In this article I would like to share my experiences of being a crew member of a cruise ship.
At the end of 2022 I ended my career with Deutsche Telekom after being with them for 21 years. I needed a change, so I prepared to move into a completely new area. I wanted to challenge myself thoroughly to see if massage therapy would be my calling or not.
In July 2022 I completed a massage training course with the German WBG (Professional Association Wellness Beauty and Health) for the certificate of “Certified Massage Practitioner” in which I gained the highest possible points in my exams.
From January to April 2023, I worked as a Spa Therapist on the AIDA cruise ship line on the Canary Islands circuit. I needed to prepare a lot for the first crew assignment. Starting from the completion of one week “Basic Safety Training” I ended up collecting many documents and doing medical checks. Everything was new and exciting for me.
You might ask why I chose this direction. I definitely wanted to have a short and intensive assignment doing massage. I wanted to challenge and test myself thoroughly to see if massage therapy would be my calling.
Those three months with the AIDA line were probably the most adventurous and challenging for me.
Crew Life
Working as a Masseur and Spa Therapist on the ship was a tough assignment, mainly because we worked every day, 7days a week with no rest day. The week consisted of 2 days at sea and 5 days in port. The sea days were always fully booked with massages, averaging 10-14 massages per day. Between massages we had a very short break of a few minutes to clean all the equipment, guide the guests to the spa reception and pick up the next guest. We also had breaks for lunch and dinner.
Port days were more relaxing as many guests would leave the ship to visit the port for sightseeing. On these days we were allowed four hours break to enable us to do our own sightseeing and activities. Working on a ship every day is different. Each day brings new adventures and surprises. As a newcomer, everything had to be learned from scratch. Crew life is very intense, there is always something to discover and learn, you never get bored.
Happy Moments
As a crew member on an AIDA cruise ship, we could visit and enjoy the guest areas. I was very grateful for this benefit. I do not think every cruise company offers these privileges for their crews.
After your long duties, there are a lot of different facilities for fitness, relaxation and sport. We could enjoy the evening show and events. Because the crew is very multi-cultural it was always interesting and enjoyable to spend free time together with them and to listen to their stories and experiences. Playing table tennis was my favorite pastime when off duty. We held a table tennis tournament in which I managed to reach the semi-final. The atmosphere and organization of the event was just wonderful and everyone played very well.
As you may guess most of the crew were from Asia. I am always fascinated by how my colleagues in the Spa were always able to stay friendly to the guests and each other despite the hard work and long duty hours. It seems to me that they have some unique inner mind set of resilience and endurance to overcome any challenging situations. It is not easy to explain to Westerners how Asians are able to stay resilient in any difficult situation.
Although our duties in massaging, cleaning and preparing everything were tough and challenging, I was always appreciated. I was grateful for the positive feedback and reaction from all the guests who came along for treatment. Just looking at their eyes before and after the massage demonstrated how successful my treatment had been. They were relaxed and happy and thanked me with a big smile, which was a great honor for me.
Small things brought happy and moving moments. Besides wonderful camaraderie with my spa colleagues I often enjoyed watching nature on our journey. Looking at the endless ocean with its many different moods and characters (stormy, windy, gentle and silent) was very relaxing and soothing. It was exciting and unexpected to see dolphins following the ship.
Challenges
As I mentioned, our workload and hours were long. Working everyday doing massage takes strength and stamina. Not everyone can do this for prolonged periods.
It was not unusual for someone, usually European, to leave the ship earlier than their contract period. In fact, on my last day our AIDA HR director was positively surprised that I was still there and was able to master and complete my three months on the ship. I felt very proud of myself for accomplishing my mission.
Looking back to my AIDA time and reflecting on my spa position, I have some answers as to why I did not give up or break my contract. The key reason was simply because doing massage is my vocation. It is something I can do and love to do. Every time I gave a massage it was rewarding to see how it helped the guests. Both my hands have a unique “healing” energy which are my greatest “tool kit”. There is nothing better than receiving and enjoying an excellent relaxing massage. My job serving others is a great empowerment of my (from Japanese) IKIGAI (reason for living).
In one Buddhist writing it says “if your job is helping or serving other human beings you would be happiest, your mind and soul would be happy and at peace, because your job has a meaningful and positive contribution to our human society.”
Lessons I have Learnt
Looking back to my time with AIDA and reflecting on my spa position I have some useful thoughts and conclusions.
My own ego developed and changed. During my spa work I had to do cleaning and other “dirty” jobs of a hard physical nature over long hours and my inner ego objected. The spa work contrasted with my previous employment in a large corporate company where I had shorter working hours, less physical work and a higher level of remuneration. But with my experience as a life coach, I managed to transform myself by being resilient and content of mind, looking at the positive side rather than the negative. For example, cleaning means movement and doing fitness exercises which are good for your body. If you change your career completely, it can be daunting and you are probably going to start at the bottom and need to undertake a lot of learning. If you accept this you will learn more easily and be less judgmental about yourself. I always try to recognize the positive aspects of uncomfortable or unpleasant tasks. One of my self-coaching thoughts was “get the sh*t job done regardless of how much you feel you are too valuable or important a person to do this job.”
If the job is hard and the workload high but you love your job and you are passionate about doing things you love, you will always master any situation. Massage is my calling or vocation, my contract with AIDA proved it is truly what I can and love to do. I am very grateful to AIDA for giving me the opportunity to confirm my true vocation.
Joseph Campbell the American writer and professor said “Follow Your Bliss”.
Shijir Purevdorj
November 2023