Had to leave, now trying to get re-hired, how do I do it??

[TheDawn]

Awhile ago I was hired by NCL to work aboard the Norgwegian Dawn on a 6-month contract. I would later find out my contract should have been of a lesser length and my pay should have been nearly doubled what it was, but that is not the issue I have.

Due to a family emergency I had to leave a month into my contract, I of course paid my way home. I left under the impression that as long as I paid my way back, I would be allowed back to NCL, if not aboard the same ship itself. My e-mails/calls to the head office went unanswered.

I now find myself wishing to continue/finish what I started. 2 questions:

1) If I wished to get re-hired by NCL, what would I have to do? They do not respond to my e-mails, despite the fact I have 3-4 e-mail contacts for people there.

2) If I wish to apply to a new cruise line...should I write on my resume that I was on board the Dawn and hired by NCL previously, even though I had to leave one month in? Is showing SOME cruise ship experience (even though I left my contract) better than showing NONE?

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

TheDawn,

[lil917hi]

what position are you applying for?

[TheDawn]

I was part of the Cruise Staff and was Hosting. I was a Jr Host even though I was supposed to be a full Host.

[sz]

Another tough one!

Obviously you had the skills/background to get hired by a cruise line in the first place. If it were me, I'd leave it out of the resume, but . . . wait until the interview to 'maybe' mention it? Think as a prosepective employer. Would you hire someone that only stayed around a month and then left? Also the ship recruiting world is a small one - possiblity of the new line calling the old line to find out what's up or background on someone is a strong possibility.

BTW - if you do get hired again, make your you have any salary discussions/ what they tell you that you're getting paid IN WRITING!!!!!

I've had this happen at least a couple times on a ship. . . going into the crew office to sign the contract and the pay is lower. I just had to produce the shoreside email that said "your pay will be $xxxx.xx" and the contract was adjusted accordingly. And don't sign until the pay is correct.

And . . . have you tried calling NCL? I've been to the corporate office in Miami. It's a bit of a frantic mess - I can see emails/letters getting lost!

good luck!

[lil917hi]

i'd use the experience if i were you.....i found myself that after i had my first job onboard i was much more desirable to other cruise lines and nobody has ever asked me if i finished my contracts (and there have been times where i didn't finish). in other advice- be persistant and keep at them til you get what you want. like sz said- head office is a zoo and they have tons to do...maybe your contact just didn't get around to getting back to you. good luck to you.

[TheDawn]

Thanks for the replies!

Putting it on the resume or not is sort of where I'm unsure, I might try it both ways. NCL was really the only cruise line to give me a shot from the ground floor, so to speak, but I realize that may mean they were hiring when others were not for the position I was going for.

I did have my salary in writing and all that, I meant that they were paying me less than I should have been making in that I did not find this out until a couple weeks into my contract. I was being paid as a Jr Host, which in NCL is a position given to people who have English as a 2nd language. Being from the prairies in Canada, English is my 1st language I was told by all how I should have been made a Host and been paid nearly double per month what I was making, I had a request in through my Cruise Director at the time of my family emergency, so I'm not sure how that end of things would have played out.

I e-mailed, called, left messages, etc for about two weeks a few months ago and never got any sort of response. I'm thinking I might just apply elsewhere.

Thanks again

Dawn,