Sea-Based Jobs

Positions within the service and hospitality department work together to create a great experience for passengers on board. From answering enquiries to room and housekeeping arrangements, they make sure guests could feel at home with their services. The hotel and guest service jobs include bellman, computer systems manager, hotel manager, IT staff, receptionist, etc.

There are many styles of restaurants onboard, many positions require prior restaurant or cruise ship experience. The galley is usually divided into the hot galley and cold galley. The hot galley positions include all types of cooking while the cold galley positions include baking, pastry, and buffets. This team in the kitchen includes all positions  of chef,  cooks, crew cook, pastry chef, baker, galley cleaner and dishwasher, they work with the food and beverage department to provide wonderful cuisines and gourmets for passengers and crew.

Art auctioneer engage in promotion, direct selling and platform  sales through live auctioning onboard. All events including auctions, exhibitions and seminars are planned and carried out under the auctioneer’s guidance. The auctioneer delegates responsibilities to their art preparator, art associates, and gallery director as they see fit.

Casino staff includes dealers, casino hosts, cashiers, casino managers, casino technicians, etc. Most cruise lines would require experience at major casinos and knowledge in at least two games. They are to work together to provide the best experience to customers while they game. Casinos are usually closed while in port, so they can enjoy their free time on shore.

They are hired by the cruise line to make presentations in special events onboard. Lecturer/ speakers are required to have superior public speaking skills. Some port lecturers are invited to give passengers a more in depth insight to the destination by telling them about the culture and recommending places to go to. Contracts vary and the payment is usually base plus commission.

Provide food and beverage to crew and passengers. Some position in this department include: baker, bartender, bar manager, buffet server, cocktail server, dining room waiter, dining room manager, executive chef, food and beverages manager, general cook, pastry chef, maitre d’hotel, sous chef, wine steward, etc.

Cruise staff would include the activity and shipboard entertainment departments. They are responsible to keep passengers busy and entertained while onboard. Activity leaders will lead passengers in the activity/entertainment they wish to participate in, while cruise directors are responsible to oversee all these activity, making  sure they are participating and enjoying their time onboard. Some of the position includes: Cruise consultant, cruise director, dance instructor, disc jockey, dive instructor, naturalist, shore excursions manager, special host, audio visual coordinator, entertainers, production manager, sound and light technician, etc.

Youth staff job might include youth counselors in which they create youth programs for kids and teens from the ages of 3-17. These programs will be available during the day where parents could drop their kids off. They would play with kids around their age and participate in different activities designed for them.

Gift shop jobs includes gift shop manager and gift shop sales assistant. Sales assistants are responsible for selling gift shop merchandise and provide good  customer service, they also have to make window display, perform inventory check, etc. Gift shop manager supervises the shop and staff, also accounts for all supplies and stock.

Retail sales jobs includes sales associate and managers for other shops onboard. They are usually hired by the company/brand itself and transferred to work on cruise ships. They are responsible for overseeing their own shops’ customers and inventories.

Consist of physician and nurse, the physician is responsible for all medical services provided on board. They are to be on call at all times and performs emergency and routine survival procedures when needed. Nurses work with physician to perform routine and emergency care to all crew and passengers on board. They are to be on call at all times.

Works in a team to make sure the ship is well maintained and running smoothly, keeping detailed records of everyday operation and being knowledgeable of maritime laws and regulations. Some position for deck department include: able seaman, bosun, captain, carpenter, chief officer, first officer, quarter master, safety officer and security officer.

On some cruise ships, the female to male ratio might be high. Therefore, they provide male social hosts to dance and be social partners for passengers. Gentlemen hosts must be knowledgable in many types of dance such as ballroom, swing, waltz, etc.

All the equipment are provided by the cruise line. The photographer have to go around the ship to take memorable photos for passengers, they also attend events and parties to document the time. After, they could sell these photos to passengers for them to keep these memories.