This topic has been on my mind lately since I actually did reapply for a few cruise ship jobs this year.

When I left my super steady job with retirement benefits and soul sucking stability back in December, I was on cloud nine for about two months. I love my job as a children’s theater stage manager, but the reality of being a contract to contract freelancer sunk in about February as I understood that come the end of May, I was about to be unemployed.

I panicked. And I fell back on what I knew. And despite the fact that a day in the life on a cruise ship stage manager can actually be pretty hellish, I applied to about 5 lines in my panicked state.

And got interviews with all 5 of them, and job offers from all of them – although they ranged from “can you start this week?” (No) to “we’ll be in touch when we have an opening” (Terrific – but inconvenient, how do you plan based on that?).

I was talking to a friend about it and they were shocked because apparently, exactly how to get a job on a cruise ship isn’t common sense to everyone. Although it turns out, once you get your foot in the door for a little while (or 5 years), it’s a piece of cake to go back. And since a few of you have asked for more specifics over the last two years…

So – you want to work on a cruise ship?

The first thing that has to be taken into account is where you live. I am writing this article from the perspective of an American, and I suspect for Canadians and Brits the same rules would apply, but if you’re from some countries, you have to go through an agency to work on a cruise ship, no matter what type of job you want to do there.

• Philippines
• Indonesia
• India
• Eastern Europe

If you’re from there and want to work on a ship you’ll need to Google “cruise ship agency” and your country and apply through there. There are a lot of visa and paperwork restrictions that those agencies take care of for you.

There are also hiring agencies for certain types of jobs and these are available to people from all over the world including America, Canada and England.

Cast-A-Way is a hiring agency that partners with several cruise lines including Carnival and Disney to place you on a ship. You can check out the jobs they are hiring for on their site.

Proship Entertainment is a hiring agency for performers, musicians and technicians.

Steiner agency hires for all spa positions – hair dressers, masseuses, personal trainers, etc.

Viking recruiting agency is for deck officers, IT officers, engineers, etc.

Keep in mind that if you join a cruise ship through a recruiting agency, they will generally garnish your wages by a small percentage in exchange for placing you in that job.

Personally, I think the best way to apply for a cruise ship position is to go directly to their website and apply with the specific line. If you can get the job that way, you won’t owe any agency anything.

For example, if you want to work for Holland America Line (I’m a little partial to them), search the home page for their Careers link and check out their Shipboard openings. Every cruise line should have a link on their home page to their career options, often you have to follow a second link in the career options to shipboard vs land based.

Before you even start applying make sure you have a valid passport. Cruise lines are notorious for hiring people at the last minute and not planning properly, so if you say you’re going to get one soon, that will be flagged on your application and probably keep you from getting the job.

Cruise lines to apply to when you have no experience:

• Carnival Cruise Line
• Celebrity Cruise Line
• Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
• Disney Cruise Line

You can really apply to any you want, but the pay is lower and the fleets are large with these lines and you can rack up some shipboard experience. Once you’ve got a couple of contracts under your belt, it’s much easier to get an interview with a line that will pay you more or at least have better quality of life conditions.

Keep in mind that the fancier the cruise line, the more likely the salary is going to be higher, but you’re going to have more restrictions about how you can interact with guests and how much free time you have.

When you are interviewed emphasize:

• Your availability
• Your ability to work long hours
• Your ability to work for days on end without a day off
• Your ability to get along with people from different cultures or your interest in learning about new cultures
• Your skills directly related to the job you are applying for

Good luck! And be sure to check out my post on a day in the life of a ship stage manager before actually committing to this mad idea – it’s not always the most fun.

If you’re still considering it, you can also hear me talk about my experience at sea in this Martinis and Your Money interview… I think a few years away have made me see ships through rose colored glasses, it can be a really awesome and wild ride, but you will never work so hard, in such weird circumstances anywhere else in your life.

As for me, the children’s theater company offered me another contract, so I’m gonna stick with them and keep avoiding the high seas for a little longer.