Alexandra Olsen’s life has always been at sea.
The Louisville, Ky., local took her first cruise at just 4 months old through the Panama Canal, celebrated her first birthday in Alaska and somewhere in a stack of old photo albums is a snapshot of her on a backpack leash in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
Ask her how many cruises she’s been on, and she shrugs. “I have no idea,” Alexandra tells PEOPLE exclusively. Her father, Captain Tor Olsen, 63, who’s originally from Norway, has been sailing with Royal Caribbean for nearly 39 years.
Growing up, Alexandra spent months at a time on board, her mom signing her out of school and taking homework along so she could continue her education at sea.
“Talk about a cool classroom,” she says, recalling days spent learning geography in far-off ports and counting nautical miles as part of the lesson.
Reflecting on being the captain’s daughter, Alexandra says life aboard a cruise ship follows its own rhythm, dictated by her father’s schedule.
Her family typically works around her dad’s schedule, since it has the least amount of flexibility. She says her father usually holds morning meetings, and after his noon speech, they gather for lunch if it’s a sea day. On a recent trip, Alexandra watched her dad nap after a busy morning.
“Since most mornings he’s up really early — sometimes a 4:15 a.m. wake-up for arrival — we don’t interrupt his nap time,” she says.
Even when free time opens up, the family knows how to make it count. Card games, walks around the ship, chats with crew members and even participating in crew festivities fill the hours.
She adds how there’s always something happening onboard, and Alexandra navigates it all by following the Cruise Compass, planning dinners in the Windjammer, Royal Caribbean’s main buffet restaurant, or at specialty restaurants, and occasionally catching shows or singing at karaoke.
Woman Shares Life at Sea Growing Up with Royal Caribbean Cruise Captain (Exclusive)
