Five Life Lessons I’ve Learned from Working on Cruise Ships

About one year ago, I moved everything out of my Boston apartment and decided that I wanted to live on a cruise ship full-time. As a professional pianist and vocalist with a few cruise contracts under my belt, I was officially fed up with Boston’s dwindling music scene, rat race, traffic and winters and allured by the lifestyle, opportunity and adventures ship life had given me a taste of.

Living at sea is a unique lifestyle, almost impossible to explain to those in the outside world. I’ve heard it described as a continuation of high school, living in a big luxury hotel, summer camp for adults, a never-ending frat party and a prison; and while it is none of those things, it certainly simultaneously embodies elements of each.

Living in such a concentrated environment, where loneliness is common despite almost never being alone, everything becomes intensified — drama, romance, work-related stress and problems back home. The highs are high and the lows — oh, the lows are low. I’m not sure about what the exact conversion would be, but similar to how one human year is equivalent to seven dog years, life onboard moves fast.

Ship life has taught me some valuable lessons, applicable to both life on land and at sea. One year (and a few dozen countries later), I’ve only spent about six weeks home, but…