Reminiscing Ships (Closing this chapter, and turning the page) PART 1

HOW IT ALL STARTED

Year 2008 was a life-changing year for me. I was helping my good friend, April to apply for a Cruise Photographer post (telling her all the details how she can do it like I read it online) while we were vacationing in Quezon, that I arrived Manila thinking that I should get myself a camera too just to re-learn Photography again.

About 2 weeks later, I co-owned my first DSLR (a Nikon D60) with a dear friend and ended up deciding to apply for the same position (this time not telling April yet) on a whim (but sometimes i think it was part of the plan). >> BUT, It was nothing like I expected.

3 rejections for applying late and 2 times for my height + 1 written exam + 1 one-on-one interview with the company rep. from Miami + US Visa interview + a swimming training (for a no-swimmer like me) + all the series of trainings that took 4 months to finish was like rolling with the punches.

I left Manila and almost never looked back. The next 3 years were a whirlwind as I settled into the flow of MANY changes...

Me and April leaving for Miami, Sept. 2008

When we arrived Miami, my mind was literally floating. But I had two things that I clearly wanted to accomplish, to earn some money, and to at least seriously learn Photography. At this time, even when I was already in Miami & in my first ship, I knew very little of what I have gotten into.

With my batchmates April, Pedro (Brazil), Natasa (Serbia), and Lidja (Macedonia) We were only 6 in this team, the smallest group ever; it's usually a team of 20 ppl. it was an emergency team as 6 Photogs were sent home from the previous training, & 6 ships needed Photogs ASAP. 5 of us went straight to ships, and 1 person from this team was sent home.

Trying out my Nikon D80 and the company's 50mm 1.4 lens

Not many of you know that Cruise Photographers are actually one of the hardest jobs onboard. For a lot of people we just take pictures. But h-e-l-l... NO!

We take pictures, we print them, and we sell them.
We clean the photo gallery, and the photo lab (we deal w/ dangerous photo chemicals, and clean the photo printers)
We are in charge of trash bins almost everyday.
We receive stocks (photo paper, photo chemicals, digital cameras, camera accessories) maybe once in 2 months and everybody in the team helps out in putting all these HUGE boxes in place. THIS IS A LOT OF WORK, I tell you.
We man the gallery, upsell photos and packages, cameras, and some of us assisting the Manager of Sales would conduct digital camera seminars to guests of 20-50 ppl every week, and would come up with marketing materials. (this part is my favorite)
We setup & breakdown 5-8 studios, carrying a bag that is maybe 40 kilos around the ship, up & down for everyday portrait sessions. Setup takes about 1 1/2 hour, breakdown also around the same time. All the physical labor you can imagine, we all do it!
We get assigned a portrait studio and this is where your skills, creativity, inter-personal skills, patience and talent are tested.
We shoot everywhere around the ship. Up to 2,000+ clicks in a very busy day in such a limited time your fingers will curse you :p

AND
If you are a new hire, you wear costumes every morning for 4 hours under the scourging heat, for the duration of your whole 6 month-contract-- maybe once in a while you get to shoot.

This was my 1st day at work in Alaska. They gave me a quantum flash, one of the most powerful flashes in the world, that i was seeing for the 1st time-- ang laki lang! And yes, another new hire photographer who came before me was inside that costume.

I was in a dolphin costume the most (during my 1st contract). I was a Kangaroo in Australia, a Sailor/ Pirate/Mexican lady in Caribbean, a Grecian Lady in Mediterranean, a Turkish dancer in Istanbul but my most favorite was being the Hula dancer in Hawaii.

This is the part I really did not like in my job. I saw so MANY photographers whining all the time about this part of our work, but instead of being too negative about it, I thought, hey, why not perfect my exposure and give the highest roll count in all the gangway shoots, so that the manager would always ask me to shoot? I learned what i needed to learn. And true enough, on my 2nd contract I was only in costume for a few times, and on my 3rd & last contract I was never in a costume and was shooting for 5 months straight (ang sarap lang, hardwork kumbaga)

SO, WHAT DO I MISS ABOUT SHIPS?

The many GREAT people you can meet onboard. 

My patience in terms of dealing w/ a lot nationalities was tested time & again.
I felt so inexperienced before ships and I think I have picked up so many life skills & values just by working onboard.

On my 1st ship, Celebrity Millennium. Taken in 2008. I was Junior Photographer, and Ivan was Assistant Manager for Sales. The most memorable ship for me. 6 people in this team are real artists (real photographers and videographers), and I learned so much from them.

1/3 of my 2nd team. One of the most talented teams Ive been part of. Everybody in this team, the ff. contract was promoted as Managers. I left the ship, Equinox after 2months when my mom joined the Lord. Ivan was with another ship at this time.

Celebrity Equinox for the 2nd time, My 3rd team. We were 6 Filipinos in this team. And dami namin! Here, I was Senior and Ivan was Photo Manager.  

1/3 of my 4th team. We were asked to extend for 2 months in Celebrity Solstice in 2010. Valerie, a Filipina (on the right) was our DBS Photographer, the lady who trained me for DBS (Deep Blue Studio). I was assisting for her and acted as DBS for two weeks when she left. Such a great experience for me.

My 5th team. My first Royal Caribbean ship, Voyager of the Seas, the 3rd biggest vessel in the world. I was still Senior (work-wise and the most senior in age among the photographers, mga nene at new hires halos lahat ang mga kasama ko dito) and assisting for the AMS (Assistant Manager for Sales)

I, of course, miss the traveling that comes with the job for FREE. 

The free time we have from 11am to 4pm, sometimes if we are lucky we get overnights but it's mostly 6 hours of free time we get at the port where you need to squeeze in lunch, sight-seeing, nap, and quick shower so you can be ready for work again in the afternoon.

South Beach, Miami. 2008. Still in training 2 days before I joined my 1st ship.

Tahiti. 2008

Bora Bora, French Polynesia. Super gorgeous! 2008

By the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia. 2009

Westin, Lahaina, Hawaii. 2009

Whaler's Village, Hawaii. 2009

Gibraltar, Norway. 2009. During a guest tour, I joined the tour as an escort and photographer.

Barcelona. 2009. One of my favorite places in Europe.

San Juan, Puerto Rico. 2010.

Istanbul, Turkey. 2010

Mykonos, Greece. 2010

Honduras, 2011.

Dominica, 2010.

These are places that a little pauper like me would not be able to afford had i not joined ships :))

A lot of us applied for the job because of the travel, not realizing how much of our energy is needed for the "job". But at the end of the day, these are all priceless experiences.  What could be more great than being able to travel when you are young & able? I remember meeting a very old couple from my 1st ship, telling me how lucky I am to be traveling the world at age 28. They were 80, sharing w/ me that it was their last cruise, that they feel they were gonna die soon, and that their biggest regret was not seeing the world when they were young :(

I was not the same after that conversation.  

If there were times I was cursing my job, I think of the great opportunity of seeing the world, not everybody can have. 

The major OBSTACLES I had to go thru to get this job is one blog post alone (but no need for that). BUT If you believe in God, your dreams, in feng-shui or law of attraction, you are on the right track, KEEP DREAMING... Maybe one of these days I can blog about my secret (a secret i guess that is not really a secret, more of a tip) on how I attracted all these travels.

Next up>> Part 2: Adventures, My Favorite Places, The People that influenced me onboard, & Learnings

I don't mean to discourage anybody who wants to work on ships thru this entry. My intention is to remember the most beautiful chapter of my life so far, as my life journey takes me into a new direction.