I have been trained as an acupuncturist for just over 3 years now, and having worked in private practice and taught at the Northern College of Acupuncture, I finally decided to make the leap into doing some completely different, very scary, but extremely exciting.

I first got into complementary medicine by when I was travelling in Thailand back in 2003. I did a three-week Thai massage course in Chiang Mai and thought I could practice some form of complementary medicine when I returned home. When I got back from my travels, I went to a local therapy fair, heard about acupuncture, and that was it! Three weeks later I started on the course and I’ve never looked back since.

The one thing that I’ve always wanted to do is to go travelling again, but due to the expense it hasn’t been possible. When my situation altered in the spring of 2009, I decided it was time for a real change and looked into working onboard a cruise liner. I had often seen the adverts in the back of The Acupuncturist asking for recruits to join Steiner, but I had a tip off from a friend-of-a-friend about a UK based company down in Southampton called the Onboard Spa Company.

I went for my interview in August, a full day of presentations, practical skill tests and interviews with a mixed group of massage therapists, hairdressers, beauty therapists and me- the lone acupuncturist. I loved it though, it was a very enjoyable day, and of course the presentation in the morning gears you up for what you’ll be letting yourself in for...

The first contract is for 8 months and you normally get posted out to work on one liner, though you may get to work on several in your first contract. The company contracts out to several P&O liners, Fred Olsen, Ocean Village, the Queen Victoria, and several other smaller ships, though acupuncturists only work on the medium to large ships. The same ship will go on various cruises throughout the year: The Caribbean; the Mediterranean; the Baltic; a 3 month round the world trip, etc. Norway, Bruges, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia, Jamaica, Barbados, India, Japan, Fiji, Hawaii... It was all sounding pretty good! Time off is always when you’re at port so you get to explore your surroundings. I was beginning to enjoy the prospect of swimming with dolphins in the Caribbean on my day off, popping into a Venetian bar for a cappuccino on my lunch break, or going for a Turkish bath in Istanbul.

You have to retain your professional membership status, but having been in contact with the BAcC, you only have to be an overseas member, which costs £100 per annum. Thank you very much. You don’t pay tax, you don’t pay for insurance, you don’t pay for food, you pay a minimal fee for accommodation (£14 per week) and drinks are around the 50p-£1 region. That sounds a little dangerous if you ask me!

However, it’s not all plain sailing (excuse the pun). The hours are long: 12 hours a day for 5 ½ days per week. During this time you’re not expected to be giving treatments constantly (thank goodness!) but be available to treat patients, hold seminars and do leaflet drops around the ship, etc. Payment is on a commission basis (around 7-8%, but up to 17.5% if you get a contract on the Queen Victoria- fingers crossed!), so the more clients you treat, the more you get paid, so nothing changes there then! However, you do get a weekly retainer fee of £100 if you work as an acupuncturist. The other down side is you have to share a cabin. Let’s hope I get someone nice. Taking everything into consideration, it was sounding like hard work, but lots of fun, and of course a great opportunity to see the world.

After the interview day I was offered a job, which I accepted, and then proceeded to complete my pre-requisites before I could join the 6 week training course in Southampton. Let no-one be fooled, if you want to work on a cruise ship, you should really want to work on a cruise ship! Over the last two months I have had to apply for a Seaman’s Discharge Book (no jokes please), an American work visa, get a yellow fever vaccination, go on a personal survival at sea course, a crowd management course, a personal safety and social responsibility course, apply for a personal CRB check, buy my uniform (black trousers, white shirt, black tie, white coat, black shoes), buy formal evening wear, tie up all my financial dealings, and I still have to do a course in elementary first aid and fire awareness! I’ve had to travel to London, to Hull, to Southampton and back again. Then with the cost of the training course in Southampton, and living expenses whilst I’m there, it all adds up to a pretty penny. I’d say don’t let this put you off, but to be honest it’s almost put me off a few times!

Having said that, I’m still keen to go and I’m hoping to start the training course within the next couple of months. After completing the final stages of my pre-requisites I’ll be given a start date to go down to Southampton, and then... the world! [Insert evil laugh here]

Let’s not beat around the bush, this is definitely not an opportunity for the faint-hearted. It is hard work, getting everything together is pretty stressful and time-consuming, and there are a lot of compromises you have to make in your life in the run-up to going and whilst you’re away. But, having said that, to be given the opportunity to practice the job that I love, see the world and earn some money? Well... how can I say no to that?