A CRUISE ship singer has revealed the top three questions people always ask her about life on board.
American crooner Karissa Dumbacher performs on board the Regent Seven Seas Explorer – and revealed she is constantly quizzed about life on board.
Karissa describes herself as a "performer, foodie and dog mom" on Instagram, where she has 286,000 followers.
When she's not performing in musicals, she winds down by sharing snaps from her travels worldwide.
Now Karissa has shared the three questions people always ask her when they find out she worked as a singer on a cruise ship.
She said: "Hey guys, so I've been working as a singer on a cruise ship for the past six months and these are my top three most frequently asked questions.
Read More Travel
The small mistakes that could cause you big problems when boarding planes
American tourist shares why British churches have left them baffled
"Number one – how did I get this job?
"So I auditioned online because I was singing at Universal in China all of last year.
Most read in The Sun
Loose Women star lined up to be Strictly's first contestant in wheelchair
GMB's Kate Garraway reveals crippling cost of caring for her husband Derek
Stephen Bear 'broke behind bars' as his company is shut down before he's jailed
Mum identified after dead baby is found on heathland
"Most cruise companies have websites where you can submit throughout the year.
"Anyway, then I got a call back. They asked me to sing like two songs and do a dance combination and a few weeks after that I got this offer."
Karissa continued: "Number two – is the pay good?
"I think so, especially as you're not paying for rent, or health insurance, or car insurance.
"You can save so much money. You don't even have to pay for food on board.
"The pay for singers is a little better than for dancers unfortunately and, like, we get our own cabins while they have to share cabins, so it just depends on your position."
Karissa's final question plumbed the bottom-deck realities of life at sea.
She said: "Number three – what is the hardest part about living on a cruise ship?
"For me personally, it's the lack of freedom, so, like, you have to wear a uniform when you're in guest areas and you can only eat at certain times, and we have IPM."
IPM refers to In-Port Manning, a requirement under international maritime law for passenger ships to have a minimum number of crew members on board while in port.
Karissa said: "So IPM means that we have to stay on board one out of every four days that we're in port, so you can only get off three out of every four days, which can be kind of frustrating.
"I still feel so lucky to have this job though, like, I've gotten to see parts of the world that I never would have dreamed of.
"And every job has its ups and downs, so if you're ever thinking about working on a cruise ship, I say go for it – you never know until you try."
People were divided over Karissa's insider account of life on a cruise ship.
Mandeep said: "Number four – how are you this damn gorgeous?"
Pete said: "I worked on a cruise ship manning the ice cream machine at the buffet.
"I worked five months on, five weeks off and wasn't allowed to eat anywhere besides the employee dining room which had chicken a la King, stale bread and a broken coffee machine."
Julie said: "I have deep regrets about not doing the cruise ship thing when I had more freedom.
"I am a pretty rockstar bartender but now I'm tied down and it's too late. Go out and live your dreams, kids."
It comes after Karissa revealed the great perks given to staff on cruise ships while taking her followers on a tour of her cabin.
Read More on The Sun
I bought a £1.6k Cavoodle & expected a model dog, but that didn’t work out
I’ve saved a whopping £4K since having a baby by avoiding nappies
She also shared all the exotic dishes she has sampled since setting sail from Orlando, Florida.
Karissa left her fans drooling after introducing them to Bombay mix, squid, Toblerone and asparagus quiche.
Source: Read Full Article
