So you get onboard after months of waiting, you get used to the work, you even make some friends along the way. Someone who is sharing the same points of view like you, someone who likes the same type of fun and with whom you go out every time you have a few hours to spare. Everything is so wonderful and you find yourself thinking “Hmm, this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be… I am happy!”. But one day, while having your regular drink in the crew bar with your friend, he or she gives you the news: “You know what? I had enough of this! I decided I am going to quit!”. What can you say to this? I’m sorry?? Sorry for who? You or your friend? In one split of a second you see all your plans of going out, of visiting places, of having fun going to the toilet and you finally realize this is not a stable work environment as you thought it is. On ships, people come and go, sometimes without you noticing it. One day you might go to work and realize that the person you worked with for the past weeks isn’t there anymore and someone else took his or her place. Later on in the day, after asking around, you find out that your old co-worker resigned, or even worse, got fired. It’s very fortunate when your friend tells you he or she is going to resign. At least you have the time to say good bye, exchange email addresses and hug your friend. It could be worse, you can find out he or she got fired and usually happens after the person is gone. Or, if you work like me in the office, you will find out a week ahead, but there’s nothing you can do and you can not say anything about it because you might get fired too. During my almost 2 years with Royal Caribbean I saw many of my friends getting fired for different reasons, or resigning. I can almost tell everytime who’s going to stick around and who’s not, I can see who’s made for this life and who needs freedom, who’s happy and who isn’t. My friend, Jessica, was clearly unhappy, she wanted a totally different job that she had and I tried, I really tried to make her see the good parts of working onboard the ship. We spent a lot of time together, going out, going to shows, hanging out in the crew bar. She was my first good female friend onboard. But it’s all over now… A while ago I received an email from her telling me she resigned and she will be going home in April. It really hurts, especially because I am in vacation and I can not say good bye to her properly. Also, bothers me that I have to start all over again and make a new friend. Friends are not so easy to make, as you probably know, especially on a cruise ship where everybody is busy with their own stuff. So what’s to learn out of this? Hmm, nothing really, just be aware that life onboard a cruise ship is an unstable one, that people come and go and you might find yourself changing friends as often as you change your socks…sort of say… But now and then, you can make a very good friend that you’ll keep in touch with long after he or she left the ship. Is what I hope Jessica will do and definitely I’ll keep in touch with her, who knows, maybe we’ll be seeing each other really soon. Jessica, if you read this, I want you to know I will miss you and you’re always welcome to cruise on Voyager and I hope you will. Labels: friends |
