Life works in such a weird ways. It’s crazy to me that when I was in elementary school, I dreamt of being a vet because I loved animals. In middle school, I wanted to be an author because I loved to read. In high school, I wanted to be the editor of a fashion magazine because I loved being the editor-in-chief of my school’s newspaper. In college is when I was like “Ummm…I honestly have no idea what my dreams are.”
Now when people ask me what my dream job is, my answer is immediate: I would love to either be a travel writer or an event planner. As of last month, I’ve come one step closer to making the former become a reality. I recently accepted a job to work with Carnival Cruise Lines, and I honestly couldn’t be more excited. I started applying to cruise jobs on a whim, and the process of application to getting an offer happened so quickly that I still haven’t really processed what all of it means (aside from the fact that I’m excited to have daily access to karaoke).
Starting with the basics and what everyone has been asking me since I shared the news…
I’ll be part of the youth staff and working with kids 11-years-old and younger. The age groups I work with will rotate throughout my time on the ship. As an additional duty, I’ll get to dress up as either Thing 1 or Thing 2 on Dr. Seuss days, something I’m weirdly excited about. I signed a six month contract, so I’ll be living at sea the entire time. If my pockets of time off fall on days that we’re at a port, I’ll get to get off and explore a little bit. I don’t know what port I’ll be leaving from or what boat I’ll be on. I also don’t have an official start date. All of that information will be given to me when I get all of my paperwork completed and sent in. If you have any more questions for me, feel free to leave them in the comments, and I’ll answer them as best as I can!
I’ve been on two cruises with Carnival and had such amazing experiences. When it came to applying, Carnival was the only cruise line I really had my eye on, and I’m still over the moon that this is happening. Working on a cruise is something that I never thought about before, but now that it’s coming to fruition, I’m realizing that I’m getting the opportunity to follow a dream I never knew I truly had.
Even though I grew up in the military lifestyle, I’ve lived in Louisiana for over a decade now, and a little part of me is sad to leave my friends, family and so many incredible memories behind, but a bigger part of me is excited about the unknown adventures awaiting me at sea. I’ve already made connections with other bloggers who have worked on cruise ships and gathered some awesome intel and tips. I’ve also been continuously adding and checking things off of my to-do list. I’m expected to be hitting the sea by the beginning of October, so I’ll be missing all of my favorite holidays, and I’ll be celebrating my 27th birthday (holy crap, I’m old) with strangers (who I’m sure will be like family by then), but it’ll all be worth it to add this to, not only my resume’, but also my list of unforgettable experiences. And I’m so excited to share more of my journey with Carnival with all of you!