Evo, da malo procitate negativna iskustva sa nekog stranog foruma u vezi rada na recepciji
I have just come back from 3 weeks training as a Purser with Carnival Cruise lines and wanted to warn anyone out there before they go.I got the job offer back in April. Gave my job up,and then received a letter from the above mentioned company telling me I needed to get my C1 Visa and a medical (which I had to pay for myself) It was a couple of months and a thousand pounds later before I was finally in Miami,awaiting our ship-'Carnival Fascination' where all new pursers are trained.
College was relentless. You are supposed to spend 2 weeks in college and 2 weeks on the 'window' (front desk) when you are assessed and sent to a new ship afterwards,but what they didn't tell us was that you can be thrown off the course at any time,due to poor exam results.even though you are told at first you will be assessed at the end of 4 weeks.
Our 'trainer' was a complete cow.and worked us like dogs. We never knew what our schedule was going to be until the same day.which meant that we could never make plans in advance or arrange to be in our cabins to await phone calls from our families.We were all unbelievably homesick,but if you were upset it was thought you were 'unstable' and no sympathy was offered.
We were expected to learn far too much information in the space of 2 weeks it was unbelievable,on top of 3 exams in 2 weeks on the company,history and procedures,we also had to pass a Safety exam,learn 2 folders on the 2 computer sysstems used on board, attend tutorials,boat drill,corporate training and shadowing on the desk.Any spare moment was spent studying.It all started getting on top of us all.Many of us were crying,nervy ,exhausted and distressed at the pressure,at college and in any spare time we had.We were lucky to get a couple of hours off,and we all remember running around Nassau with only an hour and a half to do everything and get back.
If you are considering working on a ship there is one very important thing you must remember.No-one is your friend,Do not trust anyone and everyone knows everything about you.Keep your head down and hide when you are upset.
After 10 days (only 2 on the desk) 2 of us were dismissed,interestingly out of 9 of us who started together only one other person who hadn't been on a ship before managed to pass the exams.The others had a head start having worked in different departments and this is typically unfair. You don't get a second chance even if you have never worked on board before.You are expected to understand all ship board terms and learn parrot fashion in true American style from reading and don't get a chance at the practical work.
It is important everyone realises this as my friend and I didn't and learnt the hard way.We were dismissed immediately on the strength of two weeks of written exams and anyone who is not an American is escorted off the premises by their own Immigration Officer who has you 'under guard' from the moment you leave until the moment you board the plane(which in my friends case was 6 hours) She felt she was treated like a criminal and arrived back in her country with huge debts and very disilusioned with Carnival Cruise lines.
Everyone I spoke to in my 2 weeks had something to say about Carnival.The best was from another purser who said she was exhausted.Carnival not only expect you to work every day but every second of the day(which is apparently exclusive to Carnival and especially 'MS Fascination') She said my colleague and I were lucky to be leaving and she wished she could go.She said she hated the bitching there,but had such massive debts to pay off she had no choice.
I met others that had no choice.workers spending 15 hours a day cleaning and were not appreciated. Carnival hire more workers and pay less than any other Cruise Line.I felt exhausted and disappreciated when I left. That's not to say I would work for another Cruise Line.I just feel we should be told before we begin and pay all that money out that it could all fall through in a few weeks.
Any other stories would be glad to hear...
