For anyone who has ever asked a cruise ship crewmember, “What is it really like to work at sea?”, the answer is rarely simple. According to author and former crewmember Marsha Volgyi, the experience is too complex to summarize in a single response. It’s a life defined by contradictions—rewarding yet exhausting, exciting yet isolating, glamorous yet deeply challenging.
After spending twelve years working onboard cruise ships, Volgyi found herself reflecting on a world that few outsiders truly understand. Those years were filled with unforgettable friendships, personal growth, romance, and adventure—but also moments of hardship, workplace politics, and emotional strain. These powerful memories ultimately inspired her to write The Crewmember, a novel that blends real-life experiences with fiction to capture the emotional reality of life at sea.
Writing the book was both healing and difficult. Revisiting her memories brought back not only joyful moments she deeply misses, but also painful experiences she had to relive while putting them into words. With over a decade of stories to draw from, one of the biggest challenges was deciding what to include. The result is a fictional narrative grounded in truth, offering readers an authentic glimpse into cruise ship culture while allowing creative freedom to shape the story.
The novel follows Lana Kramer, a young professional dancer who signs her first cruise ship contract expecting adventure and opportunity. Instead, she discovers a surreal world governed by strict hierarchy, intense work schedules, and a social environment unlike anything she had known before. Living in cramped crew cabins, navigating complex relationships, and adjusting to life far from home, Lana must quickly learn how to survive and thrive in this floating city.
Through Lana’s journey, Volgyi highlights the unique reality of crewmember life—the unwritten survival rules, the intense bonds formed between coworkers, and the personal transformation that often comes from living and working at sea. The story reflects a universal truth shared by many former crew: cruise ships can change people in profound ways.
The Crewmember resonates not only with former and current cruise ship employees, but also with passengers, aspiring crew, and anyone curious about what happens behind the scenes onboard. By blending fact with fiction, Volgyi provides one of the most honest and entertaining portrayals of cruise ship life ever written.
The novel is available as an e-book through major platforms including Amazon and Extasy Books, offering readers a rare window into a hidden world that exists just beyond the passenger experience—a world where survival, identity, and self-discovery unfold on the open sea.
After spending twelve years working onboard cruise ships, Volgyi found herself reflecting on a world that few outsiders truly understand. Those years were filled with unforgettable friendships, personal growth, romance, and adventure—but also moments of hardship, workplace politics, and emotional strain. These powerful memories ultimately inspired her to write The Crewmember, a novel that blends real-life experiences with fiction to capture the emotional reality of life at sea.
Writing the book was both healing and difficult. Revisiting her memories brought back not only joyful moments she deeply misses, but also painful experiences she had to relive while putting them into words. With over a decade of stories to draw from, one of the biggest challenges was deciding what to include. The result is a fictional narrative grounded in truth, offering readers an authentic glimpse into cruise ship culture while allowing creative freedom to shape the story.
The novel follows Lana Kramer, a young professional dancer who signs her first cruise ship contract expecting adventure and opportunity. Instead, she discovers a surreal world governed by strict hierarchy, intense work schedules, and a social environment unlike anything she had known before. Living in cramped crew cabins, navigating complex relationships, and adjusting to life far from home, Lana must quickly learn how to survive and thrive in this floating city.
Through Lana’s journey, Volgyi highlights the unique reality of crewmember life—the unwritten survival rules, the intense bonds formed between coworkers, and the personal transformation that often comes from living and working at sea. The story reflects a universal truth shared by many former crew: cruise ships can change people in profound ways.
The Crewmember resonates not only with former and current cruise ship employees, but also with passengers, aspiring crew, and anyone curious about what happens behind the scenes onboard. By blending fact with fiction, Volgyi provides one of the most honest and entertaining portrayals of cruise ship life ever written.
The novel is available as an e-book through major platforms including Amazon and Extasy Books, offering readers a rare window into a hidden world that exists just beyond the passenger experience—a world where survival, identity, and self-discovery unfold on the open sea.
