Deck Officer

[Stuart61983]

Hi all, i have been accepted for the post of Deck Officer Cadet for Cunard Cruises starting in September, is anyone at present working within Navigation who can tell me more about what i will find and the lifestyle. Thanks
Stuart

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[cjc]

Well I finished my cadetship from Warsash (which I assume is where you are going being with Cunard) a year or two ago. You will find the workload gets progressively harder but nothing that most people cant handle. Social life very much depends on what you want to make of it, but if you are going to warsash then its a bit on the quiet side. Working as a deck officer myself on a rival cruise ship company I can tell you (after working on cargo ships for my cadetship) that life on board is as close to normal life as you can ever get at sea, but if you are in a heavy relationship any form of going to sea makes things hard.
Going to sea involves hard work with broken sleep periods (as you will be on a watch system)and the ability to be tolerant of everyone. Overall it is a job like no other and once you start most people become addidcted.
From a navigational point of view, working on a cruise ship I get to use some of the most modern kit, and yet still have to prove our ability to navigate the old fashioned way. I hope that this wasn't too long winded for you.

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