Here's a personal story that was kindly contributed by one of our members, Stacy from the US.

In this article she talks about why she wanted to work on a cruise ship, her frustrations at trying to get hired, what kept her going, how she eventually got hired and some of the things she did that finally got her a job working on a luxury cruise ship.

After a frustrating few months of trying to get hired by a cruise line company, Stacy finally got her the break she needed and will be boarding the Artemis on Jan 11th 2008, embarking on an 84 night cruise visiting the Caribbean, South America, the Panama Canal and Europe!

Stacy's Story

I have always thought I would work in the hospitality industry; more specifically at a hotel or even a resort. Since I was a teenager I always seemed to be interested in the people who worked at some of the most beautiful hotels and resorts. Going into college, I wasn't sure what my major would be. I started working for a local radio station and loved it; so when the time came to choose a major, I went with Broadcasting Telecommunications and Mass Media. On vacations throughout the years, I always still dreamed about "one day" working for a resort, but stuck with my other love for communications. I did end up going completely off in a different direction later after college, but that is neither here nor there.

Cruising was something that I had always heard about and really wanted to do! It sounded like my kind of vacation; same "hotel", a few destinations and none of the traveling in between them. My first cruise was in 2000 with my entire family. My dad's side of the family likes to have reunions, since we are spread out all over the country. We sailed on Carnival Cruise Lines, out of New York City for a 5 day cruise to Nova Scotia, Canada. As much as the weather wasn't great ~ I absolutely LOVED it. I said then that I should have looked into doing something like this after college. I met a handful of crew members and though they worked hard, seemed to really be having a blast!

After that cruise, I met the man (who I would end up marrying in 2004). He had been on a cruise before and loved it, so one of our first vacations was a Caribbean cruise! We sailed Carnival out of Miami and did the eastern itinerary. Again, I was in love with the ship, the people, the atmosphere and the fact that stress didn't touch me when I was out on the water. We had such a great time; we decided we wanted it to be our annual vacation! We cruised every February or March doing different itineraries, ships and/or cruise lines. Even our honeymoon was a cruise! Each time I boarded a ship, I regretted that I had not done something like that after college.

What an experience it would have been!

In 2007 my family reunion was going to be a cruise; so we started planning in early 2006. I did a lot of the research, since everyone knew I had been on several by that time. When the trip finally got here, I was so excited to be going on yet another cruise... a new ship (to me) and the life I enjoyed so much. By this time I was getting divorced, so my husband did not accompany me.

Stacy's First Ship The "Artemis"

We boarded the Mariner of the Seas (RCCL) in June and set sail on a 7 night eastern itinerary. About mid-week a few of my cousins and I were at the bar by the pool after coming back on board from St Maarten. We ended up talking to a few crewmembers. Some were entertainment staff and some were members of the reggae band that played at the pool. We had a great time and when it was time to go, they wanted to hang out with us later after dinner. We met up with them again later, and through the rest of the week hung out whenever we could. They were great and I was always asking questions about being a crew member, what ship life was really like, how long contracts were, etc.

I had told them how I had always wanted to be in hospitality, but that my path took me elsewhere and then it just wasn't something I could do, being married and owning a home, having a steady job. One of the guys, Marcus, asked me "Why not now then? You are getting divorced, you don't own a home and you can always get another job if you come back" I laughed him off. But then thought about it in the back of my head and since then I kept trying to find reasons why I *shouldn't* do it. I wasn't coming up with many, that was for sure.

So the first week of July, I started doing some internet research and came across a few sites with listings and information, among them http://www.WorkOnCruiseShips.com I signed up for membership and as soon as I had the "key" to get in, I was hooked! There was so much information in here! I had a hard time in the beginning trying to sort it all out and try to figure out where to start. I figured I would dive in head first and see what happened. I applied to many of the featured jobs for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises. As I got more comfortable with the application procedure, and reading the articles and tips about topics such as "what the cruise line companies are looking for" and getting great tips and advice on the discussion forum, my cover letter and resume slowly began to evolve into a much better package to send out.

I was sending out my resume to the email addresses listed in the cruise ship job postings. After about 8 weeks (since I sent the first one) I was applying for any job I thought I could be good at; and after continuously not hearing anything, I started my "snail mail" campaign - sending my resume through the mail. However, I needed some encouragement, as I was really frustrated about things and wondered if I was really doing the right thing, or if I would even get a job in the first place!

I got some fantastic advice, support, answers from the cruise ship jobs discussion forum and really felt a part of a family, since we all are going through this experience or have gone through it before. The crew and fellow members really kicked me into gear!! I buckled down, got organized with a binder, print outs from the site and pulled out a notebook to list all of the jobs I had applied for online and via email, when I sent them out, etc; then started sending out my hard copy package to those first. As time went on, I still did get frustrated at times. I thought my package was pretty darn good, but I decided I would keep at it since I am sure the companies get so many, it is hard to find that diamond in the rough.

I constantly checked WorkOnCruiseShips.com for new postings; logging them into my notebook, dating when I had sent them out online and when I would need to follow up with a hard copy. I had quite a few mailings I needed to do one weekend and I decided I needed a leg up; I needed to do something that would make me stand out. The first thing I did was send my resume to a few friends for some critiquing; I made my changes, to both my cover letter and resume. So now it was time to get to find a paper that would stand off from the others, without being too bold or harsh.

My step-mom has the creativity of Martha Stewart, so I enlisted her to help me. She decided on a paper for my resume called granite professional paper, in a light rose pink. We figured, what the heck, right? With that in mind, decided to put my cover letters on vellum paper. I knew it was a little risqué in the world of resume writing, but again ... what did I have to lose? I literally ran home to start printing and figure out the best layout to my package. I ended up keeping the headings of the letter all on the left margin. This allowed my picture (on my resume) to show right through the vellum, since the headshot was on the right margin. Personally, I thought it looked cool and it certainly let the eye naturally look at the picture through the vellum; thus bringing the reader to my resume!

All of those packages went out on Oct 29th. I got a reply no more than 10 days later, asking me for a video audition for a position of Port and Shopping Lecturer. This was my first contact from anyone!! While I went to work on locating the script and researching where I would shoot this video during those first few days since the contact, I was excited and nervous. Then on Friday the 12th of November, I got a call from a lady who thought my resume was "awesome" and wanted to interview me for the job of Internet Manager that I had applied for, as soon as possible. We set the appointment for Monday, right after work at 5.30pm. Now I was flying high with uplifted spirits!! It was finally 'my time' as Indy, a member of WorkOnCruiseShips.com, had kept telling me it would.

That weekend I spent all day on WorkOnCruiseShips.com, printing out info, looking up the interview questions I should be asking them, etc. I found a great tool for feeling confident in an interview is to print out the Cruise Ship Job Interview Questions and complete them yourself as it applies to the job you are applying for. Having that handy, along with some basic info and notes on the company and the job description made me comfortable.

Maria, the recruiter, called me at 17:30 on Monday and we had a fantastic conversation! She asked me questions about the job, as well as personal ones and we seemed to have a good rapport on the phone. After well over an hour, she said she was submitting my application to the HR Director for the second interview! I nearly jumped off my chair!! She said I would hear from them by the end of the week. It couldn't come fast enough; I felt like this might be "it" and was thrilled. I spent the rest of the week telling all my friends and researching basic computer networking terms and troubleshooting tips, since I was sure the 2nd interview would be a little more in depth into my IT knowledge.

The call finally came first thing on Friday morning, at about 9.30am. David wanted to talk to me then, but I couldn't, so we set a return call for lunchtime that day. Wow! I couldn't believe the excitement they had for interviewing me; it was quite the compliment! I sent out a mass email to everyone I knew and told them all to send me positive thoughts, good luck and whatever else they believed in so that I would get this job!

I decided to take David's call at home, since I only live a few miles from my office. I got home, reviewed the things in my folder and had a few minutes to spare before he called. David was just as personable as Maria and I knew this was going to be a good fit for me. We spent more than an hour on the phone and at the end of the call, he said he was submitting my file for hire; which meant I had the job!!! I ended the call pleasantly and then proceeded to run around my apartment yelling "Yes! Yes! I did it!!" (I think my dog thought I lost my mind) I headed back to work and boy was that hard! I had to pretend like nothing happened and go on as usual. I called my parents in the car on the way back. But all my friends would have to wait.

Once I was back at my desk, I sent out a mass email to everyone and let them know all their good thoughts had worked, I had gotten the job! Well everyone must have been waiting to hear from me, because I was getting "congrats" replies left and right.

Since then, I have been sent some paperwork, given some basics on what to expect and when I should anticipate leaving for the ship. Right now they are finishing up my background check, and then I will need to go for my physical and medical evaluation. Once I am done with that, they will apply for my MMZ card with the US Coast Guard.

"Artemis" passes through the Panama Canal

I was originally assigned to Norwegian America's Pride of Aloha which traveled to Hawaii, but since then I have been reassigned to a ship called the "Artemis" (P&O Cruises). So I am going to be on a ship that sails from England to the Eastern Caribbean, down the east coast of South. America around the tip, up the west coast, Mexican Riviera, on through the Panama Canal, then around the Western Caribbean, before sailing back to England.

I will have to go to a few days of training in Florida at the Headquarters of my company, which should be a few days before I go to meet the ship.

In the meantime, I have been getting ready at home. Packing up my apartment, moving things to a friend's basement for storage, giving notice to my apartment complex and resigning from my company. It has been crazy! All this while trying to get ready for the holidays has been fun and exciting.

I still can't believe that in just a few weeks I will be heading off to my new job which starts with an 84 night cruise traveling halfway around the world. What kind of luck is that?? :-)

Thank you to Neil, the entire WorkOnCruiseShips.com staff as well as all the members; I couldn't have done it without you!!

Stacy
(libabeinphilly)

P.S. You can read more about my adventures by going to: http://sashasatsea.blogspot.com Or you can contact me on sashasatsea(AT)gmail.com (please replace (AT) with @ when emailing me)

On behalf of WorkOnCruiseShips.com we'd like to say a big thank you to Stacy for this article and for her ongoing contributions to this site. If you read through our discussion forum you'll find a ton of posts and excellent contributions from Stacy. You'll also be able to read all about her frustrations, questions, anxieties, and moments of despair...and her immense joy at finally succeeding in getting the job she wanted! We wish her well on her new adventure!