Introduction
So you want to tour the most gorgeous ports in the world, live in the middle of the ocean, and get paid to do all of this on a cruise ship? Those who have a chance will be gregarious, eager to please, willing to work tirelessly, and able to live close to others (you’ll be sharing a small cabin with up to three other people). Since cruise ships are all located abroad, it can be difficult for South Africans to find employment in this sector. One should also be wary of scams that circulate, which offer fictitious jobs to unscrupulous people looking for work. Additionally, avoid using agencies that charge for their services.
How to apply
There are two ways to get a job on a ship:
- Apply to a cruise line for a job on one of their ship, or via one of their agencies.
- Apply to a concessioner for a job on a ship. A concessioner is a company contracted to operate a spa, retail shop, or entertainment on the ship.
Contacting a Cruise Company
- MSC Cruises: Click here, to search for jobs, and create a profile.
- Costa Cruises: Click here to check what jobs are available and to create a profile.
- Disney Cruise Line is undergoing a major increase in their fleet size, and thus has an increasing demand for a crew to man the new ships: They work together with cruise crew procurement companies to meet this demand. In the South African region, Disney works with what they call a “procurement ally”, Gourmet Recruitment International (see details further below – if you are South African we strongly recommend you work via GRISA). If you prefer working directly with Disney, Click here and sign up to get alerts about jobs with Disney Cruise Line on the career portal. Or visit their:
- Carnival UK, Cunard & P&O Cruises: These 3 cruise lines club together for job purposes. Click here to see their career page.
- Royal Caribbean: Phone +1 305 539 3920 or click here to find available Royal Caribbean jobs, and apply for one. Here are links to the careers pages of all cruise brands which are part of the group: Royal Caribbean Group, Royal Caribbean International, TUI Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea and Hapag Lloyd Cruises. There is also a Royal Caribbean Careers Facebook page, a Twitter page and a LinkedIn page.
- Carnival Cruises: Click here for more info. Applications can be made through Cruise Alternatives.
- Princess Cruises: Note that there have been instances of fake agencies pretending to represent Princess Cruises as part of a scam. Priciness have listed the following official agencies which you can use to apply for a job with them, with African jobs in Kouzon (click here to apply via Holland America Group), Additional recruitment partners they use are:
- Caribbean Cruise Careers (see below)
- Cast-A-Way (see below)
- Cruise Academy UK (see below)
- Excite Recruitment (see below)
- Pro Sea Staff (see below)
- Zest Recruitment (see below)
- Virgin Voyages: Virgin Voyages launched their cruise line in 2020, to cruise in the Caribbean. They have set up a job portal, so navigate there to begin working with them from their beginning.
Recruitment agencies in South Africa
- MSC Cruises: Click here, to search for jobs, and create a profile.
- Costa Cruises: Click here to check what jobs are available and to create a profile.
- Disney Cruise Line is undergoing a major increase in their fleet size, and thus has an increasing demand for crew to man the new ships: It works together with cruise crew procurement companies to meet this demand. In the South African region, Disney works with what they call a “procurement ally”, Gourmet Recruitment International (see details further below – if you are South African we strongly recommend you work via GRISA). If you prefer working directly with Disney, Click here and sign up to get alerts about jobs with Disney Cruise Line on the career portal. Or visit their website.
Jobs on Cruise Ships
Cruise related jobs cover the full monty of careers. Note that you will have to apply for a particular job, as the “I’m willing to do anything” approach doesn’t work. So, start off by deciding which job you want to do (which usually comes down to what you’re most qualified for).
Note that sometimes the cruise lines will only want males or females to do certain jobs.
Galley jobs (in the kitchen of the ship)
The single most important factor in creating happiness for passengers is the quality of its food. Food critical jobs include:
- Head Chefs typically make from USD5000 to USD8000 per month
- Sous chefs may make USD3000 to USD6000 per month.
- Beginner chefs’ starting salary is about USD1000 per month,
- Junior sous chef
- Pastry chefs
- Pastry Assistant chefs
- Bakers
- Assistant Bakers
- Dishwashers
- Pantry chefs
Staff need to be capable of catering for the massive volumes of passengers there usually are on cruise ships, every day.
Cooks need to prepare food in accordance with the cruise line’s recipes.
If you in particular enjoy cooking pastries, you could specialise and become a pastry chef or an assistant pastry chef. This would involve not just the making of pastries, but also the display of the food, whilst more senior positions would involve managing people, hiring staff and finding ways to reduce expenses.
Chef tournants are often advertised for, ie chefs who will assist wherever needed.
To qualify for food and beverage jobs:
- get a qualification from a hotel, chef or catering school.
- get experience working in a restaurant (ideally fine dining)
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