“Take your food, consume it, and leave.”

The first Azamara crew shop was officially open aboard the cruise ship Azamara Pursuit. The onboard management together with Captain Antonio Francisco Toledo and Hotel Director Heike Berdos welcomed crew members to the new and well stocked corner which is very important especially during these times when they have limited access in ports.

Finally, the news we have all been waiting for since the resumption of cruising. It’s official, Carnival Cruise Line will allow all of its crew members who are fully vaccinated to go outside in any ports, at any time, for independent shore leave. This is such a great news for thousands of crew members currently onboard Carnival Cruise Line ships, who can finally step foot on land and enjoy the beautiful ports in the Caribbean, Mexico, and the Bahamas, as well as the US home ports.

by Nancy Soulé

I’ve endured this adventure three times so far. It seems to be the norm as the new starting point for any contract, so better get used to it for a while. My first experience was on one of the first ships out in November of 2020, and that one was especially spooky. It was sailing out of Singapore and the precautions were extensive. 

by Nancy Soulé

Every day seafarers seeking jobs online fall victim to fraudulent emails, texts and ads from scammers pretending to be legitimate manning agencies. This trend has increased during the pandemic when thousands of seafarers were left without jobs. 

Last year while many people were experiencing their own repercussions of a worldwide pandemic, Krista Thomas and Thais Marques de Souza were focused on an issue that the cruise industry was facing. Crew were stranded at sea as the world shut down its borders and although they were mainly safe onboard, their mental health became a key focus for the social media advocates. Today, Thomas and Marques de Souza are the founders of the not-for-profit organization, Sea Me Crew Wellness Foundation.

Good Morning and Happy 4th Of July to all onboard the cruise ships sailing out of the USA and around the world. And what a happy day is today as we have some great news coming from the Carnival Cruise Line crew. 

No doubt the internet is one of the most important things for crew working onboard the cruise ships. The net is the window to the outside world, connecting the crew with their loved ones back home.

Several crew members from India have contacted Crew Center raising concerns about their current status and rejoin dates on Celebrity Cruises. The crew said since the decision by Royal Caribbean to temporarily suspending all crew assignments in April, amid a surge of Covid-19 cases in India, they haven’t received a Letter of Employment or sign-on date by Celebrity Cruises.