Something a bit different this week, as there was a bit of confusion leading up to this interview, over just how long Shirley actually worked at sea.

Basically, I was working with her daughter for a few months and happened to mention what my podcast was about, and she said "Oh my mum used to work on cruise ships when I was a little girl!"

Without hesitation I set up a time for us to chat, and on the call was immediately given a heads up.

Shirley's daughter being so young when she worked on ships, thought that she'd been away at sea for much longer than she actually was.

Rather than waste an opportunity though, Shirley and I spoke about things besides ship life for a nice change, including her early experiences of WW2, working in TV and Film, and retirement.

Her short stint on ships was about 40 years ago in the late 70's early 80's, so I pounced on the chance to hear some stories from a time before I was even born.

Enjoy!

#BTS #ShipStories #shiplife #cruiseship #podcast #decktales #english #cabaret #singer #belowdeck #shortstint #greenscreen #grandiose #productionvalue #shortinterview

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Musician and producer Jay is a serious character, having worked on ships most of his adult life.

We worked together on my first contract back in 2006 and have met up since, so this was a great chance to hear all about everything noteworthy that's happened to him over the years.

He's a great story teller so I'm sure this one will be a favourite among listeners.

Honestly had no idea Jay liked to venture off by himself and sunbathe in the nude, but some of the events that followed based on that particular past time are worth listening out for.

Enjoy!

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Ian worked with me as an entertainment host on the Carnival Paradise back in 2009.

As the son of a comedian, Ian was known to have a pretty good sense of humour, and having met his dad, I felt for sure he was definitely his son.

With only 2 contracts to his name Ian's ship life career was brief but eventful, and he actually got fired for sleeping with one of the guests which I didn't even know about....that he got fired, not that you couldn't sleep with guests.

We hadn't spoken since we worked together, so this was another fun chat catching up with an old friend and colleague, so we had a lot of laughs on this one reminiscing.

Enjoy!

#BTS #ShipStories #shiplife #cruiseship #podcast #decktales #ridiculous #entertainer #cabin #parkinglot #stupid #complaint #seriously

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With over a decades worth of ship experience, singer Rachel Dudt has seen more than her fair share of things over the years.

She filled me in on everything she'd been up to since we 'worked' together in 2010, and some of them things I never knew she'd been through, so I'm extremely grateful to her for being so open and honest.

Her insights were a stark reminder to me as to why I'm even doing this podcast in the first place.

To offer people a safe space where they feel comfortable enough to share their personal triumphs and tribulations with everyone.

She even backed me up as to the ridiculous reason I got fired...

Enjoy!

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Former ship photographer Andrew was one of (if not) my best friends on the Thompson Destiny back in 2006.

We've stayed in touch now and again, but this was the first time we re-lived the past in all it's glory, and I even learnt the true nature behind his abrupt dismissal all those years ago.

Andrew can talk for South Africa, so I had to cut him down from 17 hours to just under an hour 20 minutes, making his the longest episode so far.

A lot of laughs in this one.

Enjoy!

Andrew Gove | LinkedIn

Zea Gove | LinkedIn

Home - GWR Roofing (gwr-sa.co.za)

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Originally from the Philippines and now living in South Africa with his family, Archie worked with me on two of my contracts back in the mid to late noughties.

He was the face of the ship in many ways as not only did he work on the reception desk, but he always carried a smile with him everywhere he went, making him one of the most popular crew members onboard the now deceased, Thompson Destiny.

Archie and I had lot's to catch up on, had a really lovely chat, and his career trajectory is one I wasn't even fully aware of.

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Jemma and I worked together as entertainment hosts back in 2006 on the last 4 months of my first ever contract.

I had worked with another team for the first 6, and was the only member to stay behind to see out the rest of the season.

It was sad for me to see them go at first, but Jemma remains one of the nicest people I ever met over the years, and made me forget all about my other team shortly after jumping on board.

She has gone on to become a mother, is now a part time student, and works for the council doing social work for youth justice.

We had lots to reminisce over and laugh about, some things I wish she hadn’t reminded me of perhaps, but hey, that’s kind of the point here on DeckTales.

I encourage anyone to be able to laugh at the past, and this is perhaps one of the only episodes where you might hear some of the more embarrassing moments from my early adult years.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sam wrote the comedic memoir ‘Seems Like Smooth Sailing’ back in March 2020, and was published on the first day of lock-down at the start of the Covid 19 pandemic.

This was a bit of a slap in the face at first, because it was the first time since pre World War 2 that you couldn’t book to go on a cruise, and because of the deadly viral outbreak no-one particularly wanted to either.

This provided Sam with plenty of food for thought, as it made him wonder how the cruise lines would handle the situation, look after their guests and crew, and also get the business back on track.

After much back and forth drafting his second book detailing all his findings, Sam decided to put his writing on hold, as he thought a podcast would be the best way to get some clarity on a lot of what he had read and researched.

The idea developed into a show that became a deep dive into the industry like never before, and finally, DeckTales was born!

Get in touch with stories of your own to be a guest on DeckTales by sending an email to: [email protected]

Video clips of all conversations and the full length audio episodes can be found at the following:

linktr.ee/decktales

Don't forget to share like and follow.

It’s greatly appreciated as it helps others find us a lot easier.

Enjoy!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josh is an aspiring actor I met by chance a few years ago on a film set, where we discovered that we'd both worked on ships, and proceeded to discuss all things cruisy.

His cruise ship career has to date been brief, but nonetheless eventful.

After only a couple of contracts under his belt, he managed to land the Cruise Director position on an extremely exclusive ship that sailed to Antarctica just before the Covid Pandemic, *not the Arctic as I stupidly say in the intro...please forgive me.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sam wrote the comedic memoir ‘Seems Like Smooth Sailing’ back in March 2020, and was published on the first day of lock-down at the start of the Covid 19 pandemic.

This was a bit of a slap in the face at first, because it was the first time since pre World War 2 that you couldn’t book to go on a cruise, and because of the deadly viral outbreak no-one particularly wanted to either.

This provided Sam with plenty of food for thought, as it made him wonder how the cruise lines would handle the situation, look after their guests and crew, and also get the business back on track.

After much back and forth drafting his second book detailing all his findings, Sam decided to put his writing on hold, as he thought a podcast would be the best way to get some clarity on a lot of what he had read and researched.

The idea developed into a show that became a deep dive into the industry like never before, and finally, DeckTales was born!

Get in touch with stories of your own to be a guest on DeckTales by sending an email to: [email protected]

Video clips of all conversations and the full length audio episodes can be found at the following:

linktr.ee/decktales

Don't forget to share like and follow.

It’s greatly appreciated as it helps others find us a lot easier.

Enjoy!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bruce and I met at the gig of a mutual friend, and when we got to talking he mentioned how he'd done a couple stints onboard ships back in the year 2000.

He worked as an Electrician, mainly tending to the needs of the entertainment team at first, but then circumstances outside his control dictated he'd have to go above and beyond his regular duties.

ABOUT THE HOST

Sam wrote the comedic memoir ‘Seems Like Smooth Sailing’ back in March 2020, and was published on the first day of lock-down at the start of the Covid 19 pandemic.

This was a bit of a slap in the face at first, because it was the first time since pre World War 2 that you couldn’t book to go on a cruise, and because of the deadly viral outbreak no-one particularly wanted to either.

This provided Sam with plenty of food for thought, as it made him wonder how the cruise lines would handle the situation, look after their guests and crew, and also get the business back on track.

After much back and forth drafting his second book detailing all his findings, Sam decided to put his writing on hold, as he thought a podcast would be the best way to get some clarity on a lot of what he had read and researched.

The idea developed into a show that became a deep dive into the industry like never before, and finally, DeckTales was born!

Get in touch with stories of your own to be a guest on DeckTales by sending an email to: [email protected]

Video clips of all conversations and the full length audio episodes can be found at the following:

linktr.ee/decktales

Don't forget to share like and follow.

It’s greatly appreciated as it helps others find us a lot easier.

Enjoy!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jayne used to be my ACD (Assistant Cruise Director) for a brief spell many moons ago, and so it was great having a chance to catch up with her to see what she's been up to over the years, and what some of her most memorable moments were from that time.

She has gone on to raise two twin boys, and now works in theatre providing her local community with a sumptuous serving of the arts

ABOUT THE HOST

Sam wrote the comedic memoir ‘Seems Like Smooth Sailing’ back in March 2020, and was published on the first day of lock-down at the start of the Covid 19 pandemic.

This was a bit of a slap in the face at first, because it was the first time since pre World War 2 that you couldn’t book to go on a cruise, and because of the deadly viral outbreak no-one particularly wanted to either.

This provided Sam with plenty of food for thought, as it made him wonder how the cruise lines would handle the situation, look after their guests and crew, and also get the business back on track.

After much back and forth drafting his second book detailing all his findings, Sam decided to put his writing on hold, as he thought a podcast would be the best way to get some clarity on a lot of what he had read and researched.

The idea developed into a show that became a deep dive into the industry like never before, and finally, DeckTales was born!

Get in touch with stories of your own to be a guest on DeckTales by sending an email to: [email protected]

Video clips of all conversations and the full length audio episodes can be found at the following:

linktr.ee/decktales

Don't forget to share like and follow.

It’s greatly appreciated as it helps others find us a lot easier.

Enjoy!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.