Liberty of the Seas
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Why Now Is The Right Time To Get a Cruise Ship Job
Neil Maxwell-Keys
Last week I received an excited phone call from my mother - she was all giddy after getting back from the launch of the new Royal Caribbean ship, the "Liberty of the Seas". She's a travel agent and somehow had managed to wangle a free "preview cruise" - sailing from Southampton (UK) to Guernsey and back again - and she couldn't wait to tell me all about it - or more to the point, she couldn't wait to tell me about how she had been on the world's biggest cruise liner before I had! Apparently it's 15 decks high and the length of 3 and a half soccer pitches. It also has a wave machine they call a surf park (yes, you can actually surf onboard now!) -- cruising's first ever -- and a boxing rink -- again, a first. Then there was the water park, the ice rink, the climbing wall... All in all, a pretty amazing ship! She had a fantastic time and also wanted to know why I was spending most of my time helping other people get jobs onboard, instead of actually doing it myself again... (I guess she misses her free cruises!) I reminded her that a pregnant fiance has now definitely put a stop to that idea! At the same time though, I also reminded myself what a GREAT opportunity it is to get started in this industry right now. Here's why: Reason #1: We're quickly entering the "Summer Season". It's right now that cruise line companies start 'fretting' over whether or not their ships will be fully staffed during the summer months - as this is when most ships are FULLY BOOKED with paying passengers. Reason #2: Every year these ships get bigger and bolder and need more crew to cope with passenger demand. The Liberty of the Seas alone holds 4,370 guests onboard and STILL has room for 1,360 crew! (You can read about some of the other cruise ship launches happening this year by visiting: http://www.workoncruiseships.com/public/383.cfm) Reason #3: A LOT of experienced staff onboard sneakily try to time their contracts to end during the summer months, so they can arrive home and stay in the warm sunny weather they've become accustomed to! Crew generally like to stay home for a couple of months during the summer, show off their tan, then head back out to sea when winter looms. All of these reasons above mean that RIGHT NOW cruise line companies are often a lot easier to win over. They have a lot of places to fill in a short space of time - and are under a lot of pressure to do it. Best of all, for you the job seeker, they generally can't afford to be too choosy! Trust me, there are more job opportunities around now than ever before - so getting paid to travel the world no longer needs to be just a pie-in-the-sky dream. Take advantage of this information I've just shared with you and start applying while the market is ripe - and that my friend, is right now.
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