in maui
tender to get from the ship to kona
kona beach
at sea
looking at the ship from land - kona
.JPG)
up close
my room - i'm on the top right bunk. share the room with 2 other girls.
haven't really taken too many photos. guess i have to get out more.
Monday, March 17, 2008
pics
in maui
tender to get from the ship to kona
kona beach
at sea
looking at the ship from land - kona
up close
my room - i'm on the top right bunk. share the room with 2 other girls.
haven't really taken too many photos. guess i have to get out more.
update
16 March 08
Today was a very crazy busy day. Mix that with a touch of seasickness and whew. Glad the night is over! We have a bunch of new guests that came aboard yesterday. I think it will be a busy week. I make the sushi for the buffet upstairs and it’s been crazy just trying to keep up with that plus the orders for the sushi bar and other 3 Asian restaurants. I work at the sushi bar but the overall restaurant is called East meets West. In it, there are a total of 4 outlets – the sushi bar, Shabu Shabu, Teppanyaki and Asian fusion, which sits about 100 people.
Every Sunday, the sushi chefs teach a class on how to make sushi and have a sake tasting. The class was packed with 22 people. Last week there were only 4. We were behind from the moment I started work. There were only a handful of people that signed up for the class – everyone else was a walk-in. There were so many orders today – these groups of passengers really enjoy sushi. Plus, the sushi bar is only $15 for all you can eat sushi – made to order. Our third sushi chef, who usually makes the rice, was so busy helping us, he forgot to make more rice – we ran out twice. All three of us skipped our breaks and dinner in order to keep up.
It’s really bad when you have to borrow cooked rice from the crew mess hall. It wasn’t even sushi rice but there were orders coming in and it was the only rice we had until more was made. How horrid! So we’re talking kinda like using Uncle Ben’s - it doesn’t stick so you have to squish the rice in the rolls but then when you cut the rolls, all the rice fell out. If it weren’t so busy, it would have been really funny although frustrating at the time.
Then the waves tonight – we’re traveling from Hilo, Hawaii to Kahului, Maui, - are really rough. I figured out I’m okay when I’m on deck and can see the water or have some fresh air but most of the time I get seasick is when I’m at work or in my room. When it gets dark, the restaurant staff close the window blinds so it’s just really dark in the restaurant. The combination of rough waves, someone’s perfume was a touch too strong and starving made me really queasy. Even the guest sitting in front of me eating dinner was having a difficult time with seasickness. We kept giving him green tea and dramamine hoping that would help alittle.
12 March 08
Tonight was an interesting night. We didn’t have any customers until 8PM, then it was just a few regular crew members. My sushi chef partner and I thought we had it easy and started our bi-weekly deep cleaning of all the equipment, storage bins, etc. Then a call came through – I’m suppose to sing? Uh uh.
Once a week about 50 crew are chosen to go onstage in front of the guests and sing “Home Away From Home.” I’d never heard of the song before and didn’t know the words. A classmate of mine has been chosen twice already but I had been lucky enough until today. There are two showings, one at 8 and the other at 10… glad those crew customers came in when they did since the 8PM show is recorded and broadcasted on the ship television network.
Got off the ship today and explored Kona for a bit. It’s kinda cool since the ship stays away from shore so guests and crew take a tender (which is one of the lifeboats to ferry back and forth to the island). It’s only a 5 minute ride but it’s nice – the water is a really beautiful blue. Even got to see a few dolphins far off.
Finally quit being stubborn and went to medical for my cold. After a week and a half, my roommates highly recommend I go. Whew! I haven’t been this sick in about 3 years! (The South Pole altitude sickness doesn’t count.) I guess there are a lot of colds going around and everyone is getting the same 5 different kinds of drugs. They sure do make me happy and I feel so much better than yesterday – at least today I can breathe. Fortunately, I just have a cold, there are some cases of GI going around. The crew that have it are totally quarantined from everyone… my roommate is one of the “lucky” ones to wear a respirator and suit-up to clean up after them. I guess it can get pretty nasty funky.
Oh, by the way… I guess it just took about a week to adjust but I don’t get sea sickness anymore. Yahoo! Glad for that.
10 March 08
I just looked at my calendar and it surprised me that I’ve only moved rooms one week ago today. It seems so long ago. And that I’ve been in Hawaii for exactly one month. Again, it feels like I’ve been here for such a long time.
Yesterday was daylight savings. I forgot all about it but it’s a good thing my cell phone automatically adjusts the time… and thankfully, that is my alarm clock or I would have been late for work! I guess once a week all the cooks take turns at the omelet station. Yesterday was my day flipping omelets for all the guests from 630-11AM. Whew! That was a lot of omelets. It was fun seeing so many different people – there really are people from all over the world on the ship.
9 March 08
These past few days I’ve been really thinking about whether to remain on board or pack up and go home. Plane tickets are inexpensive and there’s a job waiting for me when I get back. Seems like everyone I speak to really dislikes their job and had very different expectations on their position. Even with working 7 hours a day, there are other folks who only work 5 and are miserable. There are just too many personnel for the amount of jobs so instead of gradually letting people go, everyone is working as close to 40 hours per corporate management. As far as kitchen work, the food isn’t that great – all the outlets and main restaurant are trying to serve 5 star food but working with a 2 star budget. I am constantly amazed when guests compliment the food and say it’s “the best they’ve ever eaten.” I guess that’s what makes a good chef – working with what you have in order to make a great meal and presentation.
With some thought and a lot of ‘highly persuasive’ friends on ship and back home, I’ve made up my mind. I’ve decided to stay since it’s only 8 more weeks. I’ve lived in worse situations and much worse conditions so enough about the sushi job. With this decision, I’ve made plans of getting off the ship as much as possible and make the best of this situation.
Today was a very crazy busy day. Mix that with a touch of seasickness and whew. Glad the night is over! We have a bunch of new guests that came aboard yesterday. I think it will be a busy week. I make the sushi for the buffet upstairs and it’s been crazy just trying to keep up with that plus the orders for the sushi bar and other 3 Asian restaurants. I work at the sushi bar but the overall restaurant is called East meets West. In it, there are a total of 4 outlets – the sushi bar, Shabu Shabu, Teppanyaki and Asian fusion, which sits about 100 people.
Every Sunday, the sushi chefs teach a class on how to make sushi and have a sake tasting. The class was packed with 22 people. Last week there were only 4. We were behind from the moment I started work. There were only a handful of people that signed up for the class – everyone else was a walk-in. There were so many orders today – these groups of passengers really enjoy sushi. Plus, the sushi bar is only $15 for all you can eat sushi – made to order. Our third sushi chef, who usually makes the rice, was so busy helping us, he forgot to make more rice – we ran out twice. All three of us skipped our breaks and dinner in order to keep up.
It’s really bad when you have to borrow cooked rice from the crew mess hall. It wasn’t even sushi rice but there were orders coming in and it was the only rice we had until more was made. How horrid! So we’re talking kinda like using Uncle Ben’s - it doesn’t stick so you have to squish the rice in the rolls but then when you cut the rolls, all the rice fell out. If it weren’t so busy, it would have been really funny although frustrating at the time.
Then the waves tonight – we’re traveling from Hilo, Hawaii to Kahului, Maui, - are really rough. I figured out I’m okay when I’m on deck and can see the water or have some fresh air but most of the time I get seasick is when I’m at work or in my room. When it gets dark, the restaurant staff close the window blinds so it’s just really dark in the restaurant. The combination of rough waves, someone’s perfume was a touch too strong and starving made me really queasy. Even the guest sitting in front of me eating dinner was having a difficult time with seasickness. We kept giving him green tea and dramamine hoping that would help alittle.
12 March 08
Tonight was an interesting night. We didn’t have any customers until 8PM, then it was just a few regular crew members. My sushi chef partner and I thought we had it easy and started our bi-weekly deep cleaning of all the equipment, storage bins, etc. Then a call came through – I’m suppose to sing? Uh uh.
Once a week about 50 crew are chosen to go onstage in front of the guests and sing “Home Away From Home.” I’d never heard of the song before and didn’t know the words. A classmate of mine has been chosen twice already but I had been lucky enough until today. There are two showings, one at 8 and the other at 10… glad those crew customers came in when they did since the 8PM show is recorded and broadcasted on the ship television network.
Got off the ship today and explored Kona for a bit. It’s kinda cool since the ship stays away from shore so guests and crew take a tender (which is one of the lifeboats to ferry back and forth to the island). It’s only a 5 minute ride but it’s nice – the water is a really beautiful blue. Even got to see a few dolphins far off.
Finally quit being stubborn and went to medical for my cold. After a week and a half, my roommates highly recommend I go. Whew! I haven’t been this sick in about 3 years! (The South Pole altitude sickness doesn’t count.) I guess there are a lot of colds going around and everyone is getting the same 5 different kinds of drugs. They sure do make me happy and I feel so much better than yesterday – at least today I can breathe. Fortunately, I just have a cold, there are some cases of GI going around. The crew that have it are totally quarantined from everyone… my roommate is one of the “lucky” ones to wear a respirator and suit-up to clean up after them. I guess it can get pretty nasty funky.
Oh, by the way… I guess it just took about a week to adjust but I don’t get sea sickness anymore. Yahoo! Glad for that.
10 March 08
I just looked at my calendar and it surprised me that I’ve only moved rooms one week ago today. It seems so long ago. And that I’ve been in Hawaii for exactly one month. Again, it feels like I’ve been here for such a long time.
Yesterday was daylight savings. I forgot all about it but it’s a good thing my cell phone automatically adjusts the time… and thankfully, that is my alarm clock or I would have been late for work! I guess once a week all the cooks take turns at the omelet station. Yesterday was my day flipping omelets for all the guests from 630-11AM. Whew! That was a lot of omelets. It was fun seeing so many different people – there really are people from all over the world on the ship.
9 March 08
These past few days I’ve been really thinking about whether to remain on board or pack up and go home. Plane tickets are inexpensive and there’s a job waiting for me when I get back. Seems like everyone I speak to really dislikes their job and had very different expectations on their position. Even with working 7 hours a day, there are other folks who only work 5 and are miserable. There are just too many personnel for the amount of jobs so instead of gradually letting people go, everyone is working as close to 40 hours per corporate management. As far as kitchen work, the food isn’t that great – all the outlets and main restaurant are trying to serve 5 star food but working with a 2 star budget. I am constantly amazed when guests compliment the food and say it’s “the best they’ve ever eaten.” I guess that’s what makes a good chef – working with what you have in order to make a great meal and presentation.
With some thought and a lot of ‘highly persuasive’ friends on ship and back home, I’ve made up my mind. I’ve decided to stay since it’s only 8 more weeks. I’ve lived in worse situations and much worse conditions so enough about the sushi job. With this decision, I’ve made plans of getting off the ship as much as possible and make the best of this situation.
Friday, March 07, 2008
7 March
March 7, 2008
I’ve been debating whether to stay aboard or jump ship as well. Being here on ship is fine but I’m not too happy about the job. I did get transferred to the sushi counter… for a lot of them, their vacation time has arrived and they have left the ship. I think there are 3 of us sushi chefs onboard. For some reason, I thought the sushi would be better – I mean, we’re in Hawaii with lots of great fresh fish but instead we get fresh frozen sent in from various places around the globe – really disappointing. And the fact that we use canned tuna (like in canned tuna fish) for spicy tuna rolls.
My typical work day is very short 3-1030PM. I’ve worked at the sushi bar for 3 nights – the first night we had a whopping 2 customers, the second night 4 customers and last night was 10 customers. All the meals for the guests are inclusive with their ship package if they eat at the main galley. For the restaurant I work in East meets West, the guest is charged – so we do not have too many customers.
My roommate from training and I were able to roommate up here onboard so that was really nice. For awhile there we had to hunt each other down all over the ship or leave voicemail on our phones. We had plans of taking in the sights and while I was in the bakery, we had the almost the same hours so we hung out a lot and made plans of being gym partners. Now that my schedule has changed we hardly see each other since she works day shift and I work nights. She did stay up way late last night so we could go to the beach.
In the meantime, I was able to go snorkeling in Kona. I actually got to see a puffer fish up close – no worries though, I didn’t see it all poofy although that would have been really cool. It was amazing to see so many fish just swimming about. Everything was good until I inhaled some water and panicked a bit. After that it was just sun tanning for me.
Ship life is going good. I don’t see very many of my classmates unless it’s at lunch or dinner – but then it’s only for a few minutes. We’ve had a few classmates jump ship already – they just were not happy with their job duties. There are a few others that are already burned out and grumpy. I think this is a really good way to see Hawaii, so I’m just hanging in for that alone.
It’s taken me about a week to adjust. For awhile there I was getting mildly seasick. While on deck outside or looking through the windows in the messhall, I wouldn’t get seasick. It was only when I went below to deck 3 (our main hallway to get from the front to the back of the ship) or to my room on deck 2. It was suggested to eat lots of apples and drink lots of soda… I don’t what the significance of it is but I guess it worked of a few of my classmates, not for me. I’m not really a soda fan anyway. Then I was told exercise is good – which my roommate and I started going to the gym. That helps but the gym is on deck 4 and I am able to look out the windows. It’s nice but I just get seasick when below where everything looks alike.
If you like mazes, you might really enjoy living on the ship. For me, it’s confusing and I get lost a lot. Matter of fact, I just lost my laundry earlier today – I had two loads and put them in different washer locations. Most of the washers and dryers are broken so if have to hunt them down – it took me 45 minutes to locate one and that was after several attempts. One is easy to find since it’s down the hall from me but the other… I was walking in circles for the longest time until a buddy of mine asked what I was doing.
Everything looks alike – the walls and stairways are painted white and except for the room numbers. Every Thursday, we are docked in Nawiliwili overnight and the guests have to walk through the crew main corridor on deck 3. We really are not suppose to have contact with guests so we are re-routed to deck 2 to get from the forward (front) to the aft (back) of the ship. I get lost all the time. You would think that I would know my routes by now but I guess I don’t pay that much attention. I still get lost just going to work! Especially when we are at sea en route to a new location – the water tight doors are closed and you have to find alternate routes.
Every Thursday we had a crew emergency drill. We have these assigned areas to go to in case of emergency – fire, abandon ship, etc. Luckily, my emergency and muster location is the same spot. Some people have 2 different locations so you really have to listen to which signal is transmitted throughout the ship so you don’t go to the wrong one.
Every Friday, we have cabin inspections by the captain and several other officers. They check all crew rooms for cleanliness – take out the trash, vacuum and clean the bathroom. This makes it nice since it ensures a clean room. If the room fails, you are red flagged and prohibited from leaving the ship on your time off. This means everyone in the room is red flagged not just the one or two particular roommates.
I’ve been debating whether to stay aboard or jump ship as well. Being here on ship is fine but I’m not too happy about the job. I did get transferred to the sushi counter… for a lot of them, their vacation time has arrived and they have left the ship. I think there are 3 of us sushi chefs onboard. For some reason, I thought the sushi would be better – I mean, we’re in Hawaii with lots of great fresh fish but instead we get fresh frozen sent in from various places around the globe – really disappointing. And the fact that we use canned tuna (like in canned tuna fish) for spicy tuna rolls.
My typical work day is very short 3-1030PM. I’ve worked at the sushi bar for 3 nights – the first night we had a whopping 2 customers, the second night 4 customers and last night was 10 customers. All the meals for the guests are inclusive with their ship package if they eat at the main galley. For the restaurant I work in East meets West, the guest is charged – so we do not have too many customers.
My roommate from training and I were able to roommate up here onboard so that was really nice. For awhile there we had to hunt each other down all over the ship or leave voicemail on our phones. We had plans of taking in the sights and while I was in the bakery, we had the almost the same hours so we hung out a lot and made plans of being gym partners. Now that my schedule has changed we hardly see each other since she works day shift and I work nights. She did stay up way late last night so we could go to the beach.
In the meantime, I was able to go snorkeling in Kona. I actually got to see a puffer fish up close – no worries though, I didn’t see it all poofy although that would have been really cool. It was amazing to see so many fish just swimming about. Everything was good until I inhaled some water and panicked a bit. After that it was just sun tanning for me.
Ship life is going good. I don’t see very many of my classmates unless it’s at lunch or dinner – but then it’s only for a few minutes. We’ve had a few classmates jump ship already – they just were not happy with their job duties. There are a few others that are already burned out and grumpy. I think this is a really good way to see Hawaii, so I’m just hanging in for that alone.
It’s taken me about a week to adjust. For awhile there I was getting mildly seasick. While on deck outside or looking through the windows in the messhall, I wouldn’t get seasick. It was only when I went below to deck 3 (our main hallway to get from the front to the back of the ship) or to my room on deck 2. It was suggested to eat lots of apples and drink lots of soda… I don’t what the significance of it is but I guess it worked of a few of my classmates, not for me. I’m not really a soda fan anyway. Then I was told exercise is good – which my roommate and I started going to the gym. That helps but the gym is on deck 4 and I am able to look out the windows. It’s nice but I just get seasick when below where everything looks alike.
If you like mazes, you might really enjoy living on the ship. For me, it’s confusing and I get lost a lot. Matter of fact, I just lost my laundry earlier today – I had two loads and put them in different washer locations. Most of the washers and dryers are broken so if have to hunt them down – it took me 45 minutes to locate one and that was after several attempts. One is easy to find since it’s down the hall from me but the other… I was walking in circles for the longest time until a buddy of mine asked what I was doing.
Everything looks alike – the walls and stairways are painted white and except for the room numbers. Every Thursday, we are docked in Nawiliwili overnight and the guests have to walk through the crew main corridor on deck 3. We really are not suppose to have contact with guests so we are re-routed to deck 2 to get from the forward (front) to the aft (back) of the ship. I get lost all the time. You would think that I would know my routes by now but I guess I don’t pay that much attention. I still get lost just going to work! Especially when we are at sea en route to a new location – the water tight doors are closed and you have to find alternate routes.
Every Thursday we had a crew emergency drill. We have these assigned areas to go to in case of emergency – fire, abandon ship, etc. Luckily, my emergency and muster location is the same spot. Some people have 2 different locations so you really have to listen to which signal is transmitted throughout the ship so you don’t go to the wrong one.
Every Friday, we have cabin inspections by the captain and several other officers. They check all crew rooms for cleanliness – take out the trash, vacuum and clean the bathroom. This makes it nice since it ensures a clean room. If the room fails, you are red flagged and prohibited from leaving the ship on your time off. This means everyone in the room is red flagged not just the one or two particular roommates.
1 March
1 Mar 08
Well, I’ve been on the ship since last Tuesday. Since then, it’s been quite interesting. We left the hotel in Honolulu and the company flew us (38 of us – some who were from my class training) to Maui. We left at 530 that evening and even though the flight was only 20 minutes, by 2AM, we were assigned our new rooms, met new roommates and settled in for the sea life. It was very confusing since all of us just showed up at the ship entrance and somehow the word of our arrival was unknown. So we were a huge surprise to everyone – human resource, safety, security, etc.
Strange since just a few days before, the ship was in Honolulu where the company has us staying at a hotel and there was not any space for new employees. Then just 3 days later, there were almost 40 positions open. Magic… well, not quite. The turn-over rate is really high… some people get off the ship and don’t return. On average, between people just walking off the ship while in port or being fired, there are about 5-7 people that leave daily.
The morale is quite low since a vast majority of us will be laid off in May. My classmates and I question why were hired for only 3 months of work but somehow, there must be a genius someplace making all these command decisions. Originally, there were 3 ships in Hawaii but due to the loss of sales, NCL decided to transfer and re-flag the ship Pride of Hawaii to the Caribbean which means the 1,000 employees on that ship no longer have jobs. Then come May, another ship – Pride of Aloha (another 1,000 workers will be laid off) will re-flag in Europe so there will only be one remaining ship here in Hawaii – the Pride of America. That means, roughly 3,000 employees for 1,000 positions. Everyone is stressed out and quitting. Furthermore, even though I was hired on as a sushi chef, all two positions are filled (and there are 10 sushi chefs onboard) so we are all working in other departments waiting for a spot to open and hoping those two chefs will quit. There are other people who were hired on for a specific position as well and are working in different departments, so even though the contract states which job you are hired for, you are actually hired for which ever position is open and the needs of the company. There is some special list being passed that states if your name is on it, you are one of the chosen employees to stay on the ship come May. But the list is based on seniority. A few of my classmates have already quit due to working in a different department than they were hired for or just not liking the job.
My hotel roommate was hired on as Utility Galley (dishwasher)… of course, that is the least wanted position and there are always openings for it. Her supervisor told her they were so short personnel that she could work as much overtime as she wants each day… 15-18 hour days.
It’s good for her since she wants to save up as much as possible.
As for me, the bakery does not have a chief baker so there is no one officially in charge of the department. A sous chef has taken that position but hasn’t done baking in 10 years. So that means we are making the minimum requirements and nothing special for the guests. I work 5am-2pm… 8 hour days, 7 days a week. If I get lucky, I work one hour overtime a day, which is really disappointing. I was really looking forward to working 12 hours a day. But I did have to choose between working in the bakery or garde manger (making cold dishes – mostly salad). There’s a lot of standing around with nothing to do. According to budget, the bakery department is short 2 personnel but according to work load they do not need anyone. Even with me there, the other bakers are upset since I’m taking away their overtime hours.
Regardless, new guests board every Saturday afternoon and we sail every night so the guests that come onboard can wake up to a new island each morning and do their tourist stuff. Our weekly schedule:
Saturday – Honolulu, Oahu
Sunday – Hilo, Hawaii
Monday – Kahului, Maui (port overnight)
Tuesday – leave in the afternoon
Wednesday – Kona, Hawaii
Thursday – Nawiliwili, Kauai (port overnight)
Friday – leave in the afternoon
Once we port, employees are able to leave the ship once they are off of work. I took a little stroll off the ship in Nawiliwili, Kauai. There’s a beach nearby as with little shops. I’ve heard the graveyard shift is the best to get since you work all night and can go sightsee during the day. At that time, you can sign up along with the guests for the day excursions.
Life at sea is a bit different. I hadn’t been feeling too well all day that Tuesday – butterflies in the stomach for flying and stepping on board ship made it worse. I, along with a lot of my classmates didn’t know if they got seasick or not. I’ve been on boats and ferries before and have had no problems. I’d only gotten sea sick once before but thought it was from lack of sleep… anyway, a friend of mine suggested Dramamine and I felt better for a little bit. So I guess that means I do get seasick. Hmm, lucky me. When I’m outside on deck, there’s no problem but when I’m in my room or at work – I’m a bit light-headed. Kinda like the feeling when you donate blood then go on an elevator.
There are 13 decks on ship. Most employee work places and rooms are decks 1-3. I work on deck 3 in the front of the ship and live on deck 2 at the back of the ship… that first night in Maui, I couldn’t sleep at all – the ship was scraping up against the dock all night. I finally put earplugs in but woke up every hour since I was paranoid I would not hear my alarm clock in the morning. These past nights have been good since we port at sea in Kona and the ship docks on the portside (left) in Nawiliwili. Going to sleep is a bit different too – bunk beds and being rocked to sleep by the waves. I think I’m getting used to the ship movement – it’s a little different trying to walk when the ship is moving – it’s similar to trying to walk on an airplane with turbulence. Kinda fun but you do not walk in a straight line.
As far as roommates, I was hoping to keep the same one from the hotel but we got separate rooms. I have two roommates, whom I rarely see since we work different schedules. Quarters are really tight – and I thought Army barracks were tight sharing a room with someone! Whew! That was nothing. The three of us each have a closet but share a desk and the bathroom (which is also quite small – kinda like the bathrooms in Europe where you can almost shower and brush your teeth at the sink at the same time. Since we live below the water line, we do not have cell phone coverage in the room and no windows. So to make phone calls, we can go to the crew mess hall (where we eat meals) on deck 4 or deck 13, where crew is allowed.
Well, I’ve been on the ship since last Tuesday. Since then, it’s been quite interesting. We left the hotel in Honolulu and the company flew us (38 of us – some who were from my class training) to Maui. We left at 530 that evening and even though the flight was only 20 minutes, by 2AM, we were assigned our new rooms, met new roommates and settled in for the sea life. It was very confusing since all of us just showed up at the ship entrance and somehow the word of our arrival was unknown. So we were a huge surprise to everyone – human resource, safety, security, etc.
Strange since just a few days before, the ship was in Honolulu where the company has us staying at a hotel and there was not any space for new employees. Then just 3 days later, there were almost 40 positions open. Magic… well, not quite. The turn-over rate is really high… some people get off the ship and don’t return. On average, between people just walking off the ship while in port or being fired, there are about 5-7 people that leave daily.
The morale is quite low since a vast majority of us will be laid off in May. My classmates and I question why were hired for only 3 months of work but somehow, there must be a genius someplace making all these command decisions. Originally, there were 3 ships in Hawaii but due to the loss of sales, NCL decided to transfer and re-flag the ship Pride of Hawaii to the Caribbean which means the 1,000 employees on that ship no longer have jobs. Then come May, another ship – Pride of Aloha (another 1,000 workers will be laid off) will re-flag in Europe so there will only be one remaining ship here in Hawaii – the Pride of America. That means, roughly 3,000 employees for 1,000 positions. Everyone is stressed out and quitting. Furthermore, even though I was hired on as a sushi chef, all two positions are filled (and there are 10 sushi chefs onboard) so we are all working in other departments waiting for a spot to open and hoping those two chefs will quit. There are other people who were hired on for a specific position as well and are working in different departments, so even though the contract states which job you are hired for, you are actually hired for which ever position is open and the needs of the company. There is some special list being passed that states if your name is on it, you are one of the chosen employees to stay on the ship come May. But the list is based on seniority. A few of my classmates have already quit due to working in a different department than they were hired for or just not liking the job.
My hotel roommate was hired on as Utility Galley (dishwasher)… of course, that is the least wanted position and there are always openings for it. Her supervisor told her they were so short personnel that she could work as much overtime as she wants each day… 15-18 hour days.
It’s good for her since she wants to save up as much as possible.
As for me, the bakery does not have a chief baker so there is no one officially in charge of the department. A sous chef has taken that position but hasn’t done baking in 10 years. So that means we are making the minimum requirements and nothing special for the guests. I work 5am-2pm… 8 hour days, 7 days a week. If I get lucky, I work one hour overtime a day, which is really disappointing. I was really looking forward to working 12 hours a day. But I did have to choose between working in the bakery or garde manger (making cold dishes – mostly salad). There’s a lot of standing around with nothing to do. According to budget, the bakery department is short 2 personnel but according to work load they do not need anyone. Even with me there, the other bakers are upset since I’m taking away their overtime hours.
Regardless, new guests board every Saturday afternoon and we sail every night so the guests that come onboard can wake up to a new island each morning and do their tourist stuff. Our weekly schedule:
Saturday – Honolulu, Oahu
Sunday – Hilo, Hawaii
Monday – Kahului, Maui (port overnight)
Tuesday – leave in the afternoon
Wednesday – Kona, Hawaii
Thursday – Nawiliwili, Kauai (port overnight)
Friday – leave in the afternoon
Once we port, employees are able to leave the ship once they are off of work. I took a little stroll off the ship in Nawiliwili, Kauai. There’s a beach nearby as with little shops. I’ve heard the graveyard shift is the best to get since you work all night and can go sightsee during the day. At that time, you can sign up along with the guests for the day excursions.
Life at sea is a bit different. I hadn’t been feeling too well all day that Tuesday – butterflies in the stomach for flying and stepping on board ship made it worse. I, along with a lot of my classmates didn’t know if they got seasick or not. I’ve been on boats and ferries before and have had no problems. I’d only gotten sea sick once before but thought it was from lack of sleep… anyway, a friend of mine suggested Dramamine and I felt better for a little bit. So I guess that means I do get seasick. Hmm, lucky me. When I’m outside on deck, there’s no problem but when I’m in my room or at work – I’m a bit light-headed. Kinda like the feeling when you donate blood then go on an elevator.
There are 13 decks on ship. Most employee work places and rooms are decks 1-3. I work on deck 3 in the front of the ship and live on deck 2 at the back of the ship… that first night in Maui, I couldn’t sleep at all – the ship was scraping up against the dock all night. I finally put earplugs in but woke up every hour since I was paranoid I would not hear my alarm clock in the morning. These past nights have been good since we port at sea in Kona and the ship docks on the portside (left) in Nawiliwili. Going to sleep is a bit different too – bunk beds and being rocked to sleep by the waves. I think I’m getting used to the ship movement – it’s a little different trying to walk when the ship is moving – it’s similar to trying to walk on an airplane with turbulence. Kinda fun but you do not walk in a straight line.
As far as roommates, I was hoping to keep the same one from the hotel but we got separate rooms. I have two roommates, whom I rarely see since we work different schedules. Quarters are really tight – and I thought Army barracks were tight sharing a room with someone! Whew! That was nothing. The three of us each have a closet but share a desk and the bathroom (which is also quite small – kinda like the bathrooms in Europe where you can almost shower and brush your teeth at the sink at the same time. Since we live below the water line, we do not have cell phone coverage in the room and no windows. So to make phone calls, we can go to the crew mess hall (where we eat meals) on deck 4 or deck 13, where crew is allowed.
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