If you love to travel, you probably have wondered how you can work and travel the world. Some jobs require traveling all around the world, but not many enable you to do so for free. One job where you can travel the world for free and have a unique experience is to be as a cruise shop worker. This job enables you to continue with your professional focus (or start a new one), and continue gaining experience in that area while also traveling.

What does a crew member of a cruise ship do exactly?

For most cruise ships, there are over 250 jobs available.

Some of the most common crew member positions include:

Performers: Performers are in charge of the live-show entertainment for guests, such as singing, dancing.

Servers, chefs and bartenders in the restaurants: There are numerous restaurants and bars on a cruise ship, so especially if you already have experience in the service industry this could be a great fit.

Retail: There are souvenir shops and other shops on the ship that need retail workers!

Housekeeping: As expected, housekeeping positions are available on a cruise ship.

Customer service: Cruise lines want to ensure that those on the cruise are happy, so there is generally a customer service team on board to filter any feedback and/or complaints.

Beauty and wellness therapists: There are hair salons, nail salons, massage parlors and places set for those on the ship to relax and get some pampering in.

Requirements and how to become a cruise ship member

While you may picture working on a cruise being relaxing and getting to just enjoy being on the water, the reality is that you’ll need to be able to on your feet for hours at a time. Working on a cruise ship is not a ‘slow job’, and while there are many advantages of it, you also have to be prepared for long days.

One of the requirements of the job is to request a visa to enter some countries. For example, if you are planning to work on a cruise that goes to Australia you will need to request a Maritime Crew Visa.

The competition is high for jobs on a cruise ship, so you’ll want to stand out. If you are just starting out, getting an entry-level job on the ship is a way you can get your foot in the door. Otherwise, if you gain professional experience in one area that can be applied to a job on the cruise ship, that is ideal.

Other cruise ship worker skills include: team player, performs well under stress, excellent communication skills, fluency in a second (or more!) languages, adaptable, thrives in an ever-changing environment.

Advantages of working on a cruise ship

There are numerous advantages of working on a cruise ship, aside from the obvious of getting to see the world! For example, you’ll be surrounded by other like-minded fun individuals, employee retention is high, there are career growth options, and contracts are often long.

There are also many other jobs that have seeing the world as a bonus! 

Would you like to travel for work?