Cruiseships

What Are the Best Cruise Lines to Work For?


Engaged on a cruise line is a dream job for a lot of, a chance to actually receives a commission to stay on a cruise ship. Nonetheless, your expertise as a cruise line worker actually differs from job to job, employer to employer.

A number of the finest cruise strains to work for embody Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line and MSC Cruises. Right here’s what to anticipate in case you resolve to use for a job with these strains, plus others.

On this Article:

The Greatest Cruise Traces to Work ForRoyal Caribbean InternationalCarnival Cruise LineDisney Cruise LineNorwegian Cruise LineMSC CruisesCelebrity CruisesVirgin VoyagesIs it Higher to Work on a Luxurious Cruise Line or a Finances Cruise Line?What are the Hours Like on a Cruise Ship?How Lengthy are Cruise Ship Contracts?Is Engaged on a Cruise Ship Proper for You?

The Greatest Cruise Traces to Work For

Identical to your expertise on a cruise will differ from cruise line to cruise line, so will your expertise working as a part of a cruise ship crew differ relying on the cruise line who employs you.

As you peruse these finest cruise strains to work for, take into accout components such because the model’s tradition, common visitors, normal ship dimension and frequent locations, earlier than you robotically ship off your resume.

Royal Caribbean Worldwide

Royal Caribbean Crew Members
Royal Caribbean Crew Members (Photograph Credit score: EWY Media)

Royal Caribbean Worldwide persistently operates the biggest cruise ships at sea, with seemingly a more moderen, larger and higher ship rolled out among the many cruise line’s fleet yearly or so. Royal Caribbean additionally visits greater than 300 locations world wide. 

So, in case your intention is to work at a cruise line with huge ships and large potentialities as to the place you could possibly journey, Royal Caribbean is one to maintain in your radar.

In any other case, although, you may count on a wealth of advantages as a Royal Caribbean worker. On-ship advantages embody:

Free limitless WhatsApp textual content messaging whereas onboard

Complimentary lodging, meals and drinks

Reductions on cruises

Entry to private {and professional} wellbeing counseling

Entry to onboard medical care

Entry to a fitness center 

Entry to crew member social actions 

Moreover, you may get one-day guests passes for relations and pals to go to you on the ship whereas in port. You additionally get entry to organized excursions whereas in port.

Royal Caribbean presents workers contracts starting from 4 to eight months, and you reside on the ship at some stage in that contract. Understand that, throughout this 4 to eight months, you don’t have assured days off (as is normal within the cruise trade). 

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival President Visits the Crew
Photograph Courtesy: Carnival Cruise Line

With the best variety of ships out of each different cruise line, Carnival Cruise Line presents tons of selection for its on-board workers.

You would possibly end up engaged on a smaller, extra intimate and older ship, or you could possibly wind up on an enormous ship with tons of latest, flashy facilities. That selection extends to Carnival Cruise Line’s locations, with the potential to sail to greater than 800 ports worldwide. 

Carnival hires on-ship workers throughout six classes: marine and technical operations, lodge operations, specialty groups, leisure, on line casino and medical. Your advantages will differ relying in your function, resembling in case you’re a bartender versus a lighting technician.

For instance, Carnival’s leisure workers get pleasure from advantages resembling:

Free room and board

Paid flights to and from your property airport

A retirement plan

Medical and dental care

Inventory buy choices

Profession growth alternatives 

Particular charges on cruises, together with a household and pals low cost

Whereas these advantages appear fairly beneficiant, simply take into accout, although, that similar to on another cruise ship, you’ll be working lengthy hours and can signal a multi-month contract, regardless of your function.

Disney Cruise Line

Captain Minnie on a Disney Cruise
Photograph Credit score: Matt Stroshane / Shutterstock

Whereas Disney Cruise Line could also be small compared to these different cruise strains, for a Disney grownup, there’s no higher place to work. Disney cruise ships package deal all of the magic of the model into an expertise at sea, and that magic extends to the cruise line’s workers. 

Advantages for shipboard crew and forged members embody:

An organization-matched retirement financial savings program

Complimentary theme park admission for you and your loved ones

Medical protection

Moreover, workers signal contracts starting from 4 to 6 months, and crew members share rooms with a number of roommates. Crew members even have their very own deck, pool, fitness center and rec room, and revel in particular crew member social actions.

Do observe that Disney is on the stricter facet relating to crew member expectations. Habits should meet sure Disney requirements, to maintain the expertise constant for all cruisers. 

Norwegian Cruise Line

Docked Norwegian Aqua
Docked Norwegian Aqua (Credit score: Emrys Thakkar / Cruise Hive)

Earlier shipboard workers give Norwegian Cruise Line a giant thumbs up. Actually, one worker who works in housekeeping mentioned, “What’s the most anxious half about working on the firm?

I don’t have any stress…I like the ocean [and] cruising, the passengers and crew have been superb, we have now nice advantages: [four] free meals, uniforms, and crew cabin well being, dental, and life insurance coverage for us as properly…and far more.” Different hospitality workers say a lot the identical. 

Crew members share guestrooms with different workers (although management-level workers get non-public rooms), and so they have entry to social areas, retailers, a medical clinic and fitness center. 

That mentioned, some workers admit it’s a must to be lifelike about what you’re entering into. Norwegian Cruise Line clarifies that crew members work seven-day work weeks, with 10+ mixed hours per day, and contracts final from between 4 to 9 months. 

MSC Cruises

Crew on MSC World America
Crew on MSC World America (Photograph Credit score: Catie Kovelman / Cruise Hive)

One other very massive cruise line, MSC Cruises, persistently hires workers from all world wide. 

Employed workers full each pre-boarding and post-boarding coaching, for contracts lasting between 5 and 7 months, adopted by a two-month trip. MSC Cruises employs a buddy system for its crew members, serving to them develop into acclimated to life and dealing on a ship.

General, MSC Cruises appears to be extremely devoted to making sure that its workers have the assets they should thrive inside their roles.

Advantages embody:

Complimentary (shared) room and board

Entry to a crew fitness center

Entry to a crew bar

Entry to a crew pool

Medical assist

Laundry service

Free WhatsApp service on the ship

Superstar Cruises

Celebrity Cruises' Officers and Crew
Photograph Courtesy: Superstar Cruises

Superstar Cruises is a Royal Caribbean Group model, so your expertise engaged on a Superstar Cruises ship could also be just like what your expertise is perhaps engaged on a Royal Caribbean ship, although with a couple of caveats.

Superstar Cruises doesn’t have the identical variety of ships nor the identical variety of locations. Moreover, Superstar Cruises is extra of a higher-end model, with an older clientele that displays that.

In any other case, you may count on the identical on-ship advantages, which embody:

Free limitless WhatsApp textual content messaging whereas onboard

Complimentary lodging, meals and drinks

Reductions on cruises

Entry to private {and professional} wellbeing counseling

Entry to onboard medical care

Entry to a fitness center 

Entry to crew member social actions 

Contracts final for 4 to eight months and also you’ll be assigned to a ship wherever you’re wanted.

Virgin Voyages

Virgin Voyages Cruise Ship
Virgin Voyages Cruise Ship (Photograph Credit score: EQRoy)

A really new cruise line, Virgin Voyages has 4 ships in its fleet and so they journey to only a handful of locations within the Caribbean, Europe and North America. Nonetheless, whereas this can be a deterrent to some potential workers, Virgin Voyages presents a really distinctive surroundings which will entice others. 

Virgin Voyages ships are all adults-only (so extra suited to on-ship workers who will not be too eager on kiddos). Moreover, the ships have extra of a millennial vibe, so a youthful set of cruisers than what you’d get on another, adults-only ships which might be extra geared towards seniors (like Viking).

Do observe, although, that since Virgin Voyages is a smaller cruise line with simply 4 ships, not as many job listings can be found by means of Virgin Voyages as what you would possibly discover with different cruise strains.

Moreover, there’s not very a lot available, public data relating to what advantages can be found to Virgin Voyages workers, straight from the corporate. 

Nonetheless, workers report on boards resembling Reddit that Virgin Voyages pays a lot better and treats its workers a lot better than many different cruise strains.

That is partly as a result of Virgin Voyages is a tip-free cruise line, which means the cruise line doesn’t count on cruise visitor tricks to increase crew members’ incomes.

Is it Higher to Work on a Luxurious Cruise Line or a Finances Cruise Line?

Ship Deck Crew
Ship Deck Crew (Photograph Credit score: yanchi1984)

Each engaged on a luxurious cruise line and dealing on a price range cruise line can include its personal distinct perks. 

On a luxurious cruise line, you could be held to significantly excessive requirements and undergo extra rigorous coaching than you would possibly elsewhere, as passengers could also be extra discerning and demanding. You might also discover higher pay at a luxurious cruise line, in addition to discover that passengers tip extra generously. 

Luxurious cruise line ships may additionally be smaller and journey to extra distant locales. Moreover, if you wish to get into luxurious hospitality basically, then this kind of expertise could look good in your resume.

In distinction, a price range cruise line ship is perhaps faster-paced and give you extra to do as a crew member, in addition to alternatives to see extra locations.

Since budget-friendly cruise strains are bigger, in addition they make use of extra people, so you’ll have a neater time getting a job on a budget-friendly cruise line, particularly early on in your profession. 

What are the Hours Like on a Cruise Ship?

Carnival Cruise Ship Crew Area
Carnival Cruise Ship Crew Space (Photograph: Cruise Hive)

As a result of a cruise ship is at all times working, cruise ship workers don’t keep normal enterprise hours. Moreover, fairly than getting sure days of the week off, workers could solely get sure banks of hours off. So, for instance, you would possibly work for 12 hours after which get 12 hours off.

It’s not unusual for crew members to work seven days every week, for a number of weeks, for as much as 12 hours per day. 

If you’d like probably the most break day, and the flexibleness to, for instance, exit on a shore tour, you’ll need to look particularly for jobs in retail or the ship’s on line casino, as, on many ships, casinos and retail retailers usually are not operational whereas the ship is in port. 

How Lengthy are Cruise Ship Contracts?

Fred. Olsen Crew Members
Fred. Olsen Crew Members (Photograph Courtesy: Fred. Olsen Cruises)

It relies on the cruise line, however cruise ship contracts usually final between two months and 9 months.

Some cruise ship contracts will specify that you just additionally get a sure period of time off, however you’ll seemingly get that paid break day on the very finish of your contract — which means in case you get one month off out of a nine-month contract, you’re nonetheless working 9 months straight, you’ll simply have a paid month off after it. 

Is Engaged on a Cruise Ship Proper for You?

In the end, solely it is possible for you to to resolve if engaged on a cruise ship is best for you, regardless of the cruise line you apply with. Whereas the worker expertise differs significantly from cruise line to cruise line, there’ll simply be a couple of issues you may count on to cope with, regardless of your employer. 

Whatever the cruise line you select, you have to to share your residing area with one other crew member, except you may snag a senior place. So, in case you don’t love the thought of sharing your area, you won’t like a cruise ship job.

Learn Additionally: Which Crew Members Will You Meet on Your Subsequent Cruise?

Moreover, you can be anticipated to work lengthy hours, and also you gained’t have assured days off, so you must be okay with the truth that, for a time a minimum of, your job shall be your life.

Nonetheless, once more, regardless of the cruise line you select, the job will allow you to journey the world in a approach that you just seemingly couldn’t with another job (count on, perhaps, in case you labored for an airline). 

You’ll must weigh the professionals and cons fastidiously earlier than pursuing this profession.

What Are the Greatest Cruise Traces to Work For?


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Ryan

Ryan O'Neill is a maritime enthusiast and writer who has a passion for studying and writing about ships and the maritime industry in general. With a deep passion for the sea and all things nautical, Ryan has a plan to unite maritime professionals to share their knowledge and truly connect Sea 2 Shore.

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