[stomachmonkey]

How old are you? You appear to be in your mid/late twenties?

Economy is not great.

Doubt things are going to do a complete reversal in 6 months.

If I were young, single, I'd do the cruise ship thing.

And it can work on your resume.

I've taken many cruises, ship photogs work their butts off.

They have a strict schedule to hit, timeliness is ciritical, you need to be where you need to be when you need to be there, being late is lost revenue for you and the cruise line. You need to interface with a variety of people from all walks of life, some whose English may not be that great so ability to communicate and direct them for the desired result is a desirable skill to have. The pace of the job will only help hone your skills, you won't have the luxury of taking all day for a shoot.

I think there are a lot of things that would come out of it that you could turn into positive credentials.

It's all in your attitude and how you approach it. If you look at it as a way to get by till the economy gets better then that's all you'll get out of it. If you look at it as an adventure and focus on the things that will benefit you down the road then you will have really gained something valuable.