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Thousands of people take cruises each year. They enjoy the many amenities offered and the exciting ports of call. What if you could be sailing on the high seas all the time? If that is an appealing proposition consider working on a cruise ship.

The cruise ship business is reaching record heights. Each year five to ten luxury liners are added to the fleet of cruise ships already commissioned to sail the waterways of the world. Depending on the number of passengers each year, the large cruise ships hire double that number to ensure that each passenger is well taken care of.

Along with the larger luxury vessels we normally think of when we talk about cruises, there are also a host of smaller vessels including yachts and river barges. Cruise jobs are available on every type of vessel. The smaller cruise lines are also doing record business and they provide a more intimate atmosphere for passengers that are lost on the mega liners. They, too, have to provide staff for seasonal and year round cruises.

Life on a cruise ship takes a very special person. It is not just another job. Maritime law governs the actions of those working on the sea. It is similar to a military in their hierarchy of command. To get a problem resolved you must go through the proper channels. The conversation between superiors and subordinates is more formal - a lot of "yes sir" and "no sir."

Larger cruising vessels that carry several thousand people are like floating cities. Everything you need is provided on the ship. Passengers and staff work and play in different areas of the same ship. Employees of a cruise line have the perk of being houses where they work.

There are other perks and benefits enjoyed by those with cruise ship jobs. Employees are provided free room and board in the crew quarters. You may luck up and get a room to yourself or you could be sharing with one other person. Since work schedules are rather busy, you will probably only see one another in passing and at lights out.

Employees are also given free meals, laundry service, medical insurance, and air travel to the ship and back home after your contract is up. Cruise lines can afford to provide the best for their guests and employees. When the ship docks and passengers go ashore, workers are allowed to spend their free time enjoying ship amenities like spas, fitness centers, and beauty shops.

Smaller cruising vessels don’t offer as many perks but they make up for it in experience. Travelers are looking for meaningful excursions besides the traditional floating luxury hotels. To accommodate them, cruise lines offer cruises for as many as 200 passengers or as few as ten. Some are eco-tours that visit the natural scenery of lakes and rivers. They conduct lectures on the ecology of the area along with historical tidbits.

These vessels travel waterways that larger cruise ships don’t reach. One day you could be working on a river barge on the Mississippi or cruising down the Danube River in Europe. Ships offer tours of South American and Asian waterways. Passengers and staff see these areas in a way that most do not get to experience.

People working on cruise ships, especially the smaller variety, perform various jobs. You may be serving breakfast in the morning and turning down beds at night. The atmosphere, while still under maritime law, is more laidback. Passengers and staff mingle enough to know each others names. One outstanding perk is that the staff usually eats the same gourmet food as the passengers. A complaint on larger cruise lines is the ambiguous taste of the food.

If you are considering jobs on a cruise ship, don’t neglect the opportunities on the smaller vessels. The same opportunities that would take years to attain on a larger vessel are accelerated on a smaller ship. For instance, those with land tour experience could be promoted to cruise director or purser. This would take many years on a larger ship with more employees to compete with. The responsibilities would be the same. That experience could get you a competitive job on a larger vessel after a few years if you choose.

Both large and small cruise vessels offer excellent perks for their staffs. The decision is what type of experience you are looking for. Larger ships usually hire for six to nine months at a time. Smaller vessels don’t typically cruise the sea so most tours are seasonal. This is an excellent way for college students and others with free summers to gain valuable industry experience.

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