Drug and Alcohol Testing
Today’s question is from Ed:
Most musicians I know smoke [marijuana] once and awhile. Even Louis Armstrong did. Do [cruise lines] do drug tests…before, during, randomly?
Yes, Louis Armstrong hit the front page of the Chicago newspapers when he was arrested for smoking marijuana in 1930. The authorities let him go with a suspended sentence.
Cruise lines, however, maintain a strict no tolerance policy toward drugs. Before you even step foot on a cruise ship you have to pass a full drug test (that you usually have to pay for yourself), and there are frequent random drug tests once you get on the ship.
I’ve never had to do a random drug test. In fact, no one I know has ever been called in for a drug test. But they happen, and merely for that reason, everybody I’ve ever worked with has stayed clear of drugs while on the ship. If you test positive for drugs, you not only lose your job, but you also have to pay for the plane ticket home.
You may also be surprised to hear that there is also alcohol-testing on ships. Yes, it’s true. If you are too drunk, you can be fired from your job on a cruise ship. But don’t get too excited – let me explain.
Crew members are (technically) expected to remain sober enough to react to an emergency at any time. That means (technically) that you can never be drunk. But a beer in the crew bar costs $.60…so what gives?
If you show up half-naked in the officer mess at 3 am searching for sugar packets or something (for that story, read this post), there’s really no way around getting in trouble. Another story I remember is a girl that fell asleep in her underwear in the officers hallway. Her clothes were neatly folded next to her, oddly enough. In both of those situations, it was pretty clear that these two crew members had been drinking. They were both alcohol tested, found to be above the limit, and fired the next day.
Also, if you have an accident while working and you hurt yourself or others, it’s standard to be tested for alcohol and drugs. This is actually standard on land as well and relates to workers comp liability, so that shouldn’t be much of a surprise.
The point is, at least on an international ship, if you don’t cause any trouble, nobody cares much about how much you drink. I saw more drinking on ships than I did in college, and that’s saying something.
American-flagged ships are different. There are only a handful of those, and I’m on one of them now. Every crew members on these ships has to be a member of the Merchant Marine (an auxiliary to the U.S. Navy), and the legal limit for alcohol is .08. You can never be over the limit, even when you’re not working. The coast guard regulates this, and can board the ship at any time and test anyone they want.
In fact, on my current ship, crew members are only allowed 2 drinks an hour, and can only buy drinks for themselves (so that the ship can keep track of how many drinks they’ve bought).
Which is pretty l-a-m-e. Personally, I can pretty much take it or leave it, so it doesn’t much impact me. If you are that way as well, there’s nothing wrong with American ships.
While the lax rules on international ships sound like more fun, the dark side is that they also tend to attract more alcoholics. I thought that I knew what an alcoholic was when I left college, but when I met a few on ships, I realized that I had never met one before. Guys that shake and sweat without it, or buy a few beers before they leave the bar to drink when they wake up…those are alcoholics. And I met a few musicians that met that criteria while I was on an international ship. Playing with alcoholics can be a frustrating thing, as they tend to lack consistency and don’t play as well without their fix. These kinds of frustrations can sometimes be frequent complaints of musicians on international ships.
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where are the best places to apply or send my c.v. ?
2/25/2009
Hi Max –
Check this out:
How to Get a Cruise Ship Musician Job
2/25/2009
Hi David, I was just wondering about which kind of drug test it is you have to pass. Is it a standard urine test or is it a hair test? The hair tests are tricky because even if you have been clean for months but have long hair, anything can be found. Thanks!
5/5/2009
Hey Max – it’s a urine test that you take prior to leaving for the ship. And if you are tested onboard, I understand that is also a simple urine test. I’ve never heard of them conducting a hair test.
5/5/2009
Do they give you private time to give the urine sample? or do they watch you fill it? when your getting drug tested?
4/6/2010
I also want to know about drug tests, I have never had a urine test before, and I have an extremely shy bladder… if you couldn’t manage to do it, is there another option?
4/14/2010
@ Angela and Johnny –
I never had to do a drug test on the ship. I did mine as part of the pre-contract physical. It was done in a doctor’s office. Nobody watched me, but I do remember the 2nd time there was a nurse listening at the door (a-w-k-w-a-r-d).
5/28/2010
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