This was a question a member recently asked on our

I know from the emails I get that a lot of people have the same concerns too, so I wanted to let you read the feedback this member got from one of our crewmember contributors.

Here's the original question:

"I currently have a good office job and quite a good salary. But traveling and working abroad has always been something I've wanted to do and experience. But is it worth it giving up my good job to go and work on a ship?

I'm still young enough to do this (almost 25) and discover the world and get to know different people and just spread my wings a bit."

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Here's the reply she got from Becky, an experienced crewmember and forum contributor who could completely relate to it:

"I was an account manager for a large, international company dealing directly with some pretty big clients. I'd been with the same company for nearly 5 years and was earning more than most of my friends. So when I decided that I wanted to pack it all in to travel and see the world, while I was still young with no other commitments... my family, my work colleagues and some of my closest friends told me I was absolutely CRAZY!!!

So, being the stubborn person I am, I packed it all in any way and off I went to work as a Social Host for Celebrity Cruises.

It was a BIG culture shock and yes for the first few weeks (possibly the first 2 months!) I thought "What HAVE I done?!" I was very homesick and I really thought that I'd ruined my life and thrown away everything away I'd worked so hard to achieve (apparently this initial feeling is quite normal though!)

Fast forward 6 months (when I'd properly acclimatized and got my "sea legs") - I was having the time of my life, and my "oh so important" career was now just a distant memory! I had met so many fantastic people, visited some unbelievable places and I was doing adventurous things that I would never have done before. I felt like a new person!

The idea of going home and back to my old job with my boring 'corporate' colleagues absolutely filled me with dread. And I genuinely felt sorry for my friends who were stuck in their dull jobs and tedious routines. I could clearly tell how envious they were of me whenever I called them (one my friends actually banned me from sending her postcards because it was driving her insane!)

I ended up working for Celebrity for nearly 3 1/2 years and was eventually offered a position of Cruise Director - which would have been great money, great lifestyle and a lot of fun. But I decided that enough was enough and I wanted to go home, buy a house and start a family before it was too late (then my friends onboard told me I was CRAZY!)

So did I have any regrets about leaving my "hugely important" career? As you probably guessed - NO! It was definitely the right "career" move for me at the time - I honestly feel that I had more excitement and great times in those 3 1/2 years than most people I know have had in their entire lives. I also met my husband onboard which definitely made it more than worthwhile (just in case he reads this ;-))

I am in no way telling you what I think you should do. And this lifestyle certainly isn't for everyone. You have to make this decision for yourself by weighing up the pros and cons and deciding what's most important to you. It's a tough decision from where you are right now but I just thought that my little story might 'inspire' you, put your mind at ease and give you a little taster of what else is out there."

Becky (ex-crewmember, Princess Cruises)

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If you have a similar dilemma - perhaps you've worked hard to get where you are now and leaving could damage your career prospects and earning ability? - then do think long and hard before packing it in - we're certainly not advocating quitting a promising career!

But here are a couple of things to consider:

For me personally, I wasn't in a great job at the time, but I found that the valued life experience I got (the travel, new environments) the people I met onboard, and the profound effect it had on me as a person (I was quite shy so it really boosted my confidence), made it all more than worthwhile.

This article about the ups and downs of life onboard a cruise ship will also help you with a decision like this:

http://www.workoncruiseships.com/members/385.cfm