With the cruise industry expanding, and Royal Caribbean continuing to build new 5,000-plus-passenger ships, the opportunities for people looking for a career at sea are not going to dry up any time soon. Be it captains or childcare workers, dancers or doctors, chefs or cruise directors, stateroom stewards or spa therapists, each Royal Caribbean ship provides around 450 different types of jobs at various ranks. In common with other cruise lines, Royal Caribbean operates recruitment programs around the world in countries such as the Philippines, China and Indonesia in order to ensure it always has enough staff to fill its employment needs. On May 6, 2016, it opened a new office in Manila with the aim of increasing the number of Filipino crew to a total of 30,000 in the next five years. Additionally, the line says that many potential crew members apply for jobs after hearing about employment opportunities from friends and family members who already work for Royal Caribbean, and there is never any danger of a shortage of staff.
New cruise ship employees will embark on a residential training course to equip them with all the tools necessary for a successful career at sea. Courses typically last 13 weeks and are filled with practical and classroom-based sessions, a full overview of the department in which they'll be working and job-specific training. During the course they will take part in individual exercises, activities in groups and in pairs, group discussions and role-play exercises. These courses are held at a variety of training centers that are focused on different aspects of crew training. For example, Royal Caribbean sends staff to a dedicated center for safety and hospitality and catering courses that is situated close to Manila. During the courses, staff are provided with on-site accommodation and all meals.
Upon successful completion of their training, crew members are offered a contract, typically ranging from two to nine months. 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. In theory, they could work four months, take two months off and then return to the ship for the second segment of the contract, but most choose to work it all in one go. Although speculation about what crew members are paid is rife on the Cruise Critic forums, cruise lines do not publicly discuss rates of pay or benefits. However, the fact that cruise ships are attractive places to work can be deduced from the number of employees -- often including many members of the same family -- that work for the same lines for many years. The cruise lines also provide employees with training that enables them to successfully pursue other jobs when they decide it is time to head back to dry land. For instance, many chefs return to their homelands and open restaurants.
While not revealing specific figures, RCCL says its employee retention record is above the industry standard and crew members choose to stay with the company rather than jump ship to another line. In general, employees stick to one RCCL cruise line (such as Royal Caribbean or Celebrity), but some do move across brands. There are many who have clocked 10 or more years of service. Seniority does lead to benefits, such as more flexibility with contracts, getting preference for working on specific ships and career growth opportunities.
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