>>1135819
As a non officer, you will get precious little time off, hard hours, low pay, and not always off in ports and will be forbidden from fraternizing with passengers like officers can. Assume the majority of the crew that is equal to you are gay or extremely promiscuous, and annoyingly so.
As an officer, it's a good gig if you wish to remain single for a while, because you do have the ability to save 98% of your salary into a bank account, maybe even a tax free situation. If you can stick it out for 10 years, you should have a lifetime foundation of retirement savings or an investment property at least. It's hard on relationships, with officers rarely getting the same ship with each other to maintain a relationship. Also, you will have a bit of a disillusioned image of the company, as it hires foreign nationals of the same origin for each specific kind of job. Yes, only americans, norwegians and brits get officer jobs. The cabin crews, waiters, laundry have shitty low class hours and living standards, but it's right at the level of pay for their originating nations, at least.

Source: Sibling did 4 years as a ships purser on the largest/newest ships for a line as they were launched, and another 4 years of 2 weeks at a time vacation relief for officers on various ships during the summers for same line as he finished his masters. He got his foot in the door by doing ship-to-shore while getting his bachelors. Today, probably need the grad degree just to get the foot in the door.

If I was seriously interested in a sea job? Get the big bucks, and the money is really out there. Go to an accredited Maritime college. If I was only looking to travel with my job, I'd get an FAA pilots license. Huge international shortage. Start with the $5k one, and get your hours up to 40 as you accrue monies. Just being an American should get you a job.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/29/aviation/light-sport-pilot-license/

>>1135840
Not OP but just out of curiosity would a recent grad with a standard LA or Business degree be of any use on a cruise ship?

>>1135840
OP here, what if I only have a high school diploma? Should I try to do a 8 month contract to see if I like it? Also, I don't really have any skills outside of customer service and retail so is there anywhere on the ship I could work? Is there anything you'd recommend in terms of skills I should learn to get me the best job possible with my education level or am I going to need to go to college to get anything that doesn't completely suck?

>>1135840
>FAA pilots license
The pay is terrible.

>>1136035
Do you have a talent, are you social? Carnival highers westerners as entertainers. Look at jobs on the carnival website.

>>1136088
I used to play cello and bass a long time ago but otherwise I'm a shit singer, can't dance, and I don't really have any other talents other than that. I'm good at socializing with people but I doubt they have a position for schmoozer.

>>1136251
These are the jobs they typically hire westerners for. There are tryouts in the usa. Schmoozer actually is a position.

http://www.carnivalentertainment.com/index.htm

>>1137219
Also retail:

http://www.starboardcruise.com/employment/careers/shipboard-careers/

>>1136251
http://artauctionsabroad.com/

>>1137222
http://www.portshopping.com/home.aspx

>>1135819
>I've been thinking of getting a job on a cruise ship
I was offered a job on a cruise ship at the end of 2014. They majorly fucked me over. The job was a technician job, and only on 2 out of 4 ships in the fleet. What they don't tell you is that once they offer you the job, you are waiting for a position to be available on-board. They advertise ahead of time. If there are a lot of positions on board for the job role you are applying for, it's not so bad. Make sure you don't apply for VISA (if you need one) until you have a start date, same with Criminal Background Check.

Good luck to you!

>>1135819
Also, stay away from Disney Cruise Line, and depending on what territory you are applying from: avoid 'The Agency Excellent Entertainment' at all costs. They are literally the devil.

>>1135819

nurse here.


I spoke with a cruise ship while on carnival. She was near the end of her contract and fucking hated her life because I guess she hadn't been able to get off the boat for weeks due to her off-days not being port days.


But she said she just made a ton of money because she never spent anything. My impression was that its almost like a super chill version of a deployment in the navy or something.

Everywhere I looked required at least 3 year of ER or ICU experience. The boat I was on had full ICU capabilities, including their own xray and lab equipment. We had one medical emergency that was handled until we arrived at port, but most of its just hypertension or whatever else the crews have.

Looks like a sweet deal to me.

>>1135819
Not entirely related, but eh...
I will soon have my bachelors degree in Physics. Very vague question: are there good jobs for me on a ship? What degree(s) do you need to become an officer for example?