Why are you going to a cruise line?
Break out, do your own thing. ANYTHING but that.

You've hit some huge red flags Brandon.

They lie? You can't get answers? Hmmmm.....don't do it, schlep along some other location that will help your carreer brother, some place that isn't already hinting at nothing more than bad lessons (lessons to be learned yes, BUT......still).

We've talked before, and I know you love what you do. Remember this though. Just because they hired you, when they start fucking you..........you owe them NOTHING! Now that doesn't mean burn your bridges, but with a cruise line.......no one ever has to know you left....it's not like you have to put a bad job on your resume.....did that make sense?

Tell us more about what's going on, would ya?

No, depending on what you want to do, you have not.
Cruise liners train some skills, which leads to better career opportunities./
You will improve your
-banquet skills
- production techniques
- organizational skills (ship shape is not an accidental term)
- ability to deal with people, since you have to deal with everyone for long periods of time.

You will not advance
-ala carte techniques
-the adrenaline thinking on your feet skills reserved for restaurant madness.

You will also not have much pr. This is a good station if your long term goals are hotel or club or some other production facility. For those who hate everything, note that jobs in those fields pay well and generally offer much more stable employment and better conditions than most restaurants.

To make it work, like anything, you have to make it last. That means that you have to plan at least a year in that environment.

As you probably already know, cruise work usually involves longer hours and fewer days off, bunking with several people, but shore pay for periods off of several weeks in between a few months of fairly continuous work.

You don't get to see a lot of the world.