Types of People Not Suitable for Cruise Jobs

Cruise Job Tips | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Jan 25 2012

Not everyone is cut out to work on cruise ships. You may remember my blog from last month that discussed the types of people that actually do work on ships. Now, I’ll talk about people that would not be suitable for cruise jobs.

Are You Dependent on Your Cell Phone?

The cost of using a cell phone while at sea or abroad can be expensive. If you can’t live without phoning and texting, a job on a cruise ship may not be for you.

Are You Dependent on Social Media?

If you are addicted to sites like Facebook and Twitter, you may go into withdrawl if you work on a cruise ship. Staying connected at sea can cost about $0.10 per minute ($6.00 per hour) plus the connections are super slow. If you can’t live without this type of interaction, a job at sea may not be for you.

Can You Live With Less Clothes (and Shoes)?

Cabin space is limited. There just isn’t enough room for your shoe collection or a half a dozen pair of jeans. Plus, you’ll be in a uniform most of the time, so you won’t have the opportunity to wear everything you bring. Now consider suitcase space. It’s not likely that you will be able to handle more than two suitcases. What will actually fit?

What Do You Think of Room-mates?

You will most likely be sharing a cabin and bathroom with another person for at least six months. People that don’t like sharing space, will not be suitable for ship life.

What Do You Think of Other Cultures?

If you don’t embrace the fact that you will be working and sharing ship space with about 50 other nationalities, working on a cruise ship is not for you.

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Top 10 Reasons to Work on a Cruise Ship

Cruise Job Tips | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Jan 22 2012

Contemplating working at sea? Here’s a list of why some crewmembers work on cruise ships contract after contract.

1.  Crew members have the opportunity to travel to many new places that they might not have been able to see otherwise.

2.  It is more exciting to work at sea than to work on land.

3.  You will make friends with people from all over the world.

4.  Experience working on cruise ships looks great on a resume for future jobs that you apply for.

5.  A job on a cruise ship can lead to a unique and rewarding cruise ship career.

6. Working on a cruise ship is a great chance to start a brand new career path.

7.  For some nationalities, the salary a crewmember makes onboard exceeds the amount that can be made in their home country.

8.  Most crewmembers have the benefit of not having to cook meals, wash dishes, wash clothes and linen or make their own bed.

9.   There is the opportunity to save lots of money since you don’t have to pay for accommodation, food, or even a gym membership. (Of course, you need to be careful about spending in the shops onboard and ashore!)

10. Have fun. The environment onboard cruise ships can be fun. Although crew work hard, long hours, there is still time to go ashore and unwind with friends. And, just because the code of conduct on cruise ships is strict it doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy yourself.

For more information about getting a job on a cruise ship, visit WorkOnCruiseShips.com.

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Is Crew Life Onboard One Big Party?

General | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Jan 21 2012

A common perception of crew life onboard is that it is one big party below decks every night. Crewmembers that work onboard cruise ships TODAY will disagree with this false perception.

Yes, there was a time (about ten years ago) when crew parties were the norm. But, today crew life is far less of a party. Code of conduct on cruise ships has changed dramatically in the last ten years with a no tolerance for crew drunkenness. Crew members are breathalized and terminated if and when they are caught.

This doesn’t mean that crew members don’t have fun it just means that crew must be extra aware of how much they drink. In fact, crew discos are usually held once a cruise. But, it’s not like a land-based job where you can go to the bar or a club after work and your employer doesn’t know how much you drink. On a cruise ship your employer can see how much you drink and how you behave.

 

Unfortunately there are YouTube videos, books and interviews that are out there that depict that crew life is one big party. It is important to note that many of these crew members are ex-crewmembers that worked onboard during the days that crew partying was acceptable. They are out of touch with today’s crew environment.

Since today’s crewmembers have worked hard to gain their positions onboard, most of them fully understand the consequences of complying with the cruise lines’ code of conduct and take their jobs seriously. If they don’t, then their days are numbered before they are sent home without a job.

For more info, WorkOnCruiseShips.com members can read Cruise Lines Code of Conduct.

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Despite the Costa Crash, the Cruise Industry is Strong

General | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Jan 19 2012

After the Costa Concordia ran aground on Friday, January 13, 2012, it wasn’t a shock that various cruise line stock prices would drop as a result. Yet, analyzing the current stock prices and history, the stock prices are not as low as one may think and they are already increasing.

When the NYSE opened on Tuesday, January 17, the Carnival Corporation (CCL) stock had dropped to just below $30 after trading at above $34 on Friday. Since Tuesday, the stock prices have been quietly climbing and have already reached $32.  It’s interesting to note that the 52-week low was actually $28.52 which occurred in February 2011.

Looking into the history of CCL stocks, Carnival Corporation enjoyed stock prices of higher than $50 in 2007. Yet after the stock crash in 2009, stock prices fell to below $20.

Looking at another major cruise corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL), there is a similar pattern of stock price decreases and increases. Highs were reported in 2007 with dramatic lows of less than $10 reported in 2009 as the market crashed. Their 52-week low was $18.70 which was experienced in September 2011. Their stocks are currently trading at around $28.

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Reports from the Crew of the Costa Concordia

General | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Jan 18 2012

Although much has been said about the actions of the Captain of the Costa Concordia, the real heroes of this disaster were the crewmembers.

For starters, ship’s purser Manrico Giampedroni, helped load passengers into lifeboats before setting off to search the decks for more passengers around midnight. Unfortunately, Giampedroni slipped, broke a leg and became trapped. Giampedroni was rescued 36 hours later.

Crewmember Erika Soria from Peru was not so lucky and is still one of the missing crewmembers.  According to another crewmember, Erika had boarded a lifeboat after helping evacuate passengers. But the small, overcrowded craft flipped and everyone aboard fell into the sea. Read full story here.

Another crewmember, Rose Metcalf shared her experiences on the BBC Breakfast news show. The dancer from the UK explained how she helped the passengers evacuate. “If you are on a ship, you have a responsibility or duty to help fellow crewmembers and passengers…when events like this happen.”

She explained, “Because of the listing we knew they wouldn’t be able to deploy all of the life rafts on the port side…We were literally throwing each other… We were creating human chains to try and pass people over gaps that if they dropped down there was no recovery from.”  Read full story here.

In another interview, James Thomas, a crewmember from the UK, explained how he used his six-foot frame as a human ladder. Mr Thomas said crew members assembled at emergency points as per their training but the ship’s extreme tilt made it virtually impossible to follow the normal evacuation procedures.

He said, “Once it became too much of a tilt to evacuate the ship that’s when it went into chaos…That’s when the port side had to go starboard side and that’s when it became a fight for your life.”  Read full story here.

If it weren’t for the actions of many of the crew, the outcome may have been worse.

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What is a Crew Cabin Like on a Cruise Ship?

General | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Jan 15 2012

A common question that arises from potential applicants looking for a job on a cruise ship is, what is it really like to live onboard? Understanding what a crew cabin looks like could break the decision to even work on ships for some applicants.

Keep in mind, though, that crew cabins vary between cruise line, cruise ship and rank/position of a crew member. To start at the high end of the spectrum, it’s not a surprise that the Captain has the biggest cabin. But, even a Captain’s cabin on one ship, such as the Oasis of the Seas, would be quite different from the Captain’s cabin on the Ocean Princess (an older ship). Each ship is designed differently in space and amenities.

Taking that scenario into consideration, all other ranks also have significant differences, too. Depending on rank, will determine how big your cabin is. The lowest ranks often share a cabin with another crew member of the same sex, along with sharing a bathroom with the adjoining cabin. The next rank of crewmember still shares a cabin with another crew member, but they don’t have to share a bathroom with another cabin.

Within each cabin space, the amenities are also limited. There is usually a double wardrobe that is shared. And, in the bathroom, the vanity space must also be shared.

Ranks such as supervisors, managers, and one-striped officers don’t have to share with another crewmember. Their cabin is usually the same size with the same amenities as the other lowering ranking crew, but there’s only one bed.

Here’s an excellent example of what to expect in crew cabins by a video posted by Disney Cruise Line Crew Cabin.

For more information about Life Onboard, visit the website, WorkOnCruiseShips.com.

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Costa Concordia Accident Reinforces the Importance of Safety at Sea

Cruise Job Tips | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Jan 14 2012

On the evening of Friday, January 13th the Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Italy. As the details of the investigation are still unraveling, there are many unanswered questions and much speculation. In a BBC news report, both passengers and crew give their account of what happened.

There is a huge responsibility on behalf of all crewmembers to be well trained and prepared in case of any emergency onboard. Unfortunately, it takes incidents like this one to really remind crew and officers around the world that their job goes far beyond the duties of the actual position they are hired for.

Every time a crew member joins a ship, no matter how many contracts they have done, they must attend safety training. Additional training is then carried out every week to exercise the crew in their emergency duties and emergency procedures. Such training also includes practice in launching and operating lifeboats and liferafts.

It’s no doubt that this horrific accident will be an important reminder to all those who work onboard that safety at sea must be taken seriously. No matter what your job on a ship is, it is also your responsibility to fully understand your own emergency duty. For more information about safety training on cruise ships, members of WorkOnCruiseShips.com can read these articles.

Introduction to Safety Training

Cruise Ship Emergency

 

 

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Identify Your Skills and Get a Cruise Job

Cruise Job Tips | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Jan 12 2012

One of the most common questions that we see on the Members Discussion Forum is “What cruise job am I best suited for?” The best way to answer this type of question is to really know your own skills and work experiences inside and out.

Many people have a resume ready to go and apply to a whole slew of jobs with the same resume, hoping that an employer will read it and think, “Yes this is the person I’m looking for!” The fact is that the recruiting process in the cruise industry just doesn’t work that way. The competition for jobs is stiff and only the most qualified get hired.

For starters, cruise job applicants must apply to a specific position with each resume that they send out. And, that resume must correlate how your own skills and experiences are perfectly matched to the job you are applying for.

To be able to do this, you must first intimately understand the position that you want to apply for. Second you must relook at how your resume is laid out and the words that you use. The key is to list your most relevant experience and skills at the beginning of your resume. Second, make sure you highlight the required skills that are detailed in a job description.

For more information about writing a resume for the cruise industry, check out the Getting Hired section of WorkOnCruiseShips.com.

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The Most Unusual Cruise Jobs

Cruise Job Tips | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Jan 10 2012

When many people think of working on cruise ships, they automatically think of jobs such as housekeeping, waiters, cooks, guest services, gift shop associates, and entertainers. Then there’s the people who have started their hunt for a cruise job and realize there are also jobs such as cruise staff, hair stylists, photographers, cruise sales managers, art auctioneers, and port and shopping guides.

Now let’s broaden the job field even more with some jobs that you wouldn’t expect to find onboard a ship. Not that these jobs would be considered unusual in the land-based world of employment, but the fact that you can find these types of jobs on cruise ships is good to know.

Here are some of those unique jobs:

Dive Instructor – A few cruise lines teach a PADI certified dive course and therefore employ dive instructors.

Recreation Staff – Royal Caribbean recruits staff to manage their outdoor facilities which include climbing walls and surfing simulators.

Lifeguards – Disney Cruise Line is one of the only cruise lines that has lifeguard positions.

Desktop Publisher – Most cruise ships put out a daily activities newspaper for their passengers as well as print other literature such as menus. For example, Crystal Cruises has a position called an Editor.

Party Planner & Event Managers – Consider that many cruise lines offer onboard weddings, meetings and parties for special event groups. Holland America Line hires party planners and Royal Caribbean recruits for Group Coordinators.

Personal Trainers – Part of the spa department, personal trainers are hired to teach fitness classes.

For more information about these jobs and other cruise job vacancies, visit WorkOnCruiseShips.com.

 

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Do You Love to Travel? Get a Cruise Job!

General | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Jan 08 2012

Many people dream of traveling to exotic destinations around the world. But, the cost of airfare, hotels and cruises make the opportunities few for most of us. This could be the reason why so many dreamers make it a goal to get a cruise job.

Yes, there’s the reality that you have to actually work and that you aren’t onboard as a guest. Yet, getting to visit these destinations if only for a few hours of our free time per day is a great taste to satisfy our travel bug.

Unfortunately you don’t get to choose which ship to work or the itinerary you are sent to. Although, the longer you work for a company and the more contracts you do, you may be sent to your dream destination. Or, you could be lucky and end up in your dream destination on your first contract!

Cruise ships travel to practically every destination that you can think of. But, there are some cruise lines that only concentrate on a select number of itineraries. For example, Disney Cruise Line currently concentrates only on the Caribbean, Bahamas, Alaska and the Mexican Riviera.

So, if you want to see more than just the Caribbean, Mexico and Alaska, you’d need to work for a cruise line that offers more exotic itineraries. For example, cruise lines such as Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Holland America offer cruises to Asia, Australia, South America, Europe, Hawaii.

For more information about which cruise lines to work for and how to get a job with them, visit WorkOnCruiseShips.com.

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