Star Flyer’s Cruise Director Anna Laeng has a great story about how she became a cruise director. It’s a story of determination and about going after what you want.

When I was 11 years old, my mother went on a cruise with me on the Star Flyer. She actually thought that there are only old people on the ship but she wanted me to come with her. I was looking forward to that cruise although I had no idea how it was going to be like.

I will never forget this moment when I came out of the cruise terminal in Athens and saw that beautiful ship the first time. It made me speechless and I still have this picture in my mind. This cruise was the best week of my life, also for my mom.

From that day on, I always told my mother that I want to work on this ship when I’m grown up. First she was laughing at me because it sounded like other young girl’s dreams like “I want to become a princess one day” and so on. After a couple of other cruises on the Star Flyer, my wish to work there became very serious. After I finished school, I just applied for a position in the Sports Team, as I am very much into sailing and water sports. It was worth a try I thought. First I wasn’t successful because I couldn’t offer a long working period. But all of a sudden, the evening before my final exam at high school, I got another offer for joining the Sports Team on the Royal Clipper.

So I sailed in the Med for a couple of months in 2009 and that was the best time of my life, I enjoyed it so much. As I am studying international event management and marketing I thought about becoming a cruise director one day because it’s very much related to what I am studying so I just applied again.

Now I interrupted my studies for a while in order to take this fantastic opportunity and work as a cruise director.

We also asked Anna (as we ask all of our well-traveled crew) about her favorite part of the world. She responded:

I am very curious and looking forward to seeing Costa Rica. So far, I have only sailed in the Mediterranean with Star Clippers and there my favourite area was definitely the Adriatic Sea. I love Croatia and I was very impressed by the Fjord of Kotor in Montenegro. Apart from that, I also love Sweden and I might move to Sweden one day as well. The most important thing is that its close to the water.

Anna told us a lot more about what a typical day is like for her on board, so check back tomorrow to read part 2 of “Meet Crusie Director Anna Laeng.”