Hi everyone. I made a quick introduction in the Cadet section, as I have yet to begin my time at CMA, but I thought I would post a quick question here.
I guess I will introduce myself quickly before I jump into my question. My name is Thomas and I am an American student currently living in Japan, and have been accepted into CMA as a Maritime Transportation major.
My goal in the future has always been to work in the deck department on a cruise ship. Of course I also have some interest in other types of vessels, however my love for the travel industry has motivated me to the cruise ship jobs.
It seems like there are not many on this board involved in cruise lines, am I correct? Is there a reason for this? Should I assume it is primarily because the pay is not as great?
Has anyone ever made their first jump into the industry from an academy into the cruise line companies? Or does it perhaps require a resume with much more experience?
Any information is appreciated, I am just curious and am trying to expand my knowledge.
Thanks!
Thomas
Basically there are next to zero jobs on big US flagged cruiseships. After NCLA discovered that they could not fill three cruiseships in Hawaii they are now down to one. There are also the riverboat cruise vessels on the Mississippi but I do not believe there is must turnover there plus you have to be a riverboat pilot.
Up until last year there were quite a few smaller cruise vessels working on the Columbia River up to SE Alaska but now Majestic Cruises is no longer in business so there are fewer jobs there now as well. The biggest name in small cruise vessels in Alaska is Cruise West which seems to be looking for mates quite often. I do not believe that they pay much which is why.
Lastly, for foreign flagged cruise vessels go. I do not know too many who hire American officers. I heard that Disney has some but that’s it as far as I know.
Aloha- I’ve worked on 5 US flagged cruise ships.
NCLA had 3 ships- their last one is leaving Hawaii in April. The deck jobs were through SIU.
Majestic America- two ships were given back to MARAD, the others are for sale.
Only Small ships left. I’ve heard $240 28/14 is average for a 3M
Us flagged fleet-
Cruisewest- has US and international.
American Cruiselines-East Coast.
ACCL- East Coast and Carribean.
Lindblad/national Geo- alaska to Baja.
american safari- westcoast/Alaska/baja.
international ships- don’t pay. my bosun got offered $800 a month- which was supposedly high…
Hi Thomas,
I am a cadet at CMA, and I spent two months on NCL’s PRIDE OF AMERICA this past summer. Same reasons as you, I wanted to be a Deck Officer on a cruise ship before I came to the school.
During my time on the PofA, many of the lower ranked Deck and Engine Officers went directly to cruise ships fresh out of the Academy. The higher ranked Officers has experience on other types of vessels. As one of the Deck Officers told me, working on a cruise ship is mainly living for the lifestyle, and forfeiting some pay. As the previous two posters mentioned, there are few US-flag ships left.
In terms of foreign flagged cruise ships, I know Royal Caribbean/Celebrity and NCL foreign fleet has American Officers.
Wow! Thank you so much for all of the information you guys! You gave me a lot of food for thought! 
I apologize for not getting back to you folks sooner, I have been a little busy here these past 2 weeks.
CMA Cadet: That sounds like a really cool time you had on the P of A. I take it you did this as a cadet/intern? Sounds like a great route to take for someone like me who would like to land a spot on such a vessel. If you don’t mind me asking…how did you arrange to be with NCL? Did you give them a call and take it from there? Or perhaps someone working at CMA helped coordinate it?
Thanks again you guys, I really appreciate it!
Hi Thomas,
I did my NCL internship during my 2nd summer. The first and third summer, you do your training with the GOLDEN BEAR. The 2nd summer you do an internship/commercial cruise training. The career center here coordinated the spot, and I signed up for it.
Has anyone here actually worked for Cruise West? I have already talked to them re:pay. It is low! I am more interested in the day to day work. Can anyone tell me about the day to day operations and what the mates do? Do you really get any opportunity to go ashore? Or is is all work and no play??
JP
Aloha JP-
I haven’t worked for Cruisewest- but half of the crew on my last 3 ships were from there- and we docked next to several of their ships every week.
Mates-
stand watches, assign work to the deck staff, have dinner with the pax (passengers) on a rotating basis, train the deck crew/ participate in drills, oversee dibs (small boat excursions) do paperwork, etc.
In Alaska the mate and the deckhands stand on the bridge and look for whales, bears, etc- then steer towards them so the pax can take pics- not the worst way to spend a day:D
Yes you get to go ashore:) though only for a few hours- and may cut into your sleep…
Depends on your shift but in general you’re in port almost every day. Every mate I’ve known has gone ashore daily- this goes for my old company- as well as all the cruisewest boats I’ve docked near.
I know some people here would never work cruise ships- but the idea of being a mate/captain on a cruise ship is the reason I started on ships.
Anthony
can someone help me land a job in a cruise ship… i am an IT and really dream of working in a cruise ship… i am female, 31…
You will have to spend some time reasearching the jobs you want.
I will help you with the Carnival company, but you have to find the rest of the major cruise companies web sites
here:http://www.carnival.com/CMS/Fun_Jobs/Shipboard-Information_Systems.aspx
Aubrey-
I can give you some advice/ contacts but there are a lot of people looking for work right now- so there are no guarantees.
Do you have an mmd/mmc?
Have you applied anywhere? If so- where?
Do you realize you’ll be working 7 days a week- 12 hours (or more) a day for months straight?
Do you know you’ll have to share a tiny room with several people- or that most crewmembers NEVER get to go to the pool,theater (or even above decks unless they are working?
As far as IT goes- there is only one US flagged Cruise ship I know of that hires IT personnel. The foreign flag ships- Carnival, Royal Carribean, Disney, Celebrity, etc. pay VERY little and have even more crew hardships.
Are you willing to work ANY position to get started?
Not trying to scare you off. I’ve worked 5 cruise ships- and have have seen hundreds of people quit soon tafter starting- because it wasn’t what they expected.
I went to BST with a guy who was an IT, who also worked for Cruisewest…He had nothing but good to say about his end of the business…You might try them Aubrey…
Cruise West provides some great training and experience for entry level mariners, but the pay is low and the schedules are seasonal. Wanting a break from the deep sea grind and wanting to get more hands on boat handling, I signed on with them several years ago and had a couple nice summers working as captain with them. Could not do it long term, as the 8/4 week rotation drove my wife crazy and the pay was setting us backwards.
The passenger vessel industry. I can’t think of a cargo I’d least like to carry. Not to mention the constant soap opera of a twenty-something crew. But if you can handle that, it can be a lot of fun. Lots of good boat handling, beautiful scenery, etc.
[quote=tbritt;9419]Hi everyone. I made a quick introduction in the Cadet section, as I have yet to begin my time at CMA, but I thought I would post a quick question here.
I guess I will introduce myself quickly before I jump into my question. My name is Thomas and I am an American student currently living in Japan, and have been accepted into CMA as a Maritime Transportation major.
My goal in the future has always been to work in the deck department on a cruise ship. Of course I also have some interest in other types of vessels, however my love for the travel industry has motivated me to the cruise ships.
It seems like there are not many on this board involved in cruise lines, am I correct? Is there a reason for this? Should I assume it is primarily because the pay is not as great?
Has anyone ever made their first jump into the industry from an academy into the cruise line companies? Or does it perhaps require a resume with much more experience?
Any information is appreciated, I am just curious and am trying to expand my knowledge.
Thanks!
Thomas[/quote]
Hi,
The attraction of a cruise job is the irresistible combination of traveling the world, sightseeing, enjoying many different people and low living expenses and you will build friendly relationships with your co-workers.
You should target the cover letter as much as possible to the individual and cruise line you’re submitting it to. Since cruise ships operate all year round, any time of the year to apply is good, but you’ll have an upper hand during the last three months of the year since these are particularly busy and cruise lines are staffing up. Also seasoned crew members usually take several weeks off around the holidays to be with their families, so these positions will need to be filled in the meantime.
I just finished a contract on the Pride of America. I thought it was a sweet deal. There was drama too, pretty much 13th grade stuff, but no real impact on my job. I did have some issues with the engine room layout, especially the parts I had to wedge myself into or hang off of in order to get to other ungodly hot things that needed repair. Of course I can make that complaint about any ship I’ve been on plus the ladies at home dig the new burn scars.
Gentleman,
Since I created this thread over 3 years ago lots has happened and have continued to closely follow gcaptain (truely amazing site). Anyways, back in 2009 my original plan was to go to CMA, however the funding didn’t quite work out the way I had planned so I joined the Navy (I’m in deck department / 1st Div). I am reaching my EAOS next year and am hopefully going to get permission to leave the Navy a 60 days early to start the fall semester at CMA. Looking forward to getting out but I have learned lots and lots of stuff in the Navy. I stand lookout, helm, and lee helm every underway, participate in sea and anchor detail, unreps, and ship preservation. Hopefully some of my experiences will help me out at CMA and a future career in the maritime industry.
After researching the cruise industry for several years it has become apparent to me as to why not many US mariners seek employment in it. However other areas of the maritime industry continue to catch my interest. Still would love to give it the cruise industry a chance though!
Well alright folks, just wanted to chime in once again (not necessary to create new thread) and say hello. I’ll be underway very very soon again and might not post for a few weeks.
Cheers
-T
Thanks for your service and good luck at CMA
Glad to see that things are working out for you. Even if not your original plan.
As for Cruise ships, Once you have your license you can get a CEC for one of the foreign ships. Many of them are American owned but foreign flagged for tax and pay reasons. Nonetheless there are a few American officers on ships, but not to many. Royal Caribbean in particular comes to mind. In any case your dream is not impossible.
Good Luck.
TBRITT:
Just make sure you get your seatime recorded BEFORE you get out. A DD 214 ( or whatever it is called now) is not all you need for military sea service. But you need to have sea time signed by the actual officer who was in charge of you who saw you do it.
This seatime won’t get you out of an academy quicker, but you will be able to upgrade quicker using the navy time.