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Hi my name is Joe and I have just been accepted by Clyde Marine for Deck Officer training. Course starts in January and I am looking for some information on sponsorship companies. I am leaning more towards deep sea companies. Is anyone able to tell me what life is like for a deck officer on board a cruise ship? Do they get much free time? Time to leave the ship and explore whilst its docked? what are the cabins like etc? Thanks.
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Congratulations on getting a place!
I don't know too much about cruise ships, but if you use the search function at the top right you should be able to find a few threads discussing these topics
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Can't answer many of your questions regarding cruise ships other than to say you will probably have to share a cabin. Plenty people on here with cruise experience who will be able to go into more detail than I can. The exact specifics of things would depend on which cruise company sponsored you as well. The other point to mention is that the chance of actually being sponsored by a cruise company through Clyde is quite slim. They are notoriously competitive. So have a look at some of the other companies within different sectors of the industry for backup plans. This is of course unless you have already been told you will be getting sponsored by a cruise company, in which case, well done!
I would always recommend trying to get on a ship where you will get put through extra courses during your cadetship which will stand you in good stead for future employment. For example tankers so you will get tanker fam and a DCE or perhaps a sector of the industry where you might get some DP experience (offshore and cable repair spring to mind). Also try and go for companies which actually employ British Officers. Not all of them do and whilst you might not necessarily get a cast iron guarantee of a job you'll obviously have a better chance with them than with some companies who don't employ British officers full stop.Comment
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Thanks for the feedback guys, appreciate it.Comment
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Yeah I know, however not all colleges do this. I think it is only Fleetwood (and maybe Plymouth uni) who operate this way. I discovered this midway through my cadetship and queried as to why not all the colleges put you through it but didn't really get anywhere with it. Bit annoying.Comment
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We were all put through it in Glasgow when I was a cadet, but I believe this has changed. According to my training officer at the time CMT were under huge pressure by many sponsoring companies that did not operate tankers to not put their cadets through this course, even those who did not employ their cadets and therefore benefitting their future prospects. I mean that?s pretty low really...Comment
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I went to Glasgow and can confirm it definitely has changed. That piece of information regarding the companies pressuring CMT doesn't surprise me in the slightest.Comment
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It?s a real shame, I mean for most shipping companies the cost is pennies...Comment
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