Retire in Paradise

There are many who are craving adventure and wanting to take off from their daily grind. A lot decide to go backpacking, working their away fruit picking or dong bar work. Whilst others are taking advantage of working for the many different cruise ship operators. A major difference is that rather than earning enough money in one destination to go onto the next, people who work on cruise ships are being paid to travel.

Allot of people have the impression that working n a cruise ship is full of fun, adventure, alcohol and sex. Speaking as one who has done it, these things and more are all true

Being part of a cruise ship crew is an adventure where you sleep, eat and breathe the life of being on the seas. The advantages of being part of the crew is for the most part, you get free travel and get to go to some of the most exotic locations in the world and get paid for it, copious amounts of alcohol are consumed and is very cheap (as little as 1 dollar a drink), and you are travelling with allot of like minded individuals who more or less want the same thing fun and great times. Not to mention that there is a hell of allot of room swapping and sleep over’s with crew and passengers alike.

One of the great advantages of working on a cruise ship is that everything is paid for; your food, your board and the pay can be quite substantial. Individuals who have done it for a few years often one there houses outright and people who have made careers out of it could be considered quite wealthy.

Before you jump onto the application process, it must be considered that cruise ship life is not for every one, more than once a person has signed on only to catch the next plane home. However, people who are more relaxed and are willing to make a go out of it find they have the time of their lives. It’s not just an adventure you get, but you end up making friends with people all over the world. Another thing to remember is that life on a cruise ship can be intense. Most cruise ships work 7 days a week so you could find yourself having time off rather than whole days off. Most find this to be not an issue as they find their work on the cruise ship a totally enjoyable experience.

Another important thing to remember when looking at which cruise company to work for is that different cruise companies allow their workers different privileges or freedom when working on their ships. For instance Disney as they are mostly a Christian Family values type company can be quite restrictive when allowing their crew to do certain things on the ship. For instance I believe that you must be a non-smoker to be employed by Disney and the consumption of alcohol by crewmembers might be very restrictive. As far as I’m aware, the cruise ship that allows the most freedom and privileges as well as the best pay rates for crewmembers are Princess Cruises.

If the money or the thrill adventure is enticing you to think about applying, make sure to think about it carefully before signing up. Things that must be taken into account is the fact that you will have initial expenses that include a full medical check up, sea safety training as well as travelling expenses to meet up with the cruise ship, after which this initial expense the company generally pays. You are signing up for a contract period of about 6 - 8 months that will mean you will be away from your family and friends. (Although most cruise ship companies offer very cheap deals for family members to visit). If it still sounds enticing and you decide to take on the experience then you will surely have an experience of a lifetime.