You need to know what jobs are actually available on a cruise ship, as different positions have different requirements and different people to apply to. Here is a list of jobs you might enjoy doing: Art Director, Bartender, Casino Staff, Chef, Cruise Director, Dancer, Disc Jockey, Dive Instructor, Fitness Instructor, Food and Beverage Manager, Gift Shop Associate, Group Coordinator, Guest Relations, Internet Café Manager, Massage Therapist, Musician, Photographer, Port and Shopping Lecturer, Shore Excursions Manager, Singer, Social Hostess, Youth Activities Coordinator Purser, Shop Manager, Child Care Staff, Security Staff, Retail Staff and more!

Cruise ship jobs offer you free travel (including airfare to the ship), free room and board, plus starting salaries averaging $1,500 - $2,500 per month. Some lines can offer you to have members of your family travel with you at a lower rate after working there for some time.

As to the accommodations, they are comfortable, and as you will obtain a promotion (to an officer or manager) you will have your own cabin on a higher deck, with a porthole or window.

Spending your off-duty time is completely up to you. You may as the rest of the passengers enjoy hiking around ancient monuments in Greece, eating at a French café in Martinique, walking along a glacier in Greenland, or sunbathing on a sandy beach in Caribbean.

Writing an Application

And now about how to get hired. Do not follow advice as to write a one size type of resume which may fit all cruise lines and cover letter, make about 300 copies of them and send to every cruise line and agency. The chances that you will get any answer are approaching to zero.

As there is a severe competition of 100-1000 applicants for each open position, don’t you think it would be a better idea to send a not standard but specific cover letter and resume, which would not go to the trash within seconds from opening them?

How can you make sure that your application will pass the first cut?

Within the first 3-5 seconds the applications are viewed. If a person in the cruise line’s Human Resources got interested and see what they want to see your application goes on a pile for a second, more detailed review. Otherwise nobody is going to read it again.

Your application should answer 3 questions immediately to survive the screening process. First of all, you should state that you are applying for a specific cruise ship job. You should outline that in what the Professional Association of Resume Writers refers to as “Focus Statement”. Secondly, you have to show that your application is not standard for all the lines. To prove that you should mention at least 2-3 times the name of the cruise line and put it is bold, so during the screening they will notice it. And at last, think about the screener, who is to read more than 100 applications. Make sure your resume is easily read and does not look strange.