Is Now a Good Time to Look For Job Vacancies on Cruise Ships?

You might think with all the economic uncertainty and problems in the financial markets that now is not a great time to be searching for job vacancies on cruise ships. However almost alone amongst the foreign travel industry - cruises are defying the market and are more popular now than ever. There are more cruise liners operating all over the world than ever before and the demand for reliable skilled employees is rising all the time.

Most cruise liners now are pretty much comparable to floating five star hotels and offer a huge variety of facilities and entertainment to their passengers. This of course means that the variety of skills needed to look after thousands of guests is also greatly increased from just about every conceivable hospitality job through to IT support, nurses and admin roles most people can find an appropriate job vacancy on a cruise liner.

Working on a cruise liner has lots of benefits - you get to travel all over the world, all your bills and board are free, meet people from all over the world and generally makes your job into an adventure. However it is important to remember that these jobs are all hard work - cruise passengers can be extremely demanding and you have to be professional and courteous at all times. The discipline involved is much more than a normal job simply because when that ship sets sail everyone has to be relied on to do their job and keep the passengers happy.

Obviously you should be comfortable working at sea and unless you are very senior or an officer you will generally be required to share a cabin. The crews quarters are often quite small - so again if you’re somebody who needs lots of their own space you might not enjoy this. Having said that you are usually able to use all the ships facilities when off duty so there is plenty of space for relaxing away from sleeping quarters.

Working on a cruise liner is certainly a fantastic experience but it’s not for everyone - if you want to do 9-5 hours you’ll be disappointed as everyone is expected to pitch in and do whatever is required. There is a great camaraderie though amongst most crews - with friendships made that often last a lifetime. You work hard but when you finish your contract you’ll come back having met lots of new people, seen loads of new places and best of all an almost untouched salary sitting in your bank account!

If you are seriously looking for job vacancies on cruise ships there are some agencies that can help you out. This guide was written by a cruise ship recruiter which also gives you all the information you need to get your big adventure under way as quickly as possible.

Job Vacancies on Cruise Ships

All the best
Jenny

A wealthy friend decided to take a one-month vacation with Seabourn Cruises and knew the ship, itinerary, departure date and stateroom she wanted. She decided to conduct an experiment in cruise bargain hunting by calling three travel agents and, after relaying the specifics of her desired voyage, advised each agent that whoever gave her the best price would get her business. She saved thousands of dollars.

The travel agent who won her business did it by rebating. If there is one dirty word in the cruise industry it’s rebating, which means an agent kicks back part of his or her commission (generally 15% of the cruise fare) to pass along a lower fare.

After 15 years of writing about the cruise industry I still don’t see why rebating is bad - don’t real estate agents and car salesmen do the same thing? Isn’t this just basic competition? Still, several cruise lines won’t let any travel agent rebate cruise fares, including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Crystal Cruises, Regent Seven Sea Cruises and, to a large part, Norwegian Cruise Line.

The remaining cruise lines do allow rebating, but won’t permit travel agents to advertise or promote a lower price to the public. You have to ask.

This means that if your sights are set on a Princess, Holland America, Cunard, Oceania, Carnival and Seabourn cruise, it’s worth your time to ask travel agents if he/she can come up with a lower price than the one you’re first quoted.

Of course your chances are better in some cruising regions. Right now, sales of Caribbean, Mexico, Baltic, South America and Western Europe cruises are soft. Hence, here you stand a better chance of getting a lower price than on Alaska and Greek Island cruises, which are selling much better this year.

It’s all about supply and demand. And timing. For example, traditionally suites and balcony cabins sell out first. But now that a bad economy is upon us and there’s overcapacity in the Caribbean, Mexico and some areas of Europe, you still may get a better deal on the highest-priced categories. So ask. The only think a travel agent can say is “sorry, this is the price.”

WHEN NOT TO SHOP AROUND: When you have a wonderful travel agent you trust implicitly, who has steered you towards good deals in the past. To save $100 or so isn’t worth it.

One caveat. Travel agents can only rebate the price of a cruise. There are fixed costs, like port charges, taxes, fuel surcharges and airfare that are never negotiable.

Anne Campbell is a journalist who has been covering the cruise industry for 15 years. She is editor of Cruising From New York http://www.cruisingfromnewyork.com and ShipCritic Blog http://www.shipcriticblog.com

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