Sex, Lies and Cruising

Sex, Lies and Cruising

Cathryn-9 copySex, Lies and Cruising author Cathryn Chapman was shocked and heartbroken when she found out the man she was dating was seeing nine other women at the same time.

Chapman, who was working on a cruise ship, says the officer would page her when he was available to catch up.

“He had 10 women on board,’’ she said. “And he used to page them to fit into his schedule. When I found out he had 10, I said now you have nine.

“Although I naively got into those situations without realising up front, as soon as I found out, I was out. But other people didn’t feel that way because they accept they have a ship wife or ship husband.’’

Cheating was shocking

Chapman, who had two stints working on cruise ships but almost a decade apart, says the level of cheating in crew quarters is shocking.

“People cheat on their partners at home,’’ she said. “They cheat on their partners on the ship. And then they cheat when their partner on the ship has gone home for vacation. I was surprised at the level people would stoop too.’’

And it was not just confined to the crew. The officers are the worst offenders.

“Some of the higher ranked officers who have long contracts, and earn the big bucks, they’d have their shipboard girlfriend and she would live in his cabin and then the night before his wife comes onboard (to visit) she moves all her stuff out. The night the wife goes home the girlfriend moves back into the cabin again. I used to think what is wrong with you. Why can’t you find someone who doesn’t have a wife.

“I found that really shocking. It was that next level that I never would have been prepared to go to.’’

Sex Lies and Cruising_ebook cover_Cathryn Chapman-2 copyChapman’s book Sex, Lies and Cruising, which she admits the cruise companies won’t like, is a work of fiction but at least 50 percent of it is based on what she saw when working on cruise ships in the Caribbean, the Bahamas and on the Mexican Rivieria.

“I borrowed from real life here and there and made the rest up,’’ she said.

“Maybe half of it was inspired by things that I actually witnessed or experienced.  Then again the things that are made up aren’t beyond the realms of possibility. I also interviewed a few ex-colleagues and got them to tell me their crazy stories, so some of them made it in there as well.”

Floating in a moral vacuum

The book is set on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. It is a romantic comedy about Ellie Green who dumps her ex-boyfriend and runs away to sea and ends up working in the photography department.

Chapman equates life as crew on a ship to living in a “floating moral vacuum” and said that she found the lack of privacy difficult. Crew sometimes share rooms with three other people.

“I only had to share with one person, but some crew definitely have to sleep in a cabin of four. It’s very cramped and you don’t have any privacy.

“You get to know a lot more about your cabin mate then you probably want to know. On my first ship I shared with a girl who I think decided she hated me on day one, and on the day I left she didn’t even get out of bed to say goodbye.’’

Chapman says the cruise lines have strict policies on drugs, excessive alcohol consumption and staff/guest relationships. If staff cross the line they are immediately dismissed.

“I knew of crew who were sacked for it. A couple of waiters were found kissing passengers up on the top deck and they got thrown off the next day,’’ she said.

“See you later. Here are your bags. Off you go. The cruise lines take that very seriously.

“It’s too much of risk legally I think for passenger relationships. For the most part there are so many crew to choose from that it’s often not an issue.’’

Sex, Lies, and Cruising is currently available for sale as an eBook and paperback at Amazon.com, Apple iBook Store, Barnes & Noble, Nook, Kobo, Book Depository, Booktopia, and most other online retail channels.  For more information visit www.cathrynchapman.net

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