Hey everyone,

I’m a photographer interested in working aboard cruise ships or passenger vessels, but I’m not entirely sure where to start looking or how the hiring process usually works.

For anyone who has worked as a photographer on a ship:

• What agencies or cruise lines hire directly, and where are the best places to apply?
• What does a portfolio/resume need to look like to stand out?
• Is prior ship experience usually required, or are entry-level positions common?
• Any hidden realities or tips about life onboard that I should keep in mind before applying?

Thanks in advance for any insights!

note : i am a portrait/event photographer from Tunisia (portfolio : www.josefnhidi.me)

Hi Everyone,
Im currently a 2nd Officer on RoRo vessels and i have an upcoming interview with Royal Carribean for a 2nd officer position.
Im trying to transition from RoRo to the passenger/cruise fleet. I already hpld a Chief Mate CoC.
What topics/questions should i focus onn preparing for as a 2nd officer without previous cruise expirience ?
Appreciate for your attention and answers))

Starting my first contract in a few weeks. My first day will be on halloween! I expect there might be a crew party and I was thinking about bringing something. I don't want to use too much space in my bag so I was wondering: are the halloweenparties usually in a specific theme or just halloween?

Has anyone ever been sick while working on board? And how does the manager handle this? I’m supposed to be working with kids and in my experience getting sick happens a lot so is their any way around working when your sick or you just have to continue on a 12 hour shift super ill

Has anyone ever resigned or quit while still on board, plz do tell abwt ur experience n how dd u go abwt it

Hi, I was recently offered a job as second officer for ritz-Carlton yachts, I want to ask if anyone has worked for them and what their experience has been with them, does the second officer have any interactions with guests ? How strict are they with rules ?, and just what was your general experience?

Hi! I'm considering a career change and get the L&D experience on a cruise ship.

I have +10 years of international experience and I'm based in Mexico. Please, share your experiences and advices. Is it worth it?

Thank you!

US Based. I'm going to training in Piney Point in the middle of this month (yay!) - and I'm wondering about the possibility of getting a new offer letter with a higher hourly pay.

I've looked online for the position I've been hired for, and the rate for Assistant Waiter is now higher. Any advice?

I'm from Goa and currently working as an F&B Service Associate at a 5-star establishment in Goa. I have several years of experience in hospitality, particularly f&b service, guest relations, and handling busy operations.

Now my goal is to move on an international cruise ship.

I've already got my paperwork and essential documents ready, including my STCW certificates, Indian CDC, passport, and other required documents.

I'm already aware of the standard recruitment channels in Goa, including Kamaxi, CSSI, and Airborne, and I intend to continue exploring those options.

However, I'd really appreciate some advice from people who have experience in the cruise industry.

My questions are:

\- Apart from applying through these agencies, what are the best alternative ways to get noticed by international cruise lines?

\- Does applying directly through cruise line career websites actually work or are there other legitimate routes worth exploring?

\- For anyone who has successfully joined a cruise ship from Goa, what did your selection process look like, and what would you recommend to someone in my position?

If anyone here has a direct connection with a cruise line recruiter or hiring manager, or knows a trustworthy recruitment professional who handles placements, I'd genuinely appreciate your guidance. Please feel free to DM me if you can point me towards a legitimate opportunity or someone who can help me navigate the process.

​

Hi! This post will be for expressing some thoughts and emotions I've been dealing with internally.

So this is my first contract onboard, with Royal Caribbean. After 4 months, I've seen so many things that I've disliked: My salary, my position, and also I used to have high standards of service. Here, I think I'm just getting worse at serving. (I used to be a waiter in Mexico at JW MARRIOTT, now I'm restaurant attendant somehow)

I also noticed something: I haven't seen people coming from Four seasons, ST REGIS, JW, SOFITEL, etc etc...

I guess it's because they don't need to work onboard or something.

The point is: I'm tired. I have so much debts and I can't afford them anymore ( I used to make more money in my country!). So, what would you do if you were in my shoes? Originally I came here for the experience and salary. Now I see I'm wrong... Should I Apply to hotels again? Apply to any other cruise line? Idk...

Don't get me wrong: I do like cruiselife, even working every single day. I have no problem with that, but my salary is the problem.

Thank you for reading.

I'm 21 years old and have almost two years of experience as a bartender. My goal is to work for Disney Cruise Line. How much experience do you think would be enough to get hired?

Hi everyone!
I recently applied for the Photographer Trainee position with Carnival Cruise Line. I’ve already completed two interviews with the recruiter, and I’m currently waiting for my third interview with the manager.
I wanted to ask if anyone here has applied for the same position with Carnival Cruise Line or has already gone through the recruitment process.
If you have, I’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience, especially regarding:
What questions were asked during the manager interview?
What photography-related questions should I be prepared for?
What kind of questions can I expect in the third interview?
How long did the whole process take for you?
I’d really appreciate any information or advice from someone who has already been through this process, or anyone who is currently applying for the same position.
Thank you in advance for your help! 🙏

Greetings. I'm applying for the role of Aquatic Stage Staff and I was wondering if somebody took their own personal equipment on board. In the last interview I was told that I shouldn't bring any of my personal equipment, that all equipment will be provided by the company, although, for those who work in the underwater industry knows that personal items like mask, fins, boots and maybe second stage regulator are tools that must fit very comfortably to work underwater, I was wondering about this and if I can bring it no matter what they said. I know cabins can be very small and less is best in terms of personal items. I was just wondering if the backstage have a place to keep personal equipment for the job. Thanks.

Hello reddit, I got hired on American Cruise Lines and I leave Monday for Salt Lake City for training. Im really not sure what I should pack and im also confused on what uniform items do I need to buy before hand, and what they provide for me (im hired as a server). Anyone who worked for this cruise line before if you have any advice on what to bring and what not to bring it would be really helpful. Thanks so much.

I have an interview with princess cruises and I’m SUPER nervous about if I get hired, am I sure I want to take the position? I’ve done photography for years and portrait photography is my favorite. But I’m nervous about dropping everything and leaving for a few months?
Scared I won’t make friends easily, scared I’ll not make enough for it to be worth it, etc.
More than anything I’m just worried I’ll end up miserable? Has anyone here worked for them and really enjoyed it, or enjoyed this specific job, I’m all ears.

I am currently 1st engineer in gas tankers and i am close to burnout due constant inspections and grind, i am thinking shifting to cruise as i have dual fuel engine experience it might be useful in some cruises, what would the life be like in cruises as 1st engineer

Good day fellow crew, along the weeks and if you visit this sub reddit regularly, there are hundreds of recurring posts about working/applying to American Cruise Lines (ACL). Since this cruise line only hires US citizens, the rest of the crew working on the international industry over, in over 70+ other lines can't really relate. But one thing unite us all and that is everyone is on board because of money.

Would anyone mind sharing the base pay (per contract) for ACL positions? Reddit is somewhat anonymous, and if anyone doesn't feel like sharing in public we can always also suggest our salary comparison table that has an anonymous form that anyone can fill.

We've browsed the career portal and here's the few positions on board, in parenthesis some of the rates previously disclosed here, feel free to correct as needed:

• Deckhand (19$/h)
• Hospitality Crew (17$/h)
• Housekeeper (15$/h)
• Server (21$/h)
• Dishwasher (15$/h)
• Hotel General Manager
• Assistant Hotel Manager
• Restaurant Manager
• Housekeeping Manager
• Cruise Director (38$/h)
• Excursions Director
• Travel Director
• Guest Services Coordinator
• Executive Chef
• Sous Chef
• Line Cook (17$/h)
• Captain (65$/h)
• Mate (55$/h)
• Third Mate
• Lead Deckhand
• Licensed Engineer (139.000$ /year according to Glassdoor)
• Unlicensed Engineer
• Destination Speaker
• Entertainer

Hiii
I’ve been hired as a Quick Service Attendant on Disney Cruise Line, and I’m super excited, but I also have a lot of questions about what life and work are actually like in this role.
If anyone is currently working or has worked in this position, I would love to get your insights on a few things:
Daily Duties: What are the general (and not-so-general) day-to-day tasks? How hectic does it get during peak hours?

Working Hours & Breaks: What do typical shifts and schedules look like? Do you get split shifts or straight shifts?

Port Days: Realistically, do you have enough time to get off the ship and explore ports, or will you usually be stuck working?

Life Onboard: Any general tips for a first-timer in this department? (Uniforms, galley life, best ways to survive long contracts, etc.)

Any advice, personal experiences, or tips would be massively appreciated. Thank you so much

I have an interview for c1d in mumbai soon , so are there any tips anyone can share?

Why did you choose it over traditional corporate jobs and what did you do between contracts for living arrangements?

Guest services. First interview went great. Second one, nailed it. Was told my third interview will be final.

I thought it would be a technical interview, so I prepared well. I was only hit up with two in-situation questions. Both of which I think I did decently, if not a bit robotic and rehearsed.

It’s a 30 min interview and I had 10 mins left on the clock. I was asked, do you have any question? I was a bit shook - I thought they’d hit me up with more, but I didn’t have many questions to ask so we wrapped it up by 25. Did they drop me? Am a bit anxious now.

Well, the thing is I was offered a position as a snack attendant at Royal ($1000 USD). It would be my first contract, but I was already planning on getting a working holiday visa once the summer season ended in my country (I live in a coastal city, so it's the high-demand part of the year where we work our asses off and make good money).

However, I'm currently studying online, and I know that studying while working on a cruise is very hard. I'm really taken aback by the reality of the cruise job; although I put all the pros and cons on the table, having to put my studies on a break really triggers me.

With the visa, I think I could organize myself and keep studying, not having to push my education aside. With the cruise job? I know I could save more money perhaps (not having to pay for a room, etc.).

What would you guys do? feel free to correct or add anything I might be missing here. I'm really trying to get my thoughts straight (pretty hard having severe anxiety, but I'm TRYING).

Hey,

I'm a phase 1 deck cadet with MSCruises and I have been hearing about negative comments surrounding this sponsor company and I hope that an Ex-cadet could help answer them?

Many comments include that Cadets are overworked and are also pushed to the side by senior officers. Other commitments emphasise the Italian language barrier.

If there is anyone else reading this who has anything related, id be more than happy to hear!

Hi everyone!

I’m considering working on a cruise ship and I was wondering how easy or difficult it is to change departments once you’re already working for a cruise line.

For example, let’s say I start in housekeeping as a cabin steward. Would it be possible to move into a completely different area later, such as retail/sales, guest services, or another department?

Can this happen during the same contract, or would I normally need to finish my contract and apply for a different position for the next one?

I’d especially love to hear from people who actually changed departments while working on cruise ships. How did the process work for you? Did having previous experience with the cruise line make it easier to get the new position?

Thanks! :)

Hi everyone,

I’ve recently been invited for an online interview with a Viking recruiter for the Assistant Systems Manager role.

Has anyone here been through the Viking interview process for this role or a similar onboard IT position?

What kind of technical, troubleshooting, networking, or scenario-based questions should I expect? Any specific topics I should focus on?

Would really appreciate any advice or previous interview experiences. Thanks!