Cruise Planning Assistant Review

There was always something that I was able to get involved with that I found really enjoyable. The company itself provides a really exciting product, so there was always different things in the office that were fun and would create a real buzz! The department I worked with were a lot of fun and the job I did involved some really enjoyable tasks.

The department I worked in got on so well and everyone was really supportive towards me. People valued my role and gave me responsibility that made me feel trusted and part of the company. Everyone around the office is really friendly too and able to give you any advice or insight that you want to different departments.

I had regular 1-2-1 meetings with my manager and we discussed goals to reach. I was given improvement areas from my manager as well as being able t discuss areas that I personally wanted to improve on.

As the cycle is related to the holiday season, how busy I was varied. As my role sat between shore excursions and brochure, I found myself coming out of one busy period and going straight into another without any time to reflect on what I was doing, how I did it and to learn more about different areas.

I felt like the role itself became slightly repetitive towards the end of the placement as I had learnt all I felt I could and there was nowhere to progress to. But I was given a lot of trust to perform my tasks well and given extra responsibility during the year to help on projects and organise events.

I've found that my knowledge of the tourism industry has become really useful, especially when I need this specific knowledge to write assignments in my final year. I worked with a range of people and did a range of jobs so feel like I can begin my career after university right from the off set. I feel a lot more confident in my ability to perform within a professional environment. From feedback, I know where my weaker and stronger skills are, so can focus on matching them more evenly.

There was always really cool events taking place. Such as summer parties, Christmas parties, launch events, guest speakers. As well as this, there are plenty of opportunities to go to visit different destinations and to go on trips with team mates. The atmosphere is the office was always really upbeat and friendly, which will definitely be hard to beat.

The scheme was really well set up and we had regular placement meetings. In terms of individual progress as a placement student, it sometimes became ignored and treated as a full time employee rather than a placement student who has different needs and desires for the year.

There was the opportunity to get involved with various training activities and they were very much voluntary but supported by managers depending on the work load. There was also a really well devised induction scheme. In my role, I was sent to see one of the ships for 4 days and also invited on the conference trip to Palma, so they invested in my product knowledge and experience a lot.

There is a graduate scheme that you can apply for and if you made any contacts, they would help you try to find the current vacancies and put in a good word for you.

I lived with 3 other placement students and the other placements lived near to us too so we got to see each other a fair amount outside of work. We often organised nights out, film nights, trips to London. As there isn't many of you, it's easier to get to know everyone.

Accommodation is fairly cheap and there are some cheap places to eat nearby.

Luton has a couple of places but not suitable for a big night out, just a casual one. It's more expensive if you go elsewhere but worth it!

There was opportunities that you could source yourself but in terms of what the company invite you to do outside of work, it's pretty slim. The main things are the parties or if you go out with your team.