Todays Life

Most young people regard cruise ships as a moving fun fair. They think all is nice and it is not hard work at all, but a long term vacation. But is it true? Learn about working on a cruise ship from experienced crew members who hold different posts on board, and truly know what it’s like to earn a living at sea.

Louise, who has worked as a receptionist for three months, just loved her cruise ship job. “Living on a ship is fabulous!” says Louise. “I would never have seen so many exotic places if I hadn’t been on the ship, probably not in my whole lifetime!”

This is the spontaneous reply of her when she was on this post for the first time in her life. That was her first job too. After two years of traveling around the world, she finally got a job on shore.

Helen, a younger girl from Wales, worked on the same cruise ship as a nanny.

“I had to get away from the U.K. for some time, I wanted to travel, and a cruise job was the perfect opportunity for me,” she says. “I loved the ship and I made lots of new friends. It was fun all the way, but the kids were naughty sometimes and I got real tired on some days.”

Helen traveled for a year and then resigned. She went on with her studies in the U.K.

Alex worked as a barman on board. He used to have the same job on shore but he needed a change and some more money.

“I decided to go on board to travel a bit and see the world,” he says. “I also needed some more money for my loan as I want to buy a house. This cruise job seemed to be the ideal one for me. I had some fun, but I had to work long hours. It was quite tiring but it was something different so I dont regret it.”

Alex is now working on shore. After spending three years on board, he has got a new house.

What does a cruise job involve?

Here are a couple of regular onboard cruise ship positions. Each job demands different qualifications and skills.

A receptionist works at the ship reception desk, like in hotels, which is the first place all the passengers stop by once on board. The receptionist must be friendly, polite and smile a lot. Many times passengers get demanding and difficult, but a good receptionist can avoid arguments and should always be helpful. This post has got the benefit of meeting all the passengers and getting to know everyone. To qualify for this job applicants need to know two foreign languages, including English (primary).

A crew purser deals with crew and passenger issues. She fills in papers concerning both crew and passengers and is responsible for a lot of paperwork such as passport details and so on. She usually has got her own office but sometimes she may also work at the reception desk. This post is good for making new contacts, such as agents, and new friends, but it involves a lot of hard work most of the day. To get a purser job applicants need to speak fluent English plus another language such as French, Italian, Greek or Spanish. University graduates are preferred.

A nanny post can be fun, but at times some kids can become very demanding and tiring so the nanny must have strong nerves and loads of patience. She works at the nursery which is a nice room full of toys for kids and she must keep them busy and happy. To qualify for a cruise ship nanny job it’s necessary to speak English and at least one other language. A degree from a university is required.

A cruise line entertainer works at the ship theatre. The job may involve singing, dancing, acting, and playing musical instruments. The musicians are usually part of a group while singers or dancers can apply separately. They have to practice regularly to keep passengers happy.

The largest cruise ships in the world employ more than a thousand people, recruited from all over the world to fill dozens of unique positions. Cruise jobs are great for people with a customer service orientation, lots of energy, and the ability to leave home for at least 4 to 6 months at a time.

Tags: cruise | cruise ships | cruise ship | crew | cruise job | purser | cruise line | cruise line | cruise line entertainer | cruise line entertainer | working on a cruise ship | working on a cruise ship | cruise ship nanny

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 14th, 2007 at 12:24 pm and is filed under Business management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.