“You clean the showers, then you polish them, then you go into every single little nook and cranny … it’s super detailed cleaning.”
Before heading offshore to chase an overseas dream, O’Halloran worked at Rosewood Cape Kidnappers as a food and beverage attendant.
“I learned so much about the standards and working in luxury hospitality, making the guest experience as best as it can be,” she said.
After two years there, and finishing her tourism studies, O’Halloran felt ready for a new challenge.
“I always knew I wanted to work abroad,” she said.
“I could’ve gone to Australia because I’ve got family there, but I wanted to do something a bit crazy while I’m young … travel more, learn more, go somewhere very different from home.”
She “bit the bullet”, booked a one-way flight to France in April this year and spent six weeks looking for a job before landing her first role.
A boat where O’Halloran previously worked on in Ibiza.
Her current boat, now based in Dubai with trips planned to the Maldives, carries up to 12 guests and 19 crew.
When the owners are off, she says days are spent maintaining the crew areas, running laundry for 19 people, restocking, managing weekly provisions and keeping everything in order.
When the owners step aboard, the pace changes.
“On top of everything else, you’re housekeeping the rooms, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, cocktail hours, setting things up for them.
“They jump off the boat, and we clean it again, and they might go for a tour, and you set things up for them and you’re just always there if they need anything.”
Hours depend on the season and whether the owners are on.
At the moment, with the yacht in Dubai without guests, her roster is roughly 8am to 5pm with occasional watch duties. During busy guest periods, shifts can stretch, she says.
With a nine-hour time difference between the Emirates and New Zealand, staying in touch with home can be tricky.
“It’s super annoying because when I finish work at 5pm, it’s 2am in New Zealand,” O’Halloran says.
“I have to wait until late at night to be able to call friends and family, unless I wake up extra early, which isn’t my favourite thing.”
Life on board is intensely social.
“You don’t have that much time to yourself,” she says.
“When you live with your workmates, there’s always lots going on. Boat romances and drama, and all of that.”
Financially, she says the job has been a game-changer.
“The pay is kind of on par with other luxury hospitality jobs in New Zealand, maybe a bit more, but the main thing is everything’s provided,” she says.
“You don’t pay rent, food, petrol, internet … you don’t really have bills. What you earn is yours to spend or save.”
O’Halloran says Dubai is a place “ahead of time”.
“I haven’t seen a city like this before. There’s an aquarium in the middle of the shopping mall, and there’s ice skating rinks as well.
“And the service industry is next level.”
O’Halloran plans to visit her family in Dunedin and friends in Hawke’s Bay at some point in the future, but for now she aims to move up from junior stewardess and chase seasons in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
“I want to join a boat that has a different itinerary and go to places that I want to travel, like France, Italy, and Spain,” she says.
“I see myself doing this for a few more years.”