How long does it take to be hired on a cruise ship?

The hiring process for working on a cruise ship can be very different than other jobs. On land, you can expect to apply for a job, get an interview, and start right away. In the cruise industry, it can take as long as 6 months to a maybe even a year to get put onboard!



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The entire hiring process at Carnival takes between two weeks to one month to complete, including the background check, fingerprinting, and drug screen. To get started, visit Carnival's career page.

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There are no holiday entitlements, but crew members can choose when they take the six- to eight-week break that automatically comes with longer contracts.

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Among many difficult jobs on cruise ships, handpicking the toughest one is tricky. Still, one job will stand out in terms of horrific working conditions and cruel working hours-the galley steward.

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While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $102,500 and as low as $14,500, the majority of Cruise Ship Worker salaries currently range between $30,000 (25th percentile) to $58,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $90,000 annually across the United States.

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Your daily work schedule while onboard will depend on your particular position, but you can expect to work seven days a week and anywhere between 10-13 hours per day.

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To complete their responsibilities, cruise ships require their employees to live on the boat. Most cruise lines offer their staff free room and board throughout the duration of their contracts. They often cover the costs of basic living expenses, such as water and electricity bills.

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Interview process at Cruise On a scale of 1-10 where 1 is Poor and 10 is Excellent, rating is 5. On a scale of 1-10 where 1 is Easy and 10 is Difficult, rating is 4.

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Biweekly pay stub. May get an annual performance bonus.

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A Cruise Ship Crew in your area makes on average $20 per hour, or $0.30 (15.724%) more than the national average hourly salary of $19.39. ranks number 1 out of 50 states nationwide for Cruise Ship Crew salaries.

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Most cruise ship workers work long hours—eight- to 14-hour days, seven days a week are not uncommon. Many employees spend a number of weeks, usually five or more, working at sea, followed by an extended leave ashore. Being a people person is important in this industry. Cruise ship workers not only are expe...

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Full-time contracts are usually 6 months in duration. At the end you will have a break of around 6-8 weeks before returning to ship. Full-time staff are generally expected to work on ship for more than one contract so if you want to do a one off cruise, a seasonal contract may be more suitable.

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Cruise job contracts can be as short as 1 month long, but only in cases when seasonal staff are needed, for example, when school kids are on vacation, meaning a larger than normal amount of children will be onboard for a few sailings and children's facilities will need extra people.

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There is an enormous amount of pressure that crew members deal with every single day at sea. It is essential to maintain sanity and a clear mindset when working on cruise ships, regardless of the daily difficulties and high-stress levels that life on board the ship inevitably brings.

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You'd think cruise ships would hire a few extra people so crew members can take a few days off, but that's just not the way it works. Cruise ships won't hire more crew than they absolutely need, and here's why. First, it keeps costs down. Each crew member represents another salary, more food, and administrative costs.

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Virgin Voyages, one of Carnival Cruise Line's top competitors, pays its employees an average salary of $112,803 per year or $54.23 per hour. This is about $68,635 more than Carnival Cruise Line's average salary, and $33.00 more per hour than Carnival Cruise Line's average hourly pay.

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On ships, you live where you work. Unlike life on land, there is no rent to be paid or monthly utility bills that need to be taken care of. All basic living expenses are covered at sea for crew members: accommodation, water, electricity, and food.

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Do all cruise crew members receive tips? As mentioned above, not all members of the ship staff receive a share of the gratuities paid by passengers. Bartenders, main show entertainers and third-party shop employees are some of the more obvious ones, but they're not the only ones.

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