Large cruise ships of such well-known cruise companies as Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Intl, Apollo Group etc. are employing up to 1200 shipboard personnel on every ship. Note that all the salaries are paid in US Dollars, in most cases every 2 weeks or every cruise. Depending on the company you would be working for, there are different options on how to transfer your earnings to your home personal account. It is also important to understand several things about certain jobs.
There are
non-tipping positions on-board that get their salaries flat and there might be or might not be any chance to earn additional money. There are also
tipping positions on-board where there is a small basic salary, and the monthly total income depends on the sales (i.e. Bar Server gets paid $50 per month and in addition the percentage of sales thus generating monthly wage out of sales). However all companies have established a
minimum guaranteed — amount that will be paid out to the employee in active service in case the ship is in dry dock or operates with very low passenger numbers per cruise. There are also tipping positions that work for the gratuities at certain rate per passenger such as Cabin Steward. Therefore in most cases it will be only up to your efforts and a bit of luck to determine how much you would earn from month to month. Below is the list of positions that are the most demanded at the moment. Please note that the pay and duration of the contract are only average numbers that may vary from one employer to another and even from ship to ship especially if you work on a tipping position.
Position |
Position category |
Average per positon Contract/Vacation duration |
Very average possible income in USD per month |
HOTEL DEPARTMENT |
Assistant Waiter/ess |
tipping |
8 months on / 2 months off |
$ 700 — 1200 per month |
Assistant Cabin Steward/ess |
tipping |
10 months on/ 2 months off |
$ 800 — 1500 per month |
Bar Waiter/ess |
tipping |
6 months on / 2 months off |
$ 800 — 1500 per month |
Bartender |
tipping |
6 months on / 2 months off |
$ 1600 — 2500 per month |
Supper Club Server |
tipping |
6 months on / 2 months off |
$ 900 — 2000 per month |
Restaurant Waiter |
tipping |
5 months on / 6 months off |
$ 1200 — 2200 per month |
Sommelier |
tipping |
6 months on / 2 months off |
$ 1200 — 2200 per month |
Pools and Decks Supervisor |
non-tipping |
8 months on / 2 months off |
$ 900 per month |
Floor Supervisor |
tipping |
8 months on / 2 months off |
$ 900 — 1500 per month |
Stateroom Steward/ess |
tipping |
5 months on / 2 months off |
$1000 — 2800 per month |
Hotel Cleaner |
non-tipping |
8 months on / 2 months off |
$ 500 — 800 per month |
Tailor |
non-tipping |
8 months on / 2 months off |
$ 700 per month |
International Host/ess |
non-tipping |
6 months on / 2 months off |
$ 2200 per month |
CASINO DEPARTMENT |
Casino Dealer |
tipping |
6 months on / 6 weeks off |
$ 900 — 2000 per month |
Slot Machine Attendant |
tipping |
6 months on / 6 weeks off |
$ 800 — 1200 per month |
Casino Cashier |
tipping |
6 months on / 6 weeks off |
$ 900 — 1200 per month |
Casino Slot Technician |
tipping |
6 months on / 6 weeks off |
$ 1000 — 1800 per month |
ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT |
Table Artist — Magician |
non-tipping |
8 months on / 2 month off |
$ 1400 per month |
Disc Jockey |
non-tipping |
6 months on / 2 months off |
$ 1800 per month |
Youth Councelor |
tipping |
6 months on / 2 months off |
$ 800 — 1300 per month |
Activities Staff |
non-tipping |
6 months on / 2 months off |
$ 1700 per month |
Broadcast Operator |
non-tipping |
6 months on / 2 months off |
$ 1800 per month |