Career change: from CC to Cruise ships

[Xtra Crew]

A friend of mine whose temporary cabin crew contract is about to finish is interested in changing career and moving to a cruiseship job.
Is there a forum or website where she could get information about vacancies and what cruise companys are recruiting at the mo?

Thx for your help!

[ashlea]

Whoops my bad, sorry

[Stephen82]

If you could read English , you would notice that he 's actually asking for a cruise ship forum :ugh::ugh:

[Benjaman]

I don't know about agencies, as there are a lot of dodgy ones out there.

One of the best cruise lines is Crystal Cruises and their personnel web site is www.icma.no (http://www.icma.no)

Your friend should expect to start at the bottom, just like most companies, but onboard promotion is quite easy. They usually advertise positions onboard.

Bear in mind that most cruise lines pay in US dollars though, so the salaries are not that high at the moment.

[jettgoddess]

You could also try www.pocruises.com they have a careers section on their home page.....

[32000feet]

i see u r looking 4 a new job .so i ve done 2 contrats on the cruise ships each 9,2 months long.
the good points u c world 4 free as cc also does ,u meet lots of ppl as u do beeing cc .
it is very hard work and living in the piece of metal ,where u have no time 2 b on ur own ,there r ppl all around u non stop .
after i tried cruise ships i would never go back .

[snoopy88]

I would like to share my experience with cruise ships,

I worked onboard passenger cruise ship based in Hong Kong for 1 year - 2 contracts of 5 months and a half.
As onboard purser you have a lot of advantages, ie single cabin, access to pool and all guests areas. You get good pay and visit a lot of nice and sunny places for free! You work with a multicultural crew and have a lot of fun.

However you work 7/7 and it is very hard to have privacy onboard. Personally I disembarked last December 2007 and am not ready to try again this experience for the moment...

[pjcarr]

I understand that the "typical" wage rate is about $1,000 US per month and in most cases is taxed. Is this correct?

[BestonBoard]

Average salary depends on which company you work for. $1000 USD was roughly the average when I was on board (Many moons ago!). This doesn't account for the tips you receive (which can be hefty in some cases!)... My salary used to be tax free, as you were based in international waters.
I completed a contract onboard what used to be Cunards flagship, and I hated every second of it... Living by the engine room (when you start), sharing with possibly 3 others who you have never met before. 16 hour days (albeit with breaks inbetween service) 7 days on a week, 1 shift off in every 3rd port (the lunch shift... only because the majority of pax were landside) meaning you still had to be up at 5am to serve breakfast, and back on board for 5pm to prepare to serve dinner.
You can make some great friends, don't get me wrong, and as all accomodation and food is provided, it is a good way to save some money...
In my honest opinion... unless you have a trade, or can become a croupier or entertainment staff, I'd stick to the skies... You can still have some sort of quality of life outside of work...

[Mari]

Dear Xtra,

here is a homepage: www.cruiseshipjob.com (http://www.cruiseshipjob.com)

Appr. 70 cruises are listed, you just have to click on the link and get the information. All positions and salaries are listed. If you read for 2 days, you will have a lot of information. Excellent source.

Good experience but you have to be healthy and very strong. I'd recommend to do the first contract at a very young - 19-23 - age.

[richatom]

You might want to try luxury yachting industry rather than cruise ships. I know a few ex airline CC now working on the big yachts in the Med. Try www.yabr.net (http://www.yabr.net) - sort of pprune for professional yachties.

[Sai Kung Eagle]

Yachts are the best alternative to cruise ships. Cruise vessel's vary considerably in the quality of crew accomodation and wage levels. If you work in the Purser department, or other departments of the Hotel you can be guaranteed to have to share accomodation. The trend these days is to have two persons per cabin. On some older vessels four crewmembers to a cabin are not uncommon. Crystal Cruises is a good place to start looking. Most cruise lines are doing away with agencies hiring crew, because an agency charges the line one month wages for each prospective crewmember they hire. The best approach is to try for a direct hire by the line. Royal Caribbean and other lines always need people. Perhaps you might give Royal Caribbean a try. Good Luck!

I have heard that some yachts pay up to 4,000 USD per month so yachts are certainly worth pursuing. :)

[DelseyDiner]

working as cabin crew is totally different to working on a cruise liner; trust me I know, albeit many eons ago, I have worked 7 yrs in the cruise lines and 7 yrs in aviation.

I agree some perks are equal, seeing the world for free, this is only true if you work for long haul airlines and compared with cruise lines you do get to see a bit more of the countries you visit, cruise lines (dependant on your job on board) may only give you a few hours glimpse into what a destination is like. That said, when I worked on the cruise ships I never took it for granted, and to have a few hours in a place that rightly some people would give an arm and a leg to visit, are still experiences that remain with me to this day.

If you are young and fit, then yes the cruising world is a great place to be, albeit the pay if you calculated it a an hourly rate, you could say it is poor, but if you have no overheads at home, there is no where to spend your money onboard unless you go ashore alot and fritter it there, so it is a great way to save a lot of money quickly. In fact, with this 'credit crunch' at the moment, I may even consider going back for a contract myself.

The cruise lines can be extremely diffficult to get into, dependant on which cruise line you apply to, some say that you have to show persistence and if at first you don't get any answer to your cv/application letter, then just keep bombarding them with it - they want to know you are keen.

The work is 7/7, but I believe these days contracts are offering days off onboard (not heard of in my time of cruising), and accommodation may have to be shared or you could indeed keep moving cabin every cruise.

The best jobs to go for would be in the Purser's department, as you may get officer status, access to passenger areas and facilities, better cabin and salary arrangements. However you may be limited on your time ashore...so one of the cushier jobs onboard with all the perks of a purser(and more) would be in the 'Shorex Dept' - this means you get to do all the tours ashore with the passengers and visit the countries you dock at. If you are looking just to have fun, see the world but not really too bothered about the money then try for the casino, photographers, beauty salon or onboard shop departments - most of those are concessions and may require some or no experience.

There are a lot of agencies or books out there that will entice you to send them a fiver or more to get the info - but most are a scam. Do you own research, pick up the cruise line brochures and apply direct to the head offices - BUT REMEMBER PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF IN THE END.

I agree with the earlier posts, Crystal Cruises is one of the best, also try for Radisson Seven Seas and Windstar Crusies.

BEST OF LUCK TO YOUR FRIEND. GIVE IT A GO, HE/SHE WILL EITHER LOVE OR HATE IT AND THE EXPERIENCE ALWAYS STANDS YOU IN GOOD STEAD.

Regards DD:ok: