Cruise Ship Jobs Blog

cruise concessionaire should not be confused with a cruise ship recruitment agency, although many cruise applicants make this assumption.  So how do you know when you should use an agency and what’s the difference in the application process?

The fact is that a concessionaire is a third party vendor that sells services or merchandise on board. For example spa, gift shops and the photography department are all departments that the cruise lines use concessionaires to handle the recruitment.

In fact, you work for the concessionaire and not the cruise line.

On the other hand, cruise line agencies qualify potential crew members for positions with a cruise line. For this service, the cruise lines pay the agencies a fee for each crew member that is successfully hired and placed on board.

Most agencies cover a wide range of cruise lines, departments and jobs for their cruise line clients.  And, some agencies are even referred to as an official hiring partner for the cruise line. (Be careful of Cruise Ship Recruitment Scams, though).

Neil Maxwell-Keys

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When people get an idea that they want to work on board a cruise ship, their scope of the cruise jobs offered may be limited.  But, the fact is that a cruise ship offers numerous different and unique opportunities.

For example, when Royal Caribbean introduced their Oasis-class ship in December 2009, it also introduced many new cruise jobs as well.  They now employ a Horticultural Specialist to care for the live and artificial plants in the ship’s Central Park neighborhood.

Recently, Holland America Line announced the introduction of a new cruise job, a Lifestylist. The primary function of this cruise job coordinates and hosts activities associated with the Mind, Body, Spirit program.  The Life Stylist hosts Tai Chi each day but also serves as the on board liaison between Entertainment and the Greenhouse Spa.

Other unique jobs in the cruise industry include dive instructors, desktop publishers, party planners, lifeguards and crew trainers.

Cruise ships that have unique recreation activities offer unique jobs as well.  For example, Royal Caribbean recruits Open Deck Managers to manage their outdoor facilities at sea from their rock walls to their FlowRiders.  The Norwegian Epic will hire Recreation Staff for similar positions.

Neil Maxwell-Keys

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Although we are only into our first weeks of spring, cruise lines are starting to think about their crewing needs for the summer. For the most part, hiring occurs throughout the year due to turnover of existing crew and the launching of new cruise ships. But, during the summer months (school holidays), cruise ships sail at full capacity and therefore need more crew on board to compensate.

The cruise industry is a competitive industry to get hired in to. Therefore, getting your resume and cover letter into the hiring managers before your competition starts thinking to send theirs in is a crucial first step.

Many future cruise applicants are thinking right now that they should apply within the next couple of months to get a cruise job by the summer. Don’t wait. The sooner you apply, the sooner you can get started on following up on your application.

Then, when other resumes and cover letters start streaming into the hiring offices close to summer, you possibly will have already had your interview and just waiting to be placed on a ship.

The last thing you want is that your resume is received with the thousands of other resumes that are sent just prior to summer. Put yourself ahead of the competition by applying today so that you can secure your dream cruise job for tomorrow!

Neil Maxwell-Keys

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Finding a way to put your cover letter on top of the pile or make your interview stand out from the others when applying for jobs with cruise lines can be as simple as doing a little research ahead of time.

Which facts about a cruise line should you inject into your cover letter?  How do you seal the deal during your interview by wowing interviewers with your knowledge?

Just as for land-based jobs, knowing as much as you can about the company you are applying to can help you get hired.  This step is often neglected by applicants, so those that do their research will have a big advantage.

Cruise applicants should focus their research on five key areas.

1. Cruise Ship Fleet.  You should know about the ships within the cruise lines’ fleet such as total number of ships and which ship is debuting.

2. Passenger Demographic.  Who are the cruise line’s passengers? What is the demographic of the cruise line?

3. Cruise Itineraries.  Some cruise lines concentrate on world cruises while others like Disney Cruise Line stay in North America with the exception of their European itinerary on the Disney Magic.

4. Latest News.  Following cruise news publications and cruising websites will keep you informed about the latest in the cruising industry.

5. Contact Name.  This may be one of the most important pieces of information for getting hired.  Don’t assume that there is only one contact name for each cruise line.  More often than not there is a different contact person for each department.  You need to send your resume to the right person, or it may not even get read.

Neil Maxwell-Keys

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