Cadet Life
Henry Jones, 22, is a Phase 3 Deck cadet studying the Foundation Degree in Maritime Operations. He is originally from Waunfawr, North Wales.
“I always wanted to have a career at sea as I used to enjoy sailing and going out in my fishing boat in the Menai Straights in North Wales. I found out about the Merchant Navy online and had the opportunity to visit the “MS Rotterdam” a Holland America vessel. I immediately knew this was the career for me.
My sponsoring company is Viking Recruitment (Holland America Line) I found out about my company online, they have a comprehensive web page which is listed on most Merchant Navy career web sites and are one of the largest sponsorship providers in the cruise industry.
I first decided to work on cruise ships as I enjoy travel and wished to have a good job that challenge me; working on a cruise ship enables me to fill these criteria; it’s different every day.
I’ve been on MS Westerdam for 8 months and the sea time is a real experience, different to anything else I was used to. On board I carry out and assist in a number of jobs that enable me to have a wide knowledge and understanding of the roles of a deck officer once I qualify. Daily jobs include: assisting with the bridge watch, navigation, safety and lifesaving maintenance, hosting passenger dinner tables and much more.
I was lucky as my first cruise ship was a modern “Vista” class and although I shared a cabin with another Cadet, they were huge!
On a cruise ship, especially, the food is amazing, Cadets can either eat in the crew mess if they are on day work and not in uniform or they may eat with the passengers in any of the restaurants on board. There is of course a huge variety of really good food available and I didn’t have the same thing twice! Also if you were feeling particularly lazy you could always call for some room service!
Staying in touch with family and friends is easy on board too, there are phone cards available ($10) or internet cards ($20) so you could always call family and friends whenever you wanted and the internet allowed me to e-mail pictures of where I was and also access web sites such as Facebook, which is a good tool for keeping up to date with what’s going on at home.
The people on board are what make the job so amazing for me. On my ship there were 800 crew members, all of whom have many different roles onboard such as officers, sailors, boatmen, cast members, chefs, and entertainment staff representing many different nationalities all over the world. I found everyone to be very friendly and you get to know people very well in a short space of time as you have to work and live with each other.
The facilities available were also great from good gyms, pools, crew areas, a free DVD collection and libraries not forgetting the crew bar and nightclub.
In 8 months at sea I have had so many interesting and unique experiences, some that I would never have had experienced in any other career and some that others will never experience in their lifetimes.
Some in particular include transiting the Panama Canal for the first time and seeing the amazing industrial achievement such as the huge original lock gates between the lakes and watching the crocodiles from the best possible position, the bridge.
Another would include sailing into Glacier Bay in Alaska and sailing right next to the massive Glacier Margery and watching the ice calving off the face, I would never be able to experience this otherwise.
Not forgetting diving in Mexico, eating out in Puerto Rico, Zip lining in Costa Rica and going on an America’s cup yacht race in St Maartin in the Caribbean.
In 5 – 10 years time, I hope to be a Captain of a cruise ship; for me no other job is as varied and challenging. There is also the responsibility for 2900 passengers and crew as well as a half a billion dollar ship which is a really exciting prospect. As an aside I hope to travel the world in the upcoming years and experience as many different sights and cultures as possible.
It’s difficult to describe the job to friends and family as the job is so varied and no two days are ever the same. However once they understand a little about my lifestyle, job and travel opportunities in the Merchant Navy they are always very interested to learn more and some are a little jealous!
I would recommend this career to everyone! There is something in this job for all; adventure, responsibility, professional training, respect and a varied and happy workplace and crew - not forgetting the sponsored degree and the good tax-free pay!”