What is it like working on a cruise ship?

Why is there so much disagreement about what working on a cruise ship is like?

• All over the internet there are sites saying how great cruise ship work is, partying, although long hours, you have days off and great pay (sometimes upwards of $2000 US/month which ...show more

• Answer:

  Firstly there are sites by people who have never worked onboard a ship and those who have.I have seen sites, done very well, but being in this industry, I spotted things which clearly indicated, that the person either never worked onboard a ship, or had an "easy job" and not much interest in what is going on in other departments. Second, everyone has a certain way of life and some can cope with certain things better than others.(Or they are not as important to one, as to another) There are positions onboard, where you have no day off, for the duration of the contract.There are other positions (Spa,Gift Ship,Photographers - mainly concessionaires) where you have 1 or 1,5 days off. Salaries can range from US$ 500.00 to US$ 10,000 a month, all depending on the position you have. The same goes for the living quarters and for the food.Whereas there are cruise lines where the crew food is better than others. However, I think the variety of food is there every day, but the menu repeats itself. E.g. Embarkation day is always Hamburger, Hot Dogs, this and that. and that repeats itself every so many days. Of course one is 'stuck' on the ship. Either the ship is at sea, or if in port, you either work, are on port watch, or you might go ashore.But yes, you might have 2 hours here, 4 hours here but the primary place where you are is the ship. Nobody is 'locked up'. If you decide to go home due to a family emergency it depends what the emergency is. You either need to break your contract and will not be re-hired. Or you have a chance to be re-hired (Companies have a different idea of 'emergency' than an employee) and it has been abused, so cruise lines are getting more strict with these things (I know someone who's father died 3 times....) If you want to find out more or do some research,I recommend the below sites: http://www.cruiselinesjobs.com/ - for a lot of info on life onboard a cruise ship http://www.cruisejobhelp.com/ - for a professional evaluation of your CV, work experience and qualifications, lots of tips and info and your chances of applying for a job in the cruise industry. http://www.allcruisejobs.com/ - for the latest open positions onboard cruise ships. http://www.facebook.com/#!/cruiselinesjobs - Cruiselinesjobs on Facebook