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.