Casinos and Cruiseships - The Blog by Carol and Ray

Are the authors of the top-rated Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos and Cruise Ships, a funny fast paced tale of working in the casino aboard a Regal Cruises cruise-ship. Book a cruise and travel with Sarah and the crew as they work, play, feast, and fall in and out of love, all while the ship sails around the globe, stopping at exotic ports of call. Special offer price of $2.99 at Amazon.com Also check out Casino Queen a new thriller set in the High Desert at the Night Hawk Casino.

THE TOP TEN REASONS TO WORK ON A CRUISE SHIP

Before I wrote Cruise Quarters I wondered would people find my story interesting, after all it was just a story about two average people traveling around the world on a very big ship. But since the publication I have received so many e-mails from readers who obviously love to cruise or in some cases are just looking for love and what most of them say is, “I wish that I could do something like you did - just run away to sea.” So in this article I will give you my top ten reasons for working on a cruise ship.

Just before I decided to join cruise ships I was working as a systems analyst in Boston. I was commuting on Route 128 America’s technology highway.

Through rain, fog and snow, constantly in fear of crashing my compact into the rear of a tractor trailer, every day felt like a suicide mission. The rest of the time I was stuck in an office with the same twenty people, claustrophobia slowly settling in. I dated a lot, some of the candidates hailed from the finest institutions our country has to offer. I was dating more but enjoying it less, dates seemed more like job interviews.

But I always felt like I was missing out on something, the Germans have a word for it torschlusskpanik, literally the feeling that you are missing the boat. Then a friend who was working on a cruise ship came through town and while she was joining a ship in New Zealand, I had a four hour drive to Albany on my itinerary. Four months later I had cajoled and pleaded my way into a job on the Star Princess. My first port was beautiful Saint Martin where the sea glistened a deep shade of aquamarine. I always say that was the day my life went from black and white to Technicolor.

RAY AND I ENJOYING A DAY OFF IN THE CARRIBEAN

The point of my digression is this I was in my thirties when I changed my life but it is never too late to go for it. On the ships I worked as a blackjack dealer but there are many other jobs on a cruise ship. Are you a nurse or a doctor? All ships need one of those. Do you work with children? There is always a need for someone to coordinate children’s activities, are you good with accounting? The purser’s staff keeps track of passenger’s accounts and shipboard expenditures. Retail experiences on your resume? All cruise ships have shops. There are so many opportunities to work on a cruise ship and with a little research you just might find your niche.

You will completely change your life. Living on a cruise ship is like moving to a new country where the captain is the king. You will make new friends, travel to new places and most of all your life will be filled with new adventures. During my five years on ships I made friendships that still last to this day and I visited every continent on the globe except Antarctica.

You live on a waterfront mansion and the best part is - it moves. Wherever you live on a ship you are only a few minutes away from a gorgeous ocean view. I never got tired of sitting on deck and watching the world go by. Sail-away from Venice is one of the most beautiful sights in the world and I had a front row seat every ten days.

Every day the ship goes to beautiful ports because, ships don’t travel to ugly places. This means every day you get to wake up in a beautiful European city or a tropical island.

Not only do you visit beautiful places, you get to come back every seven to ten days. If you spend a season in the Mediterranean your cruise might start in Barcelona and go to Venice with lots of great ports in between. Then it starts in Venice and returns to Barcelona, by the end of the season you feel like you know these ports and start feeling more like a local than a tourist.

You don’t have to pay any rent; your room and board are taken care of by the cruise lines. As a dealer we had a great gig on the ships we were allowed to eat at any of the buffets, so every day I feasted. Imagine not having to write that rent check every month.

There is no commute, that was the icing on the cake for me. For five years I would wake up each day and decide do I want to take the elevator to work or walk up the stairs. Now who wouldn’t like a commute like that?

It is a great place to save money for all the reasons I have mentioned, free room and board. And I didn’t have to buy a car which meant no car payments. I know you are thinking that sight-seeing can be expensive but if you work on a ship you can always volunteer to help the tour guide by joining the tours and keeping an eye on the passengers. I left ships with the money to start a new life in Palm Springs.

Another perk of ship life is meeting people from all over the world. The crew of a cruise ship is like a mini United Nations with crew members from across the globe all working together to meet the passengers every need. In my casino alone we had staff from Australia, Scotland, America and Canada, and since that time many Eastern Europeans have joined the casino staffs on many ships.

Crew life is fun, although many of the crew work very hard, imagine being a waiter and you are expected to serve three meals, two buffets and a tea-time. So to let off a little steam there is a crew bar where all the crew meets for camaraderie and fun. We have so many crew activities; we danced under the stars, had a pizza party for Venice sail-away and played trivia. There was also crew talent show which just gave the Brits an excuse to dress in drag.

You just might fall in love. For me that was the highlight of my time at sea. I left with a very special souvenir my husband Ray. He was from Scotland and I would have never met him if I hadn’t run away to sea. We met when we both worked on the Star Princess, my lucky ship, and were married four months later. In fact, I know so many couples that met on cruise ships and many ended up married. The majority I am happy to report are very happy. Though there are no guarantees it just might happen to you and there is no better way to change your life than to fall in love.

So for all of you that have that feeling of torschlusskpanik, I just want you to know that you can change your life. Now hiring practices vary but there are big cruise lines like Carnival, to small lines like the exclusive Silver Seas. There are European lines, there are ships all over the world and in the last ten years river cruises like AMA have become popular, but I am sure that with a little work you can find out if cruise ships are a fit for you.

Happy sails to you!

My highly rated thriller Casino Queen has been featured at The Big Thrill, Charlotte Reader Podcast and dozens of other publications. Spend some time at the Night Hawk and find out what it is really like to work behind the felt.

Caroline Popov, alone, heartbroken, and deeply in debt ends up in glamorous Palm Springs, California where Native casinos have just opened. She lands a job at the Palm Oasis Casino and is mentored by the charismatic tribal chairman, John Tovar.

Embraced by casino culture, Caroline works her way up to casino manager of the Night Hawk, in the High Desert town of Joshua Tree. There, she is responsible for managing multicultural team members, satisfying the demands of challenging guests, growing revenue while rooting out corruption.

Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?

Click the link below to order at Amazon

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Click the link below to order at Barnes and Noble

Casino Queen at Barnes & Noble

Our first date became our book cover!

You can read Cruise Quarters free at Kindle Unlimited. It is about my years working on a cruise ship and meeting my husband there. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. Click the link below to check it out.

Cruise Quarters Kindle Edition Amazon.com

THE TOP TEN REASONS TO TRAVEL AROUND EUROPE ON A RIVER CRUISE

I was born in Charleston, South Carolina, a very old town on the east coast of The United States. My earliest memories are of my father driving all the kids to the beach at Sullivans Isle so that my mom could clean the house in peace. I loved standing at the edge of the shore and daydreaming about what lay on the other side of the very big ocean. Show me the child of six and I will show you the woman. Those days at the shore left me with wanderlust and freckles.

I love to travel, especially by boat, being on the water is my vision of being in heaven. So when I grew up it was no great surprise to anyone that I went to work on a cruise ship. I even wrote about my adventures in Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos and Cruise Ships. I have worked on some really big ships, and I loved it but then one day I heard about European River Cruises. I know river cruises have been around for a while but it seems like they have just taken off in the last ten years. In fact, the company that we cruised with, AMA River Cruises has only been around for 10 years, and they have already doubled the size or their fleet. One cruise in and I am a convert and now I would like to share with you my top ten reasons for traveling around Europe on a very long boat.

1. The scenery, Europe is gorgeous; the countryside is laced with beautiful forests, architectural gems and turreted castles sitting high on the hills. We booked a French balcony; most of the rooms on the ship were in this category. It meant that the cabin had floor to ceiling windows, which were perfect for river views. Our favorite thing was to wake up around six in the morning, open the curtains, and lie in bed watching the world go by on the river as the sun rose in the sky. It doesn't' end there, all day long wherever you are on the ship, you always have wonderful views of the shore which is always in sight and the traffic on the river to entertain you.

Watching the world go by from the comfort of the lounge

2. The river system is incredible. We traveled down the Danube passing through the Main-Danube Canal. The canal is 171 km/106miles long. This canal allows traffic to pass between the North Sea and the black sea. The canal has a total of 16 locks, each about 625 feet long, 40 feet wide and up to 81 feet deep. It is thrilling to watch as you are lowered into a lock and see that the ship is only inches away from the wall, or passing under bridges just inches above the ship. If you love the Panama Canal you will be amazed by this canal.

3. River cruising is so smooth. If I hadn't occasionally heard the sound of the engines I wouldn't even have known that the ship was moving. We traveled in winter, no matter what the weather, it was like we were gliding on the water.

4. It is intimate. The ship held only 180 passengers at full capacity. The crew staff were always available to help you. There were no lines for anything. The ship was new, and very cozy.

Me at the window catching some rays

5. You don't have to spend all your time working out how to travel from place to place. When I traveled by train so much of my time was spent figuring out the train schedules and I ended up spending many nights on trains and buses lugging heavy suitcases. The last time I went from Vienna to Budapest by train I was exhausted before I even arrived. This time I watched us sail in. I was refreshed, ready for a new adventure.

6. You only have to pack your bags once. When you visit a lot of countries in Europe by car or train, you always seem to be packing. Inevitably you leave a few things behind. But on a river cruise you unpack at the beginning of the cruise and pack the night before you go home no matter how many countries you visit. Even though the room on the ship wasn't huge it had been so well designed that there was plenty of storage for all our clothes and even our suitcases. We went with a couple who had only tried bus trips before and they said that this was a much more relaxing experience.

7. Almost everything is included. If you look at the cost of a river cruise as compared to a bus tour or a regular cruise it might seem expensive but when you break it down it is a bargain. On our ship all the tours were included. There were a few optional excursions available but I felt that the included tours were enough. All our meals were included even beer and wine at dinner. If any of you have ever traveled to Europe you know that restaurants can be very expensive.

8. The food was wonderful. Breakfast was a buffet with side dishes like eggs benedict cooked to order. I especially loved the array of breads and pastries. My favorite meal was lunch, local specialties were featured, and the chef would cook pasta to order, and it was wonderful the way only pasta cooked in Europe is. Dinner also included local specialties, and so much great seafood, such as halibut which, is quite expensive in America. Wonderful salmon was available every day. But the bonus we most enjoyed was the local beer and wine that were included. It was great to sample all that the countries we visited had to offer.

9. Because you are on a smaller ship traveling down a river and not on the ocean you can visit small intimate ports. We especially loved the medieval city of Regensburg in Germany. It was so convenient. We just walked off the ship and the tour would begin. It was winter time and the romantic Christmas market at the Thurn and Taxis Palace was bustling. It was great to be able to explore the city on our own with only a short walk back to the ship.

Christmas Market in Vienna

10. Some of the tour options were quite inventive. We cooked Hungarian Goulash at the Hotel Sofitel in Budapest. It was a great experience and we got some tips on cooking with paprika. It wasn't just a demonstration we chopped and fried and even tasted our own creation served with heavy crusted bread. We left with aprons and tea towels, and we all agreed it was the best tour. Our AMA cruise manager told us that they are always looking for way to improve and make our experience more enjoyable.

There is something luxurious about traveling on a cruise ship whether it be an ocean cruise or river cruise. From the crystal chandeliers to the polished brass stair railing, ships exude elegance. It is great that as cruisers we have more options all the time. I am sold on river cruises, the next time I plan to travel in tulip time. Maybe I'll see you there.