GIG HARBOR, WA October 27th, 2016 — The Northwest Maritime Academy (NWMA), offering courses to educate and empower mariners with invaluable safety knowledge and skills, is now launching a top tier Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boat (PSC/PSCRB) training curriculum and facility on the West Coast.

The Boatyard Beach Club and Restaurant in Bridgetown, Barbados is the favorite place for all crew members. Just take a taxi from the pier and the driver will take you there. Crew members love The Boatyard because is a place where not many cruise ship passengers visit, so it’s something like crew secret.

Greetings to all crew members and step up in the barbershop located on deck B in the crew corridors. This is the place where most of the crew members cut their hair bellow the sea level. Yes, part of the crew members, usually Pinoy or Indonesian, who have excellent hairstyling skills and like to make extra money do their magic. Unlike cruise ship passengers who are pampered in the Spa, the crew usually cut their hair in the makeshift barbershops. The price is 5 to 10 dollars so it’s much affordable then cutting hair in the Spa, where price for crew is 20 dollars.

Back in the mid-80s the NBA Legend Michael Jordan boarded the Norwegian Cruise Line flagship SS Norway, purchased by NCL in 1979. Back then “SS Norway” sailed the Caribbean from Miami, Key West, Cozumel, Roatán and Great Stirrup Cay. Not much is known about this cruise that MJ took, except this photograph released by Jay Hairston on the social networks as a proof that Jordan was onboard.

Royal Caribbean Cruises is operating a training facility in Maragondon Cavite, Philippines, managed by PHILCAMSAT - Philippine Center for Advanced Maritime Simulation and Training. The company currently employs around 11.000 Filipino crew members working on board the world’s largest cruise ships and plans to hire up to 30.000 Pinoy crew in the following years. Therefore Royal Caribbean is investing in state-of-the-art training facility in Maragondon Cavite.

Ladies and gentlemen all the way from Castries, Saint Lucia, currently NCL freestyler, we like to introduce the rising music star Josiah Willian a.k.a. BIG Vybe. Combining Reggae, Dancehall, and Soca this talented crew member started singing and writing songs at the age of fourteen. In 2009 he recorded his first song, and today with the album “The Dream has began” he spreads positive vibes not only in the Caribbean but also on Norwegian Cruise Line ships.

One of the main attractions among others in St. Maarten is Maho Beach. What makes this beach special is the nearby international airport located next to the beach. Cruise ship passengers and crew can make spectacular photographs when planes land to this airport. Airplanes fly just 20 meters from the beach before they land on the runway. The video bellow shows the cockpit footage of the Air France Airbus A340-300 airplane for a flight landing in St Maarten.

There are number of things you need to know before you start your first adventure as a crew member. This guide will help you during your first couple of months on board. It is better to know these important pointers than to learn it the hard way. 

Back in 1991 Carnival Cruise Line introduced its latest cruise ship Carnival Ecstasy. With the new ship came the new uniforms for the dining room waiters and assistant waiters. The dining room concept was each night with different dining theme and overall waiters had seven uniforms.Here are Carnival Ecstasy retro uniforms from the early 90s:

International night head waiter and waiter uniform

The most respected travel magazine, Condé Nast Traveler in partnership with Princess Cruises presented the most breathtaking cruise ship destinations in the world.  This fascinating video shows the beauty of our planet, from Fiordland national park in New Zealand, to large constructions created by man, the Panama Canal. You can check out all this beautiful and fascinating destinations and visit them on a cruise ship.