The First 2 Weeks

I previously wrote about the first day of a contract onboard a cruise ship.  That first day is a long day and a mixture of excitement and anxiety of something new.  But the sign-on process doesn’t stop after the first day, there will be more to come.  If it is your first contract, there will be approximately two full weeks of training.  If you have done a contract before for the same cruise line and are just returning from vacation, you might have just a couple of days of additional training.

Training

The crew mess (dining room)
This usually has more international foods

For a first ever contract, a crewmember will undergo emergency trainings as well as several different human resource trainings.  There will be some general training for all sign-ons on the first couple of days.  For the human resources side, they will cover all of the company policies and also human resources-type topics like sexual harassment, zero tolerance (alcohol/drugs), etc.  These classes will usually be taught by the training and development officer.  These trainings are usually only required once per year.

The other side of training is the safety training.  These are very extensive during a first contract.  New crewmembers are required to take a class on crowd management and another in assisting passengers in emergencies.  Crowd management will include techniques to direct and guide passengers and how to properly communicate with them during an emergency.  Crewmembers are always taught to greet, smile, answer questions, and interact pleasantly with guests during normal times, but during an emergency everything changes.  The role of a crewmember during an emergency is to be direct and tell guests exactly what to do and make them follow your directions.

The I95, the crew hallway that
runs the length of the ship

In the other safety training, crewmembers will learn how to respond to an emergency as well as basic survival techniques.  The two most memorable topics for me are how to survive in the ocean and also fire fighting.  For ocean survival, we had to jump into the ocean and climb aboard a life raft.  We also learned how to turn a life raft over if it was upside down and the best way to stay together as a group and be seen by rescue teams.  I went down the side of the ship from Deck 5 using the rapid descent device (it’s kind of like repelling down the side of the ship and into the water).  I found the experience fun, all except for the fact that it was in the Caribbean in September when there were a lot of jellyfish.  Luckily I didn't get a full sting, just a few passing nicks from the tentacles.

The firefighting training was also a lot of fun.  We learned the different type of fire extinguishers and the proper uses for each.  We also learned to use a high-pressure fire hose and put out a fire.  We practiced on the back mooring deck (where the ropes are held to secure the ship while in port) and shot the fire hoses out to the sea.  Fire fighting on a ship is extremely important because it is not like on land where you call the fire department and they arrive to put out the fire.  On a ship the crew is the fire department.  Even if the ship is nearby to land it will take too long for another ship to come close by and help, so it is up to the trained crew onboard to put out the fire.

Those are the basic mandatory trainings.  There can be more depending on the crewmember’s department, but for musicians those are it.  Once I became a Musical Director, which is a management position, I was required to undergo addition training, such as human behavior and crisis management as well as learning how to drive a lifeboat.

An example of a certificate issued to crew
My lifeboat certificate

Once a crewmember completes the safety training, the Safety Officer will issue a certificate to prove it has been completed.  It is extremely, extremely important to keep those certificates and always bring them to the ship.  The crowd management certificate is good for 5 years and the survival techniques certificate is good for your lifetime.  Lose the certificate and you have to re-take the classes whether the certificate is expired or not.  Always make sure to bring the certificates with you when you join the ship or if you get transferred to a different ship.

One last thing about training is to remember that it is a lot of information to take in.  Training is done in a classroom-type of environment and it is like going back to school.  The trainings will usually start early in the morning, such as 8am, and most training managers and safety officers I know are all very strict about showing up on time.  It is important to note that training is all done in English (the only official language spoken by crewmembers to both guests and fellow crew) and taught on a basic high school level.  I know many college-educated musicians that become very overwhelmed during trainings because it is so much information that is unrelated to their previous studies (not many conservatories teach firefighting!).  They feel that they have to remember every single word and will get kicked off the ship if they forget something.  Yes, the information is tremendously important and can mean the difference of life and death, but you will continue to learn even after the trainings are completed.  Cruise ships bring together many languages, cultures, and educational backgrounds.  If a college-educated, English-speaking crewmember is struggling to remember everything, imagine someone with a high school education whose native language is not English.  So my advice is to learn everything that you can, but don’t stress out too much if you are finding it difficult to remember everything, especially at first.

One of my crew ID cards

Crew Card

Also in the first couple of days every crewmember will be issued a crew card.  This is a multi-purpose card that will be used for everything from photo ID to credit card to a makeshift visa in some countries.  The crew card is one of the most important things you will keep with you during the contract.  You must bring the card to every single place you go on and off of the ship during the contact.  It will let you on and off the ship.  The same card will also let you purchase things on the ship.  The accounting system varies between cruiselines.  Some offer it on a prepaid basis where the crewmember loads money onto their account and then use the crew card to purchase items on the ship, such as in the crew store, guest bars, crew bar, internet café, etc.  The other system is a credit system where a crewmember accumulates a balance and then on payday must pay off the balance.

It is very important to keep track of your crew card.  There is usually a high fee to replace it if you lose it.  Plus, if you lose it somebody can charge items to your account and spend your hard-earned money.  The card is also used to get on and off the ship, so if you lose your card you will be stuck onboard until you can get a replacement.

Advice

The back deck, an open-air crew bar

As soon as a crewmember arrives to the ship the work immediately begins.  No matter if you live in city where you will sign-on or if you flew halfway around the world, you don’t get a chance to ease into work.  Bands and entertainers will perform that same day and the orchestra will have a show that first night.  The next day will be full of training and also your regular work as a musician.  Be sure to take care of yourself: eat healthy meals, go to the gym, and get on a regular sleep schedule.  Your body will be adjusting to a lot of things, so do your best to say healthy.

The staff and officer mess (dining room)
This is where most musicians eat

It is important to remember that your first priority while working on a cruiseship is work.  Unfortunately some musicians lose sight of that fact and are more interested in being a tourist and go off sightseeing.  True, being able to travel the world and see new places are huge positives to working onboard, but it will come in time.  I highly suggest to stay onboard until you settle in, establish a routine, and are 100% comfortable with work.  I have seen musicians get fired in their first 2 weeks because the Musical Director watches them struggle through the shows at night, but yet they are off the ship all day long, acting as though they are guests on the ship.  If you are having a hard time with work, then do what you need to do to get caught up.  In time you will be able to get off the ship, but make sure you can take care of your playing responsibilities first.  Most ships have a somewhat repetitive itinerary so it’s not like you are going to miss anything by waiting a few weeks; everything will still be there when you are ready to go off exploring.  And if you itinerary is changing and it’s the last chance, then there may be a chance in the future.  Better to miss a few ports than go out, bomb the show, get fired, and then be sent back home and miss every future port!

A pool table in a crew rec area

The first two weeks onboard will be nothing like the rest of the contract.  It will be extremely busy with training and work and it is easy to get overwhelmed.  I’ve seen crewmembers want to quit because they think it will stay like that.  If you find yourself in that situation, relax and just know after the first couple of weeks you will settle in a routine.  After 2 weeks you can get off the ship almost every time you are in port.  And instead of being too busy, most musicians find themselves searching for ways to stay occupied because they have so much free time.