Three Months Down

April 9, 2012

Three months ago I started my first contract with Celebrity Cruise Lines. I started the contract with many questions and virtually no answers. Would I succeed at the job? Would I successfully transition to living the life on a ship? What would be the impact of being away from friends and family for months on end? Would this be a one-time shot or would I return for more than one contract?

All these questions, and more, seem to be answered in the first three months of my contract. First, can I succeed at the job? The first third of the job was pretty straightforward and allowed me to make my connection pretty quickly. Delivering rote training classes, simple facilitations, are right in my wheel house. Since I’m very comfortable with corporate software programs, the administrative tasks were no great issue, either. The second part of the job had to do with business consulting for the various departments in the operation. My knowledge of general business has been a great help and this first contract is helping me quickly learn the cruise business. While I am bringing some value added already, this is an area that I believe will be significantly better when I return for a second contract and beyond. The third part of the job is simply caring for people, both crew and guests. This is where my former pastoral work really makes a difference for me. While I’m not changing the world, I have been able to positively affect a few people, both crew and guests. So, on balance, I feel this is a job I can do and will get better at doing as time goes on.

What about the transition to life on the ship? It is, without a doubt, a dramatically different life than what I’m used to. However, living in a small cabin instead of a big house was a remarkably easy change for me to make. Having spent time on retreat in monasteries and retreat houses has shown me how little I need. I’m probably one of the few new crew members who under-packed for my first contract. I’m likely to bring a few more ‘necessities’ the second time. I have really enjoyed meeting new crew members from around the world. Yes, there are times my introverted side kicks in and I really don’t want to deal with people. But my work in the parish has taught me how to fake it till I make it, if necessary. Working seven days a week is really not an issue for me. With traditional work, forensics coaching, and ministry, I already do that. I do find myself missing friends and family, at times, but email and Facebook when I’m ashore has been a nice lifeline. I do very much miss working with the Forensics team. That is the single biggest negative of this job. But I do like waking up each morning in a new and beautiful place. This feeds my yen to travel. And not having to cook, make my bed, do laundry, or do significant cleaning for four months is a nice side benefit.

Working out family relationships is also a challenge. However, with both children away at college they had already left home. So my leaving home was a bit less dramatic. Finding the way to live a marriage with the distance is a challenge, one that has been addressed by many military and seafaring couples for years. The good news is that starting on my second contract; I can have a guest for up to 45 of my 120 days at sea. And for this contract, Rosie will be joining me for my last eight days, courtesy of a compassionate manager.  Who knows, maybe ships will be in her future, too.

Will I return for a second contract? The intent has always been ‘yes.’ I believe I needed at least two contracts to properly evaluate this new job option. But, right now, I believe that the positive far outweighs the negative, which means I could see myself doing this for some time to come.

If I can only figure out the Forensics coaching thing . . .

And the adventure continues . . .