Thousands of new cruise jobs for 2019

Posted on Jan 22, 2019

by in Cruise News

With a couple thousand people working on each vessel, over 20 new cruise ships in 2019 means jobs for people all over the world.

There are currently over 300 cruise ships in the world sailing our rivers and seas, and they cumulatively house and employ over 200,000 people. Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), whose members operate 272 of those ships, intends to launch around 20 new ships in 2019. Given that a single ship can have around 2,000 workers, that’s a lot of positions opening up.


Multinational industry offers opportunities worldwide

Cruise lines have traditionally hired from source markets where the wages are low (like East Asia), so they can keep cruise fares low. However, with the increasing demand, cruise operators are looking all over the world. For instance, the 17-ship Holland America fleet employs people from 100 different nationalities.

Working onboard a cruise ship can be ideal for those with a spirit for adventure and the desire to save up. Given that many jobs on cruise ships include room and board, and that many cruise lines will pay by direct deposit, it can be a great opportunity to build a savings account while having a seafaring experience for 8-9 months at a time.

New recruits must earn their ‘sea legs’

A life at sea isn’t for everyone, however, and the cruise lines know this. They will often do a probationary employment period of a few weeks to see how a new employee copes with the floating workplace. All in all, about ten percent decide it isn’t for them.

More opportunity means improved living and working conditions for employees

It used to be that cruise ship workers got the short end of the stick, living crammed in a cabin with five other employees. This has improved in the last decade, with many crew cabins being doubles and putting people together with similar national or linguistic backgrounds. 

A lot of ships have their own recreational areas for employees too, including activities like foosball, bingo, and karaoke. Some employee areas have their own pools!

Find a career at sea

Often the best place to find postings for cruise ship jobs is on the website for the specific cruise line. However, in order to address the growing need for cruise ship workers, other third-party job market sites have cropped up. Among these is All Cruise Jobs, a website designed to connect hopeful cruise workers with career openings onboard some of the most sought-after cruise lines in the market.