SEA LIFE: Part 2

Part two of the Ship Life Blog! I asked some people what burning questions they had about my experience on a cruise ship. Here they are, plus my answers!

What does your usual day look like?

There are 4 kinds of days I can have:

In-Port Day:

Breakfast

Venture out and explore the world!

Go back to gym and run the show for that evening, + misc. rehearsals and meetings. Dinner

Hair and makeup, SHOW!

Evening activities (BB3s, stretching, Facetiming, Midnight Meal, etc.)

IPM Day:

Breakfast

Laundry, reading and knitting time.

Lunch

Nap, snack, gym forevaaaa, rehearsals/meetings/runs

Dinner

Hair and makeup, SHOW!

Evening activities

Sea Day:

Breakfast

Reading and knitting time/ Anatomy project

Lunch

Watch Ru Paul Season 11 with the cast

Gym, run of show, rehearsals

Dinner

Hair and makeup, SHOW!

Evening activities

PAX Change in Kiel:

Breakfast

Reading and knitting time

Early lunch

Check-in duties in the terminal, hang out in the terminal to use the free wifi and/or go for a walk in KIEL

Drill

Run of show

Dinner

Hair and makeup, SHOW!

Evening activities

How many sea days do you have in a cruise? Do you stop every day?

Oh gosh, what a sore subject. In the beginning of my contract, it felt like we had a sea day every other day! We were going up to the most northern area of Norway, all the way from Germany. That is a huge expanse of water to cover in two weeks! Also, it was winter, so the sea was super rough and more often than not we couldn’t perform, it was so rocky.

How do you know what to do in port?

In the beginning, I was meticulous about researching ports in advance, coming up with lists of what I wanted to do and see, and mapping out how to do it all in a few hours. Now, I get off, find some wifi, and walk around. I will ask the guest guides sometimes what there is to do, or by word of mouth some fun activity will find it’s way to me. But, nowadays I really just go and explore without knowing much. It is kind of liberating that way. I don’t necessarily have an agenda, but I inevitably stumble upon beautiful churches, authentic foods, markets where normal people are going about their business, etc.

How long is the same guest on the ship?

This is entirely dependent on the cruise itinerary! AIDA does some world cruises, where guests are onboard for months at a time. Within my itinerary, we have 14-day, 10-day, and 7-day cruises. The larger ships sometimes have 5-day and even 2-day itineraries!

More recently, we had three weeks of the same 7-day itinerary where we only had one sea day per week. That was amazing. I am currently on the second of two Baltic Sea cruises, each one 14-days long. Our sea days are a bit more frequent, as we go all the way to St. Petersburg.

Sea days also generate more revenue onboard, so there is usually at least one sea day per cruise regardless of the port locations. Once, we sailed to Sweden at 3 knots the entire day; we could have made it there in one night, but I guess that would have been bad for business.

Do you get to hang out with guests?

AIDA is advertised as a “casual” cruise. Technically, yes, though I personally do not because it is a bit strange and I do not speak German. The entertainment ensemble lives in this grey area between being a crewmember and having guest status. Yes, we have check-in duty in uniform, we corral guests during the drills, and live and eat in crew areas. But, we have the most exposure to guests. Any crewmember is allowed to hang out in guest areas if they are off duty, but this right is only really exercised by the entertainment people. This makes it awkward for us, because, to the rest of the crew, it doesn’t look like we are working; thus, the divide between the crew and the ensemble deepens.

What are your expenses? Is there free alcohol?

I spend money on wifi, the occasional drink, meals in the fancy Selection restaurant on special occasions, and my hair. You can get alcohol in the crew bar for practically nothing. I believe beers are 80 cents, shots are 90-cents, etc. But, I don’t go there. Most of my money is going into my savings account or towards necessary touristy things in the wide world where I am living my best, adventurous life!

What has been your high and low so far?

My low was the month of our Norway cruises. Cast morale was down due to a multitude of administrative problems, a lack of productive communication, and rough sea. Many shows were cancelled and I was not able to dance as much. I also wasn’t really sleeping due to the rocking. Lastly, we were entering the Arctic Circle in March, so it was frickin’ cold. Gorgeous, though! Go see the Norwegian fjords!

I have too many highs. I will do a highlight blog post for sure, but for now, I’d say my high has been some of the friendships I have gained during this contract. The cast spends most of it’s time together; it is kind of like camp, in that you become close to people because you have no choice. But this camp is 6 months long, and you are on a ship! Of course there are going to be trials that you all go through, celebrations you revel in together, endless inside jokes, rituals, port adventures, etc. All of these things form one big high, and I am so grateful for those experiences with people I enjoy.

Also, dogsledding in Tromso. That was pretty epic.

What are some realities of crew life, including wage exploitation?

Institutional racism and wage exploitation are alive and real in the cruise world, people. I am grateful for my job, and yes, there are aspects of it that could be improved. But I am reminded every day that I come from a very privileged background. There are people onboard who are incredibly underpaid and under-appreciated who rarely have the chance to get off and explore in the light of day.

I think the best way to describe the social atmosphere is uncomfortable. The members of the show ensemble has years of specialized training under their belts, but because our shows and runs take place in the afternoons, it looks like we do nothing all day. We are lucky to be able to get off the ship and regularly see the world; no wonder the rest of the crew resents us a bit.

But, it is good to be uncomfortable, and there are many amazing people onboard in every line of work. I have learned a lot on this contract.

What if you have a special diet?

Tough luck. Nah, I am kidding. The crew food is better, apparently, than what it was before the crew mess was remodeled in February. There is (apparently) always an option for everyone. I would argue this claim to be touch and go, but I can usually find something to eat as a vegetarian. I have had to eat fish, and on the days when there was no legume in sight to pair with rice, no dairy items, no leafy greens, no healthy grains, I had to eat some chicken. The kitchen has a hard time understanding that carrots sautéed in copious amounts of oil and a meager salad bar does not cut it for us veggies out there. Usually, there are delicious lentils and rice, but that can only take you so far. Yesterday, for the first time they had a meat substitute chicken patty, which was awesome. At dinner, they always have cheese…. it is different adventure every day. I did request more protein options for lunch and dinner, so lately I had had more luck. I am thankful that at breakfast I can have all the hard-boiled egg whites and yogurt/cottage cheese that I desire. Breakfast and protein powder makes vegetarianism onboard possible.

What has been the most challenging part?

I think the most challenging part has been seeing how a cruise company functions and knowing that many things could be done better, especially in terms of environmental impact and administrative functionality. There will always be things that bother you about where you work, whether at your retail job, college, desk job, etc. We had a lot of turnover within both the ensemble and the entertainment administration during my time onboard. I saw many people do the same jobs in completely different ways. It baffles me how differently people troubleshoot, and how some are able to think critically and creatively to solve a problem, while others are not. It makes me sad to see some people not handle themselves in a professional manner, especially as performing artists. And, of course, the cruise industry needs to figure out how to not kill the ocean. There are existing alternative sources of energy that can fuel ships and additional conservation methods that could be implemented onboard. The commitment just has to be made.

What is it like to be the only American in the cast?

People automatically think that I am from some part of the UK with an accent that they just have not heard yet. For a long time, I was the only North American onboard (We were recently joined by some Canadians!), and the biggest differences I noticed came from our conversations, as most of my cast is from the UK: “good shout” vs. “nice;” “can’t be bothered” vs. “I don’t care;” “mate” vs. “friend;” “half 6” vs. "6:30," etc.

The time difference also defined me as an American onboard. If I needed to call my family, I really had to plan because I am 9-10 hours ahead of them. To call my boyfriend, I had to plan for 6-7 hours ahead. That was the most difficult part. George and I both maintained relationships across the Atlantic; at random times we would have to drop what we were doing and be like, “So sorry, I have to go call the SO.” It has been difficult at times, especially when the wifi is touchy.

What do you do if you’re sea sick?

You eat bread and potatoes. Period. If you can anticipate the rockiness, a sea-sickness pill may help you, but they will knock you out or make you act funny. Also, the pills prevent your body from becoming accustomed to the sensation. If you take pills constantly, you will never really get used to rough sea. I think I took a pill twice, and both times it was just so that I would fall asleep. I never threw up, though I did fight nausea once during a rehearsal. For the most part, I have been fine. A gentle rocking is actually pleasant, sometimes!