How it all started……Joining Carnival Cruise Lines

Posted on February 24, 2013 Updated on February 25, 2013

So after growing up in varying areas of Halifax, moving to Dewsbury (for those not from Yorkshire, all within the West of the shire), I grew increasingly frustrated about the lack of options, the restrictive boundaries I was faced with and in what was probably January 1999 I met a guy called Michael whilst working at Jessops on Wade Lane, Leeds.

He was something like a Senior Photo Manager at Carnival Cruise Lines, we chatted for about 20 minutes and he’d come in to buy some kit and just before he left he left me with a card and as he stepped out in my head I’d filled the application form in and packed my case!!

I’d never been to London prior to my interview so my dear old dad came down with me, and it was pretty intimidating heading for the interview. There were a few people there I remember this one guy I spoke to it was his second interview, and he ran a wedding photography company. One of the others was a scouse girl called Shay who actually got the job and I did my training with her.

What a lot of people don’t know though is with my initial application I got turned down. I chased it though, I was right back on the phone to them, and that was something that was instilled in me by one of my parents, Julie. She always told me to chase them, get the feedback, work on it and go back again if you want it.

So a few months later and after heading down to London Town for my interview, after sending two applications, at the tender age of 17 years and 50 weeks I boarded my flight to Italy and to Trieste in the North East of Italy to board the MS Carnival Victory, which was the newest ship in the fleet, the flagship and the biggest of the Destiny class ships in the fleet.

TBC…..