Ramblings 01

May12
by seafarer2008 on May 12, 2014 at 12:18 pm
Posted In: 01 Ramblings from Thomas Yoon

Hi, how are you today? 🙂

I really love my salty sea buddies! Just had a party with them, sharing seafaring tales, joking and having fun. A brilliant idea came out very strongly. It’s like Archimedes discovering the principles of water displacement. Truly an Ahaa experience! I guess that’s how Naval Architecture was born and how great ships were built. Whether it was riding on a wave of inspiration or drifting from a typhoon strike, I don’t know. But I am going to make this Marine Treasure Chest Newsletter one of the finest afloat. And I need your help to make this happen.

You see, I want to keep you, my friend, informed on topics in the maritime, seafaring, engineering, industrial, oil/gas, travel field, and perhaps a few topics on what is happening in the world today.

I also want to have articles related to the job scene. After all, most of us want to work for money. And for those of you who have not entered the job market yet, perhaps something on career, jobs, opportunities, money making, resumes, interviews, dressing, classified, skills, courses, scholarships, colleges, college gear, books, study tips, and so on would be appropriate.

For those already working in the corporate world, I thought I should include articles on management ideas, self-improvement, leadership, efficiency, effectiveness, time management, organization, grooming, marketing, public speaking …

Then I thought, “Hold on a minute.” In order for this newsletter to be considered a treasure, and live up to its name, it must really help you, to realize your dreams.

I don’t know what are your dreams, but for me it’s financial independance.

I believe I have gone quite far on the internet (as well as to many countries around the world). Perhaps, you would like to travel this route too? So with that in mind, I feel I should include some topics on computers, internet, marketing, family, health, relationships, living life to the full, and so on.

Now, all these are my thoughts at the moment. I may not be 100% correct, but I will strive to deliver to you what you want. My email address is included so that you can contact me for any suggestions or feedback.

Together we will publish a really useful Treasure. Cheers! Let’s drink to a successful launching of Marine Treasure Chest and proceed with the maiden voyage …and find Treasures. All hands on board … Anchors aweigh.

That’s it, I’m off …

Keep smilin’:-)

Thomas

“Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.” – Ann Landers

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Cities at Sea, Lots of Fun Jobs?

May12
by seafarer2008 on May 12, 2014 at 12:17 am
Posted In: 02 Marine Scene

Though cruise patrons used to be stereotyped as silver haired folks with money, the cruise industry today caters to a much wider demographic cross section of the population. There are cruises that specifically cater to singles, to families, and there is even a behemoth under construction now that is selling apartments for permanent residents.

As of 1999, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines’ Voyager was the largest cruise ship at sea. Among Voyager’s amazing attractions are an ice rink and a rock climbing wall. They carry 3100 guests and 1200 crew. Do the math, and you’ll see that this is roughly 1 crewmember for every 2.5 passengers. The crews are the real full time residents, usually signing 6 – 8 month contracts with little or no time off for the entire period. The ship sails 50 weeks per year with a 24-hour turn around between trips.

Voyager, due to it’s great size is able to offer it’s crewmembers more amenities than most cruise ships, including a crew gym, crew mess hall, crew break room, crew stores with special low crew pricing, crew internet café, a crew movie theater, $0.75 beer, and lots of crew parties. All this sounds good, but you must remember that it is all designed to try and keep the crew happy, and why do they have to try so hard to make the crew happy? You got it, work on a cruise ship is long and hard, and bears little resemblance to the glamorous “Love Boat” ideal many people have when starting out in this profession. And speaking of romance, if you sign on as a single person, you’d best plan to remain that way for the full length of your contract. Romance between crewmembers is strongly discouraged.

Here is a quick rundown of the contract crew positions, (successful applicants are usually at least 21 years old):

Ship’s Officers – should have studied navigation and/or engineering at university. These positions are highly technical, and salaries are high.

Head Chefs and Pursers – these positions are also well paid, and require prior experience and training.

Other Jobs – waiter

sous-chef

kitchen staff

cabin stewards

deck hands

pool attendants, etc.

You’ll find fierce competition for these jobs from nationals of less developed countries. The salaries are very low. In fact since the ships sail in international waters, there is no minimum wage, but the tips can be quite good. Hours are long and you won’t get off the boat much. Accommodations tend to be cramped with generally 4 to a cabin. Voyager is exceptional in this respect with only two per cabin. I repeat, these jobs are HARD WORK. Though you’ll be traveling, you’ll see next-to-nothing of your destinations. These are jobs for people looking to save or send home money, since room and board are covered you can save most of your salary. TIP: If you take one of these jobs, set a time limit on it.

Shipboard Services Staff Members – These employees staff the shops, boutiques, work in the purser’s office, in the bars and casinos, beauty shops, discos, spas, gyms, etc. These are perhaps more attainable positions for someone seeking a change of pace for the term of one or two contracts. Their jobs are basically the same as they’re on land counterparts, with less time off.

Cruise Director’s Staff – Cruise Director

Assistant Directors

Special Hostesses

Children’s Activities Director

Teen Activity Director, etc.

This entire group of employees spends their working hours smiling and trying to make the passengers feel at home. If you have to work at putting on a smile each day, this is not the job for you. The job can be boring and repetitious for the employee, though the passengers are playing the game for the first time each time. People in these positions do sometimes get to go ashore with the passengers.

Medical Staff – These are fully licensed and qualified physicians and nurses. Some are on salary and some retain a portion of their fees. Some are permanent full time employees while others come aboard for only a few weeks at a time. These can be great positions for retired health care professionals who enjoy travel.

Enrichment Providers – All sorts of “experts” fill these short term fun positions which allow them to expound on their areas of expertise. They give talks, seminars and workshops. Generally they’ll be expected to speak for 40 minutes at a time and then field questions for 10 minutes or so. They’ll make one to three presentations per week usually on days at sea. They get to then spend the rest of their time enjoying the cruise. Talks or class can be on just about anything. Terms of temporary employment vary widely, with some cruise lines hiring enrichment providers directly and some working through employment agencies. Some lines pay a stipend, and some do not, or they may pay all air fares, or pay air fares when the provider does two cruises back to back, and some lines pay NO air fare. A few lines give the provider free drinks, laundry service and even tips. The majority of cruise lines do give the Enrichment Provider plus his/her companion free cruise tickets. In addition, EP’s nearly always eat with the passengers and are given regular passenger cabins. 10 – 24 day trips are common, and 4 month round-the-world trips are occasionally available. Retirees can do well in this area as can professors who have a semester off.

Here are some agencies that place enrichment providers:
International Voyager Media 11900 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 300 Miami, FL 33181 (305) 892-6644

Karp Enterprises, Inc. 1999 University Dr., Suite 213 Coral Springs, FL 33071 (305) 341-9400

Lectures International P.O. Box 35446 Tucson, AZ 85740 (520) 297-1145

Lauretta Blake, The Working Vacation 4277 Lake Santa Clara Drive Santa Clara, CA 95054-1330 (408) 727-9665

On Board Promotions 777 Arthur Godfrey Blvd., Suite 320 Miami Beach, FL 33140 (305) 673-0400

Program Experts, Inc. P.O. Box 510 Cresskill, NJ 07626-0510 (210) 569-7950

Posh Talks P.O. Box 5417 Palm Springs, CA 92263 (619) 323-3205

Semester at Sea, Institute for Shipboard Education University of Pittsburgh 811 William Pitt Union Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (800) 854-0194 shipboard@sas.ise.pitt.edu

Entertainers – are employed directly by large cruise lines, but are contract temporary employees. It is also possible to get gigs through agencies which keep a percentage of the entertainer’s salary. (My guitar teacher at university spent her summers cruising back and forth to the Mediterranean while playing jazz flute and guitar. In her spare time she combed the hillside villages for makers of unique renaissance style instruments which she taught her students to play each fall.) Contracts can run from just a few days in length to several months. You may work on 1 ship or rotate between several. If you are a professional entertainer, one of the following agencies should be able to assist you in finding a position on a cruise ship.

Bramson Productions 1501 Broadway New York, NY 10036 (212) 354-9575

Fiesta Fantastica 230 S. W. Eighth St. Miami, FL 33130 (305) 854-2221

Jean Anne Ryan Productions 308 S. E. Fourteenth Street Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (305) 523-6399

Peter Grey Terhune Productions P.O. Box 715 Cape Canaveral, FL 32920 (407) 783-8745

Ray Kennedy Production Co. 244 S. Academy Street Mooresville, NC 28115 (704) 662-3501

Ship Services International, Inc. 370 W. Camino Gardens Blvd., 3rd Floor Boca Raton, FL 33432 (407) 391-5500

Showmasters 3038-D N. Federal Highway Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33306 (305) 563-8028

There is one other short-term temporary position available on many cruise ships, and I would be remiss if I failed to mention it. There is sometimes a need for Male Escorts of a “certain age”. This role is best filled by gentlemen who are good conversationalists and dancers. In exchange for keeping single ladies company they earn free cruises. Contracts usually last 2 – 4 weeks. Applicants for this position should be well groomed, out-going and courteous, with some ability on the dance floor. Their health must be good, and they should not be heavy drinkers. Contact the cruise lines directly to learn more and to apply for jobs.

Here is a list of websites to contact if you are interested in finding a job on a cruise ship:

actionjobs.com shipjobs.com cruiselinejobs.com jobsonships.com travelwest.com cruise-jobs.com cruiseshipschool.co.uk www.cooljobs.com

And finally, I found several books listed at amazon.com about working on cruise ships:

Working on Cruise Ships, by Sandra Bow, 192 pages, $15.95 new, $7.50 used

How to Get a Job With a Cruise Line: How to Sail Around the World on Luxury Cruise Ships and Get Paid for It, by Mary Fallon Miller, 352 pages, $11.87 new, $5.05 used

American and Canadian Cruise Ship Employment Manual, by John, Degolacao Rodrigues, 120 pages, $19.95 new, $17.00 used

How to Get a Job on a Cruise Ship, by Steve Hines (editor), Don
H. Kennedy, 152 pages, $14.95 new, $10.64 used

Cruise Ship Jobs!, by Cynthia Ossenfort, 80 pages, $12.95 new

About the author:
(c)2002, Kim Davis Subscribe to her FREE e-zine for job seekers in the adventure travel industry, “Extraordinary Jobs for Ordinary People”,
http://www.yahoogroups.com/groups/Extraordinary_Jobs

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Do What You Are Afraid To Do! But, Do It With A Parachute!

May12
by seafarer2008 on May 12, 2014 at 12:16 am
Posted In: 03 Job Scene, Studies, Findings

There are many ways for us to gain information and knowledge. The two predominant ways are by education and experience. For most of my life I have chosen to go the hard route; by doing! I followed the principle; do what you’re afraid to do, go where you’re afraid to go, and always wear a parachute.

Their Bark Was Worse Than Their Bite!

When you shy away from doing something big, just because it’s big, you miss a lot of opportunities. Many years ago when I first went into sales, I would shy away from approaching anyone that was in a big building. I have no idea what the size of the building had to do with it; it was just a fear of something “big.”

Later on I realized that all those men in those big fancy buildings put their pants on just like I did, one leg at a time, and I had no reason to be afraid of them. But, still, I was as nervous as a long tail cat in a dark room full of rocking chairs.

So, what did do? I would look for the little mom and pop establishments that would not intimidate me. At these small businesses is where I learned to neutralize my fears. And as time went along I realized that the big businesses held a lot of opportunity.

The reason they did, was because I found out that other salesmen were also afraid to go in there. So, it created some very easy and fertile ground to make some substantial sales at. Ironically, the sales resistance in the large businesses is less than the small ones because the small ones are solicited all the time.

At The End Of The Day!

When you allow fear to control your movements you make a lot of mistakes. Example: Fear has never done anything good for you. Now I’m not talking about common sense. It’s not fear that keeps me from jumping off a ten story building or running in front of a speeding locomotive. It’s good ole common horse sense.

When a decision is made from fear, you generally find there is no basis for the fear. There is usually no dragon there about to eat you, no Indians on the war-path about to scalp you, so there is just no basis for not doing what you are afraid of.

Most of the time, the reason we don’t choose the big task is because we don’t know how to accomplish it. There is a saying that goes; “it’s one thing to talk about bull fighting, it’s another thing to get in the ring with that bull.”

Just Beat Around The Bush!

If you don’t know how to fight that bull, you just better talk about it for awhile. Or, you better find a matador to teach you on a mechanical bull first. Maybe a baby one! :>)

Just one word of advice; if you decide you want to do something “big” in the next thirty days, like becoming a matador, then I would suggest that if you want to meddle in the affairs of a big black bull, that you remember; you are crunchy and you could taste real good with ketchup.

But, barring any decision to be a matador, every decision you’ve ever made out of fear was a minor accomplishment. Let that sink in. Think about it; when was the last time you had a choice to make between something big and something small and you chose the easy, small, route?

Easy As Pie!

You shied away from the “big” hard looking difficult task because the easy task looked like a piece of cake; a cinch. And what you were really doing was just looking for an easy quick victory. Let’s face it, we’ve all done it because a victory always feels good and nobody is going to call us “dummy”.

But the raw hard facts are; unless we take on the big challenge, we’ll never really know if it would have been a victory too. In my own experience, I learned that the big buildings were where most of the discretionary money was and I never did find a big black bull in there. :>).

But, unless I had neutralized the fear of the “big” that was controlling me, I never would have found out that great successes and victories can come from doing what I was afraid to do, and going where I was afraid to go.

I Saw The Light!

So, what was it that neutralized the fear? It was know-how! I didn’t say “knowledge.” There is a huge difference between knowledge and know-how. The difference is the difference between success and failure.

You can have a head full of knowledge but with no know-how you will still fail. The word “know-how” does not just mean knowing how to do something. That’s knowledge. Know-how means doing that “something,” and, doing it right with skill and effectiveness.

When you have acquired know-how you will do that “something” right again and again. It will become a habit, and you’ll do it naturally with ease and grace. There will not be any struggle; the struggle is over. That’s in the past. You only gain know-how by “doing.” The experience must be your very own.

You Don’t Need To Know All The Answers!

To solve your problem or reach your goal, don’t let the fear of not knowing all the answers in advance stop you. You will never know all the answers until you start.

About the author:
Richard Vegas is a Popular Recording Artist and Internet Marketing Professional running his two full-time businesses from home. He specializes in teaching people how to discover their passion and make money from it on the internet. Richard publishes a Free weekly ezine, “Wing-Tips The Success System”. He has recorded two albums and weekly keeps in touch by email with hundreds of fans and customers

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The 80:20 Rule- Your Formula For Success

May12
by seafarer2008 on May 12, 2014 at 12:15 am
Posted In: 04 Management, Self-Help, Leadership

The previous ‘dirt-world’ retail business I managed had a large turnover, a very high profit, and less than 100 lines. Early in 2001, I was contracted to manage another business. This one carries over 800 different lines, yet has a turnover of only about a sixth of the other business, and a lower profit margin. They both have a comparable amount of traffic and credibility in the market, so how can it be that the results are so different?

The explanation starts with Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist and political sociologist who lived from 1848 to 1923. He devised the law of the ‘trivial many and the critical few’, better known as Pareto’s Law, or the 80:20 rule. This rule says that, in many business activities, 80% of the potential value can be achieved from just 20% of the effort, and that one can spend the remaining 80% of effort for relatively little return.

Old Vilfredo might have lived a century ago, but he was spot on. I’ve been in business a long time, and I can confirm the almost universal truth of the 80:20 rule, in many forms.

– When Sales Manager of a Realty office, I had 19 sales staff working to me. About 85% of the business was written by the four top staff.

– In a Consumer Electrical business I owned, around 75% of the turnover came from the the best-selling 20% of the stock.

– In an eco-tourism business I now manage, there are almost 40 Departments of stock. One department alone produces over 25% of the profit; the next five departments produce the next quarter of profit; the next seven another quarter, and the next twenty-five or so together only produce the last quarter of profit.

The 80:20 Rule applies in almost every sphere. It’s uncanny. In almost any field, 20% of the resources produce 80% of the result. It’s vital to understand that the reverse is also true – things that take up 80% of your time and resources, will only produce 20% of your results.

Stocks, products, services, insurance, litigation, people – the 80:20 Rule keeps coming up! Look for it and you’ll find it.

The universality of this principle should be a powerful guide for you in business. Find out how it applies to your enterprise, and you have the power to set the vital priorities which will mean the difference between failure, survival, and success. Take the time now to look at your business. Look at where the results are coming from, and concentrate on those areas. Look at some of these areas…

– Have a product range? Have a look at how much of your profit comes from each item. Put your effort into the 20% that give you 80% of your sales- your winners.

– Selling products or services? Most likely, 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers- the ones who make the big purchases and are repeat-buyers. Cherish that 20%.

– Have a sales force? Have a look at how much of your profit comes from each person. Make sure you reward and retain the 20% that are your winners.

– Have an affiliate program? Find the top 5-20% who give you 80% of your income, and make sure you support, encourage and reward your winners.

– Do advertising? Have a look at where the sales come from. Then identify the few ads that really pull, and the few places where you run them that really produce. Then refine your winning ads, and run them in those few places that give you the best results.

Run the 80:20 Rule over YOUR business today. It will save you time, effort, money and resources, and take you further down the road to business success. Bon voyage!

About the author:
John Payne, a lifetime Marketer, is “The Human Face of Web Marketing”. Each week his Web Marketing Ezine shows over 6000 readers in more than 56 countries how to succeed, with a uniquely human emphasis on the business of Web Marketing. To get your free subscription visit http://www.WebMarketingEzine.com NOW!

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Hunter’s Advice

May12
by seafarer2008 on May 12, 2014 at 12:14 am
Posted In: 05 Lighter Side

A couple of redneck hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head.

The other redneck starts to panic, then whips out his cell phone and calls 911.

He frantically blurts out to the operator, “O my gawd! Help! My friend just died. He’s Dead! What can I do?”

The operator, trying to calm him says, “Take it easy. I can help. Just listen to me and follow my instructions. First, lets make sure he’s dead.”

There’s a short pause…… and then the operator hears a loud gun shot!!!

The redneck comes back on the line and says, “OK, now what?”

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