Cruise Ship Jobs Blog

It takes a special person to be able to supervise, motivate and entertain the youngest guests on a cruise ship.  Kids can be demanding as can be the parents, as well.

First you must ask yourself if you are looking for a seasonal job or a full time job.  For example, many full-time teachers use their vacation period as a time to work onboard.

Taking a seasonal youth staff job is also a great way to get your foot in the door for a full time position if that’s what you’re looking for.

The first day of your contract you will meet with the Youth Director who will assign you to a particular age group for the cruise (which may turn into many cruises). There will already be a schedule of activities in place and it will be your job to follow the schedule.

For example, youth staff looking after the 3-5 age group may supervise activities such as story-telling, scavenger hunts and arts and crafts.

If you were a counsellor working for Carnival Cruise Lines you would be expected to change diapers (nappies), whereas on Disney Cruise Line and NCL the parent needs to change the diapers of their own children.

Some cruise lines (ie. P&O Cruises) organise daily pool games for kids aged 9 years of age and older play pool games daily. Whereas many cruise lines rarely take the kids out of the kids club.

Working with teens is much different than working with the younger kids.  Teens can come and go as they please without being signed in by a parent.  It’s the job of the teen staff to create an environment that is fun, entertaining, and easy to make new friends. Activities may include discos, pool parties, karaoke, sports tournaments and teen dinners.

Cruise ship jobs as youth staff vary from ship to ship, depending on facilities and demographics. Find out more at www/workoncruiseships.com

No Comments »

Imagine yourself five years in the future. What will you be doing? What will your resume say? Will you be working on a cruise ship? Or, will you have cruise ship experience listed on your resume?

Picture what your future employers will think when they read your resume and it says, “Worked on luxury cruise ship visiting worldwide destinations.” Having a cruise job will definitely help your career on land…that is if you ever decide to switch back after getting a taste of working at sea!

But, for the same reasons that working on cruise ships is an asset to a resume, are the same reasons why some people just can’t handle ship’s life. The hours are long…we’re talking 10 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week. You will be away from your family and land-based friends. Not everyone survives this type of schedule or can overcome homesickness.

On the other hand you will meet and make new friends with people from all over the world. You will travel to some pretty amazing destinations. You will grow as a person and as a result it’s not just your resume that looks fantastic.

WorkOnCruiseShips.com provides a number of articles in our Life Onboard section about understanding if you are ready to work on a cruise ship and how to prepare yourself. If you imagine yourself working on a cruise ship in the near future, start the process today.

1 Comment »

It’s never too late to start the process of looking for a cruise job. Yet, contrary to what you may think, cruise ships have the same amount of passengers on their ships year round. As ships leave one itinerary they reposition to another itinerary, such as from the Mexican Riviera to Alaska. Crew members sign onto contracts for 4, 6, 8 or 10 months in length throughout the year.

The one department that does increase the number of crew during the summer is the Youth Department. Summer holidays means more families travelling together meaning a huge increase in kids needing to be supervised in onboard children and teen programs.

That holds true for all cruise lines that allow kids onboard (yes, there are some cruise lines that do not). Most cruise ships have year round youth staff (since kids travel throughout the year), but need to hire seasonal youth staff to handle the extra kids onboard. Many of these youth staff are teachers that are on summer break, university students on holidays or cruise applicants looking for a way to get their foot in the door.

Consider that once you sign on for a short summer contract, you just need to prove you can do a great job.  Then, you are now at the right place at the right time for a longer contract. On WorkOnCruiseShips.com we have the latest cruise ship vacancies in youth department jobs as well as many other cruise jobs that need to be filled.

No Comments »

What attributes makes a crewmember think about the profits of a company? For entry level applicants, sales training and sales experience is one of the most important aspects of your resume that you can beef up.

So many cruise jobs can benefit from a strong sales background, ones that you may not even think about. Of course, when you think of sales jobs on cruise ships, jobs such as Gift Shop Associate, Cruise Sales Manager, Port and Shopping Guide and Art Auctioneer come to mind. Yet, cruise ship photographers, salon and spa staff, bartenders and waiters should also have sales experience on their resumes.

Photographers need to sell their photos. Salon and spa staff need to sell beauty products. Fitness trainers need to sell classes and personal training sessions. Bartenders and waiters are required to sell beverages.

Cruise employers are more likely to hire an applicant that details their sales experience as an accomplishment on their resume. This highlights the fact that you realize the importance of the cruise line’s reason for being in business, and resulting in you landing your dream job.

No Comments »

Once you’ve made up your mind to find a cruise job, then reality sets in. Where do I start? What am I qualified to do? Who do I apply to? Does my resume need adjustments?

No Comments »