There was a time when I was a crew bartender on a cruise ship sailing out from Florida. It's nice to be a crew bartender, most bartenders would disagree with that, but I really enjoyed it. It was hard because I had no one else to help me set up or close the bar; I was opening and closing it and serving the crew members. Some bartenders did not like to work there because they wanted to go to the crew bar to drink when they were off duty. In my case, I did not really drink much, plus I enjoyed the stories and chats with the crew members. My job was more to be a good listener and psychologist than to serve the drinks. During that contract, I stayed on board the ship for eight months, and I was always working only in the crew bar. The hard part about the job was the extremely long hours, the USPH check-offs, and the area of the bar was very large, and I was the only one performing the deep cleaning by myself. The crew bar was constantly opening and closing simultaneously; we opened at 1730 and closed the bar at 0130 in the morning.

I know, you are thinking now, but that is only 8 hours, what long hours are you talking about? The truth is a little bit less sweet. During the sea days, I also worked on the pool bar from 11 am until 15. Then I would go to my cabin to change my wet clothes(it was really wet and humid on the open deck. The line for the dinner was opening at 17h exactly, and that was the only time I could have something to eat because on my next break, 21 until 2130, the food line was closed. The problem with having dinner at 17 pm was also big. Firstly, I needed to come at least 1 hour earlier to prepare the glasses, fix the beverage store that arrived the same day, and prepare enough glasses for the smooth bar operation. Realistically, if I worked quickly, I needed 1 hour to do all that. For that reason, I would go early to my bar, around 16h, to completely open the bar and prepare it earlier, so at 17h, I could eat something quickly before opening my bar for service at 1730. There was another problem, the line for the dinner in the crew mess was huge because the dining room team was also in a rush to eat something quickly because there were also starting at 18h. Technically speaking, I needed more time to eat because I only had to line up in the crew mess, I would take the food around 1725, and I could not eat my dinner in 5 minutes. Therefore, I would put some sandwiches in the napkin and bring them to work. Later on, during the night, whenever I was not really busy, I ate my dinner at work. As crew members, we are resilient and always find a way. 

Of course, there were all kinds of people in the crew bar. I knew how to deal with them: stingy, generous, nice, rude, introverts, extroverts, annoying crew members, friendly, arrogant crew members. Because my job was to make their life easier, and I was paid well to ensure that.

Sometimes it was fun to work, and most of the time, it was stressful, but I enjoyed every second.

One of my special guests was Alan, the galley steward. He would only come in the afternoon, around 18h, after he finished his 12-hour shift. Alan was among the nicest people I have ever met on the cruise ship. Despite working probably the hardest job in the world, he never removed the smile from his face, regardless of his low-paid job and the horrible management treatment he was exposed to. When he came into the crew bar, we played a fuss ball and sometimes even Sony Play Station (if I did not have any guests at the crew bar at those times). Alan did not often drink alcohol, he just came to buy water, and we always played some games or Sony; we had a 15-20 minute chat, and he would leave to rest. One day, it was a special night. Alan finally came to the end of his contract, and he finished his last shift. He went to the crew bar with one of his friends for the first time to have a few drinks and celebrate the complete contract. For being such a nice guy and a great, resilient, friendly guy, I gave them both a nice bottle of wine and some chips, peanuts, and popcorn. They finally had a moment to relax, they were laughing, and even though I got really busy around 11 pm, I was happy to have a quick chat and check on them to see if they were doing fine. 

Alan said," Thank you for helping me push through this contract; somehow, I made it. You helped me a lot with advice and our daily talks".

Those words, for me, were worth like a million dollars. That was the reason why I really liked and enjoyed working there. 

"No worries, brother, it was my pleasure. You are such a great person, and you deserve all the luck in this world. I hope to see you again."-I replied to him.

A few minutes later, the bar got really busy, and I did not see Alan anymore when I turned around. At first, I thought that he had probably left in the toilet. A few minutes after, Alan came back, visible in distress. 

"Listen, I need to go back to work. The Assitant Food Manager just came to tell me that I need to change back to my uniform, even though I have already completed 12 hours for today. There could be USPH coming tomorrow when we arrive back in Miami. If I don't want to go back to the galley, they will make sure the company will not send me an employment letter anymore...But I already had a few glasses of wine; my language is already packed and ready to go... I am trying to figure out what to do... This is not fair. But I am clocked out from duty, and this is my last day of the contract, the first time I came in the crew bar to relax..."

I was shocked to hear that. I was also busy; while we were talking, several crew members were banging their cards on the bar counter, waiting to order their drinks. 

"Listen, Alan; you are not supposed to go back to work; you already completed 12 hours of duty today; you are finished for the day and this contract, which is ridiculous. I know it's your decision what to do now, but God bless you whatever you decide, stay calm and strong..."

Alan left the crew bar.

I went back to serve crew members at that moment. I never saw Alan after that, and neither I ever heard what happened for the rest of that night. But the pattern of ship management thinking, the cruelty, and the double standards on board the ship are beyond explainable human logic.

Stay strong wherever you are, and have a great contract! God bless you all!