Top Ten Cruise Ship Jobs You Probably Don’t Know About
A cruise ship is a small floating city. For some cruise ships, between passengers and crew they are pretty much the size of small cities. To keep a small city running there are a lot of various jobs that need to be done. Today we’re going to review some unusual cruise ship jobs. These are cruise ship crew member jobs you probably don’t know about, or maybe just haven’t ever really thought about.
There are some jobs onboard a cruise ship we all know about – the hardworking housekeepers, the all important bartenders, the Captain, the engineers, and even the Cruise Director. But, there are so many more cruise ship crew member jobs onboard than that. Let’s take a look at some of these hardworking and unusual cruise ship jobs. These are often the unsung hero’s doing the dirty work so we can all party like it’s 1999.
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10. “Support Staff” Cruise Ship Jobs
Depending on the cruise line, length of cruise, and itinerary there will sometimes be Support Staff or Supplemental Staff onboard a cruise ship. These people will typically sail onboard the ship for free – though they’ll have to pay for extras as a passenger would (like drinks, specialty restaurants, etc.) These cruise ship “jobs” could include arts and craft, watercolor, and bridge instructors, as well as positions such as Gentlemen or Dance Hosts. Cunard is known for having these Gentlemen Hosts to dance with. Should you be interested in a very funny, not at all serious, movie about being a Dance Host, please do yourself a favor and watch Out To Sea with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. It’s also available for a couple bucks off to stream off of
9. Ship Specific Specialty Cruise Ship Crew Member Jobs
There are some cruise ships that have such specific needs that they or that class of ship are nearly the only ones with that position. This includes a multitude of specialty performers on Royal Caribbean, such as their ice skaters, high divers, surf instructors, and other specialty sports instructors.
Other less conventional cruise ship specific jobs include a Landscape Specialist (Royal Caribbean Oasis Class Ships), Lawnkeeper (various Celebrity ships), and my favorite is the Kennel Master onboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. On the QM2 they have a kennel onboard for bringing animals across the Atlantic and goodness I want to go play with the dogs.
8. Tailors
If you think about this it makes sense – with cruise ships having a crew compliment of anywhere from 200 to 2,000 there is a lot to keep the tailors busy. While some of the uniforms are purchased from large uniform supply companies, a lot of the uniforms – such as officer jackets and trousers – are made onboard the ship by the tailors. They will also do things like hem trousers and alter other uniform pieces as necessary.
Personal side note: If you need a few pairs of trousers hemmed bringing them some of the very underused white coloring pencils (from the kids club where you work) is very appreciated.
7. Upholsterers
Similar to keeping all of the employees dressed and looking their best are the upholsterers which keep the interiors of the ship looking their best. Onboard a ship there will be an upholsterer, or perhaps a couple, that are responsible for fixing, mending, or replacing the upholstery on the various furnishings around the ship should there be a tear or stain. For the most part there is a small store of nearly every fabric type used onboard to be able to keep the ship looking aesthetically cohesive.
6. Carpenters
Continuing on with the trend of keeping the ship looking ship shape of cruise ship crew member jobs we have the carpenters. There is even a carpenters workshop onboard, complete with workbenches, saws, and extra material. They are responsible for, well, fixing things that need to get fixed. Whether that be something in the cabin that has broken or the base of a bench in one of the lounges.
5. Butcher
On a cruise ship people expect excellence in the food – and there is a large team onboard to make that happen. Included within that team is a butcher (or two or three depending on the size of the ship). Much like on land, the butcher is responsible for ensuring that there are the finest cuts of meats available.
4. Printer
While life onboard the ship is becoming increasingly digital with things the daily program of activities available on an app on your phone or through the interactive TV. Companies are also putting a real effort into reducing their printed materials due to the environmental impact. However, there are still times that print material needs to be sent out to both the passengers and crew. When something needs to get sent out to the passengers or the crew it is not as simple as pressing “print” on your computer. These print shops are designed to print thousands at a time, make small books, and do so much more. That is why there is a cruise ship job onboard to ensure that everything gets printed in time, and to keep the print shop running smoothly.
Personal side note: if you forgot to send something to the printer and need it ASAP most often they will get it done for you out of professional curtesy. However, if you find out what they like – I’ve found either chocolate or Jack Daniels – it goes a long way towards them not only having to help you, but wanting to.
3. Fire Safety Attendant
The most dangerous thing that can happen at sea is a fire, and onboard they take that seriously.
Did you know there are a variety of people onboard who are there just to make sure the ship is doing everything it can to avoid having a fire onboard? These cruise ship crew have the job onboard to make sure all of the firefighting equipment is up to date and in it’s proper location, and to act as first responders in the case of a fire. These crew members are called Fire Safety Attendants.
2. Wiper
This name might be slightly different between cruise lines, but no, this does not mean the window wiper (although there are those onboard, too). These wipers are responsible for keeping the engine room clean. What you might not realize is that also means keeping the massive number of tanks onboard clean.
The tanks onboard carry everything from sewage to potable water to fuel. While these tanks don’t all have to get cleaned every day, they all have to get cleaned at various times. This is both to ensure the longevity of the tank structure, but also to ensure the engines can safely run, and to comply with various regulations. Whether it is cleaning the fuel tank to ensure the engines can run properly, or if it is cleaning out the ballast water tanks to make sure that the ship isn’t transporting invasive species or bacteria between parts of the world, these hard working cruise ship crew get it done to keep the ship running smoothly and ensure compliance world wide.
1. Garbage Handlers / Waste Management Specialists / Recycling Center Manager
This job has a lot of different names between the cruise lines but in essence these are the people that sort through all the rubbish and recycling onboard and make sure that it is getting disposed of properly. Whether that is separated into various recycling categories, or being identified as waste, these crew ensure that it all gets organized properly so it can go to the right place.
There Are So Many Different Cruise Ship Jobs!
A cruise ship is like a floating city and as such it needs a wide variety of people to work onboard. Cruise ship crew member jobs onboard a cruise ship are as varied as they are on land and it takes an entire team to make that floating city work. Everyone’s job has a place, has value, and helps to ensure that passengers are having the best vacation they possibly can. Cruise lines employ millions of people from around the world and these are just a few of the cruise ship crew member jobs onboard a cruise ship that you might not know about.
Curious about what it is like to live and work onboard a cruise ship? Take a look at our page, Cruise Ship Cruise Life, to find out more about life onboard – from what the stripes mean to what in-port manning is.
Wow, I would never think a tailor or an upholster! I wanted to be a cruise ship singer when I was younger, and have a few friends who did go on to do that. I went on my first cruise with my mum in 2018. While there were some issues with particular cruise, the staff were all so fantastic!
p.s. love your blog!
There really are so many different jobs onboard to keep the little floating city going. I’m sorry to hear that there were issues with the cruise you went on – although it sounds like you managed to stay positive. I would say you could still be a cruise ship singer, but I think it might be awhile before they’re hiring again! Thank you so much for your kind words and for reading!
hi i want to to enjoy the craw how can aplay for job