Photographers shoot posed shots of each and every passenger boarding and debarking; candid shots during cruise and ashore at ports of call. Photographers handle all developing in the on-board lab. Most photographers work through a concessionaire and may be assigned to one cruise line's fleet or work for several lines. All equipment is provided by the concessionaire.
MALCOLM HADDOCK, SHIP'S PHOTOGRAPHER
Malcolm Haddock began his cruise ship photography career at age 19. As Operations Manager for The Cruise Ship Picture Company, a cruise line concessionaire, Malcolm looks for photographers with an ambition to travel, often with a college degree in photography, from 20-26 years of age, single with no dependents. "As the shipboard photographer with The Cruise Ship Picture Company, you will be using Nikon, Leica and Hasselblad photo equipment and Fuji developing equipment."
PAUL DICKEN, PHOTOGRAPHER
I sent in a resume and waited for a reply. When that telephone call came, it was a mad dash. I've been cruising the world ever since.
Paul Dickens ushers groups of excited passengers up the gangway of the luxury cruise ship, and the embarkation photo session begins.
"Folks, let's get a picture, stand behind the line. Great, get a little closer there, that's good," says Paul.
Its' three hours into embarkation and Paul and a co-worker have photographed over a thousand passengers. These "Welcome Aboard" photos become treasured souvenirs. With the patience of a professional, Paul flips his camera up onto his shoulder, resting its weight for a moment.
Paul is one of five ship's photographers on this cruise. He works with Sea Cruise Services, a photography concessionaire. Paul has only just started his one year tour and has traveled to Alaska with Costa Cruises and the Caribbean with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
"The photography staff is responsible for embarkation photos, shipboard shots and ports of call," says Paul. "We must take somewhere between ten thousand and twenty thousand photos over the week. And we do all of developing onboard as well."
Before he started traveling, Paul had been shooting the social scene, weddings, portraits and public relations work.
"There are a lot of concessions that advertise in the photography trade journals. That's how I heard about a job with Sea Cruise Services. I sent in a resume and waited about a month for a reply. When that telephone call came in, it was a mad dash. They told me I had to be in Puerto Rico in two days! That's right. Off I flew. And I've been cruising the world ever since."
Paul describes the qualities that make a successful photographer: You've got to be quite pushy, quite loud and pretty obnoxious," he laughs. "The best part of the job is the money, you can save money. The lifestyle is demanding. We seem to be working eighteen hours a day and getting five hours of sleep a night. If you're interested in photography and you want to make a bit of tax-free money fairly quickly, for a lot of hard work, then this is the area to get into."
PHYSICIAN
Physicians may be hired directly through a line's marine medical department or through a concessionaire. Physicians are hired from throughout the world. Industry-wide qualifications include a background in internal medicine or primary care medicine and experience in emergency room, trauma or cardiac care.
As the ship's physician, you provide emergency medical services for all passengers and crew. Expect to be on call 24 hours and hold minimum office hours each day. You will direct the ship's medical staff to provide general care and interim emergency care.
"Our physicians need to be Advanced Cardiac Life Support ACLS, and preferably Advanced Trauma Life Support, ATLS certified," explains a director of medical services. "We have doctors age 30 and some who are retired physicians in their 50's and 60's. We don't hire people straight out of medical school."
"We staff ships with doctors who hold a Drug Enforcement Administration DEA, certificate, a current United States license from any state and certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support ACLS. We hire physicians who are trained in primary care specialties or emergency medicine," says Dr. William Hayman, Medical Director of Ship Med Health Care Systems.
Apply with a copy of your curriculum vitae CV, your diploma from an accredited medical school, a recent passport size photograph and your dates of availability. See Appendix B: International Directory of Concessionaires - Medical Staff.
GEOR6AKOPOULUS SPIROS, M.D. SHIP'S PHYSICIAN
"When I would return home from the ships,
I no longer felt satisfied with the hospital's routine"
"I have been working on ships since 1978. Two days after my naval discharge, I walked down to Piraeus Port, looked at the ships and dreamed that one day; I might become a ship's physician. I visited several companies, and a few days later, received a telephone request to join a vessel. Since then, I have sailed the world as a ship's physician.
"I was treated as an officer and when I was married, I was allowed to have my wife onboard for several weeks. Some time we were skating, some time we were killing ourselves. Thank God, I had good nurses. I've heard that some companies, for economic reasons, do not hire nurses, and all the job is completely on you.
"My advice to physicians is to examine your contract terms carefully. Make sure the company pays your malpractice insurance. Are you considered a crew member or independent contractor? Make sure you have Intensive Care (ICU), and Critical Care (CCU) experience, you will need it Minor surgery, gynecology, family practice, and emergency medicine is necessary. On Alaskan cruises you must expect seniors, so geriatric experience is helpful. All cruise lines are OK as long as your department is well equipped.
"Life on board is fun and you will see exotic places. The only bad thing is that you make friends, and when you leave, you lose them. I wish all of you doctors and nurses smooth seas and have fun!"
Dr. Spiro has worked with Holland America, Carnival Cruise Lines and Chandris (Celebrity Cruises, Fantasy Cruise Line)
DR. BRAD ENGLAND, DOSHIP'S PHYSICIAN
"I was a three stripe officer, my wife came on board with me and we were treated as VIP's."
"I started my career with my own private practice for eleven years. I worked with the US Coast Guard for four years as a ship's physician and started in the cruise industry with Norwegian Cruise Line, alternating between two NCL ships for 3 months. Because I was a three stripe officer, my wife came on board with me and we had full run of the ship. We were treated as VIP's."
"I had one nurse on my staff that would screen the patients and she could handle most cases. My job was to take care of the passengers and my main duty was to care for the crew. There were always more crew than passenger injuries; from working in the kitchen, dining room and engine room. The average day was pretty easy, normally in the morning we would hold office hours from 9:30a.m to 10:45a.m and these hours were posted and announced to the passengers. I would hold office hours in the afternoon for another hour, but I did many things on an emergency basis; I was on call 24 hours.
I treated sunburn, sea sickness, some of the chronic maintenance problems like diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. The crew injuries were usually falls, lacerations and flu. The illnesses were more varied among the crew than the passengers but most of them were routine cases. I had been a doctor for twenty years before I went on board, so nothing was remarkable.
"My extra duties, outside of medicine, were to inspect the galley and water purification systems. I also was expected to be cordial as a representative of the ship's officers. I was expected to work with the other officers in greeting and being sociable with the passengers. I was recognizable as an officer because I wore a white uniform with three stripes on the epaulets. All officers wore a short sleeve uniform during the day, but at night and at parties it was full dress uniform.
"I'd return to working aboard ship. The travel is worth it my wife Jane's favorite port of call is Puerto Plata. It was a nice place to relax. Jane and I got to know some Dominican locals there, so we saw what the tourists miss. Our Dominican friends treated us royally and they always helped us buy things at the local price instead of the inflated tourist price. Jane was able to pick up some delicious coffee for next to nothing-it would have been outrageously expensive in the United States. It was fun to buy it like we were local -we were 'insiders' in Puerto Plata. We still send Christmas cards and write.
"My advice to physicians considering working aboard ship is to be sure you like to travel and that you don't mind the confines of a ship. Be active in all types of medicine, Family Practice, Emergency Medicine, etc. Because if anything happens, you're the one they turn to. Take a cruise first to see how you like shipboard life."
