So you may be asking yourself, why would I want to work on a cruise ship? I keep hearing how many hours and how hard you have to work — so what in the world would I put up with that crap for?
Well, you’re correct, there are some negatives which I’ll touch on later, but let’s first take a look at some of the positives, and by the end of this post, you should have a reality check on cruise ship jobs.
Working on cruise ships is the job that…
- Allows you to visit some of the most exotic locations on the planet, such as; the Caribbean, Bahamas, U.S. Austrailia, New Zealand, Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, Africa, Canada, the far east, the Mediterranean and even Antarctica.
- Pays well, and allows you to save up most of the income (depending on your country of origin, possibly tax free)
- Allows you to meet a very diverse group of people from a wide range of countries
- Gives you the opportunity to work in a five star environment
- Allows you to escape the day-to-day grind you’ve been working at for so long
- Gives you the chance to enjoy one of the most exciting adventures of your life
I’m sure if you’ve been researching the idea of working on a cruise ship, so no doubt you’ve heard all the positives I’ve just mentioned, but have you heard about some of these negatives?
- Of course you’ll have to be away from family and friends for long periods of time, anywhere from 6 – 9 months. Homesickness can be a problem for new crewmembers
- You’ll have to work varied shifts, and sometimes for extended hours.
- Relationships you make onboard will likely suffer, or be completely sacrificed once your contract ends. With crewmembers from all over the world, usually a large percentage from outside the U.S. it can be hard to maintain these relationships.
- You’re always on duty – the passengers need to be waited on continually.
- If you make a career of working on cruise ships, you may feel like you don’t have a home after awhile. Family and friendships will suffer.
That’s it for this post, hopefully these gave you a bit of the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to cruise ship life. Just keep in mind, you don’t HAVE to make a long term career out of working for cruise lines — many workers view it as a temporary adventure to break up some of the monotony in their lives.