I’ll trade you jobs…
…you can be master of this old bucket I’m on if I can dance with scantily clad showgirls like on the Carnival commercial!
Btw, who is that little putz to be their new spokesman? I want to putch him square in the nose!
Seriously, I can’t offer any specific advice except that if you are dedicated to the long road ahead, go to a school to get more than an MCA certificate if you want to work on commercial ships. There are several schools in the US but you will need to make a multiyear committment to one and then plan a long climb once you graduate. Remember on the cruiseships how many unlicensed engineers there are for each licensed one. If you want info on schools there are plenty of people here who will be more than glad to help you out.
Very best of luck to you and say hey to the girls for me 
ps…great machinery pics on flikr!