Having already talked about what the services and activities can be like aboard one of the cruise ships, I thought I should talk a little about what the rest of your life onboard might look like while you’re cruising.

While you might get to know some of the other cruisers enjoying the voyage with you, it’s more likely that the majority of your encounters are going to be with the staff and crew. Having been on a couple of cruises at this point, its become clear that the majority of employees working for the lines, do so for months at a stretch, with only a few chances for short communications back home.

However it seems that Royal Caribbean has embraced the idea that couples working side-by-side are more likely to be more productive and responsible, with the Vision of the Seas for example – having a crew of approximately 800 – had sixty couples working together onboard. But as Cruise Director Simeon Baker points out in his interview, some of these relationships are formed onboard during the course of their contract.

The Vision of the Seas also offered the opportunity for a behind the scene’s tour of the inner workings of the ship, something I’d normally be interested in. But with a $150 per guest price tag, and having had the opportunity to do a galley tour and chef’s table for my birthday the previous year aboard the Carnival Imagination, I didn’t feel justified tacking the cost onto our trip.

For those wanting to reach out to their fellow cruisers, the lines provide all manner of social programming – especially for the solo travelers – ranging from Meet & Mingles, to a community bulletin board if you want to try and find other travelers with similar interests to yours, or even the occasional camera charger.

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