MSC Orchestra is one of the latest MSC Cruises ships in the fleet to enter dry dock in Valletta, Malta in a busy year of ships refurbishments. The vessel will stay in Dry Dock for the next two weeks before starting the winter season in South Africa. There are currently around 700 crew members and 100 contractors during the dry dock.

Letter from Norwegian Breakaway crew member - Can you imagine how it feels not being able to get off in ports while guests can?

Since I have worked on land, I have attended so many focus groups related to large corporations and other government entities attempting to figure out how to maintain long term employees. Just as the cruise industry, I presently work in a high burnout profession where the turnaround is 5-10 years.

by Nancy Soulé

I’ve endured this adventure three times so far. It seems to be the norm as the new starting point for any contract, so better get used to it for a while. My first experience was on one of the first ships out in November of 2020, and that one was especially spooky. It was sailing out of Singapore and the precautions were extensive. 

by Nancy Soulé

Every day seafarers seeking jobs online fall victim to fraudulent emails, texts and ads from scammers pretending to be legitimate manning agencies. This trend has increased during the pandemic when thousands of seafarers were left without jobs. 

The Italian cruise company Costa Cruises is organizing a Digital Recruiting Event, which will take place on the 1st and 2nd September 2021. This online event is aimed at recruiting crew on Costa cruise ships in the catering, hotel, hospitality and entertainment departments.

Last year while many people were experiencing their own repercussions of a worldwide pandemic, Krista Thomas and Thais Marques de Souza were focused on an issue that the cruise industry was facing. Crew were stranded at sea as the world shut down its borders and although they were mainly safe onboard, their mental health became a key focus for the social media advocates. Today, Thomas and Marques de Souza are the founders of the not-for-profit organization, Sea Me Crew Wellness Foundation.

Good Morning and Happy 4th Of July to all onboard the cruise ships sailing out of the USA and around the world. And what a happy day is today as we have some great news coming from the Carnival Cruise Line crew. 

During the past year, the crew was not allowed to go out in ports and most of them haven’t step foot on land for the entire length of their contract. However, with the recent developments and vaccination of the shipboard employees, things are slowly starting to move in the right direction. I spoke with my fellow crew members to find out if the crew is allowed to go out in ports and if the cruise lines organize protected shore excursions for them.