Meet Holiday Hero; Samuel

Our amazing colleagues on board our ships work so hard to create unforgettable holiday happiness for our guests, so we’re taking a moment to shine a spotlight on them! Continuing our Holiday Heroes series, find out what makes them shine, hear about their roles, ambitions, hobbies, and what life is like working aboard our P&O Cruises ships.

Last up this series, meet Samuel Anderson, third engineer. officer…

Samuel Anderson joined the engineering team on Arvia having previously worked on tankers. He’s from Preston in the UK and loves walking in the mountains.

“As third engineer officer, I’m watchkeeping the engine room for around six hours, doing full rounds of the engine spaces, making sure everything is maintained and running smoothly. It’s a big responsibility, especially for my age. It’s quite a big achievement. I’m definitely excited to progress my career. I love the responsibility that I have.

The engineering technology on board Arvia is top of the range. It’s the newest type of technology. And there’s always somebody watching – from the bridge or the engine control room – so things are always monitored. One of the most important parts of the job is using your senses – your sight, sense of smell and hearing to make sure the machinery is running fine. You know what the engine room sounds and feels like because you’re there on watch every single day. If something seems different, you know to report it.Everyone here is from different backgrounds and there are so many different nationalities. It’s a really good mix.

We have such a good engineering team on board. We all get along, we can talk to each other and as a working environment, this is a really good place to be. We all socialise together, too – there weren’t that many people to talk to on tankers! P&O Cruises offers such a good progression scheme. You can work closely with second engineers and with seniors, get different experiences and different types of machinery and everything. And there’s always a lot of support – the seniors are excellent in that way.

Everyone here is from different backgrounds and there are so many different nationalities. It’s a really good mix.

My favourite destinations would be Iceland or Greenland. They’re amazing places. Also the Amalfi coast… and St Maarten is one of my favourite ports. There’s a crew beach area there, which is also open to guests. It’s where all the crew from the ship come together. We can also go on crew excursions – swim with turtles, ride jet skis…

It’s exciting to be using LNG and be involved in this newer fuel. It’s much more reliable, much more efficient, better for the environment. It’s going to be the future, especially for cruise ships. There’s a lot more specific training, which is exciting. You can progress to LNG engineer, which is a newer rank for these ships.”

Thank you Samuel for sharing your story with us!