Life on the Seas — Behind the Cabin Doors

Cruise ships are the highlight to any vacation, but the crew on board that makes all of the magic happen on the seven seas have a different experience about the vacations.

Cruise ships have an itinerary that is detailed by every hour on the sea while the ship is cruising. Life for the crew of the Carnival Fantasy is no stranger to a strict schedule.

The Fantasy is the oldest ship in the Carnival fleet, but the crew refuses to let the ship’s old age kill the party vibes of the ship.

The Cruise Director of the Fantasy, Polly, has been part of the carnival crew for a better part of ten years now and has been on countless trips on over three ships. “Being part of someone’s vacation and being able to help them enjoy their time away from home is a privilege that I would not trade for anything in the world,” said Polly.

The crew spends on average 15 hours a day working constantly for an average of nine months, depending on their contracts with the company, to ensure the guests on board are having the best experience.

The crew is from many different countries such as the United States, Brazil, China, Romania and Serbia. The guests are able to really enjoy international influences and personalities while traveling abroad.

Twenty-four-hour pizza and froyo, Harry Potter Trivia and a Couples Compatibility Game Show are just some of the may fun and random things that are planned and offered on the Fantasy for the guest.

Stateroom Steward Saburo Dao, of Vietnam, has been with Carnival for around three years now. He joined the ship’s crew to see the world, but he has a rather different opinion about life on the ship behind the cabin doors.

“I’m usually awake before most of the guests that are in the cabins I am assigned to so I can enjoy the ship and relax. Once the guest starts to wake up — it is back to work for the rest of the day. I love what I do and it does get tiring, but waking up at sea or in a new country every morning makes it worth it to me. I miss my family because I’m on the ship for nine months, but the ship gives me a chance to see the world and I would not have had this opportunity working at home in Vietnam,” said Dao.

The crew on board the Fantasy get to enjoy the culture of the guest just as much as the guest enjoy the culture of the crew. It creates a boatload of fun and on the Fantasy — fun is a requirement.