Sleep, eat, work. Sleep, eat work. Right now that's pretty much how my days go. My coworkers on the desk have been giving me shit for not coming out at night but when I work at 7 the next morning it just doesn't work for me. Gotta look out for number 1, there will be plenty of time to party.
So tonight I found out I'm a popular guy. I came into my bunk and Bernardo asked me what I thought of Flora (female officer) because she likes me. Then at dinner one of the girls I work with told me that the Russian guy that plays the piano likes me too. Good lord, at least I have universal appeal. I don't know what "like" really means nor what things like bf/gf means on the ship so I plan on staying away from all of that for a while.
Today we were on the water the entire day as we sailed up the St Lawrence river headed for Quebec City.
The customer service on a European ship is VERY different from everything that we're used too as North Americans. They are very strict with their rules and give refunds or compensation for pretty much nothing. That's kind of a bummer for me cause being able to brighten someone's day by giving them something small was one of my favorite parts of working in hotels. It's very odd not to be able to fully deliver the type of service I'm used to giving. Once again though, just being able to speak proper English brings smiles to the guests' faces every day. It sucks to hear two diff passengers tell me tonight that they will never book with this line again. Hopefully as I get more comfortable with my job I can help to manage people's disappointments by managing their expectations and by giving clear explanations.
La belle province in the morning, sleep time.
At some point I'll take a bunch of pics of the ship and post them for all two of you (thanks mom and dad!) who read this blog. :)
Hey Drew! So glad you're keeping a blog. You're not a bad writer, either!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm loving your insights on working in the cruise industry and MSC specifically. As you know, I was supposed to go on a tour of the Poesia on the 5th, but not only did my paper have the wrong time anyway, but the ship didn't come in at all. So... I'm confirmed for the 24th. Maybe I'll see you?
My first question is... what would you say the ratio is of English-speaking and non-English speaking passengers? I'm glad you get a chance to talk to the English ones.
Second... what is your role? What exactly are you doing onboard?
Also, you probably already know this, but there are some fantastic apps, including free apps, available for language learning. I got some great ones for Swahili before I went to Tanzania, so I imagine that there are some fantastic ones for Italian. Even if you have to pay for the 10 dollar ones, I'd say they're worth it. And if all else, maybe you and the Chicago guy can go splits on Rosetta Stone. ;)
Good luck with everything, Drew. I'm so excited for you!