Elroy,
"Or maybe the christmas and new years bonus? They will allow you to work on both days! But because you are overseas, it is classified as having the day off! Lucky you! Also, because you are not working while you are overseas, ie using up your days off in a slip port, you should pay for your own hotel!"
Do you mean that they plan to call days on a layover as rostered days off? Surley not????