Does anyone know what is the best way to get a job on cruise ships?

Go to the cruise line websites. They should have a link for employment opportunities. I know Carnival does.

you have to go through a recruiter!! Try www.vikingrecruitment.com , they have offices in the UK and in Australasia. They recruit for positions on all the major cruise ships (ie. Royal Caribbean, Princess, P&O, Norwegian, Holland America, etc) and for superyachts too! Be cautious, NEVER pay money to get a job on a cruise ship. Recruiters that try to charge you $$ are bogus. The cruise line company should pay the recruiter for the service of finding them a great crew member. Most importantly, you have to have something to offer. You need to know what type of job you want to apply for on a ship, if you don't know and can only say "I just want to work on a ship, I'll do anything" you are unlikely to get a job. Tailor your CV to the job you are applying for. You should have at least 2 years of experience in that role on land before you apply for a job at sea. Another important factor is what country you are in at the time of application. Because they can get cheap labour from countries such as the Phillipenes and Thailand, positions such as housekeeping or wait staff are exclusively recruited through these countries. If you are in the States, Canada, UK, Australia, NZ, South Africa etc, the positions they will be looking at will be the customer service roles like front desk (called pursers), youth staff, cruise staff (entertainment team), bartenders, security etc. This is because these jobs require excellent english language skills, and strong customer service skills, which these countries are generally known for. Good luck!

Yes, I would suggest looking at the cruise line's website. It will mention career opportunities.

The shops are easy to get in, you are staff rather than crew... and since most of the times the shops cant open while in port you can see the places; 2 major companies run the shops in 85% of the ships www.hardingbros.co.uk pays better, friendlier... has 45 ships or so http://www.starboardcruise.com/ pays less, work environement is very unfriendly, has more ships (90) and the major lines (Carnival, Costa, Royal, Celebrity)... hardings does phone interviews, its really easy to get in hope it helps!

Contact the cruise line that you are interested in working for and ask them if they need any employees.

You can go to a cruise website such as carnival, more then likely they have a jobs section. Also you can google it.

They usually advertise in the local papers where their ports are located but you can also apply directly on their websites.