OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Before you grow up and become a cruise ship journalist, you might want to check the fine print and paycheck. In this Zevely Zone, I cruised to Oceanside where it was anchors away.
Peter Knego is a cruise ship journalist. "I take a cruise and then I'll write about it," said Peter. The cruises are free for Peter who averages about ten voyages a year. How many cruises has he taken? "Oh, about 300, a little more, I lost count a long time ago," said Peter.
Talk about bringing your work home with you; I interviewed Peter at a bar inside his home that came from a ship. The stools we were sitting on also came for a ship. Peter's home is filled with ship parts, furniture and artwork. "Everything except the drywall and I think one or two shower doors is from a ship," said Peter.
Before old cruise ships get scrapped, Peter throws the unwanted stuff inside them a lifeline. I asked Peter if there was a chance, he went a little overboard? "Oh, there's definitely a chance I've gone overboard," said Peter. "The yellow chairs are Italian from 1952. That is a compass. "
If those items don't float your boat. "Here is my transatlantic fleet," said Peter. He has dozens of miniature ship models built to scale. "Correct," said Peter who has the Titanic. "I do the Titanic and the Olympic the twin sister," said Peter. "The Queen Mary is right here. It's a bit overwhelming and insane, but it's insane in a healthy way."
What about the Love Boat? "The Love Boat? They didn't make one for the Love Boat," said Peter. So, he tracked the famous TV ship down. "This was up around the swimming pool up on the top deck," said Peter pointing to a sign. Peter owns a huge hunk of the ship's decking along with chairs and couches.
If you think you'd love being a cruise ship journalist, think again. I asked Peter if they roll out the red carpet for him. "Well, no, ha, ha," laughed Peter. In fact, Peter would not recommend the job to anyone who needs one. "The downside to what I do is the pay is horrible as a journalist you are making way less than minimum wage," said Peter who only gets paid a couple of hundred dollars per article. At 61-years old, Peter prefers to be paid with memories which he brings back to Oceanside. "My home port is here, Southern California, it's my favorite place in the world and I am always happy to come home," said Peter.
I had one last question; if Peter can hit the high seas, what about the high notes? Our interview ended with us singing the Love Boat theme song. Peter shares his stories and sells items from ships on his website called Midship Century. The website was founded in 2005 by Peter. For more information click here.
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