Information and Facts about How to get a Job on a Cruise Ship

 

If you want to know how to get a job on a cruise ship then there are several things you need to know first. First off, there are literally hundreds of different types of jobs you can do on-board a cruise ship. Here I will list a few of them so you can get an idea.

 

How to get a job on a cruise ship – the different types of jobs to do:

 

Just as a side note, these positions are called different things depending on what cruise line you work on, but this is to give you a general overview of the positions on-board.

 

Hotel Staff:

• Hotel Director
• 1st Purser Administration
• Crew Purser
• 1st Purser Accounting
• 1st Purser Shore Excursions
• Front Desk
• Accommodation Manager
• Accommodation staff
• Concierge
• Hotel Secretary
• Night Manager
• Computer Officer
• Florist
• Laundry
• Hotel Storekeeper

Food & Beverage:

• Food & Beverage Manager
• Maitre D’
• Bar Manager
• Bar Tender
• Head Waiter
• Waiter
• BusBoy
• Head Chef
• Sous Chef
• 1st Cook
• Restaurant Manager
• Crew Mess
• Officers Mess
• Butcher
• Baker
• Pastry Chef
• Dish washer
• Galley staff

Deck:

• Captain
• Staff Captain
• 1st Officer
• 2nd Officer
• 3rd Officer
• Safety Officer
• Navigation Officer
• Chief Security
• Security Staff
• Communications Officer
• Bosun
• Carpenter
• Deck Cadet

Engine:

• Chief Engineer
• 1st Engineer
• Engineers
• Chief Electrician
• Upholsterer
• Engine Storekeeper
• Chief Air Conditioning
• Engine Repair
• Wiper
• Fireman
• Motorman
• Machinist
• Fitter

Medical Team:

• Chief Doctor
• Crew Doctor
• Chief Nurse
• Nurse

Entertainment:

• Cruise Director
• Cruise Staff
• Guest Entertainer
• Cast
• Dancers
• Bands
• Production Manager
• Stage Manager
• DJ
• Video Technician
• Light Technician

Concessions:

• Casino Staff
• Gift Shop Staff
• Photography Staff
• Beauty Salon / Spa Staff

These are just a few of the departments and positions that you can work in on a cruise ship, just to give you an idea of the variety. Many of the positions listed above will also have sub-positions under them too.

How to get a job on a cruise ship – the initial process

 

First off, you ideally have some experience in one of the areas mentioned above. It doesn’t matter if it is not a lot of

experience because you will get a lot of on-the-job training, and believe me, when you are thrown right into it you learn pretty quickly. If you have a lot of experience in anything then you might be able to come in at a higher level, or at least move up the ladder quite quickly when you get on-board.

My experience on cruise ships highlights this perfectly. I worked in the Casino. I trained and worked as a dealer in a Casino in England for 18 months and then got the job on the ship and joined as a dealer. Over the first three years I got promoted to Supervisor, Assistant Manager and then Casino Manager after just three years of being on-board. Once you get to that kind of level then you obviously get more benefits such as more money and your own cabin (with a port hold and double bed ).

So what you want to do first is to get a list of all of the top cruise lines. (to save you time I have done that for you):

- Carnival Cruise Line
- Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
- Costa Cruises
- Holland America Line
- Princess Cruise Line
- Norwegian Cruise Lines
- Celebrity Cruise Line
- P&O Cruises
- Star Cruises
- Disney Cruise Line
- Cunard Cruise Line

Next, go to Google and do a search for the cruise line name and then add “jobs” to the search also. So for example if you wanted to look for Carnival Cruise Line, you would type “Carnival Cruise Line jobs” in the search field. Usually the top listing of the search results will be from the official website of the actual cruise line and here you will find out information on how you can contact them regarding any positions on-board.

To save you time again, I have found all of the appropriate websites for you, just click on the Cruise lines below and you will be taken to their jobs page on their website:

- Carnival Cruise Line
- Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
- Costa Cruises
- Holland America Line
- Princess Cruise Line
- Norwegian Cruise Lines
- Celebrity Cruise Line
- P&O Cruises
- Star Cruises
- Disney Cruise Line
- Cunard Cruise Line

Before you contact any of the cruise lines, you want to make a draft of your initial contact letter. You should state the department you would like to work in, the experience you have in this area and when you could start working if you got the job (many cruise lines need people quickly, so if you have the right credentials you could find yourself on a cruise ship quicker than you thought).

You should also mention that you have a lively personality and you love to work with other people. Cruise lines put so much importance into guest service, and this is a requirement of every employee no matter what position you work in, so it is important to let them know that you will be able to speak confidently with the passengers and also be friendly and helpful towards them.

Once you have your draft together then look for any contact information on the websites for each of the cruise lines. Some will have an email address, so you should send off your application to this email address **MAKE YOUR APPLICATION LETTER LOOK PROFESSIONAL**

Other websites may have an online application form (many cruise lines are going this direction now). If this is the case then simply fill out the online application form and submit it and somebody from the company’s personnel department will get back to you.

How to get a job on a cruise ship – Agencies

 

Many people that are looking for information on how to get a job on a cruise ship are often guided to an agency.

BE CAREFUL WHEN DEALING WITH AGENCIES!

There are a lot of agencies out there, some good, and some that are outright scams! PLEASE, before you sign up with any agency use your due diligence and find out if they are legit. Sometimes you will get one of the personnel from a cruise company telling you that you need to sign up through a certain agency. If they are telling you this then it is likely to be okay, but might still be worth a bit if research just to make sure. But other times people are lured into giving up a certain amount of money (sometimes hundreds of dollars) with the promise of a guaranteed position on a ship, and then they never hear from this ‘agency’ again.

Some countries such as the Philippines have a huge amount of people that go to sea to work so they have one huge central agency. For the Philippines the agency is called Magsaysay. It will be a requirement for people from the Philippines to use Magsaysay, but the initial contact should still be made with the cruise line.

Deciding to leave your regular life on land to go and work at sea can be a huge decision. But if you are serious about it and really want to know how to get a job on a cruise ship then I highly recommend you get this eBook called “How to work on a Cruise Ship”. It will make everything very clear for you and give you some excellent tips on how to apply in minutes to over 18 of the major cruise lines. It only costs $37 and is a very small price to pay for the amount of knowledge (and a potential job) you will get from it. To get your copy, just click on the link below:

Click here to get How to Work on a Cruise Ship

I hope this has given you plenty of information about how to get a job on a cruise ship