The Mediterranean Club (CM), more commonly referred to as « Club Med », for decades the spirit of all-inclusive holidays, sun and adventure.
Behind this success lies a dedicated team: The G.O. (Gentils Organizers), whose sole mission is to make you spend unforgettable moments during your stay. Moreover, passengers are precisely called the Good Members (GM®) 😉
In this article, Two former G.O. We share with passion their journeys, their challenges, and their unforgettable moments. Discover with them the behind the scenes of this unique experience, where work rhymes with user friendly, discoveries and life under the tropics.
The personal journey
In a few lines, can you introduce yourself and tell us when you joined Club Med (and for how many seasons)?
Cecile : My name is Cecile. I am Belgian and joined the CM in 1996 (if I am not mistaken...) for 2 seasons.
Stéphane Hello! My name is Stéphane and I joined Club Med's G.O team just after my military service in 1994, and I did 4 seasons, including 2 of 1 year each.
How did you discover Club Med and what prompted you to join the GO team?
Cecile : I already knew the CM as a rather high-end holiday club. When I decided to apply, I worked as a aesthetician in a Yves Rocher as an intern when a client came. She came back from spending two months in Mexico as a student job and she made me dream....
Stéphane : It was by discussing with one of my comrades during my military service that he presented his au pair stay at Club Med in Mexico with his parents.
I applied as a cook and introduced myself to Place de la Bourse in Paris for an individual and collective interview on the presentation of the group. Two days later, I went to Switzerland to replace it!
Can you tell us about your training before you start working at Club Med?
Cecile : After obtaining my LAC, I went to Brazil for a year in a foster family as part of the A.F.S. Intercultural Exchange Program. After that, I began my aesthetic studies in Brussels.
Stéphane : I first got my charcutier-traiteur CAP which allowed me to do a working year in Paris. As a result, I spent my catering BP in Le Mans and then served as a cook in the office of the Minister of Defense in Paris.
When I applied to the CM, I was quickly sent to Switzerland without training for a two-month replacement. I then did a one-week training in Marbella at Don Miguel before embarking on Club Med One, one of the world's two largest sailboats.
What was your (first) position and how did you feel about starting this adventure?
Cecile : My first station was on the cruise ship Club Med 2 in Polynesia. I was very happy and flattered by this first assignment because the boat was a little the gral for GOs. For a first job it was a little dream!
Stéphane : I started as manager of the cold buffets in Switzerland in Villars-sur-Ollon where my integration was facilitated by the fortuitous knowledge of the chef (who I knew the brother for having attended during my studies).
Later, I was named Second cold buffet on the ship CM1, then Cold buffet manager on the CM1 still. Then I was responsible for cold buffet on the CM2 for the year and finally responsible for cold buffet in Meribel.
Your GO® life
How was a typical day organized for you as a GO?
Cecile : On the day of arrival, the alarm clock was at 4am, against 6am on the other days. We started by dressing with the day's uniform before having a quick breakfast at the GM table (passengers). Then, descent of the zodiacs suspended in the water. As an esthetician, I was part of the sports team, so all morning, I was helping with water sports (the back of the boat opened on the lagoon) to allow you to practice water skiing, windsurfing, kayaking, diving...
- 12.30 – 1 p.m.: back in the cabin to change me and go for lunch at the GM table, then free or permanent area depending on the day
- 3pm: resumed navigation and opening of the beauty salon
- 4pm: tea-time, I would take about 30 minutes if I did not have an appointment for « public relationship »
- 7pm: Return to the cabin to prepare for the meal
- 8pm: Dinner with the passengers
- 22h : show in which to participate
- 23h : rehearsal of the next day's show, if not obligatory in the club
Midnight or later: in bed!
Stéphane : Alarm clock, breakfast in the room like the G.M., taking of post, setting up and service of lunch.
- Break with access to various activities (tennis, swimming pool, diving, etc.)
- Resumption of post around 5 pm, setting up evening service, then end of storage service and cleaning.
- Assistance in the preparation of performances (not mandatory for cooks) and assistance during the performance.
Finally, opening of the discotheque with customer relationship before going to bed.
What were the most rewarding aspects of your work?
Cecile : Wake up every day in a new place (for the cruise), meet people from 4 corners of the world, be able to practice my 5 foreign languages, participate free of charge in exceptional excursions (turn of the island by helicopter). But above all, working in a postcard setting, what a dream!
Stéphane :
- Meet people from all walks of life, both G.O. and G.M.
- Travel at a lower cost (because even if we worked a lot, we were housed/nourished/white with almost no cost)
- Having an appreciation of our skills that goes back to our head of assignments in Paris and being able to ask for assignments of our choice
Were there any particular challenges you faced? How did you overcome them?
Cecile : The shows and fashion shows weren't really my cup of tea, just like going to dance in the evening on an empty dance floor... but it was part of the job. And we were all in the same house, so it helps and supports each other.
Stéphane Yes! I participated in many special events, such as Russian weddings that lasted 48h nonstop! But I could also quote:
- Kodak, a photo cruise with the world's 10 largest photographers.
- The laughter cruise with French comedians
- Renault France
- Transatlantic Sea
- the transpacific.
All these examples had different challenges to consider where the organization was carefully calculated.
What were your favorite or most memorable activities to offer customers?
Cecile : The picnic on the privatized island of Motu Tapu in Bora Bora. On the menu, grilled lobsters at will. There were also parties « Commander's cocktail » where the evening outfits were rigorous and where champagne and caviar were flowing.
Stéphane : Discovering the ports of call and the premises but also the Christmas Eve, the big buffets or even the music departures after our stops.
Do you have any fun or amazing anecdotes about interactions with customers or other team members?
Cecile : I even have several! On the boat I met a gentleman whom I was convinced to have seen somewhere but impossible to know where... It was only at the end of the stay that I struck that he was a guest whom I had raised during my internship at the Hilton Hotel in Brussels.
I personally welcomed actor Francis Perrin in his cabin who came to celebrate his wedding trip.
During the abandonment exercise, a member of the crew questioned the difference between the different types of alarms (fire and abandonment). I had just arrived on the boat and couldn't answer, so I got summoned to the captain's bridge...
Stéphane : I have several too. During a sunrise in the Pacific at 5am in order to make souvenir photos, a G.M. accosted wondering if I was not on the CM1 last year. And indeed, we met there!
The passengers who went up to Cannes for a lunch tended to take "unfortunately" from the saloons to the effigy of the boat, and were caught on a scale cut off by the agents to the security gate...
Face-to-face meetings with the world's greatest photographers.
Encounter with well-known humorous artists and memorable G.O evenings with the meeting of my current wife 🙂
How was community life with other GOs and staff?
Cecile : There was a great atmosphere between us! The team was much more welded on the boat than at Meribel. Probably because space was smaller and we couldn't « escape » to get the air as we wanted. We were all united in the good and bad times.
Stéphane : Everyone had to be open-minded and respectful because we were together for 6 to 12 months. There could be some tension at times, but everything was back to normal quickly thanks to the supervision of chiefs of services and village chiefs.
Travel and discoveries
What places have you had the chance to discover thanks to your work? Is there a destination that has particularly marked you?
Cecile : For 6 months I had the chance to make a cruise in Polynesia: Papeete, Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, Bora bora (2j), Rangiroa, then back to Papeete.
Then the trans-Pacific, with 2 weeks of non-stop navigation through Vanuatu Islands, Fiji Islands, New Caledonia (Noumea) and finally in Sydney. Our arrival in Sydney Harbour, very early in the morning, escorted by small fishing boats, zodiacs, jet skiing, windsurfing and even dolphins jumping over the boat's stabilizers was magical.
Stéphane : The islands of the Mediterranean, Greece, the Caribbean, the Grenadines, Tahiti, New Caledonia and the must: Sydney!
How did these trips affect your worldview or lifestyle?
Cecile : Having lived in countries where the climate was rather warm, when my luggage had to be placed, my priority was a pleasant and warm climate unlike my native Belgium.
This experience opened up to different cultures, have an open mind about the world and become aware of the value of things because sometimes you complain without thinking that there are happy people who are content with much less than we do.
Stéphane : The Caribbean Islands, the Pacific Islands and New Caledonia remain places to protect but also with populations that often live with very few resources. What is often presented with "postal-map" photos often hides the reality of daily life of local people.
Reflections, evolution and retrospectives
What impact do you think your experience at Club Med has had on your personal and professional life?
Cecile : My eldest daughter is called Hina, the name of the Tahitian goddess of the moon, in memory of Polynesia and where I met her father. I like to travel, discover new countries, new cultures and culinary specialties. I am now someone who adapts easily and goes easily to others while younger, I was quite shy.
Stéphane : The open mind to international cuisine, the lifestyle of different meetings or stopovers. We must be aware of the chance we have in metropolitan France and that this "postcard" world is very fragile.
What advice would you give someone who is considering becoming GO?
Cecile : First of all, we must love community life, not be introverted, love ourselves surpassed, be very versatile and easily go to others. You should also like to party and not count your working hours, know how to cope and adapt to unforeseen circumstances. Have good physical resistance because at the time they were contracts of 6 months minimum and 7 days a week.
Stéphane : I would say that we have to be open-minded, both when we meet with unknown G.M.s, and the G.O.s and local staff. But we must also not forget to respect indigenous people at stopovers or village destinations.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently during your time at Club Med?
Cecile : I may have enjoyed more or had a few more seasons. But it must be said that it was quite tiring, we had no days of rest during the season and our working days were well filled.
Stéphane : No, I think I've given and taken full advantage of this experience.
Have you maintained contact with colleagues or clients during this period?
Cecile : Yes of course, thanks to social networks we are always in contact.
Stéphane : YES!! Since the creation of social networks, groups have been created to meet and share our memories
If you could go back to work at Club Med today, what would you like to do differently or relive?
Cecile : I would like to relive the trans-pacific and arrival in the early morning in Sydney. But I would also enjoy more of all the moments
Stéphane : The Internet and everything related to it is an added value to this enriching experience. As a result, many opportunities are available to the G.O.
A unique human adventure
The Club Med, it is a total immersion in a unique universe where every day is an adventure. Cécile and Stéphane's stories show how this experience not only shapes a career, but also a world view.
Being a G.O. is more than just a trade : it's a way to live, discover and grow!
I hope you enjoyed this article, at least I took a lot of pleasure in doing this interview with my parents (in case you wouldn't have guessed with their clues). 😉) because I do not tire of listening to their travel accounts. If you want to know more, you can read the article about their travel anecdotes by clicking Right here. !
Don't hesitate to write your questions if you have any comments, they will be happy to answer them.
