It's glamorous. It's fun. It's demanding, hard work.
The cruise ship industry has experienced dramatic growth with seven million passengers currently cruising and revenues of close to $10 billion!
Jobs are plentiful, and if you enjoy traveling, meeting people, and going to exotic destinations, this may be your dream job. A wide variety of careers exist, and almost every major city in North America can boast of passenger ships ready to depart. A warning: little downtime exists for employees and many demands must be met onboard a ship. Most individuals work for two to four years, have a great time, and then "retire" to employment ashore.
REQUIREMENTS
Those wishing to work on a passenger ship must have background and experience in a specific job. For example, servers, aerobics instructors, cosmetologists, and wine stewards all must have training and experience on land before ever boarding a ship. Don't despair; some jobs require only low-level skills that can be easily learned. In addition to training and experience, there are a number of other important requirements, starting with excellent health. Most ships will have a medical doctor onboard to assist guests and crew in case of emergency. However, the medical care is minimal, and employers don't want employees who have frequent illnesses resulting from the demands of work aboard ship. Although age is generally not a factor, people in their twenties and thirties have an edge; a demand does exist for those in their forties, fifties, and sixties for specific jobs.
The ability to speak a foreign language will increase the probability of obtaining a job; many non-English speaking tourists are on ships, and a foreign language will help you in your job search on foreign vessels.
Two personality traits are extremely important to success aboard ship--flexibility and dependability. Flexibility is important because a person's lifestyle will change drastically. Dependability is equally important. Although life aboard ship appears glamorous--it is for the guests--it is not necessarily glamorous for the staff! Too often those who labored to obtain a cruise ship job quit after a few months--approximately 25 percent of first--time employees do not fulfill their contractual commitment (usually one or two years). Consequently, reliability ranks as an important personal characteristic.
CAREERS
Aboard ship, two categories of careers exist: those dealing with the ship and those related to the cruise-hotel aspect of the pleasure vessel.
The cruise ship has officers and a crew concerned with its navigation, maintenance, propulsion, and so on. The routes to these jobs would be through the merchant marine academies and the training programs of the various unions. Also, some former naval officers and crew may land some positions in these areas.
The following are some of the jobs related to the luxury hotel-cruise type careers; all of these careers require the ability to relate well to people and to assist the guests in having a good time.
Bartenders prepare drinks at the various bars located throughout the ship. Experience is a must, as are details of the latest "in" drink as well as the score and details of the previous night's game.
Cosmetologists and barbers perform the hairdressing necessities for the passengers. Normally these individuals have excellent skills and often have reputations in their field.
Cruise directors supervise the staff to maximize the enjoyment of the passengers. For example, a director will arrange for tours when the ship stops at the various ports during the cruise. It is often the director who handles most of the problems that arise for passengers. Persons wishing for a position as cruise director would list extensive travel experience and tenure as an assistant director. Often the success of the cruise is directly related to the competence of the director.
Ship photographers offer passengers the opportunity to remember their voyage through photographs. This busy position (some larger ships have two) requires travel ashore and attendance at parties and special events. Skills involved in this position are those required of any quality professional photographer.
Sales personnel aboard ship work in places such as the gift shop. This is often a concession on a ship, so those seeking employment must apply to the appropriate concession company. Obviously, retail experience is a must for this job.
Wine stewards are the wine experts aboard ship. They answer passengers' questions concerning the beverage--the best wine to drink with certain foods and the correct procedures related to wine drinking. Often these individuals have attended specific schools to obtain their expertise.
Chief pursers, as may be gathered from the name, handle many of the financial aspects of the cruise. For example, a purser handles the crew's payroll. This person also serves as the manager of the cruise personnel. The cruise director reports to the chief purser. Extensive leadership ability and financial experience are prerequisites for this position.
If this sounds like a lot of people work aboard a ship, you're correct. Typical is The Song of America, which sails out of the Port of Miami with a crew of more than five hundred!
See the following articles for more information:
- Find Your Calling: A Checklist
- 5 Ways To Build Your Career Outside of the Office
- How To Impress Your Interviewer When Making a Career Change
- 5 Tips For Successful Networking
