Five years ago I started my life at sea for Cunard as a Receptionist on board Queen Elizabeth, before being promoted to Events and Reception Manager working on all three Queens.
This time I joined the ship in September, and underwent the standard 14 days preventive quarantine before I could start my handover period and take over the combined role of Crew Services Manager / Admin Manager which is new to me.
The majority of my work is focused on all services for Crew including sign-on and sign-off and payroll rotation queries. I also liaise with our Port Agents in Southampton and Weymouth and coordinate necessary travel arrangements for our Crew (tender and airport transfers as well as flight and hotel bookings as required).
Together with Michelle, HR Manager based on Queen Victoria and Anton, our Hotel Lead, I also assist with the planning of crew events on board, especially with the Christmas Season coming up.
This is my ‘A day in the life of…’
07:45 I usually start my working day by checking my emails while having my first cup of coffee.
08:30 After making sure nothing urgent is pending, I go for breakfast in the Lido to have a bowl of cereal.
09:00 I finish my breakfast and return to the office to complete admin tasks i.e. our daily temperature check of the Hotel Ops team and printing menus for the next day.
Tomorrow is payday and I’m starting my preparations for it today. This includes making sure that I have enough money in my float; otherwise I have to order some from the Finance Manager. I also have to print all payslips, spreadsheets and signature sheets.
10:30 I’m expecting two joiners today and prepared all Sign-On paperwork yesterday already. Once the tender is about to arrive, I go to the pontoon area to welcome the joiners once they pass their inspection (temperature check, health declaration and negative PCR test) by the Medical Team,
The Sign-On process includes collecting passports, seaman’s books, medical certificates and for all Deck and Technical Officers, certification that they need to execute their jobs.
All these documents need to be put in red plastic bags by the crew members themselves and are kept aside for 72 hours to minimise the risk of Covid contamination, before I can process them. After the formalities I escort the joiners to their quarantine, Guest staterooms after which I update the crew and muster list and all records to reflect the new joiners.
11:00 The Galley team prepares all meals – Laurence, Hotel Auditor and I are preparing the trolleys and trays to deliver the meals to the cabins of colleagues who are currently in standard preventive quarantine following Sign-On.
11:30 Afterwards its lunch time for me and Laurence and it’s chicken quesadilla day, which is my favourite on board!
12:30 Break time. This time I like to spend in the gym followed by a quick nap to recharge my batteries.
15:00 Time to go back to the office. I still have the paperwork waiting from our last crew joiners. I’m now updating the Crew Office records with the details of the new joiners, copying their certificates and filing certificates, seaman’s books, medical certificates and passports.
15:30 Laurence and I are getting the Purser’s Office ready for Christmas by putting up some decorations.
16:00 The Crew Office and Crew Shop are open and I assist crew with any queries they may have. Common queries at the moment are about future rotations, disembarkation arrangements and top ups towards onboard accounts. In our Crew Shop we have some essential toiletries and snacks (the chocolates are normally the most popular).
17:45 Before proceeding upstairs to deliver the evening meal to the crew in preventive quarantine, I make sure my float balances and I record my cash holdings for the day.
18:00 It’s time to deliver dinner to our crew in preventive quarantine. We go up and check what each person has ordered, and we pack the trolleys accordingly. We usually leave the Lido by about 18:15, so all meals are delivered between 18:15 and 18:30. Once we’ve returned and sanitised appropriately I have my own dinner, together with Laurence and Anton.
19:00 After dinner I go back to the office to check my emails, to make sure nothing urgent is pending and plan my day for tomorrow.
19:30 Family chat time with my parents, brother and sister.
20:00 Some evenings I will meet up with ship colleagues in the Garden Lounge for socialising and a catch up.
23:00 Bed time…
Being part of the operational pause team is a completely new and a different experience which gives me the opportunity to learn new duties and expand my knowledge. There are challenges but it’s also very nice to be part of the team and help each other in these uncertain circumstances until I return home to my family in Germany in two month’s time.
Next week we’ll hear from the Technical Department on board Queen Victoria!
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