In the cruise-lit world, the crew member nonfiction format rarely strays from the memoir. Greg Shapiro, who worked as a crew member for both Royal Caribbean and Fathom Travel, is breaking the mold with his new book 12 Hours in Havana: Build your perfect day in Cuba.

The following email was sent to us, regarding a scam by the recruiting agency Azura Cruises and Minister Travel Agency. We visited the websites and found that even if they say that they are established in 1979, their websites are uploaded on the internet in 2017. Another suspicious thing is that they don’t say for which cruise lines they recruit crew members. If you visit their website you will find only rendering photos from Royal Caribbean ships and Princess Cruises.

Alberto Gaitan, an Argentine who worked five years in one of the most famous cruise companies, tells us his story in the book "Malvenidos a bordo" (Not welcome on board).

Sir Richard Branson once said “Clients don’t come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” Now his philosophy towards the employees he will try to incorporate on his start-up cruise line Virgin Voyages.

Here are the most common words used by crew members working on a cruise ship.  Crew members live and work on cruise ships and create their own unique environment, as well as cultural expression.  The fact that one cruise ship may have more than 60 different cultural nationalities, may force the same to create their unique little society and culture.  Therefore, crew members have their own unique words which they use every day.

Today we received an e-mail from one of our readers from India who got an employment letter stating that he was approved a land based job for a major cruise line. The job seeker wanted to check with us if the letter he received was genuine and not some kind of scam. In the “Agreement and job offer letter” presented bellow he was promised a monthly salary of $6700 plus other benefits, which is a very high amount for the new employee.

Today I would like to share an important information with all cruise ship crew members working on the onboard tipping positions. Did you know that last year almost all cruise lines have increased the gratuities, on average $1.5 per guest per day? You might say this is a small amount which will not affect much on your monthly earnings, and you will be wrong.

Step aside Psy and make way for the Carnival’s favorite Cruise Director John Heald. The latest video by Mr. Heald went viral with his “Gangnam Style” amazing dance in the ships dining room. All guests and crew were surprised when the Senior Cruise Director got on top of the side stand and started busting his moves. Marvelous, silly, funny, amazing, no matter how you call his dance, one thing is for certain, that The Fun Ships are even more fun with people like John Heald.

After 32 year career in cruise ships, being the last 14 years as Hotel Director for Carnival Cruise Line, Jose Pisa and his wife Iryna, opened their  Crew Lounge @ FX in Funchal on January, 20, 2017. 

Jose and Irina met on the Carnival Destiny, now renamed Carnival Sunshine and got married in St Thomas U.S.V.I. while working on the Carnival Valor.

Royal Caribbean latest video “Living the Adventure: Royal Caribbean’s Crew Members Share Their Passions" highlights the passionate and committed crew members that brings Royal Caribbean vacations to life. This fascinating video shot on board Harmony of the Seas, honors the people who work 7 days a week for 6-8 months, each day performeing their duties flawlessly, with a smile on their face.