cruise worker

Search 1,418 cruise ship jobs:

View all jobs

Cruise Ship Jobs

• Housekeeping Jobs (78)
• Galley Jobs (274)
• Restaurant Jobs (116)
• Beverages Jobs (81)
• Provisions Jobs (7)
• Deck Jobs (104)
• Engine / Technical Jobs (111)
• Guest Services Jobs (94)
• Retail Jobs (43)
• Spa & Beauty Jobs (45)
• Child Care Jobs (14)
• Entertainment Jobs (138)
• Photography Jobs (19)
• Shore Excursions Jobs (38)
• Medical Jobs (20)
• Sport & Fitness Jobs (17)
• Casino Jobs (15)
• IT Jobs (13)
• Management Jobs (50)
• Administration Jobs (52)
• Land Based Jobs (51)
• Other Cruise Jobs (21)
• Private Estate Jobs (17)

Cruise Ship Jobs - Current Vacancies

All Cruise Jobs is the biggest job board within the cruise line industry with the most current cruise ship job vacancies available on the internet.

You can find cruise ship jobs posted directly by genuine recruiters and employers here.

If you are serious about cruise ship jobs, then you are in the right place!

• More about All Cruise Jobs
• Career Advice
• Info for Recruiters

Please visit our sister job boards yaCrew for jobs on super yachts and Sea Career for maritime and offshore jobs .

Featured Companies

View all recruiters

Latest Cruise Ship Jobs

• MISSISSIPPI - Bar Waiter 8 June 2024
• Food & Beverage Environmental Supervisor 8 June 2024
• Kosmetiker mit Zusatzqualifikation Permanent Make-up Artist SPA & MEER (w/m/d) - Mein Schiff Flotte 8 June 2024
• Manager IT Fulfillment Solutions (m/w/d) 8 June 2024
• Manager IT Fulfillment Solutions (m/f/d) 8 June 2024
• Fotograf (m/w/d) 8 June 2024
• Future Hotel Roles with Swan Hellenic 8 June 2024
• Human Resources Manager – Cruise Line 8 June 2024
• FOH Techniker Ton (w/m/d) - Mein Schiff 8 June 2024
• Bühnentechniker (w/m/d) - Mein Schiff 8 June 2024
• Pest Control Technician 8 June 2024
• Mobile Sound Techniker (w/m/d) - Mein Schiff 8 June 2024
• Allround Techniker (w/m/d) im Bereich Veranstaltungstechnik - Mein Schiff 8 June 2024
• It Support Specialist 8 June 2024
• Revenue Management Analyst 8 June 2024

Email address:

Remember me Forgotten password?

Password Reset

Enter your email address and we will email you a password reset link.

Share this page:

Ex-Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line workers reveal what it's really like to live at sea

• Cruise ship jobs have a number of distinctive features that separate them from land-based jobs.
• Business Insider spoke with 39 current and former cruise line employees who described what it's like to live and work on a cruise ship.
• They described long hours, bad food, and an intense hookup culture.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Cruise ship jobs have a number of distinctive features that separate them from land-based jobs. Perhaps the biggest difference is the fact that cruise ship employees live where they work.

That can have advantages, like short "commutes" and close bonds with co-workers, but it also presents potential downsides, like poor food quality and a sometimes excessive party culture.

Business Insider spoke with 39 current and former cruise line employees who described what it's like to live and work on a cruise ship. (Some of those mentioned in this story requested anonymity due to a fear of reprisal from their current or former employer.)

Here's what they said.

Have you worked on a cruise ship? Do you have a story to share? Email this reporter at  [email protected]

There's a big party culture, but it isn't always as fun as it seems.

Cruise ships have a reputation for fostering a party culture among employees fueled by long hours and cheap drinks available at crew-only bars.

But social drinking can turn into self-medication , according to Brian David Bruns, who worked as a waiter for Carnival Cruise Lines for 13 months between 2003 and 2004 and wrote a book, "Cruise Confidential," about the experience.

Bruns told Business Insider that the stress and loneliness of working on a cruise ship made alcohol an attractive coping mechanism. During his time as a waiter, an outside observer would likely have determined that he developed a drinking problem, Bruns said.

"I'm sure any third party would observe me and say I had a problem," he said. "It can happen very quickly where you go from a social drink to self-medicating because of loneliness."

The food is bad.

Cruise ship workers with lower-paying jobs, like bartenders and waiters, are often at the mercy of the crew cafeteria. There, according to five current or former cruise ship employees, the food leaves much to be desired .

Some described their distaste for the food as a logistical issue. Since many ships employ crew members from around the world, the food served in the crew cafeteria can reflect that variety, making it difficult for some to find food similar to what they would eat at home on a consistent basis. Others described food of poor quality, like chicken with a rubber-like texture or sauteed fish heads.

"The food sucks," a former employee for Norwegian Cruise Line and Holland America Line said.

Workers would keep tuna, granola bars, and other snack foods in their rooms or favor simple foods that require little preparation, like fruit, cereal, and sandwiches, she said.

Not all of the cruise ship employees Business Insider spoke to disliked the food in the crew cafeteria. Two former cruise ship employees said they enjoyed both the quality and variety of the food served to crew members.

You work long hours.

Rather than working traditional five-day weeks, cruise-ship employees often work seven days a week for the duration of their contracts, which can range from about two months to 11 months. Between four and eight months was the most common contract length cited by 31 current and former cruise-ship employees who spoke with Business Insider.

The hours can also be intense, from about eight to nearly 20 hours a day. The employees Business Insider spoke with reported an average of about 12 hours.

A former waiter for Carnival Cruise Line who said he worked about 12 hours a day described his schedule as "crazy" and said it led to fatigue and stress.

"We don't get enough sleep," he said.

Employees have a lot of sex with each other.

Among the many distinctive features of a cruise ship job is the fact that you live with your co-workers. That can result in unusually close bonds among employees and an unusual amount of sex between them.

"There's a lot of sex on cruise ships," said a former casino manager for Holland America Line.

Some compared the hookup culture as being similar to, or even exceeding, that of a college dorm.

But the permissive sexual culture on cruise ships can also lead to aggressive or inappropriate behavior. A former Royal Caribbean Cruises employee said one of her managers would make comments about her sexual orientation and criticize her for never changing her hairstyle.

Royal Caribbean did not respond to a request for comment.

Romantic relationships start and end quickly

Romantic relationships among employees develop and end much faster than on land , which, along with frequent turnover, can make long-term relationships difficult.

"One month on a ship is maybe like two years on land, because you spend so much time with these people," said Taylor Sokol, a former cruise director for Holland America.

But the close proximity between employees can make it difficult to maintain a healthy amount of space from a romantic partner, Sokol said.

"It's kind of hard to give someone their space when you live maybe 10 feet away from them."

Almost all of the passengers are pleasant, but some are annoying

Current and former employees had largely positive things to say about passengers, characterizing the vast majority of them as pleasant and respectful.

But some employees described frustrating tendencies they've noticed in passengers, like being too rowdy, asking annoying questions, and talking too much.

• How 30,000 meals a day are made on the world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas
• The 10 large cruise ships with the best food
• The 8 best luxury cruise lines in the world, ranked
• Ex-Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line workers reveal the things they couldn't live without on board

• Main content