The Experience of Working on a Cruise Ship

This is Part II of our interview with Joe L., who held the position of Entertainment Host for Disney Cruise Line (DCL). See Part I here.

What were the most challenging aspects of your job as an Entertainment Host?

The long days – 10 hours a day, seven days a week can be tough. Living with your colleagues can be challenging and being away from your family and friends can also be difficult as you’re quite inaccessible at sea. But it just depends on how you handle those things. Personally, I was very comfortable with it.

Disney Cruise Line Entertainment Staff photoDescribe your work schedule?

You got into a routine of doing different duties on different days of the cruise. Normally there was an early start – getting people off the ship for excursions from 8am to 11am, making sure they knew what was going on, where to go, and had everything they needed. In the middle of the day you would have some small activities, training, rehearsal or safety training, such as life raft or lifeboat classes and from 6pm to 12pm you would host shows. These included game shows, karaoke, bingo, music, comedy, variety acts, and dance parties and you would be paid to socialise with guests.

What were your day-to-day responsibilities?

We would be responsible for working with the shore excursions team to make sure everyone got on the right excursion and it went out on time. We were responsible for greeting all the guests, making connections and friends with them and entertaining them in the evening. We were responsible for the set up and take down of lots of the equipment involved as well as rehearsing.

How much you can expect to earn? Do you receive commission or tips?

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Interview with a Disney Cruise Line Employee – Part 1

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