Jobs with a view
Published Saturday December 27th, 2008
Travel Two New Brunswickers find adventure on the high seas as crew members on a small, high-end cruise ship
Getting paid to visit exotic countries such as Turkey, Egypt or Singapore would be a dream job for anyone interested in world travel. For two New Brunswickers it is a dream come true.
Stephen Belyea of Norton and Melanie Mowat of Fredericton both work for Azamara Cruise Lines, the small ship, high-end division of giant Celebrity Cruises. Belyea just landed his first job as media technician aboard the Azamara Quest while Mowat has risen through the ranks over five years. She's now cruise sales manager with several onboard responsibilities.
Belyea, a graduate of the broadcast journalism program at Seneca College in Toronto, first got the idea of working at sea during an internship with Hemmings House Pictures in Saint John, when his boss, Greg Hemmings, mentioned that a cruise ship as a great way to pay off debt and learn how to run a complex technical set-up.
Hemmings helped with contacts; Belyea, 22, is now responsible for videotaping, editing and playing back all lectures and announcements on the ship, as well as backstage work during production shows.
"I had wanted to stay in Saint John," he said. "But when a great opportunity like this came along, I really couldn't turn it down." The pay isn't great, he said,, but it's easy to save lots of money.
"The food and the room are free. And the food is wonderful, certainly a lot better than the last two years when I was studying."
Now on his first six-month contract, he has a full workload and long hours. "I usually work 10 hours a day, and it's often seven days a week." But, he added, "if there's time, I can occasionally leave the ship for a while to explore a port. I've never left North America before so this part of the world is particularly exciting."
Belyea boarded the ship in Rome and was lucky enough to join a cruise that visited ancient sites and historic cities in the Eastern Mediterranean. The itinerary included Crete, Greece, Cyprus, Istanbul, several smaller Turkish ports, and Alexandria, Egypt (for the Pyramids and Cairo). After that, it was scheduled to head for Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. "I've adapted extremely well and love this job," he said. "Normally I'm afraid of boats and water but I haven't had any trouble yet."
Compared to Belyea, who is just getting his sea legs, Mowat is a veteran of the cruise industry. "About five years ago I met a Celebrity Cruise director through a friend in Fredericton and he recommended me to the cruise line," she said. "Since I love to travel and enjoy working with people, this is the perfect job."
Mowat started in the entertainment department then worked in cruise sales, as the frequent cruise representative (called "Captain's Club" on Celebrity and Azamara) and then as event co-ordinator. She works eight months at a time, then takes four months off, when she usually returns to New Brunswick. Like Belyea, she is on call seven days a week. "Because Azamara ships have just 700 passengers, I combine several jobs here," she said. "But my main goal is to make sure guests are happy and have a memorable cruise."
Azamara is trying to position itself between premium, big-ship lines and luxury lines like Crystal and Regent but at a price that's well below the luxury level.
"Azamara tends to attract well-travelled guests who've experienced the big ships with their crowds and long lines but who now want to try a smaller ship with better food, better service and unique ports of call," Mowat said. "Every room on board is serviced by a butler who brings fresh fruit and savouries daily, can shine your shoes or take reservations for the two speciality restaurants. You're really pampered."
We asked Mowat what she did about troublesome guests. "Most problems, a guest probably came with them," she said.
"Life isn't perfect and no cruise is perfect. But we don't want an unhappy guest and all of the crew are here to help them as best we can. Our rule is if it's physically possible to help a guest, we'll do it. If it's something in the food line we don't have, we'll try to get it at the next port."
On the Mediterranean cruise, we noticed there were many Canadians aboard. "Canadians are well-travelled," Mowat said. "Our crew members, who come from 60 countries, have told me that Canadians are particularly friendly. They stand out because they're interested in different cultures and are knowledgeable about the world."
George and Diana Richardson of Saint John are typical of those curious Canadians. "Now that we've been on a ship of this size, we like it a lot," they said. "The itinerary stands out because of the many fascinating ports and onboard there's never a line-up. It's an amazing way to travel. You unpack your bags once and you don't have to do anything until you're ready to go home. You see the sights you want to see and eat like kings in the meantime."
Mowat knows, however, that many people are reluctant to cruise.
"I'd say people should give it a try," she said. "Once people take a cruise, they realize what a wonderful experience it is." She laughed as she added, "some people tell me you need a vacation after your vacation here because, if you want, you're kept very busy."
Meanwhile, Belyea is thoroughly enjoying his first job at sea and looking forward to the next phase of the cruise. "It's a new environment and I was a bit anxious at first," he said. "But if any New Brunswicker wants to get into a job like this, I'd say it's definitely worth it."
John and Sandra Nowlan are freelance travel writers based in Halifax. Sandra Nowlan is a native of Deer Island.
Disabled
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
