The Ship's Photographer Reviews

Thank you for the review. Yes, there are many great pros in working on a cruise ship. There is a big cultural melting pot where you live and work alongside people that you wouldn't have necessarily encountered in other lines of work. It's the diversity of nationalities, cultures and personalities that ensures life long friends are made from across the globe while working on board. It's true that sharing a small cabin with someone you've never met before can be a challenge for some people. However, there's not much time spent in the cabin as ship's are social environments with great facilities and when in port it's better to be out and about exploring and photographing the amazing destinations visited. I think we can all appreciate that even more during this period of lock down and restricted travel. One of the unique aspects of working on board is the Tour of Duty, where you live and work on board for six to eight months and then take all your weekends at once as a period of leave off the ship. This means our rotations planning has to be constantly looking at who will cover or replace the incumbent manager on board. Naturally this does lead to changes. We try and standardise as best we can but different managers will always have different personalities and ways of working. I'm concerned that your advice to management is about how to treat others and give respect. It's important to me that these two core attributes are something that goes without saying across the company. If you have any specific comments you would like to raise, please use the contact details in our open door policy to speak to either the HR manager or the appropriate line manager.

Thank you for the review. Thank you for pointing out about the sales and targets that are a key part of the job. We get to take a lot of photographs on board, but probably spend more time in the Photo Gallery selling the images or around the ship obtaining bookings for private photo shoots. With the information about joining a ship we know there is so much to take in. It's not just a new job, but also a completely new lifestyle in a completely different environment. It's difficult to illustrate just how different it is. There's certainly a lot of detail to pass on about everything that needs to be arranged as well. There are travel visas and documents, understanding what ship life is like and also explaining what the day to day is like with the job. We update our documentation every few years and go out to the teams on board to ask what they feel can be improved on so that we can in turn update our joining information.

I'm concerned that this review has misinformation in it. We comply with and go above all ILO regulations for pay. There is a set monthly salary, plus the opportunity to earn commission on both group and individual sales. Everybody always has and will always get paid for their work. Two weeks of pay is well in excess of the amount quoted above. Staff welfare is our highest priority. We understand that everyone needs sufficient time off, in a business where work is seven days a week. We also make it clear in the interview and induction process that work is seven days a week, and this is the standard working routine on all cruise ships around the world. It's not for everyone, but we certainly don't hide it. A tour of duty is followed by a period of leave, where the accumulation of weekends is taken in one block of time. So typically a six to eight-month contract would be followed by six to eight weeks off. There is also a heavily regulated system onboard to ensure people are not working excessive hours, with internationally set periods of time off that have to be complied with over a rolling 24hr period. There are no set working routines, and as event and portrait photographers, our schedule is often determined by the schedules of other departments. As it is a complex working routine, working hours are monitored by the Photo Manager, Hotel Department Officer and the ship's Captain, to ensure full checks and balance are in place to pick up on any overtime. Any non-compliance is dealt with immediately on board the ship to ensure line managers are not accidentally setting too many hours of work for staff and then to immediately issue additional rest periods within the following 24h hours to make up for any excess hours worked. Full training is given upon joining, on how to highlight in advance if the maximum number of hours worked could be breached. In addition, all records are kept on file for inspection by authorities when port inspections are carried out. We take working hours seriously; the industry takes working hours seriously.

Thank you for the detailed review. We've changed a couple of things since you have been on board to improve the Company. On P&O Cruises we supply all the uniform and there is now no requirement to purchase the flash or smart clothing. We work in a retail environment so there are targets that are set in conjunction with the cruise lines to grow the business. These targets are based on the investment and new initiatives we introduce each year to improve the products and services we offer on board. We've also introduced a different bonus system to help reward teams and individuals who do reach the various targets set. Our approach with the on board Managers is to support them in their work in order to meet and exceed the targets in place. This should not come across as pressure as the discussions are around the measuring of performance to see where successes are and to share that with team members.

We've made a lot of improvements since you have written your review. We listen to feedback and have made the following improvements - The main part of the job role is to engage with guests and to undertake private photoshoots. These are all bespoke and ensuring everyone stays creative in their work. - We recognise that working hours can be long in some circumstances, so have been working with managers to ensure smart and flexible working hours are adapted across the board. Clocking in and out is an international seafarers regulation and will take place on every ship in the world. - We have improved the commission scheme so that both team and individual performance is recognised. A team bonus is awarded if cruise targets are met and independently of this commission can be earned by individuals regardless of whether cruise targets are met. We've done this because we do listen to feedback. We care about our teams and while it may appear that some changes take time to happen, we are constantly working on how to improve the Company for everyone.