This Month’s Adventures in Real Shipboard Spa Life: Holiday Celebrations and Amazing Exotic Food!
• So what’s daily life really like onboard with a cruise ship spa contract?
• How are holidays celebrated and what can we expect on the menu?
So much to explore – every meal a masterpiece and an adventure in exploring new taste flavours and exotic dishes - A sensory experience while working the job you love, meeting new people and exploring new parts of the world!
Mervin gives us the scoop on one of the most important things in life on a Cruise Ship Spa Contract – Food!
Mervin Arthur Naidoo is from Pietermaritzburg, KZN and at 47 years old, has been a qualified hairstylist for 28 years, working in South Africa. He has spent the last year working onboard the magnificent cruise ship Majestic Princess, on a shipboard spa contract. He is sharing his exciting experiences and photos with us about the onboard life!
I really enjoy eating a variety of foods and I believe the best way to really understand and learn about a different culture and the people, is to taste their food. Food plays a huge role in understanding a culture of people that live all over the world. A Cruise Ship Spa Contract is such an amazing way to see the world and experience all they culinary surprises!
Onboard the Majestic Princess, we have fine dining restaurants, with Michelin star chefs preparing the most fantastic delicious foods.
• The Crown Grill - Steaks and lobsters tails on the menu
• French style LèMer bistro - French fine dining
• The Horizon Chinese themed restaurant
• Alfredos – a pizza n pasta restaurant for those with the craving.
The large dining halls for lunch and dinner serves around 1500 guests at a sitting, serving a 3-course meal. The ship also has a large collection of the finest wines and champagnes from around the world, making each meal a complete memory.
Holidays Onboard during your Spa Contract – each one a Festival!
The festive times are always full of food. We have celebrated many countries’ Independence Day - India, Indonesia, Philippines, South Africa. At these times food from that country is cooked for everyone to enjoy and there is always a huge cake to celebrate.
Diwali, Halloween and Thanksgiving are also celebrated on board. The ship is decorated according to each festival and the amazing artistry is put on display. The chefs do amazing sculptures from vegetables and ice and it all is put on display.
The start of December means the ship is totally transformed with Christmas décor, with wreaths and drapes along with lights everywhere you look.
Each Port is a Celebration of Food and Décor
In Mexico the food is as colourful and vibrant as their people. Clothing and décor are radiantly colourful with bright and inviting buildings and their food is just as vivid and distinctive!
Fresh sea food and vegetables to make your tastebuds dance to the festive music.
Alaska is the home of the Salmon and King Crab.
We had exquisite salmon in so many ways:
• fish and chips
• baked and fried salmon
• Sushi salmon
• Salmon in every conceivable way you can think of to prepare it!
It was a real treat to enjoy it both off the ship and onboard, and even in our crew food hall.
Australia has so much variety in ethnicities, all reflected in amazing food. There are so many people from different countries in the world, all living in Australia. That means so many different types of food to enjoy.
There is no shortage of Indian cuisine, and Chinese, Vietnamese, and Taiwanese delicacies are on every corner, along with real Aussie meats like kangaroo, venison, and even the exotics like snakes!
New Zealand is steeped in rich exotic Maori culture. Their Maori people have such a unique way to prepare their different foods. Living along the coast, there is a lot of sea foods and fish, but as you go inland, you come across the beautiful green pastures and luscious forests filled with all the natural ingredients that makes their food so unique in taste.
Takeaways Galore at Every Port
We are allowed to bring cooked food from outside back onto the ship. So, depending on how much time we have to explore the port we are at for the day, we also order the most fascinating and exotic takeaways of a variety of foods. Indian, Vietnamese, pastas, Chinese, sushi - We come back onboard to have a cabin feast!
Sitting anywhere in the cabin that we can, we get to enjoy our delicious foods with always so much fun and laughter. It’s a real tradition to share our meals with everyone so we can taste all the variety.
Working the shipboard spa contracts, we become such close friends, almost family, with our co-workers and all the cruise ship personnel. Sharing this incredible experience gives us such a real new perspective on life and the world!
If you want the experience of a lifetime that will expand your horizons to the limits and make you a sought-after stylist in top salons all over the world, sign up now for your confidential interview.
Sign up today and change your life!
