My service time taught me (12 years in the Army and 8 in the Coast Guard) you always take it to the limits of your ability, then improve on the result for next time. You never leave it at the status quo,” said Eric Anderson.

Anderson was an Army Ranger and later served in the Coast Guard, but being the concierge with Norwegian Cruise Line America seems to be his most demanding assignment yet.

“I am the face of the hotel to my guests,” says Anderson, 39, about his work on cruise ships, which he began this past January. He has already gotten one promotion and sees another on the horizon. “Whatever may go wrong or whatever goes right, mine is the face that is either their target to express their dissatisfaction or bliss. Fortunately, the latter is much more common. I have had occasions where I have been literally screamed at because a server in a given restaurant had on the wrong themed costume … On the other hand, I got a card from a guest for whom I wrote and performed a renewal of wedding vows for their 20th anniversary. You never know what the day will bring.

“My mission now is to serve and make somebody happy, which is decidedly different than your average military mission,” Anderson notes. “There’s not much hospitality serving with Uncle Sam.”

 But there was much honor. Anderson first got a taste for the service in the high-school JROTC in Los Angeles, and joined the Army in 1983.
“I had always wanted to,” he says. “My grandfather was in the Merchant Marine in World War II. He was a major influence.”

Anderson served in the first Gulf War as part of airborne infantry. When he became an Army Ranger, he was part of the Third Ranger Battalion out of Ft. Benning as the Third Rangers were reconstituted for the first time since World War II. Anderson served in Asia and in Panama during 12 years of active duty, finishing as a staff sergeant.

“Jump school, of course, was a big highlight,” he recalls. “Then I got the bug for the Coast Guard. I wanted to learn to fly.” Also, he says, “I wanted to continue to serve but I wanted a change of pace. My job was constant law enforcement. You’re doing something all the time. It was the saving of lives instead of the taking of them.”

He left in Nov. 2004 and it was while vacationing on a cruise line that he discovered his second career. Looking out from his balcony suite, he noticed just how many other cruise ships were visible alongside his own.

“It looked like the industry was really taking off,” he thought to himself. “I wonder how I can fit into it?”

At a recruiting event for cruise work, he told recruiters about his civilian experience running the large luxury vessels known as super yachts. They had tapped into his ability to handle logistics, planning “and re-prioritizing on the run, which is something military leadership is all about.” The recruiter recommended he try to become a concierge, but the wages, Anderson thought, seemed low.

“I was tempted to walk out,” until he heard about how much he could earn in tips. “That brought me back immediately.”

Because he sails under an American flag, Norwegian Cruise Lines American is subject to U.S. overtime laws. Although Anderson’s base pay is $12.50 an hour, with overtime, he earns $50,000. With tips on the sorts of premium ships and rooms he serves, his income doubles.

“It’s certainly better pay than I ever got on active duty,” he said. “The growth potential is, honestly, truly amazing.

“The position itself is an officer’s, so I’ve got managerial duties,” Anderson explained. Everyone has Merchant Marine-type training, analogous to the military situation, “where everyone has two jobs. The amount of detail to keep up with in this job keeps me fully engaged. That’s hard to find in the civilian world.

“It’s a seven-day-a-week job for the duration of your contract,” he adds, and he works from 70 to “upwards of 100” hours in a week. “Some days I’ll work 17 hours. There’s very few places in the U.S. where that work environment exists.”

Usually, crewmen contract for five months. His was for seven months. Now that he is an officer, he usually works four months on, two off. And the work keeps him hopping. “As the ship’s concierge,” he says, “I am tasked with the responsibility of the VIP guests aboard. These would include (but are not limited to) celebrities, national or foreign dignitaries, corporate leaders …Depending on the ship, these can represent anywhere from 20 to 130 rooms.”

His duties include inspecting rooms and making sure the ship’s other services are carried out in a first rate fashion. But most of all, his work is focused on keeping the paying guests – sometimes high-paying guests –happy, both on board the ship and during excursions to island stops.

“You have to have a thick skin and remember that these people may fly from New York to Hawaii and be tired, irritable and even quick to anger when they arrive,” he notes. “A single misplaced word, phrase or perceptible mannerism could ruin a vacation that some of these guests have paid $20,000 and more [for]. It is my job to insure that their every expectation is met and more so to strive to create an environment where the guest discovers their need is met prior to being asked.

“In the midst of all of this,” he adds, “I am also an officer of the ship. I have specific duties from health and safety to management and leadership.”

Though he puts in long hours, cruising around Hawaii has its benefits. “I can find myself with as many as five hours between watches or shifts to spend ashore,” he said. “I have spent much of this learning the culture and history of Hawaii, hiking thorough the back trails, learning to surf and getting to know the islands like a native islander. It’s absolutely beautiful, and certainly one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.” Anderson says there are many ex-military who work on his ship. “Coming from the military, it wasn’t that big of a change. It’s a lot like the Coast Guard or Navy. It’s a tight crew. You live, work and play together. Aside from the uniforms, it is very similar to being back on active duty. It is remarkably similar.

“The cruise line did send me a letter that complimented my performance and asked if I knew anyone who would be interested in coming aboard,” he adds. “The people they are looking for are largely going to be found in the military.

“The key factor to being successful,” he said, “is adapting your military skills, not necessarily just bringing them over.”

Anderson lives in San Diego with his wife and kids. He says he doesn’t merely like his job: “I love it. I can see myself having a full second career here. The company likes the way I do my job — using what the military gave me, the skills and the work ethic. I give complete credit to Uncle Sam.”