 |
| Snowmen on display in Cozumel, Mexico |
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone! Since it is Christmas I thought I’d
take a break and post a little something about what the holidays are like
onboard a ship. First of all, yes
there are actually people who cruise for the holidays. Even with the premium rates the ships
are usually full at this time of year.
It can be a nice getaway for people who want to celebrate in a warmer
climate. It can also be an option
for people who like to gather together but don’t enjoy cooking and
cleaning. And it is also an
alternative if family is spread out over the country; everyone can fly to meet
instead of picking who travels and who hosts.
If you track the rates for cruises, you will see that some
of the highest rates of the year are for the Christmas and New Years
cruises. With higher prices come
higher expectations, which the cruise lines already anticipate. The holiday season is packed full of
extra parties, food, and entertainment.
 |
| A Santa in sunny St. Maarten |
Another thing even most experienced cruisers don’t know is
that there is a “blackout” period on cruise ships where no crewmembers will
sign-on or off the ship. The
blackout period is generally the middle of December to the middle of
January. There are a few reasons,
the most important is that it creates consistency on the ship and allows
crewmembers to focus on serving the guests. Having no crew sign on the ship means no sign-on trainings
outside of the regular workday. If
means that the crewmembers are also not adjusting to their first week back
after 6 to 8 weeks at home on vacation.
Another reason is, that as most people have found when shopping for
airfare, the airline rates are also at a premium at this time of year. It’s a simple matter of supply and
demand, just like cruising during the holidays. Cruiselines and airlines don’t add extra routes, so with
supply staying the same with demand rising, it means that prices will
rise. With cruiselines paying for
the airfare of most crewmembers (there are some exceptions where crew pay for
their own) they can cut down on the high rates if they just don’t fly
crewmembers during that time period.
 |
| A 5 story Christmas tree on display |
Demographics onboard the ship will change during the holiday
season. Since children will be out
of school, there will be children on the ship again. Spring break, summer, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years
are the times with the most children. Families will cruise to spend time
together. This means that the
youth staff on the ship will be extremely busy.
For musicians, the holidays mean learning some holiday music
and also most likely covering a few extra sets. It’s a team effort.
The orchestra might be required to perform a holiday show with the
singers and dancers. I’ve
performed some holiday shows that are created by the cruise line and then I’ve
been responsible for creating some onboard with whatever resources we had. On Christmas Eve we would always do
Christmas carols with the senior officers, production cast, and the
guests. It was always cool to have
a choir including several hundred guests.
We also always did a Santa parade where Santa would come onboard the
ship and then give gifts to the children and have photos taken. It was always interesting to see the
different ways Santa would arrive.
Once he did a zipline next to the ship and then came onboard and another
time he came to the ship via the high-speed rescue boat. The children were always happy to watch
the parade and receive their gift from Santa.
The ship is fully decorated for the holiday season. This can be everything from a 4 or 5 story Christmas tree to gingerbread houses to giant balloon drops at midnight on New Years. No matter where in the world the ship might be, in hot or cold climates, the guests usually still want to feel the holidays and the ship will be full of holiday spirit. I never found a guest who cruised to try and get away from the holidays, instead it is usually just a different way of celebrating.
 |
| A photo I took behind the drumset during a New Years countdown |
The biggest night of entertainment all year is New Years
Eve. The focus will be the midnight
countdown and all bands will most likely be playing somewhere on the ship. The guests can dress up, eat a nice
dinner, enjoy some drinks, and listen to live music as the current year draws
to a close and a new one begins.
Depending on where the ship is located and the demographics onboard, the
ship can offer a variety of countdown options. In larger ships, there may be several different venues to
appeal to the different tastes onboard.
On my first ship, we had at least 6 different options for guests as the
clock stuck midnight. The
orchestra played in the main area inside, a DJ was on the pool deck, a Latin
band performed along with a Spanish countdown, a dance band played in a lounge,
a pianist was entertaining in the piano bar, and another dance band was
performing in another lounge.
 |
| Santa at a mall in Alexandria, Egypt |
I’ve been able to spend the holidays in some interesting
places. I’ve celebrated Christmas
Day in Haiti, Egypt, and Dubai.
I’ve counted down to the New Year in Abu Dhabi, Mexico, and my personal
favorite: in the Messina strait between Sicily and mainland Italy where
fireworks are being set off on both sides. It’s interesting to see the holidays in different
cultures. I grew up in the Midwest
with snow in the winter, so it was very different spending Christmas in shorts,
a t-shirt, and flipflops in 90-degree heat. I did a double take seeing the holiday drinks at Starbucks
in Mexico when I’m getting a sunburn.
One darker part of the holidays is that they can be the most
difficult and depressing times for the crew working. It is kind of ironic that the crew is working so hard to
give the guests a great holiday when they are in fact miserable
themselves. Seeing families happy
together can only remind a crewmember that they are thousands of miles away
from their own family. To be a
seaman of any kind, on a cruise ship or a tanker or a cargo ship, means
sacrificing birthdays, holidays, and special events with family and
friends. Yes, working on a ship
can be a great experience to travel the world and earn a living, but there are
also the negative sides that especially come out during the holidays. Email, phone calls, and even Skype
can’t replace the feeling of being with your family and friends during the
holidays. If you ever happen to go
on a cruise, or visit anywhere during a holiday, please be sure to be nice to
the people working. Most people
would not chose to work on a holiday and spend time away from friends and
family, but work is work and they are sacrificing to provide for their
families.
 |
| A display at the entrance to the main dining room |
In my family, we’ve learned to celebrate even if it means
not at the normal times. We’ve
celebrated Christmas in September because I was about to start a contract. I’ve had a birthday dinner 2 months
before my birthday. You really
learn that when you celebrate is not as important as the people you celebrate
with.
All in all, the ship is a fun place to celebrate the
holidays. While there are lots of
parties and events to keep the guests entertained, there are also a lot of parties
and events planned for the crew. Crewmembers
try to make the best of it and enjoy it together. While crewmembers may not technically be family by blood,
they do spend more time together than with their actual family members.
 |
| A Kinder advent calendar I bought one year in France |
No comments:
Post a Comment