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Cruise Ship Employment A crew member tells you how to land this job on ships. Cruise Ships are marvels in and of themselves. Take a look.
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What is it Like to Work Onboard Cruise Ships?
The short answer: lots of eating, sleeping and partying with awesome people from around the world with some work in between. The long answer: you will never understand what it is like to work onboard ships unless you do it, so keep reading and I will do my best to explain the basics. First you need to know... One reason for this misunderstanding is that people who go on cruises only remember that the crew is "mostly Asian". Waiters and housekeeping, yes. What they don't are the people they don't see day in and day out like the accountants, technicians, shore excursion staff and officers. They are almost always from western or 2nd world countries. Here are a few of the more common countries represented onboard. United States, United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Holland, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Italy, India, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Mexico. Much of the western crew are aged 20 - 40 years old and older still for the career cruisers. In general they are free spirited and love adventure and in my experience they also love to drink. You see, this job is perfect for people who aren't bogged down with life's little happening on the mainland such as kids, mortgages, and responsibility. What about the work? The better jobs with less work and higher pay often require a field of study or work experience. These positions include shore excursion sales, IT professionals, social hosts, fine jewelry sales, casino staff and more. Any job you can imagine on land usually has a cruise ship equivalent. Experience helps but really anyone with a positive attitude and the right skill set can excel onboard cruise ships. And finally, you have the performers, guest entertainers, musicians and dancers. These positions take a lot of practice to become professional at, but they also put in less hours while onboard. This is a great way for new dancers fresh out of school to get their feet wet, or for more experienced headliners to perform there magic, juggling or singing, respectively. And let's not forget the musicians whose rock band just isn't quite making it to MTV. There is a job for them as well. What about the pay on ships?
I personally knew of one cabin steward who had a picture of his nieces and nephews and told his passengers they were his children so he would rake in the tips from people who felt sorry for him. While not everyone does this, just remember, they make OK money even by US standards. And take a look at what kind of watch your steward is wearing. It's not uncommon to see them with a Tissot or Tag Heuer. If they made as little as people think then the crew wouldn't be wearing a $600 watch. And the people? Ahh the Debauchery... We also had loads of crew parties where the alcohol was free for everyone. This was the best night of the month and the next day was always a sloppy mess for the crew. It is great seeing crew who work 10 hour days having that much fun. Now that was a party. In no other career or lifestyle I know of is it acceptable to drink as much as people do on ships for that many nights in a row. Not even college can compare. For some reason, people like to drink on ships. Lots. Every night, too. And it's always a lot of fun. Now this is not to say that you have to drink but it is very easy to do as there are always new people onboard and the drinks are so cheap.
Hundreds of fun loving crew members + lots of cheap booze = gossip and unnecessary drama between crew, an unavoidable part of ship life, perpetuated by the copious amounts of booze we drank. Everyone seems to know everything about everyone while rumors pass like left over sushi in rough seas. What makes it all tolerable is knowing that your contract will finish in only a few months and it's then that you can go home, relax for a few weeks, and come back to do it all over again. Cruise ship employment takes a certain type of person. Some crew only last a week before packing up while others make cruise ships into a career. If you're considering getting a job onboard then don't pay attention to the nay sayers who have never done it. Try it out for yourself and make your own opinions. Want to make the move to ship life? Here is the easiest way to cruise ship employment.
![]() ![]() Mike is the founder of Travel Droppings and has been traveling since 2005. Hobbies include staring at maps, drinking coffee and helping old ladies cross the street. Future trips include England and Australia. |
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