It's not easy to work long hours for months, isolated from land, friends, and family. This is what shapes you into the resilient, stronger version of yourself.

One of the reasons many people stay to work on the cruise ship is the experience that a job on the seven seas ultimately brings on. Regarding your career progression, cruise ship workers are appreciated on land for their unique skill sets and qualities.

Experience working on cruise ships requires many soft and technical skills that make crew members some of the most credible employment candidates.

The best thing to do about the cruise ship career is to create a short-term and long-term plan and to follow up on that plan regularly. Because time is passing inevitably for all of us... Day by day, month by month, the days on the sea are passing by. 

Before you even notice, one year, two, four, ten, sometimes twenty...Taking into consideration many different reasons why a cruise ship is so addictive, I do understand why many veteran crew members are staying in their comfort zone. Free accommodation, medical care, tax-free traveling, excellent CV record, and international connections worldwide. 

But you need to ask  yourself these vital questions:

• Is there a pause button in our life that we can press and put a hold on our real life at home? 
• Can we pause the time and save money too by all we need, the car, house, motorcycle? 

From a financial perspective, working on the cruise ship resolves many problems; it helps our family and all other things. But one thing is for sure, in the case of the crew members, we can't have the time and the money. You might save something because there are no bills on the cruise ship. But how about time passing by inevitably? We are not getting paid with money; we are getting paid for the times we lose away from our family. Sometimes, that is the high price to be paid. Because most of the time, we take time in this world for granted, but indeed it's limited. 

Sometimes we need to pause and think about our priorities. Addiction to the work on the cruise ship is understandable, considering many factors. But we should always have a strict, short- and long-term plan for our future; other vise time is slipping away, and we need to spend our time wisely. Every person has different life circumstances, but we all have a common reason why we work on the cruise ship for many years, and without even realizing we are getting addicted to it. Take note of your short and long-term plans. Follow up daily; it will give you a clear direction for your future. 

Contract by contract, let me just finish this one; I need to add one more floor to my house; the car is getting older and needs replacement. I need to send money to my cousins; they are my family, and they rely on me... I have to save something for retirement... 

If money becomes the main reason for our cruise ship addiction, we should immediately find an alternative income source for our future. Look at this perspective.

As a crew member, regardless of years with the company, we are all replaceable in a matter of minutes. I know many great people and crew members on the cruise ship who devoted their entire life to the specific company. They were fired for a silly issue with the guest or some complaints from the arrogant, egoistic passengers. The company did not even blink an eye. Those hard-working crew members were replaced in a moment without even an explanation. 

I had a great friend, the bartender from Panama, one of the best people I met in the cruise industry. He was working for 20 years for the same company. I was working alongside with him when the customer came and intentionally created some difficult situation. My friend from Panama was fired the day after without explanation. 

When I was in the crew mess on the embarkation day, I came to say goodbye to him, and he told me:

" What have I done wrong? My working file is without a single mistake for 20 years, I was always the role model, and now they fired me for no reason?" 

I replied to him," Don't worry, brother. There is a reason why this happened; the future is about to become even better for you. Some of you might wonder why he did not complain to the Human Resources department. The HR manager on board was there to protect company interests, not the crew member's rights. Making a sustainable and long, stable career on a cruise ship is nearly impossible. That's why addiction to it is not recommended.

I know that working on the cruise ship is highly addictive and gives you that feeling of financial stability, but if we are not careful with our planning, time can slip away without us even noticing it. I am not saying you should quit working on the ship or stay there for 30 years. I suggest emphasizing the importance of the time factor, the same as the financial aspect. You have some beautiful, maybe hidden talents that you never explored before, but we obviously can develop that talent because of the demanding working schedule on the cruise ship. Refrain from letting the addiction to the cruise ship overpowers your plan and ability to allocate your time most efficiently. Some crew members on the ship will give up all their cars and houses to spend one more day with their family members back home. But money can not replace the time away from the family. We all need money to survive and pay our bills, but what is the price we are ready to pay for in the long run? Choose your future wisely...