Crews and cruises

Sun, sea and tax-free earnings is the popular image of working on cruise ships and, while this is true to a degree, for many hospitality workers it's increasingly becoming a serious choice of career path rather than just a seasonal stint.

With a host of major launches over the next two years, cruise operators are busy recruiting for all positions - from entry level, such as waiters, through to experienced hotel directors.

Positions are offered on a contract basis, which can be anything from six weeks to eight months, although the average for a management position is six months.

Yet despite offering contract-based positions, most operators are keen to promote the time on board as a career, not a job, says Stephen Read, managing director of Ready Steady Staff, which recruits for food and beverage operations on board cruise ships.

Extra training is often available to help candidates reach their goals. For example, Celebrity Cruises offers a rank called sous-chef-in-training. "This is suitable for someone who is capable of being a sous chef but has no experience of working on a cruise ship," says Read. "Such a chef would go into a training position for nine weeks before becoming a fully fledged sous chef."

Other shipboard job titles might sound strange to a landlubber as they are drawn from the maritime ranking system and are more appropriate to the Merchant Navy than the hospitality industry.

"A vessel has officers, petty officers, staff and crew," explains Alex Anderson, manager fleet personnel and procurement for Maritime Leisure Group.

"Hotel manager is a senior officer, and such names are a way of relating hotel departments to the deck and engine to show that staff have the same worth. The title 'crew' is applied to ranks such as waiters and bartenders," he says.

There is less strict demarcation, however, on river cruises, such as those which tour the Rhine and Danube, points out Chris Karavos, general manager Europe of the recruitment consultancy CTI Group UK.

"It has traditionally been difficult to build a career with river operators, because most are small family-owned operations that try to keep costs low. They take 80-150 passengers and a crew of around 30. Cabin availability and space on board means that everyone performs at least two jobs," he explains.

On the high seas you'll find that there are no age limits for working on a ship, but few candidates under 21 years are likely to succeed.

"This is partly because they may not have the experience to cope with the large volumes of passengers, but also because of international laws governing the serving of alcohol, particularly in US waters, which require the server to be 21," explains George Robertson, client support executive of the cruise division of recruitment consultancy Berkeley Scott.

Once you have impressed an interviewer with your work history there are still other criteria to fulfil. For example, there are strict rulings concerning medicals, visas and safety training, and sometimes deposits - so be sure to check out the facts before you sail into the sunset.

By Stephanie Sparrow

Monthly Basic cruise ship salaries
 

Salaries are tax-free and include accommodation, often with crew-only pools, gym areas and cybercaf‚s. Several levels of position are shown within each department, indicating the potential for advancement from entry level to management. Management positions may offer additional benefits such as a single cabin or business-class travel. Many of the service positions also have guaranteed tips, which supplement the basic salary to a fairly substantial level.

Source: Berkeley Scott

Hidden costs

It is advisable to get all the facts from the company when you go for an interview.

For example, all cruise operators expect candidates to pass a medical and, in the case of British companies, to obtain a form called an ENG1. A medical can cost from £60 to £200 and can be particularly expensive with some US firms because they ask for a blood test. Many operators, however, reimburse candidates once they are on board.

Some operators also ask for a deposit - often in the region of US$500 (£314) - before the candidate starts work. This is in case you leave during the course of your contract and goes towards the cost of a flight home.

Checks for criminal backgrounds are increasingly being discussed by cruise operators, although so far they are compulsory only with Disney. These family cruises, which recruit child co-ordinators from holiday camps and schools, expect candidates to pay for the background checks, which cost either £10 or £47, depending on whether the candidate asks for the normal procedure - which takes weeks - or the more expensive fast-track option.

Visas

Visas are one of the first topics likely to be covered in an interview. At the time of writing this was not an issue with EU nationalities working from EU countries, but no one can sail in to US ports without a C1/D visa, which can be obtained from the US Embassy.

Training

Ships are required to provide training to all crew to meet international safety regulations. This will involve basic safety training covering survival, rescue, fire and first aid within the first week of joining a ship. Most departmental training on board the ship is on-the-job, although some companies use a more structured approach. Food and beverage employees with Festival Cruises, for example, receive one hour of training each day. Many operators now include foreign-language training using computer-based programmes, while management courses are usually shore-based.