[QUOTE=maritimebill87;124671]I was looking into working on the mercy ships I see posted on job boards from time to time.
I see it as a good way to give back to the community while at the same time improving myself by learning my trade and getting sea time. Also I would get to meet people from different walks of life and gain perspective that I otherwise couldn’t.
The only problem I have with the idea is that it seems they require the marine crew to pay travel, room and board. On top of that I have heard rumors that I would only get 25% time on my unlimited engineering license making the sea time less valuable. The 25% sea time may only be for the deck department due to the large amounts of port time but I am still trying to determine this.
Basically it looks like I will be required to pay into the community service for plane tickets to Africa 
and 600 a month for room and board which will add up to be several thousand dollars over a three to four month tour. May not get much in terms of sea time. I’m not sure how they attract many marine crew members under the age of retirement for a commitment like this.
Has anyone recently sailed with them?[/QUOTE]
Apologies if this is the second reply. Can’t see my first one!
I am currently sailing with Mercy Ships.
I can’t comment on the qualification of seatime, as I think that varies with your ticket issuing authority and what the ship is doing at the time…
Your other points are correct, especially the contribution to the commnity and the sheer satisfaction of supporting the work that is being undertaken. The needs are tremendous.
Yes, you pay airfares and living costs, but I believe these are well offset by the positives. Not least of all is in living in a dynamic supportive comunity. Go to www.mercyships.org and look under ‘volunteer’ for more information.