The 1960's saw a massive influx of tourists from first France, and then England and finally Germany as dictator Francisco Franco relaxed his foreign policy in latter years of his life. On Mallorca, first wave of tourists to fall in love with and "invade" island was French. Since Mallorquin people never really accepted Spanish rule, and still consider themselves first Mallorquin, and second Catalan, accepting their French neighbors was not a long stretch. The Mallorquin people, by nature are very capitalistic; therefore, though they grumble about foreigners, they quickly learn their languages and find ways to take their money.

As of 1999, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' Voyager was 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 math, and you'll see that this is roughly 1 crewmember for every 2.5 passengers. The crews are real full time residents, usually signing 6 - 8 month contracts with little or no time off for 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 crew happy, and why do they have to try so hard to make crew happy? You got it, work on a cruise ship is long and hard, and bears little resemblance to 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 full length of your contract. Romance between crewmembers is strongly discouraged.

Here is a quick rundown of 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 ships sail in international waters, there is no minimum wage, but tips can be quite good. Hours are long and you won't get off 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 shops, boutiques, work in purser's office, in bars and casinos, beauty shops, discos, spas, gyms, etc. These are perhaps more attainable positions for someone seeking a change of pace for term of one or two contracts. Their jobs are basically 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 passengers feel at home. If you have to work at putting on a smile each day, this is not job for you. The job can be boring and repetitious for employee, though passengers are playing game for first time each time. People in these positions do sometimes get to go ashore with 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.