific loading. They have an 8 months contract and the salary is below $600 a month. Also, they need to pay for their uniforms, which I don’t consider being fair since they have such a low salary.

Many of them are taking up on side jobs helping out the Housekeepers during the embarkation day cleaning cabins, and many times, because they have to work at least 10 hours a day at their regular jobs, they fell asleep wherever they sit. I’ve seen cleaners sleeping in the staircase, in the changing room, in the crew bar, everywhere really, as long as the place is quiet and away from the supervisor’s eyes.

A Cleaner can be promoted to Head Cleaner, Assistant Cleaning Specialist and then to Cleaning Specialist.

3. Pool Attendant

The Pool Attendant position is similar to the Cleaner one. He or she maintains the pool area clean, provides towels to the guests, cleans the pools and, in embarkation day, they help with the luggage. They have an 8 months contract and the salary is the same as the Cleaner’s. A Pool Attendant’s next promotion is Head Pool Attendant.

4. Carpenter

Needless to explain what a carpenter does, I think it’s pretty much obvious. What I am going to tell you is how useful is to be friends with the Carpenter Supervisor.

As an officer, each of us has the same cabin assignment every contract and that cabin becomes your home far away from home. And like any other home, it needs to be a little bit personalized so we can feel comfortable in it.

In time, I personalized my cabin as well. The carpenters installed a nice big sofa in it which was left from refurbishing the guest’s cabins, they put a notice board on my wall so I can write my reminders, installed the cabin phone on the wall so I’ll have more room on my desk, installed a curtain that blocks the view when I keep my cabin door open to smoke and the list can go on and on.

A carpenter can be really useful and, if you tip him well, he will turn your cabin into a really cozy place where you can truly relax. They too take up on side jobs, aside from doing carpentry jobs for crew, because the salary isn’t that big. From what I’ve heard, they make around $1000 a month. Their contract is 8 months and, except the Carpenter Supervisor who has a single cabin, the rest are sharing.

5. Repairman

The Repairman, together with the Repair Supervisor, is responsible for the maintenance and repair of food preparation, galley equipment and machinery, plumbing and related equipment within the Hotel Department.

Both of the positions are on an 8 months contract, the only differences between the two being the salaries and the cabin assignments (the supervisor has a single cabin).

6. Dispatcher

The Dispatcher’s job is to answer and process the calls for maintenance from both crew and guests, and also acts as an admin for the Facilities Manager. The contract length is 6 months and he or she has to share the cabin. The pay is around $1600 a month.

7. Horticulturist

This position is in charge with all the plants onboard and also with the pest control. The contract length is 8 months and shares the cabin.

Whoever is interested in this department should know that they need to work hard and be patient, but the promotion opportunities are many and worthwhile. You don’t need to have a high education to be here, all you need, in my opinion, is to be able to deal with people and to learn fast since the procedures are changing constantly. All I can wish you is good luck!

Single vs. Married

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:38:00 +0000

I wouldn’t even consider the thought of it if I was home, but here, on the ship, after 2 months of being single, the idea is appealing to me. So what’s the story about? Oh well, lets start with the beginning.

Last contract I met this fun, nice looking guy who, to my surprise, was single. Lets call him JOE. Single here usually means that you don’t have to avoid each other, you can go out for a coffee or lunch and in the evening you can have a few drinks and go to sleep together, without being afraid you’re going to be seen by someone. What a wonderful idea! So we get together by the time I was suppose to go home. I left thinking everything is ok and we can pick it up again from where we left it when he and I come back from vacation. So 4 months pass, I come back, he comes back, first night we get together and everything was wonderful, until next day. I was expecting him to call me in the evening, but nothing happened. One more day passes and he says he’s going to sleep. He did, again without calling me. I began to get upset. “What the hell did I do this time?” I asked myself because he was acting like he was upset. So, after a week, I decide we should talk. My God, what a disappointment! Turns out that he only wants casual sex and he likes to sleep alone and his focus is on his work (like it isn’t mine too!). Basically, he wants sex, but doesn’t want to give nothing in return.

On the other hand, this handsome, intelligent man is hunting me since the day I came onboard. ALEX invited me for dinner, for drinks, every time he sees me in the hallways he stops and talks to me, but he has one big disadvantage: he’s married and has 3 kids. I know him since last contract too and he straightforward told me back then that he’s married but looking for someone to spend his free time while onboard. At that time I said no, this contract I don’t know anymore.

So, after the discussion I had with JOE, I got so upset I went straight to ALEX looking for someone to hug me I ended up sleeping with him. He took me in his arms and slept with me and in the morning I was smiling again. He called me again in the afternoon, then again in the evening inviting me over. He really makes me feel special and because he’s European like me, we have many things in common.

So now the big question that I am asking you, the reader, is… Would you prefer to date a single man who only wants sex and gives you no attention whatsoever or a married man who give his whole attention and free time to you, who takes time to go with you for dinner, to go out for a coffee or just sit and watch TV with a glass of wine? Just remember you're in the middle of the sea, not at home. Since I am not planning to take any of them home, right now I am really considering continuing to see ALEX. I deal with jerks all day at my workplace, I don’t need one more in my bed and definitely I wouldn’t say no to a big smile on my face every morning if you get my idea!

I’ve changed so much since I first stepped on this ship. Many of my beliefs shifted just like the one about dating married men. I work all day, I focus on my job trying to get higher in the hierarchy, I go to the gym and study for the exam I have in about two weeks and I really don’t have time to waste on idiots who think casual sex is the way to relax. I need some good loving at the end of the day and a pair of arms wrapped around me. That’s all I need right now!

A fresh breath of air is always good

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:52:00 +0000

First contract is always the best. The food is good, the places we go are exciting, the work is fun, the people we work with are new to us and we always have something to tell each other. That’s always the case when we do something new. But what about the second or the third contract? If you have assigned a permanent ship like I have, things become boring.

The food doesn’t seem so great anymore, not because of the quality, but just because it’s the same food every week. Many of us go out just to have something to eat, something that is not crew mess food. The work becomes boring just because we do the same things every day. Some of us are lucky enough to have a job where new things happen all the time and we have different challenges every day, but it’s not the case with all of us. We go to the same places every cruise, so you can imagine that going out to see things is not appealing anymore. I, personally, prefer to go to sleep or to the gym rather than to go out, for two reasons: 1. the dollar/euro conversion is a disaster; 2. I’ve already seen those places before and it’s not fun anymore. Yes, Europe is beautiful, no doubt about it, but how many times can one go visit the Pisa tower? Or Rome? My ship sails 7 months a year in Europe and this is the third season I spend here. This is not appealing to me anymore so I rather do something useful like the gym or writing on this blog (which I actually am doing right now, then I’ll go to sleep for a couple of hours).

What about the people? This is a good and a bad thing at the same time. Just like me, there are many that have this ship as a permanent assignment. It can be good if you make real friends, which in my opinion, is not possible on ships, but others tend to think otherwise, or if you have a permanent boyfriend/girlfriend. But what if you break up with your partner? What if it all goes wrong between you two? You are cursed to see him or her every day, a daily reminder of your failure. Believe me, it is painful. You start avoiding certain places, go straight to your cabin, and just because you see that person almost daily, it is very hard to move on. Another bad thing that happens is to run out of discussion topics. You meet up with your friends and you basically have nothing to talk about but your work. Working in such a closed environment limits your experiences and after you go through all the stories from your life back home, there is nothing left to talk about except your work and who pissed you off or who’s dating who.

And this brings me to the main story I wanted to tell you. Royal Caribbean has quite a few traveling positions. Each department has its own auditor, a guy who visits the ship for a week or two, reviews the operations and prepares a report with the findings. Some come onboard to train us, some come to be trained. Because we are in Europe, most of them use their jobs to come visit it. I think this is one of the reasons why this ship had so many auditors onboard. The Galley Department alone had 7 traveling guys (as we call them) onboard in the last 2 months.

But I must admit, to me they are always welcome because they are like a fresh breath of air. New stories, new jokes, new faces, I love it and always take advantage of it. All of the sudden, going out for lunch or visit places when in the company of these people, sounds like fun. And going for a beer and a smoke in the back deck isn’t just a necessity anymore, it’s something that you are actually looking forward to at the end of the day, because they have all these stories and experiences that are new to you, therefore interesting.

Of course, not all the traveling guys are fun. We had our share of obnoxious, irritating people coming onboard, which picked on things and tried to justify their work hours with nasty, unfair reviews. But also we had pleasant, fun people coming onboard as well. Like the last guy who is still here onboard. He’s a culinary trainer from New Zealand who came here to train all the cooks and part of the galley management. He’s always in a good mood, smiling and always has something funny to say. Having lunch together or going for a smoke is always a pleasure for me and he’s one of the fewest I am actually going to miss when he goes away. He actually made me decide to go with him and other friends to visit Rome, something I wouldn’t do if he wasn’t here because the tour takes about 10 hours, but I know it’s going to be fun, just because of him.

He’s my fresh breath of air and I will take advantage of it as much as possible. Saturday he’ll go to a different ship and again things will become dull until the next one will join the ship. But definitely I’ll be missing Wim and I will look forward to his return in December.

99 Bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beeeeeeeer !

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:45:00 +0000

I think this song portraits exactly what’s going on Voyager at the present time. Just like the song, from X number of Romanians, each day is one less. And it’s not only at my nationality level; it’s bigger than that since a lot of Europeans are leaving the ship life. Why? Money mostly. Right now, for the amount of work they are doing and the hours they put in, $2000-$3000 a month is not worth anymore. What is $2000-$3000 in euros? Nothing really, it’s a medium salary that you can earn working 8 hours a day for 5 days a week. In my country, this kind of money still mean something, but slowly, slowly, the dollar value is going down and no Romanian will remain on the ships unless they are part of the upper management or they are really poor back home.

So what happened? Well, a few months back, 3 of my good friends didn’t come back. They chose to work in Ireland as waiters and, from what I was told, they are doing just fine. Two months ago, a Romanian couple left the ship too and now works in Romania. Three weeks ago, another good friend went home, he presently looking for work somewhere in England. In a week, one more Romanian is going home too. He decided he had enough and the money is not enough for what he’s doing and he too will join the Romanians that are in Ireland. A Romanian bar supervisor is going home in three weeks and she’s not coming back either. This is happening too fast!

So what’s wrong in this picture? I don’t know really, but it worries me since for each European who leaves, an Indian or a Philipino is coming. I guess this kind of money still mean something in those countries. Well, looks like it’s not enough for the ones from Europe and each day, more and more Asians and South Americans are coming to replace us.

And you know what? More than it worries me, this is making me sad. Those are people I’ve worked with for more than a year, I got attached to them and now they are leaving me alone on this ship. I feel more and more alone and don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of other friends from other countries, but with the Romanians is different because we have a culture in common, we can advice each other about things, we can discuss common topics like politics, sports etc and we can continue our friendship at home when we are in vacation. This means a lot to most of us, it’s what makes this hard life easier and I hate it when I see it coming to an end.

You might wonder why I am still onboard. Well, my goals are career orientated and I found that onboard is easier to promote and get experience than it is on land simply because people come and go all the time. Also, I might just have a little under $2000, but I don’t pay rent or food and I get to see the world, so for me is still a good deal. Besides, the trainings they provide are free and valuable like the USPH Course in Miami or the Certified Hotel Supervisor course, which is recognized internationally.

But still, I can’t help but feeling sad every time I see my friends going home and this little bugging song comes to my mind every sign off day: 99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beeeeeeeeer! Just replace the bottles of beer with Romanians and you’ll get the picture.

The pictures! Yes, the pictures you see are the Romanians that left or will leave and not coming back. My friends…

Guest Services Department - Strong nerves and patience required!

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:24:00 +0000

For nothing in the world I would do this job. I don’t have the patience nor the nerves to put up with all the guest complains we receive daily, many of them that make no sense. The funniest complaint from a passenger I’ve heard of so far is regarding the alcohol policy we have onboard. This policy states that no alcohol should be brought from outside, and if the guest insists in bringing it, the security will take it and keep it safe until the guest disembarks. Well, from what I was told, this gentleman comes cruising and brings a bottle of Jack Daniels with him. Of course, the security officer takes it away and puts it safe until the end of the cruise. Next thing our gentleman does is to go straight to the Guest Services front desk and complains. What’s funny about this is what reason he came up to get his bottle of alcohol back. Apparently, his doctor recommended him to drink daily 1.5 oz of Jack Daniels and he needs his bottle otherwise he will get sick. When told he can buy onboard he said he has no money and of course he had no paper from his doctor. Needles to say that he didn’t get his bottle back until the end of the cruise. The human mind can be so creative sometimes, isn’t it?

Anyways, lets go back to our thing. The Guest Services Department takes care of all the guests’ needs. It doesn’t include, as you can see in the picture above, just the Guest Services Officers (regular hotel receptionists), but also the Printer, the Concierge, the Group Coordinator, the International Ambassador and the Guest Administration Officer.

I am going to briefly describe each position as some of you are not familiar with the terms, so…

1. Concierge

The Concierge provides personalized service for our “special” guests. A “special” guest is one who has a few cruises with Royal Caribbean. They can be part of the Crown & Anchor Society, or rated as a Platinum or Diamond guest, depending on how many cruises that guest took with our company. They get free drinks, tickets to the show and many more and it’s the Concierge’s job to make that happen for them. The Concierge is a one stripe officer, meaning that he has to share the cabin, but he makes good money since he gets tipped every end of the cruise.

2. Printer
Well, it’s pretty much self-explanatory. The Printer takes care of all the printed material onboard. He’s a one stripe officer and he makes a fix salary which I am pretty sure is under $2000.

3. Group Coordinator

The Group Coordinator takes care of the organized groups onboard as well as the travel agents that come to visit the ship for the day. The salary is made of a fix salary plus gratuities. This position is a 2 stripe one, single cabin.

4. International Ambassador

Manages the FluentSeas program onboard the vessel to provide language assistance and translation to non-English speaking guests in order for them to understand and enjoy all aspects of the cruise experience.

5. Guest Administration Officer

This position is in charge with the legal part of the cruise. That includes the clearance of the ship in ports, the immigration paperwork of the guests etc. It’s a one stripe position, sharing the cabin, and makes probably under $2000 a month.

6. Guest Services Officer

This is a one stripe position and makes around $1600 a month. They are working on the front desk, handling the guests’ complaints.

All these positions are under the supervision of the Guest Services Manager, which is a 3 stripe position and makes thousands a month.

If you ask me, to get into this department, the easiest way is to apply for the Guest Services Officer. What is most required here is to have a nice personality and look and know at least 2 languages. Once you’re in, you can work your way up, just like in any other department, just like I did.

What happens when you reach the HR?s Office?

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:18:00 +0000

The conflict between me and my manager got worse and worse over the past few days and yesterday I had enough! I went straight to his office and asked to talk to him. I sat down and started to tell him I am bothered by his attitude towards me but he cut me off and said we will have this discussion in front of the HR Manager tomorrow morning. Actually, he had a good idea since a witness was appropriate for the kind of conversation I was planning to have with him.

The HR Manager is suppose to be the liaison between the management and crew, he is suppose to help and guide us as well as help solving conflicts between two employees. I was surprised to see that our HR Manager did just that and helped me and my manager talk. Actually, I think my manager talked with me just because the HR was present in the room, but who cares? At least we finally talked instead of barking orders at me.

He said some things that made me question how my behavior is perceived by others and pointed some mistakes I did, and on my side, I let him know how his behavior makes me feel and how I wish he will be more supportive and protective of me. We finally reached a common ground and agreed we will meet half way. I will be more diplomatic with the management and officials from Miami and he….well….he just said we will meet half way. Now I guess I have to wait and see what half way means to him. I would certainly like to see a little back up from him, especially when other managers are trying to make me do their work or their Admin’s work just because those guys have no clue what they are doing.

I must tell you though, life looks a whole lot better now and I am back to the positive, happy girl I was. But also, I realized that my manager doesn’t take me seriously just because I work as an Admin for a little over a year. If you ask me, a quick adapting personality who can learn fast means just as much as years of experience. Just because I don’t have the years, that doesn’t mean that I don’t know what I’m doing. In fact, I have quite a long list of achievements and the evaluations to prove it. I have projects that are now used fleet wide, I’ve done two jobs in the same time, and I basically supported the whole F&B Division and Hotel Department during the last year’s winter holidays, changes between years and the crossing from Galveston to Barcelona with the entire paperwork that comes with it. I’ve trained two crew members to replace me while I’m gone and now I am training the third one, I’ve worked with four F&B Managers and two Hotel Directors during a year and a half since I’ve stepped in the management team and never once went to the HR’s Office to complain about something. This was not an easy thing to do and I think I’ve done pretty well considering the four out of five score evaluation I received my last contract….all until this manager came onboard.

But at least, now I have a little faith that the conflict is solved and I can go back to my daily routine and life. Besides, in three days my favorite Executive Sous Chef will come onboard and life will be a little more fun. But this is another subject…

Who wants to join the Housekeeping Department?

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:38:00 +0000

There always was a quiet competition between the Housekeeping and Food & Beverage Departments. Every week, when the ratings come in, first thing we do is to compare ours against them and damn it, most of the times they are better! We know they are doing the same because we meet the supervisors on the I95 and they smile and ask us if we saw already the ratings. We pleasantly smile back and say yes, congratulate them and move on, hoping next week we will be the one with the big green on the face.
The Housekeeping Department includes the stateroom attendants and supervisors and the Laundry Division. I am not going to talk about the laundry guys because they are employed as contractors, all I can tell you about them is that they all come from Indonesia and, in my opinion, they do a poor job (unfortunately). They are not really Royal Caribbean employees, they just provide us with the service.
So lets get back to more important things… The Housekeeping Department is one of the most stable one, with a low turnover rate and happy crew. The reasons are many, but the most important ones are:

1. Good money
The Stateroom Attendant is a tip based position meaning that their salary depends entirely on how much the guest tip them at the end of the cruise. The base salary is $50, but don’t get fooled by it, in average, they make $2500-$3000 a month and sometimes even more.
On the other hand, the middle management, the Housekeeping Supervisors, make only around $1800 a month but they have extra perks to keep them happy such as single cabins, access to guest areas etc. The Chief Housekeeper, 1^st and 2^nd Housekeepers make thousands a month.

2. Not such a hard job
The only really hard day for the Stateroom Attendants is the embarkation day when they need to have the rooms ready by noon for the new guests, they need to get the luggage in the staterooms by evening and meet all their guests. They usually employ a helper that takes off some of their work in the morning. Other than that, on a regular day, they have to do the staterooms in the morning and in the evening, which is pretty easy since during the day the guests are off the ship and in the evening they are in the restaurant having their dinner.

3. Structure
In the Housekeeping Department everyone knows exactly what to do. The organizational chart is pretty much simple and everyone knows who to report to. You can see it in the first picture on this post.
Since the first day you embark until the last one, you are given a section of staterooms that you have to clean. On average, they get a 20 staterooms station, and only the ones who can not make it, the ones who are constantly getting bad rating, get a 15 stateroom station.
There are few who get the officer cabins as an assignment, but don’t pity them, sometimes they make more money than the others and they only need to clean the cabins once a day or every other day (depending on how many stripes has the officers who lives in the cabin).

4. Good management (at least on this ship)
After work, everybody gathers in the Back Deck (ship’s crew bar) for a drink and chat. In my two year career with this company, I never once heard a Stateroom Attendant complaining about his or hers supervisor. They mostly complain about how messy the guests can get, especially the really old ones who cannot make it to the toilet if you know what I mean, or the young ones who cannot hold their liquor. Other than that, they seem pretty happy with the job.
The officers hardly complain about the system, and if you ever hear them complaining, it’s mostly because the company implements all kind of new things, but they never really prepare options in case they don’t work.

5. No competition against each other
Everyone is doing their job in the Housekeeping Department and no one is looking in the neighbors’ back yard to see how is he or she doing. Most of them anyway. Because they get the same section for the entire contract, there’s no competition among the employee, they just have to do good in ratings (meaning they have to make the guest happy) not to be assigned to a smaller section, but that happens very rarely and mostly on request.

So who?s in charge of whom here?

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:21:00 +0000

So who’s reporting to whom on a Royal Caribbean ship? There are two main departments here: Marine and Hotel. The Marine department includes, obviously, the Captain, Staff Captain, all the engineers and marine. The Hotel department is run by the Hotel Director who overseas the operation of 11 divisions, one of them being mine.

I am not going to go into details right now, I am just going to list them and in the future post I’ll describe them one by one. So…

1. Food & Beverage – Is probably the biggest division onboard, almost half of the crewmembers in the Hotel department being part of it. It’s subdivisions are Bar, Galley and Restaurants

2. Guest Relations – This division overseas the pursers and is in charge with everything that is related to guest interaction (as the name says): printer, international ambassador, front desk, concierge, group coordinator, guest administration etc.

3. Financial – Takes care of the financial part of the operation and is divided in two: crew and guest

4. Human Resources – The HR Manager is the liaison between the management and crew. This division is also in charge with the mandatory and not so mandatory trainings and certifications onboard and also with the crew office.

5. Marketing & Revenue – All revenue areas onboard the ship report to the Marketing & Revenue Manager. This includes the shops, explorations, spa, casino, photo subdivisions as well as the art auctioneer, tattoo artist, loyalty ambassador and port & shop guide.

6. Entertainment & Cruise Division – This division is in charge with entertaining guests. Overseas the Activities Manager, Adventure Ocean Manager in charge with the kids program, Stage & Production Manager, Musical Director, Head Broadcast Technician. All activities, shows and entertainment onboard is this division’s responsibility.

7. Facilities - This division is somehow special since the managers have the benefits and privileges of the Marine Department, but is part of the Hotel. They are in charge with the technical part of the Hotel operation such as cleaning the guest and crew areas, fixing the furniture and equipment in the crew and guest cabins, the toilet system, some of the equipment in the galleys, bars and restaurants etc. Cleaners, carpenters and electricians are part of this division.

8. Housekeeping – They are in charge with the cabins, crew and guest ones, as well as the laundry onboard.

9. Inventory – This division is in charge with loading and issuing the food, drinks, toiletries, office supplies etc. Is divided in two parts, one ran by the Provision Master who is in charge with the food and drinks and the other one ran by the Hotel Storekeeper in charge with the non-food items.

10. IT Division – All office equipment such as computers, printers, Xerox machines etc is their responsibility. They are also in charge with the crew and guest Internet and the office networks.

11. Medical Division – needles to explain their role. I think is pretty much self-explanatory.

I hope this helped you have an idea of the organizational structure of the ship’s management. In the future posts I’ll go into details with some of the main divisions.

The things we do for money?

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:24:00 +0000

So what do you do when your manager doesn’t trust you, doesn’t back you up, nor respect you? If I were on land, I would have resigned immediately, but since I work on a cruise ship, I am just going to wait until his contract is done and hope he won’t come back on this ship.

I remember my first day onboard being so happy to be back and now, after a month, I am frustrated, upset and uncomfortable with the place I live and work and my manager, the one who suppose to protect me and help me, doesn’t care at all, which makes it even worse. I always believed in teamwork and reciprocal help, but looks like my new Italian manager likes to play alone. Why? I wonder….

You need examples? Here are some:
1. I asked him to order some water for the office as we work there all day and we need it, he replied that the food cost is too high and we cannot afford it. A couple of days later, I walk into his office only to find under his desk 2 cases of water and sodas. “I’ll be damn! What happened to the food cost????(By the way, it’s not the food cost that’s affected, but the bar cost…. but whatever…)”. Apparently, the cost matters only when it doesn’t involve him….

2. My office is next to him together with the bar offices and some of the restaurant. His is at the entrance, separate from us. Being unlocked during the night because the bar staff comes in to fill in their time cards, things disappear from the office all the time. Last time even my manager’s external hard drive went missing. I tried talking to him regarding this, in an attempt to have our office locked after hours and relocating the bar staff time cards somewhere else. All I got back were excuses and a big no, but of course, he had his office locked and instructed me not to have it open not even during the day, because things disappear. Oh really???!!!! How about my office??? Things don’t disappear from there as well? Of course they do, but the difference is that MY staff disappears from there and not HIS, so why should he care…

3. Since last contract, my job description changed dramatically and I got new extra things to do now. But still, he wants me to do things that now are taken off the job description and given to other positions. When I went to him to let him know that I am not supposed to do those things anymore and that I don’t have enough time to do everything, he just tactfully checked my time card and said: “I notice that you start 8:30 in the morning and you have a break in the afternoon. You can do the extra things during that period.” And now, from 9 hours a day, I jumped to 12, which might not seam much to you, but here’s my schedule and judge for yourself: 8-13, 16-23. Don’t I have a right to go outside just like everyone else? When am I supposed to take care of my personal stuff like going to the gym, doing laundry, relax a little bit? Am I am animal, or what?

4. Since I am an officer, I am supposed to share the cabin with another officer. Common sense, don’t you think? Well, not to him…. why? Because the policy doesn’t specifically say so…. Actually, since my position changed and now I am a 2 stripe officer, I shouldn’t share at all, but the ones in Miami office are a bit slow in changing the online policy and so far they only changed the salary and the stripes. Soon they will change the cabin allocation too, but it takes some time. First day onboard they put me with a Jamaican cook in a crew cabin (very small, under the water level). I went to him to tell him, but he didn’t want to listen and he sent me to the Executive Chef (my position and my manager’s belong to the galley department). Weird, since he’s the Executive Chef’s manager as well. Finally, after a week of complaining and even going to the Human Relations Manager, the crew office gave me an officer cabin, but I had to take the cook with me. This woman has a totally different schedule, sleeps all the time and because she works in the galley, my cabin stinks, but guess what? She is the one complaining about me that I watch TV when she’s sleeping and many other things not worth talking about. I spoke to him, since there are other free cabins, but just because they are single cabins and I have to share, he prefers to keep them empty and me with that cook. Why would he care? He has his comfortable cabin, that’s all that matters to him apparently. You may say rules are rules, but how come that rules apply when is convenient to him and don’t when is not? We are all human, and since those cabins are empty, where’s the harm?

So here I am, stuck in this awful situation, just because I really need the money to start building my house. But I wonder…. is it really worth the humiliation, disrespect and stress? I am beginning to think that it’s not and now I am really considering leaving this company and find another job. I wouldn’t be the only one since the turnover on this ship is pretty high.

Royal Caribbean is a really cool place to work, but people like my manager, and believe me, he’s not the only one to act this way, spoil all the fun. I use to go to work with pleasure, but now all I can think of is finishing my work and go. Not to my cabin though, since the stinky woman is for sure sleeping already, but to my friend’s cabin where I can relax. Finally, when I am totally exhausted, I crawl into my cabin and crush, happy that one more day went by and the day my manager is going home is closer….

Last day of freedom

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:08:00 +0000

Actually, these are my last hours of freedom. I’m waiting in the hotel’s lobby for the bus that will take us to the ship. The flight was long as usually. Even though to go from Bucharest to Barcelona is a 2 hours flight, the company always sends us through London or some airport in Germany, probably because it’s cheaper. At least I didn’t pay for the flight, which is always good. We all like free stuff, don’t we?

So, instead of 2 hours, I flew 7 and finally got to the airport. All Royal Caribbean employees are sent to Best Western Alfa Hotel in Barcelona, a 4 star hotel near the airport. They have a shuttle that comes to the airport every 30 minutes, but this time, I just didn’t want to wait any longer and took a taxi. Cost me less than 20 euros, which I gladly paid just to see myself at the hotel.
The first one to greet me was a good friend of mine from Trinidad. He’s a executive sous chef on Voyager. He posed for me when I did the post about uniforms, you can see him here. Next one I see is a waiter I use to work with. It really feels like home seeing all this familiar faces. When I stepped into the restaurant, my manager was having his dinner with other crewmembers. Us joining together was great because it gave us some time together to know each other outside work. We had some after dinner drinks, play some pool and we went to bed as all of us were tired after the long flight.
Transportation to the pier in the morning is also provided by the company, so basically, if you’re an officer, you don’t spend any money at all. If you are a waiter, stateroom attendant, bar staff or have any other position that is paid based on tips, you have to pay for the return ticket, which can be a lot if you have to fly across the ocean.
So that’s it! The buss is here and the crew started to load their luggage. My last hours of freedom are rapidly turning into my last minutes of freedom. Boy! Here we go another 6 months……

Romanian birthday party

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:30:00 +0000

Last Saturday my cousin and I celebrated my birthday. I also celebrated my last days home since this Friday I will go back to work. It's really hard to leave my friends and family behind, but for now I have to do it.

Life is wonderful sometimes

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:22:00 +0000

I was watching today my cousin's dogs play in the back yard. Two carefree, innocent souls enjoying a sunny afternoon, no worries, no problems. I wish I could feel the same, I wish I can control my worries and just erase them from my mind, if only could be possible...

Oh, and by the way, for those who in time became bitter and cynical, yes, i know they are animals and I am a human being and no, I don't want to be a dog...I just envy their innocence.

Reality check

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Yesterday I went shopping, got what I wanted and came back home. Nothing wrong with that, is it? Well yeah, until my mother asked me how much I paid for the groceries and other stuff. When I told her she looked at me and said: “You know, people live with that kind of money for a month”.

Later on I start thinking about it and I realized that most of us that work on ships need a regular reality check. My mother was right. A lot of people live with 400 dollars a month in Romania and I just spent that kind of money in one day without even realizing how much they mean.

So what’s happening with us? Why we become so detached from the real world so much? After a lot of thinking I finally answered those questions. Ship life isn’t a real life. Not even close. We live 6 months in an enclosed environment where, even thought we have TVs in each cabin, we don’t have enough time to watch what’s going on in the world, and who’s dating who or any other gossip becomes news of the day.

If you go around and ask the crew members what date or day is, half of them will take seconds to give you an answer and most of the answers would be wrong. We are lost in time and space, sometimes we don’t even know where in the world we are, we just know it’s 6 am and we have to go back to work in our metal windowless offices, galley, pantries etc.

That’s the result of 6 months of constant work, 7 days a week, 10 or more hours a day, combined with a workplace that have no natural light, no means for us to realize if it’s light or day outside, if we are at sea or in a port. And then again is the time zone that messes out our internal clocks.

But yeah, we make good money and the best of all is that we can save up most of them. But there’s a catch there as well and most of us fail to realize it, just like me. We shuffle hundreds of dollars every day and slowly we forget that some people in our countries can live out of a 100 dollar bill for days, or even weeks. We are used to the prices in USA or Europe, and when we come back home it takes us a while to realize that the prices aren’t the same.

Did you know that you can have a chauffeur, maid, cook and cleaner for less than $150 a month? I didn’t…until one of my managers from Philippines told me he pays that much for it. Apparently, it is the same in India. Romania is a bit more expensive, but still, the medium salary per economy is around 400 dollars.

I find myself talking about thousands of dollars like it is nothing, then I see my friends’ faces change and I realize I do need a reality check. Or maybe I just need to get away from that kind of environment that ships represent. Something definitely needs to change. Maybe me...

My celebrity look-alike

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:45:00 +0000

While having my coffee and reading my RSS news, I came across this interesting site that shows which celebrity you resemble based on a picture you upload. So out of curiosity, i uploaded a picture and waited quietly for the result and surprise surprise! I look like Paris Hilton!

Well, yeah, just 55%, but could not help think that it would have been nice that my wealth resemble hers too, even 55%. What a wonderful dream...

Anyways, here's the site link. Have fun!

Crossroad

noreply@blogger.com (Ariana) — Sat, 03 May 2008 18:01:00 +0000

Working on cruise ships is a wonderful job, especially if one is part of the middle management. You get to see places, meet people, work isn’t too hard, actually is enjoyable because I love what I do. But always the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

I’ve seen many coming onboard with a big smile on their faces that says “God, I am so lucky to be here!” and after a contract (or less) going home and never come back. Why is that, you may wonder. Well, first of all, not everybody is made for this kind of life, always traveling from place to place, no day off for 6 months, working 10 hours or more a day. Second of all, they probably came to the same conclusion as I did, that money don’t bring happiness and peace of mind and being close to the ones you love and love you back is more important that counting money all alone in your cabin. Yes, money help you reach happiness, but without your family and close ones they mean nothing.

Main reason for resignations onboard the cruise ships isn’t money or work conditions as you might think, but loneliness and missing the loved ones. Being all alone is a big stress factor and no money in the world can fix that. Some are stronger and last for years working on the ships, some are weak and leave after a contract.

It is very frustrating wanting to be in somewhere and having to be somewhere else. Like me for example: in about 2 weeks I have to be back at work, but what I really want is to stay home. I am 28 years old and I want to start my own family, but this isn’t possible with the lifestyle I have, so soon I’ll be looking for a job in Romania and start building my dream home like I always wanted.

I already found the land and most likely I’ll be buying it this summer (photos to come :-)). And the house…..well….the house will follow, not sure how soon, but it will as I always get what I want sooner or later.

So the plan goes as follows:

1. finish this contract

2. apply for a job in Romania while onboard

3. hopefully getting a job when I come back in vacation

4. settle close to my loved ones

5. start building a social and love life

6. reorganizing my finances and investments, maybe sell some, so I can start building my house

7. start some kind of business (gosh, I have so many ideas)

If the step 3 doesn't work from the first time, I’ll keep repeating it until it will or until I’ll win the lottery :-).

So it looks like I am not part of the strong ones after all, even though I like to think so. To me, as the years passed by, money is not as important as it use to be, maybe because I got it already. Or maybe I am just in a bad mood because I just got together again with the man I always loved and now I have to leave him behind another 6 months. I hate it!

One thing I can tell you. If you plan working on a ship to save some money, don’t get involved with anyone back home, don’t give the opportunity to have your heart broken. Leave it for when you decide to stay home, it’ll be easier for you, trust me. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself at a crossroad where your mind will pull you to the left and your heart to the right. Which road you’re going to choose? I think I know which one to take now…