Cruise Ship Careers & School
Imagine waking up every morning on the open sea, sailing around beautiful tropical islands or the wild wonder of the Alaskan coast. Cruise professionals live this reality every day. After graduating from The Travel Academy, you will be prepared to start careers with leading cruise companies. The cruise line industry has grown tremendously, increasing the number of cruise ships and cruise ship employment opportunities.
In addition to the great experience and knowledge of our instructors. Our hands-on curriculum is constantly evolving, and this up-to-date training gives our students a competitive edge over competition!
Cruise Positions
Graduates of The Travel Academy’s cruise ship school have started careers in positions from cruise director to deckhand. ACL hires people with college degrees as cruise directors- even if they have no cruise experience! Other positions such as server and youth counselor may require prior experience.
Ship Side
- Cruise Director
- Assistant cruise director
- Cruise staff (works under the cruise director)
- Purser (works at the front desk in the hotel department)
- Assistant purser
- Cruise consultant (book people on future cruises)
- Photographer and/or videographer
- Shore excursion staff (help sell land tours for guests)
- Disc Jockeys
- Casino staff
- Youth counselors
- Restaurant stewards/assistant waiters/waiters
- Gift shop personnel
- Program coordinator
- Coffee Bar staff
- Dining room waiter/assistant waiter/restaurant steward/galley worker
Shore Side
Cruise lines also need shore side staff to work at their headquarters or reservation locations. Some positions include:
- Airline operations
- Administrative/clerical workers
- Marketing and public relations
- Accounting
- Documents/ticketing
- Quality control agent
Seasonal Alaska workers are needed from May through the end of September to fill a variety of positions shore side in various cities in Alaska. Some of these positions include:
- Hotel and Lodge guest services
- Transportation Services
- Tour Guide
- Port operations
“The Travel Academy really prepares you to be ready and be confident in yourself. I feel like I can do it all!”
Natalie D. – Cruise Steward
“…We visited the Na Pali coast where this amazing picture was taken. Absolutely beautiful and makes for the greatest office window in the entire world. I am so blessed. The best news was yet to come. This past week there was a certain family that was so fun to talk to…It turns out they nominated me for Norwegian’s “vacation hero” award. Basically this means they tell our company that their vacation would not have been the same if they hadn’t met me. I made an impact on someone’s vacation. This is why I’m here…I love my job. I love my time off. I love my friends. I miss my home, but I love this state. I’m loving my dream.
Shoutout to The Travel Academy for giving me the tools and skills needed to survive this industry!”
-Kody C.
* Please note- Generally speaking, among other criteria, cruise ship employees must be able to meet the hearing requirements issued by the United States Coast Guard:
– Must be able to hear and react to all ambient, audible sounds
– Must be able to attend training without any additional assistance, other than hearing aids, and participate at full capacity