Leaving San Francisco
Sea days have their own charm. There’s no rush, no schedule you have to keep, just a gentle rhythm of activities to dip into as you please. This morning, Cole, our Cruise Director, hosted an information session about working at sea. It was surprisingly detailed — and clearly popular, because the room was standing‑room only. I was lucky enough to snag a chair.
Cole explained how the hiring process works for Princess. Everything goes through a third‑party agency, and if you’re not a U.S. citizen, you need four separate U.S. visas before you can even begin. After that comes the Marine Medical/Seafarers Medical fitness certificate. It’s quite the journey just to get onboard as crew, and hearing the steps laid out gave me a whole new appreciation for the people who make these voyages run so smoothly. Cole spoke about how the crew is treated, their accomodation and all the rules for them. He works four months on and two months off. He's a New Zealand citizen isn't required to pay taxes to the US or New Zealand. He has a girlfriend in South Africa where he spends his vacation.
Between sessions, I’ve been enjoying one of my favourite features on this ship: the smart elevators. They’re a small thing, but they make such a difference. You tap the floor you want on a display, it assigns you an elevator, and once you step inside there are no buttons at all — just open and close. The elevator simply takes you where you’re meant to go. Efficient, quiet, and best of all, no more kids pressing every button “just for fun.”
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| You choose your floor. You always know what deck the gangway is on! |
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| I was on floor 8, asked for floor 11 and it takes you there with NO stops! |
Tomorrow we dock in Los Angeles. There are over 700 passengers, like us who are staying on for the next cruise. I'll explain the "turnaround" in tomorrow's blog.
