Have Cruised? Will Be Cruising? Must Read This.

Depending on perspective, a 950 foot long cruise ship that fits over 3,000 passengers and around 1,200 crew members can be both very large and very small. For a guest on board for a seven night itinerary with 3 or more port calls, the vessel almost always seems like a vast floating city. For a crew member that spends eight months at a time living out of a crawl space in the bowels of the ship, it can seem like floating on a rubber dingy. Joshua Kinser wants to tell you all about it.

Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member

The full title to Joshua Kinser’s tell-all about life as a cruise ship employee is Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member: Answers to All the Questions Every Passenger Wants to Ask. I think he does a pretty good job of it. If you’re a Kindle owner, you can find out for yourself at the ridiculous low price of just $2.99 for the 258 page book. That’s the total price, including taxes. It’s a little less than a bottle of water from a vending machine at the cruise port... Not a Kindle owner? Why the hell not?

Kinser worked for five years on cruise ships on the high seas as a drummer. He worked in the lounge bands. He worked in the show bands. Most importantly, Joshua lived the life of a cruise ship employee. His Kindle book came out in 2012 in the spirit of Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, although not quite as racy. Perhaps, Carnival Corporation has a few more high priced lawyers to keep ex-employees in check than Les Halles restaurant in New York City.

The story is unique in that it gives the straight story of the process Kinser endured to get his first job on a cruise ship. It also gives a pretty descriptive view of life below the waterline, as well as, above. Joshua really leaves his mark with what the cruise ship life does to a person in a philosophical way and how it changed him forever.

What you’ll see through Josh’s eyes when reading ‘Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member’:

·         Living conditions for the crew members (cramped living spaces and poor air quality).

·         Enduring Red Alerts when passengers start getting sick (Norovirus).

·         The crew bar, mess hall and crew deck – the best on-going party on any cruise ship.

·         The vast difference in pay and work hours depending on the job and nationality.

·         Rules. Rules. Rules. How life on a cruise ship resembles the strictest private school.

·         The love/hate relationship between crew and passengers.

Joshua Kinser

Kinser worked for Carnival Cruises Lines and Princess Cruises, both under Carnival Corporation. A talented drummer from Florida, Joshua first made his way onto a cruise ship as a replacement drummer for a lounge band. Unfortunately, that gig ended soon after with the band all getting fired because of the actions of the drummer that he had replaced.

He has now moved on to become an author, as well as a musician. A Travel Guide to Florida’s Gulf Coast is among his portfolio. Kinser has also written fiction books based on life aboard a, you guessed it, cruise ship.

My Take

This book is a must for anyone that has cruised and anyone who is thinking of cruising. Does it give an inside view on how to better enjoy your next cruise? No. What it will do is give you a new appreciation of your Filipino room steward that is working up to 16 hours each day without seeing the sun and getting paid a fraction of the minimum wage for a citizen of the United States or Canada. It will give you a sense of just how much effort is put forth to make the onboard service look effortless.

For me, Joshua went too deeply into the music industry for my liking, but that’s just personal. Others, including my son, would be still asking for more. Also, I felt that Kinser could have gone into some racier details of life down below. As I mentioned above, I felt he was trying for a ‘Kitchen Confidential’ feel but the story was a bit too clean cut for that. Perhaps, there’s more to come?

Seriously though, for $2.99 you’re getting a book that would sell for upwards of $30 in hard cover and at least $10 in paperback. This is a great book and it really does answer the questions that I’m sure everyone that has set foot on a cruise ship has wanted to ask.

 

 

3 Night Celebrity Cruises Bahamas Primer From $119

We previously looked at a five night Celebrity Constellation Western Caribbean cruise. The ship takes a little break from the regular routine on January 13, 2014 to run a three night Bahamas itinerary out of Port Everglades at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is a short, quick journey but pricing is great and guest can easily turn around and get back on another cruise ship once the three days are over.

The Cruise

 

Celebrity Constellation embarks from Port Everglades at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Monday, January 14, 2014 at 4:30pm. On Tuesday, the ship stops at Coco Cay in the Bahamas. Coco Cay is owned by Royal Caribbean and is historically known as Little Stirrup Cay. The tiny island that measures just 1000 metres by 200 metres is used exclusively by Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara Club. Coco Cay is in the Berry Islands and is between Freeport and Nassau.

On Wednesday, January 15, Constellation moves 55 miles south to Nassau, Bahamas. She stays in port from 8am until 5pm before setting sail for Ft. Lauderdale. The ship docks at Port Everglades at 7am on Thursday, January 16.

There are no ships heading back out to the high seas from Ft. Lauderdale on January 16. However, on January 17, Holland America has both the ms Maasdam and ms Noordam embarking on 10 night cruises to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.

The amazing capacity of the Port Everglades cruise port is evident on January 18 with seven different large cruise ships filling up with anywhere from 2000 to 5000 passengers each. Princess Cruise Line has the Crown Princess, Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess setting out. Royal Caribbean sends out the massive Oasis of the Seas, Independence of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas. Holland America puts out the ms Westerdam. In other words, if you wanted to extend your three days at sea, there are lots of opportunities.

The Price

The lowest rate for this three night cruise is $119 per person for an inside stateroom. With the additional $83 in government fees and taxes, the total price for two would be $404. Ocean View staterooms can be had for as low as $159 per person and a balcony runs a still reasonable $209 per person.

The Ship

Celebrity Cruises is the premium line of Royal Caribbean International. Celebrity Constellation is the youngest of the four Millennium Class ships in Celebrity’s fleet. Millennium came in 2000, Infinity was put in service in 2001 while Summit and Constellation came last in 2002. All have identical gross tonnage of 91,000 and all are 965 feet or 294 metres long.

The Constellation has eleven decks accessible to passengers. It has a capacity for 2,170 guests and has around 1,000 crew members on board for a nearly 1 to 1 ratio.

The ship was built by Chantiers de L’Atlantique in St. Nazaire, France. After this Bahamas cruise, she returns to her four and five night Western Caribbean rotation until late April, 2014. On April 24, 2014, Constellation embarks on a 15 night Transatlantic Repositioning Cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

The Small Print

·Because of the nature of last minute deals, the pricing printed here is fleeting and could change at any time.

·Prices are in Canadian dollars.

·Most meals are included in a typical cruise price but DRINKS ARE NOT!

·Also not included are gratuities.

·Cruise pricing does not include air fare, ground transfers and hotel accommodations before and after the cruise.

From $169 For 3 Port Calls In The Bahamas Aboard Norwegian Sky

It might be just a four night cruise but it packs a punch. On January 20, 2014, Norwegian Sky embarks from Miami, Florida for a four night journey around the Bahamas. Over the short cruise, the ports of call are packed in with three stops on the three full days between leaving and arriving back at Miami. Pricing may still have room to drop but even just under a month out, the rates are quite affordable.

The Cruise

 

This four night Bahamas cruise on board the Norwegian Sky embarks from Miami, Florida at 5pm on Monday, January 20, 2014. She arrives back in Miami at 7am on Friday, January 24. Sky crams in three port calls along the way with no full days at sea.

On Tuesday, Norwegian Sky spends the day at Great Stirrup Cay. The small island is located in the Berry Islands of the Bahamas and is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line. She stays at this location from 8am to 5pm before moving on.

Next up is Nassau, Bahamas on Wednesday. Sky is docked at the largest city in the Bahamas from 8am until 6pm. Nassau has a population of around 250,000 and accounts for a good portion of the overall population of the Bahamas. January is a great time to visit Nassau with the average daytime high around 26 Celsius or 80 Fahrenheit. January is the city’s driest month.

The final stop is at Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. Norwegian Sky stops at the ‘second city’ of the Bahamas on Thursday from 8am to 5pm. Freeport is quite a bit smaller than Nassau with a population of around 60,000. Located a little further north, the average daytime high is three degrees Celsius less than Nassau but still an enjoyable 23 or 74 Fahrenheit. As with Nassau, January is one of Freeport’s driest months.

The Price

Currently, an inside stateroom on board Norwegian Sky can be had for as low as $169 per person. That equates to $42.25 per person per night. Added to that price is $101.07 in government taxes and fees. The total for two in an interior stateroom starts from $540.14. This deal is eligible for a $15 on board credit per stateroom.

Claustrophobic? Ocean View staterooms start from $229 per person. Balcony prices are decently priced from $349 per person.

The Ship

Norwegian Sky has had a bit of a broken life. She was originally ordered in 1993 and was to be the Costa Olympia for Costa Cruises. Construction on the ship was started by Bremer Vulkan in Germany. However, the company went out of business in 1997. Bremer Vulkan had been around since 1893 in the ship building biz, mostly cargo ships with just a few passenger cruise ships on the resume.

The ship that would become Norwegian Sky was then towed to Lloyd Werft in Germany where it was completed in 1999. The ship never sailed for Costa and was the Norwegian Sky from 1999 to 2004. She then became the Pride of Hawaii, still under Norwegian Cruise Line. In 2008, she returned to the Norwegian Sky name.

Back in September, 1999, on her inaugural cruise, Sky was at the mouth of the Saguenay River at the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada when she ran aground. The ship was evacuated as a precaution and there were no injuries.

One of two Sky Class Norwegian Cruise Line ships, Norwegian Sky is a smaller ship with a gross tonnage of 77,104. She is 260 metres or 853 feet in length and has nine decks accessible to passengers. Capacity on the vessel is for 2,004 guests with 934 crew members.

The other Sky Class ship is the Norwegian Sun. Sun is younger and slightly larger. She was put in service for NCL in 2001.

The Small Print

·Because of the nature of last minute deals, the pricing printed here is fleeting and could change at any time.

·Prices are in Canadian dollars.

·Most meals are included in a typical cruise price but DRINKS ARE NOT!

·Also not included are gratuities.

·Cruise pricing does not include air fare, ground transfers and hotel accommodations before and after the cruise.