Cruise ship crew members often work very long hours. It's not uncommon to see the bartender who you said goodnight to at 2 a.m. be back stocking and cleaning that bar at 10 or 11 a.m. the next day.
What you may not know is that crew members might have started even earlier due to a mandatory drill or training. Many cruise ship workers work well more than an eight-hour day and rarely, if ever, get a day off.
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Some might work multiple stations, have special responsibilities on embarkation and disembarkation days (the day you get on and the day you get off of your cruise), and sometimes they even have to work at private island stops.
That's not just true for regular crew members. It also applies to officers, and Celebrity Cruises Captain Kate McCue recently ran through her day on a recent edition of her Instagram "Captain's Log" video series.
Image source: Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruise's Captain Kate never slows down
"I'm going to tell you about some of my favorite days, and those are sea days because they are jam-packed. I had to write everything down just to make sure that I could fit it all in," McCue shared. She then listed her very busy, but apparently typical day.
- Started off 6.30 in the morning. We did put the clocks one hour ahead because we need to be on local time in Florida and the Bahamas, but that didn't mess me up.
- 6.30, up to the gym for a workout, then down to Cafe El Bacio for coffee number one, where I met some of our guests.
- Back up to the bridge, 9.45 for the announcement
- 10 o'clock, down to the sign-off meeting where we're saying goodbye to 50 to 100 crew members who are signing off on turnaround day because we're going to welcome another 50 to 100 crew members on board with this constant rotation.
- Then down to Cafe El Bacio for coffee number two with our guest relations director, Julie, and guest Helene.
- 11 o'clock was Seminar at Sea meet and greet.
- 11.30 was bug trivia.
- 12.15 was a bridge tour, and a quick lunch.
- 1.30, guest versus officer pool volleyball: Now, I don't play because I would be absolutely useless to the team, but I did chuck the ball in, and then I had to book it.
- 2 o'clock, we had a surprise vow renewal. This was the cutest thing. The bride had no idea that the husband had arranged this. He brought an impromptu dress, veil, flowers, and even four different tiaras for her to choose from.
- Now, it's only 2.30. We have the entire afternoon ahead of us.
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"It is a gorgeous day at sea. Everybody's out and about, and this is what I love because you can feed off of everyone's energy. People are here to have a good time, and when you're surrounded by that vibe, there's nothing better," she shared.
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