One Week To Go!

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Time To Start Packing

Where does the time go? I'm already less than a week away from joining my next ship in sunny Fort Lauderdale Florida! This is my second contract working onboard a cruise ship, so luckily this time around I'll know a lot better what to pack. For anyone who is reading this and I haven't already talked your ear off about what it's like to work on a cruise ship, let me just give you a few brief facts.


* Contracts last for 6 months at a time with no vacation and no days off
* You live, eat, sleep and work onboard the ship, but you have port days free in the afternoons
* You work about 80 hours a week, on a good week
* You live in shared cabins about the size of an average closet
* The pay isn't that much, but you really never have time to spend money anyways

Most people find this an absurd way to live, so why does anyone do it? I don't think anyone actually knows why, but I can tell you that it is a bewitching lifestyle. That feeling of always being in motion, going forward and never looking back, it is like a drug and we're all addicts. The highs and lows are so extreme from day to day, you never know what to expect; I have had the absolute best and undoubtably worst days of my life living onboard a ship. Having said all of this, I can't wait to join my new ship and start the experience all over again.

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