17/07/2026
Why I Loved Working on a Cruise Ship
I applied. I got a callback in four months. I got the job after ONE interview. Five days later I was on a plane — they expedited my onboarding because they needed me that fast.
That was my first clue this life didn't run on normal rules.
Four months into my first contract, I got promoted to a one-and-a-half striped officer. Four months. On land, that timeline doesn't exist. On a ship, it's just Cozumel day.
Here's what I actually loved about it:
It was fast. Something was always happening, and you had to be ready for it. That pace teaches you things you cannot learn in a classroom — how to think on your feet, how to lead people twice your age, how to stay calm when everything is not calm. I became culturally competent in a way no degree could have given me. I worked alongside people from forty different countries and learned how to actually see people, not just tolerate them.
I went places I didn't even know existed before I got there. I made friends I'm still close with today — closer than people I've known since grade school. They became family. Ship family is a different kind of family, and if you've had it, you know exactly what I mean.
I fell in love more than once. I got my heart broken too. And then I fell in love with my onboard partner — and I married him. We built a family together.
I won't pretend that part was simple. Contracts apart. Long distance. Doubts. Confusion. Real concerns about fidelity, because let's be honest — the onboard environment is its own thing, and everybody's hooking up with somebody. I lived through all of it and I still chose this life, still climbed into more senior roles, still loved my job.
This post isn't about the hard parts — the strict hierarchy, the close quarters, the power dynamics that aren't always fair. That's a different conversation for a different day.
Today I just wanted to tell you about the memories that still make me smile.
So tell me — did you fall in love on a cruise ship? Are you still wondering where that relationship actually stands?
I asked myself that question a lot. It's part of why I trained as an academy-certified coach, and now I work with people navigating long-distance relationships — a lot of them seafarers, because I've lived exactly what they're living.
I built a free, confidential quiz for exactly this. No name required, just an email. Follow our page, complete the assessment, and get your results. If you want to go deeper, there's an option to add on a coaching session with someone who's actually been there.
Link in 👇
https://seafarersrelationship.netlify.app/
