My views do not necessarily reflect the views of any of my employers.
March 2025
Well, I did it!
Ninety days—done and dusted (a British phrase I still feel awkward using). Once again, Rose drove down from Banbury to give me a cushy ride to the airport, with a sunny breakfast stop along the way. Every time I’ve gotten to see Rose this contract has felt like a massage for my soul, and I especially loved the contrast of having such a warm, personal send-off—so different from the usual shuffle onto an impersonal bus packed with the exhausted and the overworked crew.
When my friend Niki told me about this job at MSC, it sounded almost too good to be true – nearly double the pay for what seemed like significantly fewer hours. There had to be a catch! Still, I appreciated the opportunity to try it out, and I especially appreciated having an alternative employment option when Princess decided to restructure the Entertainment Department.
I truly loved what I did at Princess – making exercise (which I hate) fun with Zumba, telling jokes and making Line Dancing accessible for everyone, sneaking secret puzzles into my Trivia, telling stories and wearing costumes for Gameshows. I loved being able to tell the same jokes over and over, refining each event a little more every time. I especially loved my job when I got to work (and play) alongside people who became treasured friends. Guests would often ask if or how long I planned to keep doing it. My answer was always “As long as it’s fun – or until I find something better.”
I loved what I did as an Assistant Cruise Director so much that I honestly wasn’t sure if becoming a Cruise Director (with more money, more say in what I’d be scheduled to do and more responsibility) would be an upgrade. While I enjoyed most of my work, I often didn’t get enough rest – mostly because I wanted to take every chance I could to explore the ports.
This job at MSC had more of everything I had wanted more of with Princess – more Europe, more time ashore, more rest, more money. But I was slightly concerned that I’d miss performing (it was only a 3 month trial) and very concerned that I wouldn’t enjoy the customer service aspect. I like talking to people and finding solutions but I wasn’t sure how I would handle the problems I couldn’t fix – like policy decisions that were out of my hands or people who were determined to be miserable.
I was curious to see if I could find enough creative fulfillment in this new role – or if simply having more time to explore and relax would be fulfilling enough in itself.
As expected, it was challenging at first. I was helping define a new role so I had to figure out not only how to be successful, but what ‘success’ even was in this context. I mentioned before that I was initially thrown off by the loneliness. Once I got my bearings, however, there was a point where I couldn’t believe how lucky I was – I was exploring incredible places (which filled my soul), forming meaningful, if fleeting, connections and surprising friendships, and on the ship I had the freedom to choose how to most effectively do my job. Having that level of trust and autonomy was so fulfilling that I didn’t even think about missing Entertainment. The positives in this package deal far out-weighed the downsides – so much that the parts I didn’t like didn’t bother me at all.
But then – because it was a pilot program and they wanted more data- head office increased my hours in the ‘hospitality’ lounge. I spent a lot more time sitting in one place (which I’ll admit is not the worst way to spend my time) and much less time roaming the ship connecting with guests in other venues. The increase in hours did not result in increased attendance. I felt like my ability to be effective had been stripped away – along with the freedom and the fun.
Suddenly the package deal didn’t feel like such a bargain.
I feel a little spoiled complaining about this- I am grateful for every day that my job doesn’t involve cleaning toilets. I feel especially fortunate that the worst part of my job was sitting in a cocktail lounge, often drinking cocktails, scrolling on my phone. But this also made me realize how important it is to me to feel effective and creative.
That said, ‘spoiled’ and ‘lucky’ are words that don’t tell the whole story. I’ve also gotten here through hard work, reliability and some very intentional choices.
I feel very fortunate to have found a career that lets me create entertainment in a unique way while traveling the world and connecting with people who share my passions. I am so proud that, thanks to my skills, reputation, and work ethic, I’ve now been recruited by not one – but two – different companies that value and pay me better than Princess did.
I am so grateful for my time at Princess. It gave me space to develop my craft and build a repertoire that I can take with me anywhere. I am overwhelmingly appreciative of the friendships I made there. I am also thankful to Princess for handling the restructuring of the Entertainment Department so poorly that it made walking away an easy and obvious choice.
MSC hasn’t asked me back yet (so technically, I haven’t turned down another contract). It’s still an option that I’d consider if the timing and circumstances were right.
But I’m really excited about my next adventure. I think I may have found the perfect recipe for happiness.
I used to believe that the itinerary was the greatest determining factor of my happiness on a contract- After all, it is something controllable. I prefer old towns to beaches, places I haven’t been to vs ones I have, more port days than sea days and minimal time changes. But I’ve learned that the greatest determining factor of my happiness is the people I work with (which was much more difficult to control).
When Lauren finished her contract on Diamond Princess, I told her I’d follow her anywhere. Her next assignment was from Australia to Hawaii and back. This was a tough sell – I’d done that route before and it nearly killed me – (see above – lots of time changes, loads of sea days, places I’d been, and no old towns). Luckily her contract ended just about the time I would be available after vacation, so I was off the hook.
But then she reached out from Villa Vie Odyssey – a residential ship where the guests live onboard. I won’t have to win over a new crowd every week. I’ll get to do all my favorite things – Zumba, line dancing, trivia, game shows. I’ll have to come up with new material because soon they’ll have seen everything I’ve done before.
Plus I’ll be doing the Destination Presentations – I get to research and do presentations about the places we’re visiting -which was my favorite part about working on MSC and it’s what I do when I go on vacation anyway. We’ll stay longer in ports (sometimes a few days) so I’ll have a chance to explore even if I have to stay on the ship (In-Port-Manning duty).
It’s a three-year world cruise.
I really hope it’s as amazing as I think it’s going to be.
As always, I’ll let you know.