I throw parties at sea for a living. Here's what it's like sailing the world as a cruise director for Royal Caribbean.

• Bonnie Bai is a cruise director for Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas.
• She works for four months at a time before a three-month break and has visited over 70 countries.
• Her favorite port is Barcelona, and she loves that she can build friendships with the guests.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bonnie Bai, a 32-year-old cruise director for Royal Caribbean. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I was 10 years old when I saw the ocean for the first time. My parents took me to the coastal city of Dalian in China. The horizon looked to me to be a place of possibilities.