Working on Cruise Ships

It’s been almost 2 years since then, but I remember my frustration as clearly as if it would have happened yesterday and I promised to myself that one day I will write a blog and one of the posts will be about this so you guys, the ones who want and get a job an a cruise ship won’t have to go through all that. What is it about? The answer is….uniforms.

I remember stepping onboard Voyager of the Seas in 2006 with 40 or so pairs of stockings, thinking that the uniform will be a skirt and shirt, just like NCL (another cruise line I use to work for). My room mate started to laugh when she saw me and that made me feel uncomfortable. I looked everywhere online to find out something about life onboard Royal Caribbean ships, but could not find anything, so I assumed it’ll be the same like on NCL. Well, it wasn’t… Might not seem important now, but when you have to spend hundreds of dollars for things that you don’t need or you could have bought home, you’ll see my point.

Some companies, like NCL, will give you free uniforms and you only buy your stockings and shoes, others, like Royal Caribbean, will make you pay for the whole uniform except for the items that don’t touch the skin, such as bow ties, epaulets (for officers) etc. Royal Caribbean’s uniforms consist mostly of pants, vests and shirts, and you’ll have to buy them. The good news is that you don’t have to wear stockings which are a pain, especially when you have to wear them the entire day. Also, the company rule says that you have to wear company slip-free shoes for your safety, but many of the employees wear their own since they are more comfortable and sometimes more slip-free than the company ones. I advise you to follow the rules because in case of an accident (slip in the galley, etc), you won’t get paid medical insurance if you wore yours.

If you got a job with NCL you definitely need to bring lots of stockings with you if you’re a girl. The uniform consists of skirt and vest or shirt. You can buy a skirt back home, one that will fit you. As long as it’s knee length and black, nobody will say anything. Also, from what I know, you’ll have to buy your shoes as well so bring one pair from home.

You’ll also have to buy a safety belt, something like the body builders wear at the gym. It’s mandatory and you could lose your job if you don’t wear it. You can buy one back home, a quality one, or you can buy one onboard, your choice.

Grooming policy is the same for most of the cruise companies. For girls, the hair has to be pulled back, no other hair accessories except for a hair net (which is mandatory if you work with food), for boys, the hair needs to be short, no goatee or long beard, no fancy haircut. Needles to say that, if your hair is pink, your supervisor will send you to the hair dresser to change it. No earrings for boys, nickel size earrings for girls. Just the wedding ring is accepted, leave all the rest home or in your cabin when you go to work. If you’re working with food, your nails need to be short and no nail polish on them.

Annoying? Yes! Safe for the company and yourself? Definitely! I use to blame the company for stripping us of our personality, but after I got into middle management, I understood their reasons. They are only trying to protect us ( of harassment, injuries) and themselves (lawsuit from employees and guests).

Labels: ship rules