Career path on world-class cruise ship “Princess Cruises” Of my brother #DekWtb.
More than money is experience, more than work is life’s profit!
With a career path on the “world-class cruise ship” Princess Cruises
Hello, “P’Rae” Rewadee Rasiri, an alumnus of the Cruise Business Management Program, Class 2, Code 58, College of Tourism and Hospitality. Previously, I worked on a cruise ship. What changes have there been this time with the company change? Why did you decide to change the cruise company? What are the differences between the two ships?
No. 1 in cruise ships, must be SPU only.
First, I would like to explain that the old company was the cruise ship MV Leisure World. The cruise routes were only in Asia, such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Due to the COVID situation, the cruise routes were limited. However, the old ship usually went to many countries. The reason I changed the cruise company was because I wanted to work in Europe.
But the most important thing is that I want to gain new experiences and change my salary base to a higher level. Currently, I have changed to become an employee of Princess Cruises. There are more than 380 cruise routes or 7 continents such as Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, California, Hawaii, Caribbean, Mexico, Europe and many other routes around the world.
What new skills or upskills do you need?
For new skills that need to be developed, the main ones are English: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. They must be upgraded to be better than before. As for service, it must be more professional than before because we have more competitors, not just in Asia, but all over the world. Adjusting to life on a ship is very important. We have to work with Europeans. And our boss will be more professional, which of course means working on a world-class ship requires professionalism. We will have more pressure and have to be able to handle pressure and stress.
The money is great, but in exchange for…no days off?
Yes, “on a cruise ship there are no holidays.” Work every day, work 10 hours a day. This is another minimum that we have to exchange. We consider it a training for our patience. If we come back and encounter something stressful or tiring in Thailand, let me tell you that it will become a very small matter. But that doesn’t mean that the work will never stop.
On the ship, there will be a rest period depending on the country we are going to. During that time, we can go out with friends, socialize, go shopping, or if we don’t want to go out, we can do activities on the ship. There are many activities and facilities on the ship.
Over the past 2-3 years, the Covid-19 outbreak situation How does this impact the cruise industry? And how have we and the shipping company adapted?
In the past 2-3 years, COVID has caused a lot of trouble for the cruise ship business. Many ships had to close down because they could not withstand the economic impact of COVID. In the case that the company stopped sailing, we can apply our certification experience to other companies that are hiring, which of course, there are many companies, many cruise routes, many continents, we may get a better position and higher salary. For example, my old company was affected by COVID and stopped sailing. I applied for a new ship until I passed the interview to become a crew member of Princess Cruise, got a better position and higher salary. In addition, for new cruise routes, if the company is already operating during the COVID situation, the company will have COVID safety measures. There will be training for employees on how to handle and protect themselves from the disease. In addition, customers themselves have strict measures before using the ship’s services for the safety of all employees.
What is the current direction of the cruise business?
The cruise business is growing again. Although there are some impacts from the COVID situation, the management measures and responses of various cruise companies are strict and have high standards. Customers and employees can be confident that they will definitely be safe. And most importantly, there is good news now.
Many cruise companies are starting to recruit more Thai employees because Thai people have unique and interesting services in the eyes of foreigners and are the target of many companies. I must say that monthly income in Thailand is very difficult to find. In the case of new graduates, the minimum is no less than 30,000 – 40,000 baht per month (not including tips).
More than work It is the profit of life.
From my perspective, it was worth it to work on a ship. We got to travel around the world, go to places we had never been before, and constantly learn new things, learn how to live alone far from family, how to survive. When we went flying, it took almost a year or more. We met new travel companions, exchanged ideas and different perspectives, and got to see things we had never seen before. Every day was exciting and it made us see the world in a wider perspective.
Interested in learning about cruise business But I'm afraid...of losing my job!
I want to tell you guys that you don’t have to be afraid because tourism will never die. I will tell you guys that I am a poor kid from the countryside who decided to study in Bangkok all by myself without any support. I worked and studied at the same time. It was very difficult to get through this.
But I have one driving force, which is the driving force that keeps me from getting discouraged and following my dream: I want to live and work abroad. This is the reason why I studied in the field of Service Management, Cruise Business. And now my dream has come true. I have done what I dreamed of. Everyone can do it. Just try hard. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t be afraid to use English. Don’t be afraid to learn new things. If I was afraid that day, I wouldn’t have passed the interview. Even though at that time I was just a 4th year intern, I passed the interview and got to work on a world-class cruise ship until now.
