Wondering how much you will be paid for doing your work on a cruise ship?
Here, we have given a brief overview of some of the important job profiles, the jobs they do and their average pay.
This pay structure may be different according to the terms and conditions of different cruise lines.
- Ship Captain – $150000 annually
- Deckhand (Able Seaman) – $4680 annually
- Steward/Stewardess – $41600 annually
- Waiter/Waitress – $30,000 – $60,000 annually
- Housekeeper – $41080 annually
- Chef – $45,600 – $78,000 annually
- Food & Beverage – $69,600 – $88,800) annually
- Host and Hostess – $42000 annually
- Yoga Teacher and Diving Instructors – $30000 annually
How Much Do Cruise Lines Pay You?
Working on a sea ship is one of the best things that can happen to you. You must have already known that the pay rates are reasonably high on cruise liners.
However, did you know that these cruise ship jobs can help you develop your overall personality as well?
You get to visit new places and learn about new cultures every day, which makes you very tolerant of people. There are various jobs that you can apply for on a cruise ship. Some of the common ones and their average pay rates are discussed here.
The most common jobs are the captain of the ship, the host or a hostess, housekeeping, waiter and chef or a cook.
All these groups have different levels of pay structure, as the complexity and nature of the job is completely different from one another. For very obvious reasons, jobs that are risky are paid more than jobs that are quite safe.
Ship Captain
The captain of the ship is one of the tedious and most risky jobs on the cruise ship as almost all the people on the ship depend on the captain’s expertise for the success of the whole voyage. They are usually called the master of the ship as they are the ones who control the ship’s movements, when and where to halt, etc. Being the captain of the cruise ship may seem all glamorous on the outside, but it needs a lot of hard work and effort. With the hardcore work and effort comes an attractive pay package. A ship captain earns an average annual salary of about $150000.
Deckhand (Able Seaman)
The deckhand, being a member of the ship’s crew, is important for a cruise ship. They are the ones that look after the cleanliness and hygiene of the ship. The cruise ships are subjected to a lot of cleaning as there are lots of people on board. A deckhand in a cruise ship can earn a sum of $90 per week (approx. $4680 annually) which is quite a good sum, indeed! This work doesn’t involve too much of heavy cargo handling unlike cargo ships; therefore this pay is a good deal for a person who doesn’t have to do heavy-duty jobs.
Steward/Stewardess
The steward and stewardess are the lives of a cruise ship, as they are the ones that manage the passengers by providing them with the necessary details and also helping them when they have any issues during the voyage. They also have the biggest task of handling passengers throughout the voyage by making everything available to the passengers and by making the voyage an enjoyable experience for the passengers on board. Cruise ship stewards make a handsome amount of around $800 to $810 per week (approx. $41600 annually).
Waiter/Waitress
The waiter and waitresses on a cruise ship have a very busy profile – probably busier than their counterparts who work in restaurants on the land!
They have to cater to every passenger in the ship. The number of people on board a cruise ship is more than the number of people who go to a restaurant. The waiters and waitresses on the cruise ship have to be quick and precise while taking orders and should also be fast enough to bring the food to the passengers.
An entry-level waiter or waitress makes $1200 – $1800 per month, a dining room waiter will have a salary of $2200 – $3800 per month and a head waiter will have a salary of $2600 – $4800 per month ($30,000 – $60,000 per year).
Housekeeper
A housekeeper on a cruise ship takes care of the cleaning and domestic tasks of the rooms of the passengers of the cruise ship. The housekeeper thus provides the passengers a very warm and welcoming stay. Don’t you feel pleasant and happy when you come back to a clean and well-maintained room every day? It’s because of the housekeeping staff do their job well that you get that feeling. The pay package for housekeepers is quite decent, indeed! They earn around $790 per week ($41,080 annually) which will work out to a handsome amount when computed for a year.
Chef
A chef is one of the important persons in a cruise ship as he will be the one providing the passengers on board the cruise ship with food. He has the task to make different cuisine styles and different varieties of food to be made available to the passengers according to their preferences. The sous chef makes a handsome sum of $3400 – $5800 per month and an executive sous chef makes a sum of $3800 – $6500 per month ($45,600 – $78,000 per year).
Food & Beverage
Food and beverage services on a cruise provide passengers with food and drinks. Drinks include alcoholic drinks and non- alcoholic drinks. The food and beverage department must make sure they are adequately stocked up during every voyage they take. The food and beverage service providers can earn a sum of $5800 – $7400 per month ($69,600 – $88,800 each year).
Host and Hostess
The host and hostess are the faces of the cruise as they are the ones who invite the passengers when they get on board of the cruise and greet them when they disembark from the ship. The host or hostess of a cruise ship will earn a sum of $42000 per year. This is a good pay package, considering the hard work that they put in. They have to come up with social events, parties and games to keep the passengers entertained in the cruise.
Yoga Teacher and Diving Instructors
While on the cruise many people would want to relax and rejuvenate themselves. What better way to get rejuvenated than yoga?
Activities like yoga and diving are the most commonly sought after by people when they wanted to relax. This is because these activities are highly successful at calming the ever- racing human thoughts. For this purpose, the cruise ship will have a certified dive and yoga instructor.
They earn a sum of $2500 per month ($30,000 each year) excluding tips. The yoga and dive instructors are eligible to receive tips. When they provide an incredible training experience to the passengers, they get tipped generously. More often than not, the amount they receive in tips is almost equal to or more than their monthly salary.
The best thing about working on a cruise ship is that one gets to travel around the world while doing their job. This is why the cruise staffs love to work in such a happy environment. Every voyage has a story to tell, and the people working on the cruise are perfect scriptwriters for this story. Isn’t it only natural that they are paid well for the work they do?
