Photo Credits: Josiah Weiss
I spent a year working on cruise ships and during that time I learned a lot about the ins and outs of various ship jobs, their responsibilities, and which ones come with the biggest perks. I am not talking about the higher up jobs that take a few years of sailing to even apply to, but the entry level jobs that you can apply to with no prior cruise ship experience.
Of course, depending on the company you work for, specific ship you are on, and your manager's exceptions, even the same kind of jobs can look a bit different. Unfortunately job rank can sometimes feel like a class system when it comes to your accommodation, how many hours you work, what you can or can not do, and even where you are able to be seen on the ship. Keeping all this in mind, along with the fact that this is my personal opinion, here are the top 5 best entry level jobs a cruise ship.
Photo Credit: Jia Jia Shum
5. Bar Tender
Job Overview
This job definition is pretty explanatory, and keeps the guests onboard very happy. Even if the cruise is all-inclusive they still need someone to make and pass-out alcohol and other beverages to the guests.
Main Perks
If you are looking for port time, there are not as many bars open during the day, giving bar tenders time to get off ship.
When things are busy, which they usually are during the evening, it makes work hours past by fast.
The job itself is pretty straight forward and you do not have to deal with entertaining guests or creating solutions to crazy problems.
If you are stationed at the crew bar, it can be a lot of fun interacting with friends and other shipmates without having to be guest appropriate.
Tips can be great, especially when alcohol prices are high and the majority of people are buying drinks.
Biggest Drawbacks
If you are positioned at a location that has bar only access, you may be working long hours by yourself.
You also can't always count on tips, especially when working a contract where the cruise is all inclusive because a lot of people will leave their cash in the room since everything is considered paid for.
As a bar tender you most likely will not have access to the majority of locations on the ship that the guests do.
Photo Credit: Juan Carlos Trujillo
4. Shore Excursion
Job Overview
The shore excursion team are not the guides who lead the tours, but the people who sell, set up, and send the guests off on the excursions that take place off the ship.
Main Perks
On most ships, Shore Ex staff are encouraged to participate in all the tours that their ship offers so they can prepare the guests for the experience. This means thousands of dollars in international tours for free and tours will change from ship to ship, meaning you have new opportunities with each contract.
They are able to pull the strings regarding what tours they and fellow crew members may be able to join.
As staff member, they have access to the majority of the ship. Thus they can take guest passageways to get to work, dine in guest areas during certain times, and participate in some guest activities.
Biggest Drawbacks
When tours get cancelled or go badly, usually shore excursion employees are the ones that take the heat. Guests do not care how much control the staff do or do not have, they assume they can fix anything when it comes to shore excursions... right down to controlling the weather.
This is a role that calls for lots of smiles, organization, and group facilitation which means a lot of emotional labor.
It can feel repetitive as you give the same information about the same tours over and over again.
Photo Credit: Colin Lloyd
3. Cruise Staff
Job Overview
The cruise staff are the people that you see running the majority of shipboard activities. They introduce and promote events, make sure guests know the activities available to them, and ensure things run smoothly during those experiences.
Main Perks
Cruise staff often have the opportunity to participate in the events that they organize, and are encouraged to do so in order to create buy-in and excitement for the guests on board.
Since this is a guest facing position you have access to more guest perks such as seeing shows, eating in guest areas, and using guest passageways.
These staff members have many opportunities to get off the ship because most events take place while the ship is at sea, and planning can happen in advance.
Your accommodations are nice and you usually only have one other roommate.
Biggest Drawbacks
Dealing with upset guests is not fun and it can happen often.
It is a lot of work having to coordinate activities for everyone onboard and can get really repetitive since you are doing the exact same activities each week.
This is a job where you are encouraged to always maintain a smile and exude positivity, so it can be emotionally exhausting.
Photo Credit: Kyle DeSantis
2. Youth Staff
Job Overview
Any cruise ship that welcomes kids most likely has a youth center or kids zone onboard. This is where you will find the youth staff who run games, activities, and crafts for kids of (almost) all ages.
Main Perks
Since you are working with kids the stakes can feel a lot lower. Kids are usually understanding if you make a mistake or need to switch up an activity.
Since only a small amount of staff are needed to run the kids center while at port, as the majority of families take their children off the ship, you have many mornings to explore port and ample time off the ship.
You have access to a lot of things the guests do such as numerous restaurants, guest buffets, or the ability to go see a show.
You tend to only have one roommate.
Biggest Drawbacks
When working with kids you need to be positive and energetic, but with the long hours you work on board this means it can be very emotionally exhausting, especially during high times when you are running activities for up to 30-40 seven year olds for 5-10 hours.
Dealing with upset parents is not fun. Even when things are out of your control, such as their 12 year old can't be apart of the 18 year old age group, they still tend to take their frustrations out on the youth staff.
Photo Credit: Yiran Ding
1. Performer
Job Overview
A performer can consist of many different roles; singers, musician, dancers, DJs, etc... You many not consider this to be an 'entry level job' but it can be for those who are musically talented or have theater experience.
Main Perks
These staff members can be seen as some of the stars of the ship and are usually treated like royalty by the guests.
They have access to the majority of things that the guests do, such as unrestricted restaurant/guest buffet access and are usually welcome to be seen in all of the guests locations in hopes they will interact with people and make the cliental happy.
A lot of them tend to have some of the best crew accommodations on board (after the managers and the 'higher ups') and since performances do not happen during the day while the ship is docked, they have ample time off at port.
Biggest Drawbacks
This is not an easy job. You have to understand that performers put a lot of energy into what they do. The "theater group" alone trains for up to 3 months together before they even board the ship.
They tend to travel as a group since they are trained in special performances and in specific roles, so if they get sick of each other there is no running away.
I have also seen performers be volunteered to assist many other departments on days when there are no shows, so they can feel like they are thrown into a job they are not super comfortable with.
Conclusion
There are tons of jobs you can do on a cruise ship, and a lot of them do not necessarily need a ton of experience. Of course, each job's responsibilities can differ across companies and their specific ships. What is considered to be a perk for one person can be a drawback for someone else depending on what you are looking for. That being said, hopefully this post gave you a small look into some of the fun jobs you can apply to if you are looking to work on a cruise ship.
Credits
Thank you to my shipboard friends for giving their input and answering all of my questions about their jobs. Hopefully I will see you all again someday at sea.
The photos in this post are not mine. Thank you to the photographers who uploaded their photos for free use on Unsplash. They have been credited under their respective photographs.