Originally Posted By Blue Ridge Marie Any crew members out there? I want to ask some questions about application process, etc.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Did you already check out Disney's site? <a href="http://www.dcljobs.com/" target="_blank">http://www.dcljobs.com/</a>
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle I'm not a crew member and I think it would be a fabulous experience, but really hard work. The staff we got chatting to on our cruise said they work 7 days a week for something like 6-8 months at a time ... a bit of a turn-off for someone like me who needs their days off to relax ... on the other hand, I guess it would be almost too much fun to class as work.
Originally Posted By disney-cruise-fan i have been on 4 disney cruises. all the staff work very hard for little pay. still, it sounds like a great expeience! even i have looked into it. it all depends on what your good at and what you want to do on the cruise (as a job). some good qualities are humor,willingness, and you must always be able to make people smile and have a good time
Originally Posted By Dznygrl Ever since I went on the cruise in 2003 I've been having visions of living on Castaway Cay and being one of the island crew members. Thanks for the website link!
Originally Posted By imadisneygal I worked for Princess Cruises on the Grand Princess and the Sun Princess as an Assistant Cruise Director. I started my contract with Princess right after I left Disneyland in 1998. The Disney Magic was being built in Trieste, Italy, in the same shipyard as our ship and its inaugural cruise was later that year. We were able to tour the ship as it was being built - that was amazing! I met my husband right before I was offered a contract with the Disney Cruise Lines so I declined the contract. Working on a cruise ship is perfect for someone who is young, doesn't own a home/condo, isn't married, has no kids, etc. It is very true that you work 7 days a week and the contracts are usually 6-7 months. Generally you work from early morning until about midnight with some down time during the day - but not much. Port days have a little more free time than days at sea when all of the Guests are onboard. Even though it may not seem like work, and many of the activities are really fun, it is definitely hard work to be "onstage" 24/7. There is very little time when you are not in view of the Guests. Every time you leave your cabin you're onstage. It's a great opportunity if you do it at the right time in your life!
Originally Posted By imadisneygal The average age of the Assistant Cruise Directors on our ships was about 22. Each department had varying average ages. In housekeeping the average age was MUCH older and many of those crew members were married, etc. Of the 1500 or so crew members on our ship there were less than 15 at any given time from North America. There are many, many crew members from countries all over the world.
Originally Posted By Dznygrl This is probably a stupid question, but does anyone have any experience with being an island crew member, or know what it's like? I'd like to know more than what the website is willing to tell me. You know, more than just it's "challenging" and "unique".
Originally Posted By imadisneygal I imagine that it's similar in nature to the Port crew that Princess has, although I've never been on the Disney Cruise Line to know for sure. The Port Crew for Princess lives in the part city (or island, in this case) for their contract. They play games with and arrange contests (ping-pong, pool games, etc.) for the Guests. They also help the Guests find their way around the ports and with the cruise line arranged events such as SCUBA or port tours. Basically it's challenging because you're ALWAYS onstage, and it's unique because you're getting paid to party with people - the drawback being that there's hardly ever a time when you're not expected to be partying!
Originally Posted By DlandJB Most of the island crew on Castaway Cay are crew members from the ship. I have read that the skeleton crew that lives on the island is very small (about 14) and I imagine it doesn't vary too much.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal Yes, we had a few usland events as well where we'd disembark and hold events on the beach. That was part of our contract on the ship. There were, however, also crew members in the cities we visited. They primarily helped passengers with shore expeditions like SCUBA or island walks in the Caribbean or helicopter rides to glaciers or whale watching in Alaska! Fun!!!
