The world of cruises is constantly evolving to meet changing customer demands, and along with it cruise ship jobs change too. The industry has the rare privilege of being able to shift assets to more lucrative markets: the most recent being heading towards Asia.
According to Cruise Lines International, Asians are taking up a sizeable chunk of cruise passengers, with a preference for shorter cruises. They are also younger than usual, and cruise companies are responding by increasing capacity, sending more cruise ships to Asia, and tailoring services and activities towards this market.The end result is great opportunities for those looking for cruise ship employment.
Cruise companies are bending over backwards to cater to passenger demands. There has been everything from a heavy metal music cruise to a cruise for chocoholics, another for shopaholics and one for geeks who love science. River cruising is also emerging as a contender in the game. All of these present tremendous growth trajectories for those employed on board.
In the cruise kitchens, there are changing tastes to be catered to, and not just with regard to cuisine style. Ships now offer a variety of diet options, including gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, paleo, low-calorie, low-carb, low-salt and everything in between, so the challenges of learning and delivering high-quality products consistently create a bubbling nest of knowledge.
As more families spend their holidays cruising, requirements from staff change too. From activities and amenities, to food and port tours, cruise lines are attempting to cater to one of the widest age ranges ever. Cruise ship hotel managers face the challenging but exciting role of ensuring that all sectors work together seamlessly, dealing with issues, answering questions from staff, addressing complaints and mingling with guests.
As the international cruise market expands at 6.9 per cent, cruise ship jobs are being created at an unprecedented pace. New cruise ships are being launched all the time, and with changing tastes the kind of positions on offer are very varied. Along with the regular hotel jobs on cruise lines such as waiters, receptionists, bartenders, stewards, and chefs, positions can get quite peculiar and cater to very niche needs.
There have been known to be cruise ship jobs as odd as Culinary Arts Center Host involving coordinating and hosting on-board culinary enrichment programmes such as cooking workshops and wine tasting; Crews Activities Manager to organise and manage crew activities; Brew Master to brew different types of beer in the on-board brewery and give tours; Dining Room Greeter to announce dinner time, assist with service and hand out treats; and even Kennel Master to care for, feed, play and clean up after pets on pet-friendly ships!
With a good overseas recruitment agency and an open mind, the cruise ship industry can offer career opportunities that are both lucrative as well as interesting.