Since 2018, I have been working as a Diving Instructor at Royal Caribbean Cruise Company and I receive many questions about this subject. I would like to talk a little bit about our dive center and our working concept.
First of all, I would like to address a few points that are misunderstood and those who claim this are very confident.
-Vacationing on a cruise ship is not a holiday that only those over a certain age will enjoy. It appeals to all ages.
-We are the only Cruise Company that has a 5 Star PADI Diving Resort within its own structure. Other small cruise companies may sell diving tours within their structure, but they hand over the guests to contracted diving centers in the locations they visit.
In 2018, when I first signed with Royal Caribbean, they asked me if I wanted to live on an island in the Bahamas because I didn’t have any information at that time and I said Island. The company has ships as well as a few of its own islands and activities such as diving, zipline and kayaking are done on these islands. I will talk about this island in another article, but it is a really small, beautiful place where sharks circulate around your feet while watching the sunrise in the morning.
One of the requirements to become a diving instructor at Royal Caribbean is to be physically fit and healthy and to turn this into a sustainable way of life.The first day I arrived on the island I was told that there would be a physical test and if I didn’t pass I would unfortunately have to work on land until I passed. You are given a two week period during which you can try as many times as you want if you don’t pass the first time.Many instructors have problems the first time.The test has 3 stages – 3Km Run -500m Swim – 300m run in 3min 20sec – 150m swim and 150m tired diver pull on the way back. Followed by 3 sets of CPR Practice on land. CPR is not included in the time. And this test is repeated every month. I passed the first time and I haven’t had any problems so far.
Speaking of CPR, although being an active EFR instructor is one of the application requirements, after a while starting work, you realize the importance for the company of keeping your Rescue and First Aid skills constantly up to date.American RedCross trainings start as soon as possible.These trainings go a little beyond EFR trainings and provide training on more detailed injuries such as spinal cord injuries.After the training is over, these trainings are reviewed at least four hours a month inside. We usually practice much more than four hours. For about a while, we have started to receive training from a new organization called SGE as well as Redcross. There are not very big differences, but SGE approaches interventions a little differently in practice.
Life on the island starts early and everyone has different tasks in the morning before the first guests are welcomed.This can be cleaning the dive center or checking the cylinders and completing the missing air or helping other places in need.This usually takes 30-40 minutes in the morning and the first divers come off the ship.The day before the divers come to us, our instructor friends on the ship send us details such as the level of divers, the number of dives, equipment needs. So we are ready before they arrive.Forms are filled out and we have some extra forms and dives are done after they are finished.Since I work on the ship, I will talk about the operation there in the second article because it is a completely different operation, but since we work under the same roof, we work by supporting each other.We constantly support each other in courses or certified divers.
Diving and other activities are canceled if the weather conditions are not favorable. In this case, if the weather is really bad, there is not much to do, but if the weather is a little better, the rest of the day is usually spent in communication with the guests on the island. Since everyone who comes to the island comes by Cruise and returns to the ship at the end of the day. In 2018, the island population ranged between 60-70 and we were 14-15 instructors. In the summer season, when the day was longer, we could ski, jetskii, kitesurf after everyone left, but in winter, both the days are short and the weather is usually harsh.
We have our own accommodation on the island, a dining hall, a small grocery store where you can find only basic needs and some snacks, and a gym, so the social activities you can do after the day is over on the island are limited. But if you like calmness, you can take your book and retreat to the ocean or watch a movie in your room.
In my next article, I will talk about being an instructor on board.
Good Health
