How To Work On A Cruise Ship

Krista is working for a cannot-be-named cruise line and shares her insight with us!

What It’s Like to Work on a Cruise Ship?

Can you tell us about your specific cruise ship experience?
I started out working as a librarian on a ship that was sailing to Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico. That contract was 4.5 months long and it was a great stepping stone into “ship life”.

The line I work with has a fairly extensive library on every ship (well, for a ship anyway). It was my job to keep everything organized and assist guests with all things in the library. Bbooks to board games, even card game groups.

I liked it, but I was interested in another position onboard. I applied through my ship connections. Now I’m working for four months in a program where I’m teaching basic computer and digital media classes to passengers.

Can you tell us about the application process?
As librarian, all I had was an online application and one phone interview. For my current job I sent in my resume and cover letter and then I had two phone interviews before a face-to-face interview.

For the librarian job, I mainly had to be outgoing. For my current job, I have to teach and give presentations on a daily basis which is why the process was so different.

For the most part, you should be able to apply for any ship position online and go from there, but for some positions you may need an agent, agency, or you might even have to go to a specific training school.

On our line, all of the salon and spa workers typically come from South Africa or England, because they hire from a training school based there. Any requirements like that will be clear if you look at the employment page of the cruise line’s website.

When you do have time off you’ll eat meals, go to the gym or take naps. If you have time during the evenings you can usually catch one of the shows onboard or eat at one of the nicer restaurants. Since most people don’t get off of work until 10:00 pm, crew members socialize late at night, either at a bar or lounge in public areas or at the crew bar (cheaper drinks and you don’t have to be in dress code).

On a port day, when the ship is docked somewhere (hopefully somewhere exciting!) you tend to have fewer hours since there are fewer passengers onboard. On those days you usually have anywhere from 3-9 hours to get off the ship and explore. You learn to treat these hours as your “day off” because once you start your contract onboard you will not have a day off until you finish.

You may also have some other safety duties during the day, like assisting with a passenger safety drill and crew members also have at least one safety drill a month to attend.

This is where you learn all your “worst case scenario” skills. We take it very seriously, but we also know that a true emergency where we would have to abandon ship is very unlikely.

How much money have you made working on a cruise ship?
My husband and I are on salary. With my previous position, we made around $3,000 monthly after taxes. Doesn’t sound like a lot, however we have very few expenses: no rent, no utilities, no grocery bill. So we keep the majority of our pay.

With my promotion we are making more than that, but even with my previous salary we were able to save around $4,000 in just four months. On land there were some months where we just broke even between our paychecks and our monthly bills.

While the salary we receive (we are paid per day) may seem low if you calculate it by how many hours you work, they are factoring in your living expenses to your salary and that makes a huge difference.

Many positions onboard are paid in part by commission. You may have a base pay that is quite low, but you can make more through tips or you get a certain percentage of your sales.

What were the biggest challenges about your cruise ship experience?
Getting used to the long hours, constantly changing time zones and not having a day off. Learning the hierarchy onboard: there are so many different elements to a cruise ship, from navigational officers to social staff, and learning how to communicate and work with all the different departments can feel like a bureaucratic maze.

Also, people are always coming and going. Every week or two some crewmembers disembark and others join to replace them. It’s hard to make great relationships (personal or working) and then lose those people and have to start over with someone new.

For many people it’s challenging to be apart from their friends or family, but since my husband and I work together this is not too difficult, though we do miss our dog/furry child!

What were the biggest benefits?
While it’s challenging to have so many staff changes, it can also be great because you meet a lot of new people, and if you’re having trouble with a boss or co-worker, you won’t be working with them forever! We love working with people from all over the world, and meeting guests from all walks of life as well.

The travel is probably the biggest benefit, though. I’ve been able to really explore the different ports, visiting places I might not have otherwise. Second to travel, the opportunity to save money is a HUGE benefit.

What did you take away from your experience?
I feel like I am less western-centric in my thinking since I’ve been working with people from all over the world. I also have much more compassion for people working in the service industry.

I’ve seen a lot of people on the ship treat their waiters, housekeepers and other service staff with less respect than I would like, which is upsetting because every crew member I know works really hard. I hope to be a more understanding customer, a better tipper and thankful for anyone who serves me.

I’ve also learned what it’s like to really love a job! My current position is more than I can ask for, and I hope that in my future employment I am this passionate about my work!

Who would be a good fit to work on a cruise ship?
Being tough helps because it’s not always a warm and fuzzy environment. Stuff has to get done and people don’t always take the time to encourage you. You need to be a people person who can work with a variety of people.

Pretty much everyone who works on a ship has regular contact with guests and cruisers tend to have very high expectations, so you must have a customer service attitude even when you’re dealing with someone who is completely unreasonable and difficult. The more energetic you are, the better.

Resources for getting a job on a cruise ship

Your best bet is to look at the websites of different cruise lines. On their employment pages, you’ll learn a lot about job requirements and job offerings.

You’ll also learn a lot by just browsing through the site as a whole: where the ships go, the types of passengers they cater to, the corporate culture, etc. Working for a luxury line with very expensive cruises will be very different from working for a cruise geared toward families looking for an affordable vacation.

Cruiseshipjobs.com // Life on board cruise ships // Working on cruise ships // Cruise ship resume and interview tips // FAQ about working on cruise ships // 5 best/worst reasons to work on a cruise ship

Have you ever worked on a cruise ship?  Share your tips for working on a cruise ship or getting work on a cruise ship!

P.S. 7 travel tools I won’t shut up about!

Photos by Allen Taylor and Nick Karvounis on Unsplash